ChuckD

Just FYI, they are compatible with Tamiya paints and thinners. I occasionally thin my MRP with Mr Color Leveling Thinner and it works great.

Hi, everyone.  If you've followed my ridiculously slow "Messerschmitts of North Africa" WIP thread, you already know that my Bf-109 was getting close to done.  Today, I was able to put the finishing touches on it and call it complete.  I'm happy with the way it turned out for sure.  It's not perfect, but it's probably the best 1/32 aircraft I've ever done - out of a total of like 4.  Definitely learned a lot along the way as this was my first attempt at masking and painting the inside of a canopy.  Turned out pretty well, I think.
 
This is Hasegawa kit 08881/ST31, Bf-109F-4 Trop and was finished out of the box with the exception of some HGW seatbelts.  Paints were a mix of Mr. Paint, Mr. Color, Tamiya, Vallejo, and a partridge in a pear tree.  Weathered with oils and pastels.
 
If you followed my thread at all, you'll know that I'm a bit of a numbers geek, and so I've kept a fairly detailed build log of both this and the Bf-110 I've been working on in parallel.  Here are the final statistics:
 
Started: 11/10/2017
Finished: 12/28/2017
Days on bench: 48
Total materials cost: $60.66
Planning and preparation time: 7.6 hrs
Build time: 13.35 hrs
Painting time: 11.9 hrs
Weathering time: 5.3 hrs
Number of sessions at the bench: 26
Average time per session: 1.47 hrs
Average time per day: .79 hrs
Number of favorite sweatshirts ruined: 1
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy new year, everyone.  I'm ringing in 2018 by wrapping up a build that's been on my bench since September.  If you've followed my slow build thread, "Messerschmitts of North Africa," you have followed the progress of this slow, but steady Bf-110E-2 build and, its desert companion, the Bf-109F-4.
 
This is Cyber Hobby's kit 3209 and represents a -110 of 7./ZG26 in Italy.  Yep, I know I said it was Messerschmitts of North Africa.  I was planning on doing a different paint scheme for a North African bird, but my kiddo liked the yellow cowls of the Italian theater, so I figured I'd do it up for him.  
 
All told it is a really nice kit.  The molding details are phenomenal and the fit is pretty good.  The nacelles and cowls are finicky and the instructions downright suck, but if you've done a few Dragon/CH kits, you're well accustomed to their instructional tomfoolery.  For those of you considering it, I would recommend replacement exhausts (quickboost makes some nice resin ones) and maybe an updated seatbelt set.  I used an HGW set.  Go slow, take your time, and dry fit everything.  
 
As an aside... we've all had those kits that just fought us every step of the way, right?  This one wasn't one of those.  In fact, fortune smiled upon me several times throughout the course of this build.  It was almost eerie.
 
For this and the aforementioned 109, I kept a tally of all the hours spent on this aircraft.  Here are the stats:
 
Started: 9/16/2017
Finished: 1/1/2018
Days on bench: 107
Total materials cost: $83.47
Planning and preparation time (including seam cleanup): 20.8 hrs
Build time: 26.75 hrs
Painting time: 26.26 hrs
Weathering time: 6.9 hrs
Total Time: 87.2 hrs
Number of sessions at the bench: 48
Average time per session: 1.82 hrs
Average time per day: .81 hrs
 
              Okay, this one was a bit of a hail mary.  The small clear piece that's supposed to serve as the "glass" for the engine gauges fell inside the cowling as I was trying to remove the liquid mask from it.  So, to fashion a replacement, I put a dollop of regular white PVA glue on an index card, let it dry slightly for 5 minutes, then got a blob on the end of a toothpick.  Fishing that blob into the holes, I was able to get the glue to fill them in via surface tension.  Once it dried clear, I put a little future on it to gloss it up a bit and, in a pinch, it makes a pretty decent stand-in for the missing plastic.  Perfect?  No, but a damn sight better than an empty hole.    

3 of 3
 
Thanks for following along!
     

2 of 3...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know I've already commented, but I could look at this for days.  Any chance you could post like 300-400 more pics of this thing? 

I consider myself reasonably well versed in the Liberator but this tailgun config is strange to me. Can someone she'd a little light on this setup? It was in the movie Unbroken and it bothered me there too.

Getting her ready for flight testing.
 
 
Sigh
 
 
I wish.

Not alone at all.  
I'm desperately hoping these big flying box cars materialize. I love the Liberator to bits.

I've used HGW belts on a few of my kits and have really enjoyed them.  Their look is convincing and I didn't find their construction any worse than any other PE setup.  I'll say that adding them to my Bf-110E build - and consequently having to build 3 sets of belts for one airplane - added at least a few days to my overall build time.
 

 

 
And on a Hasegawa 109F

Not alone at all.  
I'm desperately hoping these big flying box cars materialize. I love the Liberator to bits.

