Me 163 kits and accessories

Some collected opinions about the Testors Me 163B from the newsgroup rec.models.scale:

• This kit has been around over 30 years

• The current Testors issue is cheap at 6$; the Dragon/DML kit is about 5 times as expensive

• It's not too bad for accuracy, the fit's not bad, but it lacks finesse compared to the DML kit

• The fuselage is quite accurate in shape, apart from the turtledeck, which has the wrong cross-section. Panel lines on the fuselage are recessed

• The wing has some big problems. The planform is wrong because it does not taper enough; tip chord is some 20 to 30 percent to large. This makes the wings look massive, also described as 'more like a couple of barn doors stuck on the side of the fuselage'. A problem with the location of the leading edge slots was also mentioned. Panel lines on the wing are raised

• Cockpit detail is just about nil

• The original Hawk issue had a piece of orange translucent plastic to simulate the rocket exhaust. This is not included in the Testors issue

Modeling Madness has reviews of this kit by Grenville Davies and Olivier Lacombe. Both Lukasz Kedzierski and Brian Geiger have building reports on their sites. The Modeller's Home has an extensive construction report, including a scratch built interior. Cybermodeler has an extensive build report by Stephen Sutton.

The Testors version of the Hawk Komet has had several types of boxes. Starting with the earliest version, this box appears to be a transitional Testors boxing of the Hawk kit. It is similar to the original boxing except for the blue part on the right side, which now shows both 'Testors' and 'Hawk' names. Note the number 625

This is possibly a 1998 reissue. Most likely it has catalog number 7625.

The HSO (Hobby Shop Only) boxing of the Testors kit

Lastly, a view of the kit's contents.

All photos found on Ebay

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