Me 262 S1 'V1 + AF' (Revell Me 262 A-1 in 1:72nd scale)

Me 262 S1 W.Nr. 130006 VI+AF Red 1 and, below, seen in flight. The early Me 262 S series aircraft were used as conversion trainers for pilots from III./ZG 26 who were to become Erprobungskommando 262 under Hauptmann Werner Thierfelder. These Me 262s had an overall coat of RLM 76 light blue and a red nose number.

 

Two  more views of the first series production Me 262 coded V1+AF, the S1 (WNr. 130006), which first flew during April 1944 and is seen (above) during June 1944 after a landing incident which resulted in a collapsed gear leg.  Early production examples of the Me 262 A-1a can be distinguished by the torque scissor link mounted on the nose wheel gear leg while the rear navigation light on the lower rudder was protected by a clear cover which could be easily smashed during a heavy landing and was soon replaced with a smaller position light mounted on the rudder.

Note both details feature on this 1:72nd scale model built from the Revell kit. Finish is overall Hellblau/grau RLM 76. I have smash-molded a new three-part canopy to replace the kit canopy which fits badly and is far from transparent. I use hypo-glue for aerials in 72nd scale so all but invisible in these pics. For the moment, no upper wing crosses - I don't have a copy of the Classic Me 262 tome in which this aircraft presumably features (Volume 1) so would appreciate any evidence that this machine carried Balkenkreuze on the upper wing surfaces and in particular what form they took.

Another early production Me262 A-1a  ( S3 ) coded V1+AH  (WNr-130008) belly-landed during June 1944