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ACADEMY 1:72 MESSERSCHMITT ME 163 KOMET |
Reviewer:
Kevin Ronayne (kevin.ronayne@nuigalway.ie)
Kit Review submitted:
25 September 2004
Date: 23rd September, 2004
The Me 163 stands apart in aviation history, as the only rocket-powered manned combat aircraft ever to see service. The story of the Komet is fascinating and very long. It is far too detailed for this brief summary to do justice to the aircraft. The Komet was the brainchild of Dr. Alexander Lippisch, who started building tailless gliders in 1926, and over the next decade also became involved in rocket propulsion. In 1937, he was asked to develop a manned aircraft to be powered by a newly developed rocket motor. At this point, the story gets really complicated, involving Heinkel, Messerschmitt and the German Glider research institute (DFS). To cut a long story short, by late 1939 Lippisch had developed the all-wooden DFS 194 glider for research purposes. It was decided to fit it with a small rocket engine, and on June 3 1940, the first flight was made. The powered DFS 194 had excellent handling, extraordinary climb rate and level speed of almost 550 kmh. The pilot was Heini Dittmar, a famous glider pilot who would be the main pilot in the Komet development programme. With a more powerful Walter rocket motor now available, development could now proceed on a sturdier design with a metal fuselage. It was at this point that the designation Me 163 was assigned.
The first Me 163 (towed by a Bf 110) proved to be such a good glider that during trials in the spring of 1941, it was very difficult to land. The first rocket-powered flight took place on the 13th August 1941, and the aircraft was estimated to have exceeded 800 kmh. Soon, the aircraft was flying even faster, and eventually Dittmar was to experience violent control problems when flying at over 1,000 kmh. This was the first encounter with compressibility, a phenomenon that is encountered as an aircraft approaches Mach 1. Modifications to the surface controls helped to alleviate this problem, and the Komet was judged by at least one very experienced pilot to handle extremely well at high speed.
Other problems were to remain right throughout the development and service life, and these centred around the highly volatile rocket fuel and the hair-raising take-off and landing routines. Ground crew and pilots eventually had to wear protective asbestos coverings, as some of the unstable rocket fuel compounds could cause horrific injuries if they came into contact with human skin. The danger of a mishap with the fuel was compounded by the possibility of an accident during take-off. It was not unknown for the detachable dolly to bounce off the ground and hit the aircraft just after being released, which could have catastrophic consequences. Landing on the lowered tailskid at a precise speed into the wind required a high degree of skill, especially so if there was any fuel left in the tanks. Most of the early pilots were of above average skill, which would have been an untenable situation in the long run, as experienced pilots were becoming increasingly scarce.
The first Komet unit (I/JG400) became operational in late July 1944, although the Allies had become aware of the aircraft in late 1943. The Komet had a very short range, but with their climb rate could be used to protect high-value installations such as oil refineries. A textbook combat mission would involve a take-off and rapid climb to 12,000m, followed by a couple of unpowered diving attacks through bomber formations - a head-on powered attack would involve a closing speed so fast that hitting a target would have been very difficult. After each attack, the pilot would relight the engine and climb to maximum altitude before cutting the engine and starting another attack. Standard armament was a Mk 108 30mm cannon in each wing root with 60 rounds per cannon - enough for a couple of firing passes. The aircraft would then glide downwards to land at the nearest base. In reality, the Komet enjoyed very little success and losses were high. 80% of losses occurred during take-off and landing - most of those were probably during landing. Despite having several hundred Komets in service during 1945, the Germans found it difficult to engage the Allies, as the latter knew where the Komet bases were and could generally avoid them. The Germans planned to build an in-depth defence system using the Komet, but were unable to do so.
Attempts were made to improve the Komet design, with conventional undercarriage and better motors. Alternative armaments had been tried out from early in the Me 163 development phase, but these rarely came to anything.
When the Academy management sat down a few years ago to consider proposals for new kits, this must have been an easy one to approve. The attraction of the Komet as a kit subject is obvious, even if there is relatively little scope for different versions and markings. The best 1/72 kit available was the Heller kit, followed by the Airfix kit. Both dated back to the 1970's, and neither was what one would call 'state of the art'. Probably the only real decisions in the kit design process were about including the two-seat option and the towing tractor. The inclusion of the tractor is no surprise, since it was already in the Heller kit, and Academy could hardly have offered the 'definitive' Komet kit if they omitted it.