I've used HGW belts on a few of my kits and have really enjoyed them.  Their look is convincing and I didn't find their construction any worse than any other PE setup.  I'll say that adding them to my Bf-110E build - and consequently having to build 3 sets of belts for one airplane - added at least a few days to my overall build time.
 

 

 
And on a Hasegawa 109F

I've used HGW belts on a few of my kits and have really enjoyed them.  Their look is convincing and I didn't find their construction any worse than any other PE setup.  I'll say that adding them to my Bf-110E build - and consequently having to build 3 sets of belts for one airplane - added at least a few days to my overall build time.
 

 

 
And on a Hasegawa 109F

I've used HGW belts on a few of my kits and have really enjoyed them.  Their look is convincing and I didn't find their construction any worse than any other PE setup.  I'll say that adding them to my Bf-110E build - and consequently having to build 3 sets of belts for one airplane - added at least a few days to my overall build time.
 

 

 
And on a Hasegawa 109F

An HKM B-25 is on my short list of kits.  Following this.  Awesome work!

Craig, been quietly following this thread for a while. I'm amazed at every turn. Now you're tackling scratch figures too? All I can say is, thanks for taking the time to document and share this journey of yours. It is hugely educational, inspiring, and entertaining to see. Keep up the wonderful work.

The Tamiyas were running less than $100 in Asia awhile back, especially the Birdcage model, and I got two of the new 1Ds for $180 with a 40% off coupon from Squadron (I couldn't believe it when they included a kit that was just released, but I'm glad they did).
 
The thing is, it's the best ******* model I have ever built (tops the Meng Bradley which is the best armor kit I have ever built and won it all at MosquitoCon's armor division in Jersey two years ago). The Revell would be like paddling upriver with one oar vs. taking a motor boat: there's just no comparison. You'll get upstream, but in the meantime, someone who took the motorboat will have eaten all the food, drunk all the bourbon and dated all the women.
 
The cockpit is a minor masterpiece with NOTHING needed to enhance it other than some wiring if you're a super-detailer and Roy's OOP Barracuda cockpit stencils. Otherwise, the only other thing missing are gun barrels, though many Corsairs had white tape put over the gun ports to keep **** and salt from ruining the Browning .50 calibers. Otherwise some Master brass P-47 barrels will work nicely recessed inside the wings.
 
Life is too short to waste a moment on ****ty kits, so save your money and get the Tamiya. You'll be glad you did, or I'll buy the kit from you.

Happy new year, everyone.  I'm ringing in 2018 by wrapping up a build that's been on my bench since September.  If you've followed my slow build thread, "Messerschmitts of North Africa," you have followed the progress of this slow, but steady Bf-110E-2 build and, its desert companion, the Bf-109F-4.
 
This is Cyber Hobby's kit 3209 and represents a -110 of 7./ZG26 in Italy.  Yep, I know I said it was Messerschmitts of North Africa.  I was planning on doing a different paint scheme for a North African bird, but my kiddo liked the yellow cowls of the Italian theater, so I figured I'd do it up for him.  
 
All told it is a really nice kit.  The molding details are phenomenal and the fit is pretty good.  The nacelles and cowls are finicky and the instructions downright suck, but if you've done a few Dragon/CH kits, you're well accustomed to their instructional tomfoolery.  For those of you considering it, I would recommend replacement exhausts (quickboost makes some nice resin ones) and maybe an updated seatbelt set.  I used an HGW set.  Go slow, take your time, and dry fit everything.  
 
As an aside... we've all had those kits that just fought us every step of the way, right?  This one wasn't one of those.  In fact, fortune smiled upon me several times throughout the course of this build.  It was almost eerie.
 
For this and the aforementioned 109, I kept a tally of all the hours spent on this aircraft.  Here are the stats:
 
Started: 9/16/2017
Finished: 1/1/2018
Days on bench: 107
Total materials cost: $83.47
Planning and preparation time (including seam cleanup): 20.8 hrs
Build time: 26.75 hrs
Painting time: 26.26 hrs
Weathering time: 6.9 hrs
Total Time: 87.2 hrs
Number of sessions at the bench: 48
Average time per session: 1.82 hrs
Average time per day: .81 hrs
 
              Okay, this one was a bit of a hail mary.  The small clear piece that's supposed to serve as the "glass" for the engine gauges fell inside the cowling as I was trying to remove the liquid mask from it.  So, to fashion a replacement, I put a dollop of regular white PVA glue on an index card, let it dry slightly for 5 minutes, then got a blob on the end of a toothpick.  Fishing that blob into the holes, I was able to get the glue to fill them in via surface tension.  Once it dried clear, I put a little future on it to gloss it up a bit and, in a pinch, it makes a pretty decent stand-in for the missing plastic.  Perfect?  No, but a damn sight better than an empty hole.    

3 of 3
 
Thanks for following along!
     

