Me 163 kits and accessories

Jimmy Währens' Me 163D model

Jimmy Währens from Denmark built a 1/72 Me 163D using the Academy Me 163B model. Only a single photograph appears to exist of this aircraft (pre-series aircraft V18). German Rocket Planes by Manfred Griehl seems to contain the best reproduction of this photo (page 39), the one in Jeffrey Ethell's book (page 100) is less good. The AJ Press book has a good print too (page 19), but I think it is retouched, since it has a rear-view window, which does not agree with the next piece of research. Die deutschen Raketenflugzeuge 1935-1945 has probably the most information on the Me 163D, some 1.5 pages (pages 174-175).

This single photo does not help much in determining the exact airframe details. It was still rather unclear what an Me 163D exactly looked like. But then an interesting Messerschmitt drawing (No 8-163.4900-Z01) was found in the Deutsches Museum archives. It shows a standard Me 163B fuselage fitted with cylindrical plugs to create a longer fuselage. Jimmy decided to build a model based on this drawing.

The first step is seen below. The fuselage was cut in three parts, and two plugs of white plastic were fitted. Note that the cuts are not easily performed: on the middle section the wing root fairing has to be conserved, and on the tail end section the remains of the wing root have to be removed. On the lower side of the fuselage, the complete skid and tail wheel fairing had to be removed too. Lastly, the rudder was cut off.

An upper view after lots of puttying and sanding. Note how the spine was restored on the rear plug. The wings were detailed (elevons removed, panel lines filled) and added to the fuselage.

This lower view shows even more filling and sanding. Also shown is the new main landing gear. Note the wheel wells in the fuselage, the scratch built legs, and the wheels made from the Heller Scheuch-Schlepper.

A view in the highly detailed cockpit.

In March 2003 the next batch of photos arrived, showing the end result. And what a result! Although it has a rather strange shape, it is beautiful model. Jimmy reports that when he holds the model up against the single existing photo in a correct angle, all proportions line up beautifully, so the Messerschmitt drawing must indeed be of this plane. Jimmy even added the camera mounted on a tripod, that can be seen in the real photo, a very nice touch.

The model was painted RLM76 using Polly S paint. The Stammkennzeichen VA+SP was made by Jimmy and a friend some years ago. They scanned the letters from a book and got them typeset on film. Jimmy's friend screen-printed them on a kind of decal paper. They have no carrier film and conform completely to the curves of the model. The swastikas are from Microscale and the stencils are from Academy's Me 163 decal set.

The lower side shows the external stringers that are (again) visible in the photo of the real Me 163D. The weathering seems appropriate for the conditions in which Komets were used.

I think this model solves a substantial part of the mystery of the Me 163D. The Messerschmitt drawing and the good agreement between the model and the photo are proof of this. Thanks Jimmy!