The kit was released in 2000, and on first examination represents a huge advance over the older kits (both of which I have built) in terms of mold precision and detail. There are 53 parts molded in light grey on three main sprues (two for the aircraft and one for the tractor) and a small transparent sprue with 5 parts. The recessed panel lines are extremely fine yet well defined. Everything is well packaged, and the construction guide is quite straightforward - as it should be for a kit as simple as this. As per Academy practice, no model paint codes are included, only generic descriptions and RLM colours are included.
Decals for three subject options are supplied with the kit:
No time period or location is given for any of the subjects. All aircraft carry the 'standard' 1944 Luftflotte Reich fighter camouflage scheme of RLM 81/RLM 82 over RLM 76. The first and third subjects have the splinter camouflage on the fuselage upper surfaces and RLM 82 mottling on the fin/rudder only. The 2/JG 400 subject features mottling all over the fuselage, except for the 'belly' area. This was the subject I chose to build.
The cost of the kit is only about STG £5, or about 8.50 Euro.
There is very little to say here, partly because the kit construction process is simple, and partly because the fit is so good. The main fuselage is supplied in upper and lower sections, to accommodate the two-seater option, but there is a separate tail section with left and right halves. The only real problem I encountered during construction was early on in the cockpit assembly. The main cockpit assembly (for the single seater) consists of a 'bath' with side panels and molded foot pedals, two control sticks, a rear bulkhead with molded headrest, and a seat. This sub-assembly fits onto the lower fuselage, over a separate part for the roof of the skid housing. The instrument panel fits onto the upper fuselage. Dry-fitting showed that I had to cut away a small part of the cockpit 'bath', or else it and the instrument panel would get in each others' way, and not allow the upper and lower fuselage sections to be joined together. Note: the two-seater has a range whole range of different parts, including a different upper fuselage and cockpit bath.
The cockpit was painted almost completely Humbrol 92 (RLM 66 Schwarzgrau), as was the skid housing and tail wheel compartment. The kit comes with a choice of tail wheel units - unfaired and faired. The instructions seem to suggest that either type could be used on the subject I was building. I used the faired unit - this has a strut that is exposed if the unit is in the lowered position, but must be cut away if the kit is to represent an aircraft in flight. Similarly, part of the main skid would have to be cut away if it is to be attached in the retracted position. I was building an aircraft in the pre-flight configuration (you can't say 'wheels down' when talking about the Komet!). There is a simple dolly unit with separate wheels. According to the instructions, the skid and wheels (both main and tail) are to be painted gloss black, whereas the dolly and tires are matt black. Actually, there is probably room for some variation here. One detail missing from the skid unit is a small diagonal strut going from the forward skid leg up into the skid housing.
This detail from the box art shows clearly shows the armoured windscreen, which was required because of the one-piece canopy. The kit includes a separate part for the armoured windscreen (with instructions to paint part of the edges), but omits the bracing struts, which is no surprise in this scale. The small rectangular ventilation panel on the port side of the canopy is clearly visible here, and is shown on the kit canopy. The detail visible behind the rear cockpit glazing is not as extensive in the kit as that shown here. There is an option to attach the canopy in an open position, which was hinged to starboard.
The two types of tail wheel supplied in the kit
Each wing comes in two halves, plus a third part for the leading edge slot. There is a small bump on the underside of each slot that I removed before attaching it to the wing, although it may have been put there to ensure that the slot gets attached in the correct position! The wing to fuselage fit is excellent, but some attention is still required to ensure the wings set in the correct position, which is flat along the leading edge. The Komet has surprisingly thick wings for such a high-speed aircraft, which may have contributed to the compressibility problems that were encountered.
There are two curious but minor errors relating to the elevons - remember, with no tail planes, these control surfaces had to do the work of ailerons and elevators. The kit is missing the elevon hinge. Also, the elevon tab extends out to the end of the wing in the kit, but it should stop a few inches short. Both of these faults were easily corrected in a couple of minutes. What is curious about them is that not only are they correctly illustrated on the cover box art (see the above detail), but that the older Heller kit was correct on both counts! The port wing pitot tube is correct in the kit, but in this case it's the artwork that is slightly misleading in showing the shape and thickness of the tube. It is correct in showing that only the tip of the tube is painted silver, whereas the instructions say the entire tube should be painted in this way. For authenticity, the pitot tube should droop a few degrees - while the Komet was on the ground anyway.
© Kevin Ronayne 2005
The only other parts are the fuselage radio mast (minus the whip aerial, which is a DIY item) and the generator propeller on the tip of the nose. I have a detailed diagram of the Komet that shows a vertical aerial under the port wing. This is not in the kit, and anyway it would probably not have been extended while the aircraft was on the ground. The Heller kit includes optional protruding cannon barrels, which this kit does not have. However, my understanding is that these were only seen on very early aircraft fitted with 20 mm cannon (and the Heller kit does include a B-0 subject option), so the Academy kit is correct to not include them given the subjects that are included in the package.
