Here is a modeling book that will be of interest to many out there. The Me-262 has been a favorite of modelers almost since the birth of injected plastic kits. I can recall some of the earlier kits from Airfix and Frog that were a lot of fun to build and though not nearly as accurate as those today, gave a lot of pleasure to this youngster (at the time). The aircraft has since been kitted in scales ranging from 1/700 to 1/18. What is available today in the major scales are kits that will please both the casual modeler and those who are a bit more into the hobby.

In line with other 'Modeling the' books from Osprey, this one falls into familiar ground with a short historical background, a survey of currently available kits and accessories for the various scales.

Then there are the articles, which is, after all, why folks buy these books. The majority of these articles involve the use of aftermarket bits to varying degrees and are all well illustrated with a nice balance between in-work images and those of the completed models.

So here we go with the listing of articles and assigned difficulty levels:

Revell 1/72 Me-262A - advanced
Tamiya 1/48 Me-262A - intermediate
Tamiya 1/48 Me-262A - advanced
Tamiya 1/48 Me-262A recce bird - master
Dragon 1/48 Me-262B - master
Hasegawa 1/32 Me-262A - advanced

This is followed by a list of references and a paint chart.

I'm sure that had the Trumpeter 1/32 Me-262 been available when this book was finalized that it would have been included or in place of the Hasegawa kit.

Overall, a very nice addition to the series and one that I'm sure you'll be able to glean something from in terms of techniques or available aftermarket.

May 2006

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