SkyPainter303's Revell 1/72 Messerschmitt Me 410 A-2/U-4

[SkyPainter303]

I just happened across this Non ISM SIG today. Because I am a huge fan of 1/72 scale aircraft, I had to join this build.

I bought this vintage Revell kit on eBay last year. It seems like a good time to start it. The sprues and pieces were loose in the box. Luckily, I've only lost one, tiny axle pin for the main gear. This part isn't necessary as it was meant to be one of the working features of the kit. The decals are yellowed as one would expect them to be. I am using the sunny window method to bleach them out.

Here are is the simple sprue shots showing the box contents.


P1040948 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr


P1040949 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr


P1040950 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr


P1040951 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr


P1040947 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

[SkyPainter303]

The Me 410 was a development on the Me 210. Here is a page from the Squadron Signal In Action book about the Me 410


Squadron Signal - Aviation - In Action - 1147 - Messerschmitt Me 210-410 p29 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

[Quax]

Interesting kit Skypainter and its great to have you aboard!

cheers

Paul

[Tomcat64]

Thanks for dropping in!

Like Quax says it's nice to see something unusual too - looking forward to following you bringing it together.

[DrSprue]

Oh wow this looks like fun. count me in Skypainter..

hmmm the sunny window method? Got a lot of old kits myself! This sounds very interesting!

[SkyPainter303]

When you tape old, yellowed decals in a south facing window, the sun will bleach them white again. Then I'll spray a gloss coat on them.

[SkyPainter303]

From what I can tell from Scalemates.com, this is an old FROG kit.

[DrSprue]

When you tape old, yellowed decals in a south facing window, the sun will bleach them white again. Then I'll spray a gloss coat on them.

From what I can tell from Scalemates.com, this is an old FROG kit.

Cool bud, I will try that, one of my kits at the moment could use that decal bleach too.

Yea, I see your 410 is from about 1983, but wow, that old frog kit goes back to 66!

[SkyPainter303]

The first step in the instructions involves the cockpit and pilots. Calling it a cockpit sure is a stretch. There is no real cockpit; you get two seats and a floor. The walls of the inside of the fuselage are blank and have noticeable ejection pin marks.



For some reason, I grabbed some Model Master Acrylic primer off my paint rack and primed the pilots and cockpit. This stuff is horrible.


P1040952 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



I painted the figures with Vallejo Model Color more or less using the call outs in the instructions. These two guys are really sad looking without much definition or detail.


P1040953 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



I painted the inside RLM 02. I am not 100% sure this is correct, but other kits of Luftwaffe subjects during this time period suggest this color. The Revell instructions only list Revell brand colors.


P1040955 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



The movable defensive guns were installed.


P1040957 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



Finally, I got the two fuselage halves together. There is going to be some seam and gap filling along with some fingerprint removal.


P1040958 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

[TommyKillander]

Wow!

This is a really interesting kit and an unusual object.

Good luck with the build!


Tommy

[SkyPainter303]

This kit is coming along ok as long as I keep my fingers out of the glue. In addition to seams, I am also cleaning up fingerprints.

One of the lower wing halves was short shot of plastic. What a bummer. Notice the squared off end.


P1040959 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



I cleaned up the fuselage seam using my new favorite putty: Bondo spot and glazing putty. It is easily sandable and doesn't shrink. I also glued the wings together and attached them to the fuselage. The wing fit isn't too bad. There are some small gaps that I'll need to fill on the bottom.


P1040961 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



The putty worked great fixing my missing wing plastic.


P1040963 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr




I glued on the rudder and the horizontal stabilizers. The kit has working elevators in addition to working ailerons.


P1040964 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr


P1040965 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

[SkyPainter303]

I didn't do much work on this one today, because I have a Revell Bronco on the bench too.

I did get the elevators glued on. I opted to not have movable surfaces.


P1040968 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



Next up is the engine nacelles. The kit is designed to capture the landing struts between the nacelle halves. I'll need to hand paint the gear later. I was also supposed to capture the propellers so they can spin, but instead I cut off the flanges, so I can add the props later. I also glued the wheels together. Once again, these are designed to roll, but since I lost one the pins that holds the wheel on, I'll glue them rigid too.


P1040967 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

[SkyPainter303]

This simple old kit has a few inaccuracies, including the chin scoops under the engine nacelles. They are molding as a rounded lump. To make them look a little more realistic, I decided to open them up. I started by drilling a hole at each corner of the opening using a bit in my pin vise. I then used a diamond bit in my rotary tool, finally cleaning up the opening with a needle file.

I went a little astray on my second attempt, gouging a corner. I slapped on some JB Weld to fill the hole. If I have tomorrow, I'll sculpt it to shape.


P1040969 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr


P1040970 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

[Tomcat64]

Nice progress; the cockpit and figures might be a bit basic but I always think at this scale it's more a case of giving the impression of a crewed up vehicle than an accurate representation in some cases. Especially with those glass-house canopies.

[SkyPainter303]

I rebuilt the intake opening in the engine nacelle. I feel it is reasonably acceptable.


P1040971 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



I attached the nacelles to the wings. They then needed some filler on some gaps to blend them into the wing.


P1040972 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



Most of the photos of the Me 410 I've seen, show the main landing gear doors in the close position while on the ground. Fitting the these parts was quite poor and required much filler to make these look right.


P1040973 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr


That is it for this update and should be well onto finishing this build soon.

[Tomcat64]

Very nice work with the filler around those nacelles.

[SkyPainter303]

I installed the anti aircraft cannon and cannon bay cover. The cover also fit poorly and needed some blending with putty. As you'll see later, all of this putty makes for a nasty finish.


P1040993 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



I also masked and installed the canopy. I later remembered to mask the windows in the nose before priming.


P1040995 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



Getting ready for paint, I primed with gray Stynylrez.


P1040996 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



Not noticeable in this photo is the lumpy mess that is the underside of the model. The perfectionist in me is having to fight the urge to sand and patch even more; or even trash the whole thing.


P1040997 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

[Quax]

dont trash it Skypainter you've done so well with it so far! Give it a bash with the sander and reprime, I'm sure it'll be great!

Paul

[SkyPainter303]

Grrrr! I starting painting the 410 tonight, but I discovered that my Model Master acrylic RLM76 has been contaminated with metal flakes. Gotta go get some more tomorrow.

[pourquoi61]

A lot of effort put into this build.
It will look great once done.