If you have read my review of the 1/48 scale detail set from Master Model for the Messerschmitt 163, this is going to seem eerily familiar, but as Halloween is approaching, eerie is not a bad thing. The topic for this review is a new set designed to upgrade your 1/72 scale Komet, and is the same as the company’s offering in 1/48. As with my review of that set, there is no recommended kit to use these new parts on, so I chose an Academy Me-163B/S release that was sitting in my stash. As with any of the other Master Model releases that I have come in contact with, these parts will greatly improve the look of your small-scale Komet.

I have held a long fascination with some of the late-war production aircraft that Germany put to use. This is mostly due to the engineering effort that went into weapons like the Me-163 Komet, which was designed by Dr. Alexander Lippisch. The Komet, also known as the “floh” (flea), was the only production rocket-propelled German aircraft during World War II, and could reach speeds of 596mph. Over three hundred Messerschmitt 163’s were built, but they were only marginally successful in battle (depending on the source, there were between nine and sixteen victories for the loss of ten Komets). The “B” variant, which this detail set is for, was powered by a Walter HWK 109-509 motor.

This new release from the Air Master line of Master Model detail sets comes with three pieces of brass – two MG 151 20mm gun barrels and a pitot tube. The Academy kit comes with a pitot tube that will be enhanced with a brass replacement, but there are no gun barrels in the kit, as it represents either the B-1 or S (trainer) variants, which I will cover in a moment. As with the previous Master Model items that I have reviewed, they are very impressive, and the addition of these items will make a 1/72 scale Me-163B an even more impressive show piece. The brass item detail is very crisp, and the only real challenge will be to set the machine gun barrels at the proper depth. Directions are on a single sheet of folded paper, and they are easy to follow. A notice is provided in the directions stating that the two gun barrels are only used if building the Me-163 B-0 variant, as it had extending 20mm guns, while the B-1A variant housed 30mm guns that did not extend past the edge of the wings.

For my hits of this detail set, I again will mention that the parts show great detail for this scale, and that they are a nice upgrade from the plastic pitot tube provided in the kit, while the gun barrels can be used to represent a B-0 variant. With minimal parts and good directions on drill bit sizes and locations, this is an easy upgrade for less experienced modelers to go after, and it will not take much time at all.

I had no misses for this detail set; just follow the directions and you will end up with improved guns and a great looking pitot tube for your Me-163.

Overall, I would highly recommend this detail set to anyone wanting to improve their 1/72 scale Messerschmitt 163 Komet. The only challenge that I could see in using this detail set would be the sharp end of the pitot tube, but this will likely take more force to damage than a kit-supplied plastic one. If you start with the Academy kit, the Master Model items will simply replace the pitot tube, but you will need to drill the holes to add the 20mm gun barrels.

I would like to thank the folks at Master Model for providing this set to the IPMS-USA for review, to Steve Collins, who runs the review corps, for selecting me to assess this detail set, and to you for taking the time to read my comments.