ME-262 Admiral vs 21st ?

Fritzkrieg · Post by **Fritzkrieg** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 11:59 am

I've been filling gaps in my collection, I really want a ME-262, but, I wanted a more common version, so I passed on the nightfighter. How does the Admiral's 262 measure up against 21st's 262?

MG-42 · Post by **MG-42** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:30 pm

[+] > Well for value , I'd say the AT because both versions have been clearanced and alot easier to get , but for detail & high-end collectability purposes , I'd get the 21st. model.

.......... either toy maker makes a decent example of the fighter. It's totally up to you.

- Mitch v MG :p51:

dogbongo · Post by **dogbongo** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:34 pm

Hard to beat the paint scheme on the 21st.

My 21st 262 came with fit & finish flaws - partially-glued engine, gaps where the nightfighter's cockpit would be. Up close, not one of my better 1/18 planes. The weighted nose is a good idea, but too heavy.

If you're the type that takes them out of the box, the 21st requires some tricky assembly with the wings & main gear. The paint thickness keeps gear doors & wing flaps from working exactly right. Then again, I might've just gotten a bad apple.
The 21st pilot is better than the Admiral version (some would say that's an understatement). Both cockpits are good, with 21st you get a little more detail & fabric seat belts (which look great). Admiral's has nice, recessed gauges.

The White 7 is my favorite of the two AT versions. It doesn't photograph well but looks good in person. Compared to a bbi paint/print job, it's pretty bland, but I was pleasantly surprised when I got it out of the box, very easy to build. AT's flat packing system is friendly - no twisty-ties!. The boxes are easier to store, even if you can't see in. The plane's sculpt & build quality are very good. The 21st 262 has a slightly beefy look, with more detail and better panel lines. The AT seems a little sleeker, with a more streamlined empennage & canopy. The antenna array on the AT is very nice, much better than 21st's, but panel lines are too pronounced in some places.

Another thing, at least at the moment, is that the 21st Me-262's are getting expensive, while you can get one of the Admirals for under $35 (check Historic Aviation).

then again, I could be...

popeye357 · Post by **popeye357** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 2:27 pm

Get all of them!!

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 9:53 pm

I have both the AT "White 8" ME-262 and the 21c "Yellow 7" ME-262. Both are good in their own ways; both have drawbacks.

The AT plane is well detailed - on par with the "mid generation" 21c planes such as the FW-190Ds and P-47s. Its cockpit detail is good, and it has the opening gun bays and working control surfaces, plus the retractable gear. The interior of the wheel wells is not accurate. As mentioned, some of the panel lines are too deep. The AT plane does have a neat wire antenna and nicely opening canopy. The paint work also tends to be good. It also assembles easily, having just the fuselage section, the wing section, which attach with just two screws. The plane is sturdy, and there are few if any QC issues on mine. The pilot figure is horrendous, though, and you are best using a 21c pilot with the plane.

The 21c ME-262 has the greater part of the detail. The paintscheme, if it can be found flawless, is really nice. Almost spot on with the ME-262 at the Smithsonian. The plane has a super detailed cockpit (down to the label plates), seat straps, and an opening gun bay with highly detailed guns. The wheel well interiors are detailed correctly, and even the engine nacelles look good. It has all the correct antennas and the pitot tube. Also, the 21c ME-262 comes with optional bombs, droptanks, and even JATO rocket tubes. The figure is not too bad either, a little tall, but well detailed and with articulation.

The downside with the 21c plane is that is very complicated to assemble and had lots of little parts that tend to break easily, such as the landing gear doors and the cockpit canopy. Also, the plane has an awful-looking seam behind the cockpit, where a piece was fitted to cover the rear seat and rear canopy hinges found on the 21c ME-262B nightfighter. 21c used the same mould for both planes. It was a slick production trick, but the seam is pretty noticable on the ME-262A, and an example of poor workmanship on the part of 21c. There are also other problems with misaligned parts, especially on the wings and engines. Again, there are lots of little parts that can easily break. I've gone through three 21c ME-262s to get a good example - and only one AT ME-262.

Both models look good and are accurate. If you want a museum-quality piece, go with the 21c plane, but beware of the QC issues. It is also the most expensive. If you want something that looks good, sells for a decent price, and will hold up over time, go with the AT plane.

Hope all that helps

NWarty · Post by **NWarty** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 11:20 pm

Tman,
Maybe I've been fortunate, but my 21C 262's paint is perfect. The seem is hardly noticable, and you're right, the pilot is tall.

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 11:58 pm

NWarty wrote:Tman,
Maybe I've been fortunate, but my 21C 262's paint is perfect. The seem is hardly noticable

I would say that you were

My current ME-262 is fine to me - and it only took three tries! The paintscheme is good, the little doors, etc. seems to be working fine. The fuselage seam is there and noticable, but not nearly as bad as some other examples I saw in person.

In fact, on my current ME-262, the piece covering the rear of the fuselage was actually loose when I took the plane out of the box. It pulled off easily to reveal what is the radar operator's seat on the ME-262B

Even some of the painted controls were there as well. It would not surprise me if most of the "Yellow 7" ME-262s have that feature hidden away in them. I removed the extra seat as it made excellent custom fodder and glued down the fuselage cover

ExC17load · Post by **ExC17load** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 1:44 am

I have all of them and I can say that the Admiral ones are prettier to look at and easier to put together. I would also say that their quality is better. But as far as the paint job goes, the 21C "Yellow 7" wins hands down. But the quality wasnt there as mine had glue problems, which I had to fix.

With that being said, the Nightfighter version wins the "Cool" category.

