S u m m a r y
Catalogue Number:	CED48259 - Me 163B
Scale:	1/48
Contents and Media:	Double-sided full colour letter-sized instructions plus notes sheet; 1 x full-size decal sheets
Price:	USD$8.99 each from Meteor Productions website
Review Type:	FirstLook
Advantages:	Nice variety of colours on seven subjects; includes markings for six single-Seater Me 163Bs and one two-seater Me 163S; bonus badges included; tricky black borders for nose marking supplied as decals; stencil data for three aircraft is included; ties in with profiles and photos in Classic Publications Me 163 book
Disadvantages:
Recommendation:	Recommended

 

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Meteor Productions

 

FirstLook

Cutting Edge Decals has released a new set of markings for the Dragon/Trimaster/Revell 1/48 scale family of Messerschmitt Me 163 Komets.

Seven subjects are covered - six single-seater Me 163Bs and one Me 163S two-seater trainer. All the schemes are documented in the new Classic Publications book on the Me 163, Volume 2.

Specific subjects are as follows:

• Me 163 B, Yellow 11, 7./JG 400, April, 1945;

• Me 163 B, White 1 (or possible White 4), 1./JG 400, Brandis, February 1945-NOTE this is the ONLY photo documented wartime Luftwaffe Komet with a badge on the nose (see discussion below);

• Me 163 B, White 10, Lt. Hans-Ludwig Löscher, 1./JG 400, Brandis, February 1945;

• Me 163B, White 9, 1./JG 400 1945.

• Me 163 B, Yellow 15, II./JG 400, 1945;

• Me 163 S, White 94, Soviet Air Force, TsAGI & LII test institutes, Moscow, 1945;

• Me 163 B, Yellow 2, 7./JG 400, Husim, April 1945.

This set comes with full-colour, double-sided letter sized placement instructions and an accompanying monochrome sheet with additional notes a bibliography; plus paint suggestions for Xtracolor, Floquil, Polly Scale, Gunze, Tamiya, Model Master and even ProModeler.

The decals are perfectly printed, thin, in register and with a minimum of carrier film.

Meteor Productions supplied the following information on the issue of the famous nose badges usually depicted on Me 163 kits, decals and profiles:

"Like you, we have been excited over the years to see the various Me 163 drawings and paintings showing cool unit badges on the nose. Unfortunately, there is only ONE minimally documented aircraft with a unit badge on the nose, White 1, and we've given it on the Cutting Edge Me 163 sheet. Unfortunately, even that plane is not fully photo documented, and the number may be "4" rather than 1.

Classic Publications in England has just released their second volume on the Me 163, for a total of more than 900 pages of documentation and hundreds of photos. They only documented one aircraft with a badge, a B-0 airframe which was only photographed postwar, with the markings possibly repainted by the Allies. If they could not find clear documentation of any other insignia on specific airframes, it's not likely to have come to light anywhere yet--but please let us know via email at support@meteorprod.com  if you have or can lead us to definitive documentation!

We found one photo, white 1 (or 4), in which only the top of the numeral was present, and have supplied it on our sheet. I have dozens of books and magazines articles on the 163 in my files, and none show adequate documentation of nose insignia on specific airframes. Many photos are out there clearly showing the forward fuselages of aircraft with various badges, but they always have the tail or fuselage number blocked from view.

So what about all those cool drawings and profiles?

First, there are historical Luftwaffe closeup photos of several different unit insignia on the noses of Me 163s. The problem is that in NONE of these cases is enough of the remainder of the plane visible to make positive identification. In addition, there are many photos of postwar 163s showing nose insignia, and many more photos of museum jets. Therein lies the problem. NONE of these photos are reliable documentation of what the Luftwaffe actually flew. The Americans and Brits regularly fully or partially repainted captured aircraft, so those markings are suspect at best. The problems with museum aircraft markings are obvious.

The simple truth is that until definitive photo documentation should become available, any depiction of a 163 with nose insignia (except White 1?/4? mentioned above) is a guess or wishful thinking, and unless you want to build a model of a museum bird or fantasy plane, you are probably limited to White 1?/4?.

If you want to show a nose insignia, sorry about that!"

Even if you do not agree with the conclusions of Meteor Productions, they do supply bonus badge markings so that you can indulge your artistic license.

This new release will be appreciated by anyone planning to build a 1/48 scale Messerschmitt Me 163B or S kit.

Recommended

Thanks to Cutting Edge Modelworks for the preview information and images

Review Copyright © 2004 by Brett Green
This Page Created on 01 March, 2004
Last updated 01 March, 2004

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page