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In-Box Review
172
Messerschmitt Me T Leitwerk

by: Peter Allen [ FLITZER ]

BACKGROUND
Even though the war’s end was very close, the Messerschmitt design office continued working on new concepts. One such project was a pair of Zerstorer’s, Pl and Pll. The latter was known as the T Leitwerk because of its tail configuration. Only some documentation survived, being retrieved by US Army Intelligence. The rest was destroyed by looters when the Messerschmitt Oberammergau complex was abandoned.
The design was for a high mounted sleek swept wing layout featuring a swept T-tail.
It was to be powered by a single jet engine mounted in the rear fuselage fed by two intakes placed immediately behind and under the trailing edge wing roots.
An unusual feature was the merging of the wing leading edge into the canopy. Opera windows anyone?

 

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THE KIT
Very nice coloured illustration new box-art style as for Planet issues recently introduced. Overall looks good and up to a high standard for the resin kit market. The main fuselage piece is solid, so some drilling out and weighting is necessary to avoid tail sitting. Hollowing out the wing mounting centre on the fuselage top and drilling out at the rear looks straight forward enough. Have indicated areas on pic. The kit comes with all three undercarriage legs in white metal that look good.
A pair of Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-4 missiles are included.

RESIN PARTS
41 parts. Smooth buff resin throughout. Detail on bigger parts very good and need some clean-up.
Some clean up is also necessary for some smaller parts.


CLEAR PARTS
1 vacuform canopy only, so be careful. Average clarity and detail.

DECALS
For 1 aircraft. Although the sheet includes swastikas, the decals are only minimal and of average quality.

INSTRUCTIONS
Not as extensive as many, but an improvement on Planet instructions of old.
Now the single sheet has detailed assembly steps quite well illustrated but they are small.
Also included is a decent camouflage painting guide on the reverse. All black and white.

NOTE
Error: On instructions it states it is a 1/48th scale.

 

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CONCLUSIONS
Not cheap, but not a bad price for a limited-run resin kit of its type.
Overall will make a very nice model of a very attractive aircraft.
Mainly for modellers with some experience of resin kits. Although with the help available on Armorama, could be tackled by a relative beginner with care and patience.
SUMMARY
  RESIN PARTS:70%
  CLEAR PARTS:50%
  DECALS:40%
Percentage Rating
70%
  Scale: 1:72
  Mfg. ID: 110
  Suggested Retail: GBP 23.90
  PUBLISHED: Feb 22, 2004
  NATIONALITY: United States
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 72.42%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 82.13%

About Peter Allen (flitzer)
FROM: ENGLAND - NORTH WEST, UNITED KINGDOM

Greetings to all. My real name is Peter Allen and I have recently returned to UK from working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a creative director in an advertising agency. My home town is Wigan in the north of England. I’m married to Emily, a Polish lass who tolerates my modelling well. I’ve wor...

Copyright ©2021 text by Peter Allen [ FLITZER ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AeroScale. All rights reserved.


   
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