I would recommend any of them AND all of them!

Panther F · Post by **Panther F** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 5:32 am

After looking at several actual WWII pictures of the 262, I went with the White #7. Of course that was before the Nightfighter came out.

digger · Post by **digger** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 6:32 am

The 21C 262 is the only AC I really posted pics and comments on, and I was very impressed with it:

digger wrote:
Do the cannon line up with the ports?
They do! I finally had a chance to put mine together and though I am not the biggest AC fan, out of the 20 or so I have this one is the most like a model. 21C really called our bluff on this one - we wanted gunbays, details, pro paint work and we got it. But at what price? This plane costs more and took a while but imo it is worth it. If you claim you want more detail you better be ready to put your money where you mouth is....

Googly had some good comparison shots but here are some more photos.
There are as many wire ties on the fuselage as there are on the pilot - 2!

Here you can see the guns do line up:

The flying surfaces have crazy range of motion, and there are 6 moving parts to each wing!

The tail too has great range:

As said, the cockpit is highly detailed:

A bit of dihedral:

weathering:

Nosegear looks correct in length but just beefed up so not to break. Also the nose has great shape - looks spot on. Here is the actual #7 vs. 21C:

This is the actual #7 kill marks vs. the 21C:

Chubby tires and great paint work on the interior surface:

Inspection and showing off:

This thing is very front heavy which is great for gear down display. The cons? The pilot is nice, but still not to bbi standards. Also, you need a tiny screw driver (glasses type) to put this thing together. It is more model than toy.

hworth18 · Post by **hworth18** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:18 pm

All this talk about Me-262's prompted me to get my NF out and assmble it. Man, this thing is great!! Probably the finest A/C produced my 21st Century in terms of fit and finish, although assembly was a task.

I had read earlier about some members breaking off gear doors and such and I can offer some advice regarding that. Before assembling mine, I worked each part to make sure it would function properly when assembled. I only found one tailplane that has been painted together and that was easily fixed with a sharp exacto knife.

Panther F · Post by **Panther F** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:32 pm

Those pictures look much better than the stock photos they used on the websites. If I had to do it all over again I'd get one of those now that I see what the colors really look like.

Fritzkrieg · Post by **Fritzkrieg** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 3:48 pm

Thanks, for the intel.

Can someone post a link for Historic Aviation, listing. I couldn't locate an admiral on their website.

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 2:46 pm

Fritzkrieg wrote:Thanks, for the intel.

Can someone post a link for Historic Aviation, listing. I couldn't locate an admiral on their website.

Here you go - you may need to copy and paste into your browser.

http://www.historicaviation.com/product ... 20Aircraft

olifant · Post by **olifant** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 4:05 pm

To echo Tman, the Admiral figure is absolutely horrendous. Being a figure guy you will probably want to cry. Jason has mentioned that they hated doing the figure and would rather have bought and included 21C figures instead!

Don't let this turn you off though, the AT 262 is a beauty, especially the S2 IMHO.

skypirate · Post by **skypirate** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:12 pm

I can remember back when the 21c 1/18 scale planes first came out, outlandishly dreaming of a 262 in the scale and thinking it would never happen. I'm grateful to have both of Admiral's 262s. Timing and finances were never right for me to purchase the 21c 262. I remember seeing the announcement for their release and then waiting and waiting. Then out of nowhere, there was the Admiral Toys 262 and they were in town!

olifant wrote:To echo Tman, the Admiral figure is absolutely horrendous. Being a figure guy you will probably want to cry. Jason has mentioned that they hated doing the figure and would rather have bought and included 21C figures instead!

Don't let this turn you off though, the AT 262 is a beauty, especially the S2 IMHO.

This a repeat for me, but I would concentrate on the vehicles and contract the figures out to Jakks Pacific. Their WWE are about 1/18, have superior detail and articulation better than anything currently availabe in that scale.

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 6:59 pm

Cripes, I ordered a White 7 this past Sunday, on sale at Historic Aviation, and today I received an email that it's on back order! Makes me wonder if I'll ever see it.

Fritzkrieg · Post by **Fritzkrieg** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:25 pm

I think, I'll try to get AT's White 8 1st. I have the FOV version, and really like the markings and camo on that jet.

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 2:37 pm

Looks like 3000 Toys has the 21C Yellow 7 available again.

MCalamari · Post by **MCalamari** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 1:17 pm

I too like the Admiral Toys 262s. At first I wasn't hot on White 8, but after having had it sit on display alone and later with White 7 (Admiral) and Yellow 8 (21c), I've really come to like its paint scheme.

As others have said, the Admiral 262s are so easy to put together and repack them when you're done. The 21c takes much longer.

I have a 21c Nightfighter, but I've not yet assembled it.

mountian-man · Post by **mountian-man** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:00 pm

I've posted this before without response, but I'll give it another shot...

Has anyone noticed the discrepancy between the dihedral of the wings on the 21st Century vs. the Admiral Me-262?

Admiral's 262 seems to have a much greater incidence of dihedral. Which one is more appropriate to scale?

Jason of Admiral Toys · Post by **Jason of Admiral Toys** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:11 am

Admiral Toys

immeww2 · Post by **immeww2** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 8:41 am

Can't argue with Jason.

Grilledcheese · Post by **Grilledcheese** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:15 am

Never argue with a lawyer.

Jeffrey

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:10 am

Having observed four ME-262s up close in several museums around the world, I would agree with Jason on this one

Small Scale Military Headquarters

ME-262 Admiral vs 21st ?

ME-262 Admiral vs 21st ?

[+] > Me-262A ?

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