Tally Ho! 1/48 Me 262 Schwalbe Decals By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Another interesting quartet of aircraft from Tally Ho!, this time detailing the Me 262. This sheet provides four very interesting aircraft and any will be a great option for the new Tamiya kit. The first option is the Me 262 S12 prototype, WNr 130017, originally coded VI+AQ. The option on this sheet shows this plane as it flew with Erprobungskommando 262, coded White 4. This plane was the mount of Lt. Alfred Schreiber, who made the first jet kill in history, downing a Mosquito on July 26, 1944. This plane is camouflaged in RLM 74/75 over 76.

The second option is Major Walter Nowotny's personal aircraft, White 8, WNr 110400, from Kommando Nowotny in November 1944. This plane is camouflaged in RLM 81/82 over RLM 76 and featured yellow cowlings in addition to the yellow fuselage band. This aircraft is the one that Nowotny lost his life in.

The third option will be a challenge for the airbrush, as it features a lot of wavy RLM 76 squiggles over the base of RLM 82/83. Coded 9K+HN, this plane (WNr 110571) was the plane of Fw. Witzmann of 5./KG(J) 51. A small Edelweiss emblem is under the windscreen, and only the red H in the fuselage code is large.

The final option on this sheet leaves the Luftwaffe and moves slightly eastward, this one being an Avia S-92. This Czech example is finished in overall RLM 02, according to the instructions, and is coded V-36. It is one of five reconstructed Me 262s that operated with the Czechoslovak Air Force between 1946 and 1951 and it features a Mickey Mouse emblem on the fuselage. In addition to the standard roundels and markings, this sheet includes a full set of Czech stenciling, a very nice touch.

The decals are nicely printed and crisp, with no bleed, even on the small stenciling. Each option includes full national markings, including split swastikas for the German aircraft. In addition to the Czech stenciling mentioned above, there is also a complete set of German stenciling. This is a great sheet with some great options, any of which will look nice on your Tamiya Me 262.