The towing tractor, or Scheuchschlepper is practically a kit in itself, with 18 parts. It was relatively easy to build, although some of the parts in the towing unit did not go together quite as easily as I would have expected. The suspension units on the tractor were also a difficult fit.
Having recently built a Heller Bf 109 K-4, I knew what colours I wanted to use on the Me 163. For RLM 81 Braunviolett, I used Hu 155 Olive Drab, and for RLM 82 Mittelgrun, I used Hu 105 Marine Green. The undersides and fin/rudder were painted Hu 175 (discontinued), which is a match for RLM 76 Lichtgrau.
Of course, if I was being realistic, then I should have varied the shades somewhat, particularly those for RLM 81 and RLM 82. In the latter stages of the war, it was very common for a single aircraft to have different shades and hues of a given RLM standard on different parts of the airframe. The differences between two aircraft, especially different types of aircraft, might be greater still. Maybe I'll do this next time, or maybe not, as I would like to have a reasonably consistent finish for what is becoming a late-war 'Defence of the Reich' themed series of kits.
For the towing tractor, a choice of colours is given: the first is Panzer Gray (Panzer Grau), which is RAL 7021 and has an official description of Schwarzgrau. The second is Dark Yellow (Dunkelgelb), which would be RAL 7028. There were at least two main variants of Dunkelgelb, and of the second variant (Dunkelgelb nach Muster) one web reference says: "Many shades and variations of this colour existed". That's just what I wanted to hear! For Panzergrau, Hu 67 is the best match. For Dunkelgelb, Humbrol offers two shades: Hu 94 Sand yellow for the 'basic' shade, and Hu 83 Ochre for the Dunkelgelb nach Muster variation. The latter shade is darker and has a green tint, and this was the colour that I used.
The decals sheet is extensive, although lacking swastikas. I chose the smallest possible size from my aftermarket sheet (black with white edges), but on reflection I should have probably used the second smallest size available. I dutifully used all of the fuel point markings, even though some sources suggest I should omit some of them. The decals are slightly out of register, which is a problem that Academy seems to be gradually getting to grips with over the last couple years. Decal adhesion is also a problem, even using decal setting solutions. I ended up coating almost the entire model with Humbrol MattCote, which slightly darkened the finish of the paint, but gave a uniform finish over the characteristically glossy decals.
The kit is reputed to be very accurate, and both the aircraft and the tractor are said to be better than the Heller equivalents, which have some noticeable shortcomings in this respect. The Academy tractor is reputedly still not quite correct in dimensional terms. However, that would hardly be surprising given that there are no surviving examples or proper plans, and very few photographs, some of which came to light only after this kit was released. I am not going to go into any great detail about accuracy issues, apart from those that I have already mentioned in the building notes. The main Komet web site (URL at the end of the review) includes at least one review that focuses very, very closely on accuracy and detail.
A great little kit, with no appreciable flaws apart from slightly substandard decals. The likes of Hasegawa and even Revell Germany would probably find it very difficult to produce a tooling of their own, since most of the pent-up demand for a modern Komet kit will have been met by this particular kit. As a result, this will probably remain the only mainstream kit of the Komet worth buying for many years to come.
© Kevin Ronayne 2005
My starting point for information was (as usual) my two standard Luftwaffe reference works:
The Warplanes book has an excellent entry for the Me 163, with a lot of interesting information on the development history, and on the various problems encountered in service.
For the ultimate Komet reference, there is only one place to go, and that is the Me 163B Komet web site, run by Rob de Bie. This is one of the most comprehensive sites I have ever seen devoted to a single aircraft type. If you cannot find what you are looking for on this site, then you will not find it anywhere else - not on the web anyway! There is a huge amount of historical and technical information, hundreds of photographs, loads of links, and a full list of all known kits and accessories in all scales, some with reviews. On the main page for this kit, click on the first completed model picture for a really detailed review by the site owner. While I like the Komet, I would not be too concerned about absolute accuracy - each to his own!
There is yet more to this remarkable web site: while building the kit, I wondered if anyone had ever created a flyable model of the Komet for use in a combat flight sim package, such as Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator (CFS), or Il-2 Sturmovik. Well, this site has information about Komet models for various versions of CFS, and links to sites where you can download same. At the time of writing, I had yet to try out the CFS model - I only have CFS v.1, and anyway the site hosting the CFS v.2 model was not available.
Information on German vehicle colours is widely available. One good place to look is the Military Miniatures website. The Gallery section includes a section on painting, with model colour conversion tables for RAL colours among other things.
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