2 of 3...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy new year, everyone.  I'm ringing in 2018 by wrapping up a build that's been on my bench since September.  If you've followed my slow build thread, "Messerschmitts of North Africa," you have followed the progress of this slow, but steady Bf-110E-2 build and, its desert companion, the Bf-109F-4.
 
This is Cyber Hobby's kit 3209 and represents a -110 of 7./ZG26 in Italy.  Yep, I know I said it was Messerschmitts of North Africa.  I was planning on doing a different paint scheme for a North African bird, but my kiddo liked the yellow cowls of the Italian theater, so I figured I'd do it up for him.  
 
All told it is a really nice kit.  The molding details are phenomenal and the fit is pretty good.  The nacelles and cowls are finicky and the instructions downright suck, but if you've done a few Dragon/CH kits, you're well accustomed to their instructional tomfoolery.  For those of you considering it, I would recommend replacement exhausts (quickboost makes some nice resin ones) and maybe an updated seatbelt set.  I used an HGW set.  Go slow, take your time, and dry fit everything.  
 
As an aside... we've all had those kits that just fought us every step of the way, right?  This one wasn't one of those.  In fact, fortune smiled upon me several times throughout the course of this build.  It was almost eerie.
 
For this and the aforementioned 109, I kept a tally of all the hours spent on this aircraft.  Here are the stats:
 
Started: 9/16/2017
Finished: 1/1/2018
Days on bench: 107
Total materials cost: $83.47
Planning and preparation time (including seam cleanup): 20.8 hrs
Build time: 26.75 hrs
Painting time: 26.26 hrs
Weathering time: 6.9 hrs
Total Time: 87.2 hrs
Number of sessions at the bench: 48
Average time per session: 1.82 hrs
Average time per day: .81 hrs
 
              Okay, this one was a bit of a hail mary.  The small clear piece that's supposed to serve as the "glass" for the engine gauges fell inside the cowling as I was trying to remove the liquid mask from it.  So, to fashion a replacement, I put a dollop of regular white PVA glue on an index card, let it dry slightly for 5 minutes, then got a blob on the end of a toothpick.  Fishing that blob into the holes, I was able to get the glue to fill them in via surface tension.  Once it dried clear, I put a little future on it to gloss it up a bit and, in a pinch, it makes a pretty decent stand-in for the missing plastic.  Perfect?  No, but a damn sight better than an empty hole.    

3 of 3
 
Thanks for following along!
     

2 of 3...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy new year, everyone.  I'm ringing in 2018 by wrapping up a build that's been on my bench since September.  If you've followed my slow build thread, "Messerschmitts of North Africa," you have followed the progress of this slow, but steady Bf-110E-2 build and, its desert companion, the Bf-109F-4.
 
This is Cyber Hobby's kit 3209 and represents a -110 of 7./ZG26 in Italy.  Yep, I know I said it was Messerschmitts of North Africa.  I was planning on doing a different paint scheme for a North African bird, but my kiddo liked the yellow cowls of the Italian theater, so I figured I'd do it up for him.  
 
All told it is a really nice kit.  The molding details are phenomenal and the fit is pretty good.  The nacelles and cowls are finicky and the instructions downright suck, but if you've done a few Dragon/CH kits, you're well accustomed to their instructional tomfoolery.  For those of you considering it, I would recommend replacement exhausts (quickboost makes some nice resin ones) and maybe an updated seatbelt set.  I used an HGW set.  Go slow, take your time, and dry fit everything.  
 
As an aside... we've all had those kits that just fought us every step of the way, right?  This one wasn't one of those.  In fact, fortune smiled upon me several times throughout the course of this build.  It was almost eerie.
 
For this and the aforementioned 109, I kept a tally of all the hours spent on this aircraft.  Here are the stats:
 
Started: 9/16/2017
Finished: 1/1/2018
Days on bench: 107
Total materials cost: $83.47
Planning and preparation time (including seam cleanup): 20.8 hrs
Build time: 26.75 hrs
Painting time: 26.26 hrs
Weathering time: 6.9 hrs
Total Time: 87.2 hrs
Number of sessions at the bench: 48
Average time per session: 1.82 hrs
Average time per day: .81 hrs
 
              Okay, this one was a bit of a hail mary.  The small clear piece that's supposed to serve as the "glass" for the engine gauges fell inside the cowling as I was trying to remove the liquid mask from it.  So, to fashion a replacement, I put a dollop of regular white PVA glue on an index card, let it dry slightly for 5 minutes, then got a blob on the end of a toothpick.  Fishing that blob into the holes, I was able to get the glue to fill them in via surface tension.  Once it dried clear, I put a little future on it to gloss it up a bit and, in a pinch, it makes a pretty decent stand-in for the missing plastic.  Perfect?  No, but a damn sight better than an empty hole.    

3 of 3
 
Thanks for following along!