dodgem37

'So, your taking the two part epoxy and rolling it into little rolls and then texturing it like little consecutive nickels in row like the real thing? (sorry for all the FAQ here, i just find it very interesting)' No worries, Brian. I will put down a strip of tape, a strip at each side, remove the center strip, locate the epoxy in the voided area, texture it, then remove the tape from either side. This is a 1/35 Centurion that I had lying around in Photobucket upon which I used the described technique. Some of the hardener of the 2-part epoxy has turned brown with age. You may be able to see the texture tho. I think the weld bead is 1mm wide. Sincerely, Mark

Brian, I've been using 2-part epoxy as weld beads for years on armor, so I'll use that. I have a couple of dental tools that have small round heads which I use to texture the bead. Sincerely, Mark

Outstanding, Phil. Love the dark to light relationship. Sincerely, Mark

Thank you for your very generous compliment, Radu. Phil, I've recently ordered and received Radu's rivetting tool. I'll be trying it out on a later build. I will heed your and Matts' recommendation about the primer. Everything I do is open source, Matt. So there are no worries about 'stealing' anything from me. I keep telling myself, Jerry, 'Patience is a virtue of the wise.' But I think it is something only fools say to themselves. I can hardly believe it. Tomorrow this thread will be a year old. I've finished rivetting the other side and have the lower cowling yet to do. After reading Phils' and Matts' post, and, after washing everything, I went over each rivet with a different and equally sized needle with more taper to give the rivets some extra depth. This helped clean the rivets that weren't cleaned during the wash. Even with some out of alignment dots, I like the effect. It adds texture to the surface. I have also taped up the windshield in preparation of making the flare tube, emergency canopy release, and hand holds. I'm still messing around with the tires. I hope I can salvage them. I guess I shouldn't have sanded off the tread as I did. I've been working on little bits now. Here I've located the antenna lead-in, worked some canopy locking bar details on the cockpit rear deck, used a simple rod to represent the door hinge, although I don't really know if this is a hinged door or not, and tried to shape the door edges to match. I've been messing around making 2mm diameter tail door hinges. I've yet to make the door opening/closing mechanism. One sprang off into the ozone. I attached the turbo/air intake and needed something to sand the connection, so I made this. I have a bunch of sanding circles that go on some yellow, red, or blue sanding stick that I have misplaced or lost. I cut one at a 2mm width and located it onto a heavy-duty brass strip I had lying around. I cut off the locating pins and weld-glued it in place, doing my best to align the edges. Then, once dry, gobbed on a LOT of Tamiya putty. The spacing between the fuselage and intake is the dimension I used to determine the 2mm width of the sandpaper. I'm so relieved it worked. Next up I'll put on the weld seam. Thanks for looking in. Sincerely, Mark

I second Martins' comments. Good show, bro. Next up is a Work In Progress for you! Sincerely, Mark

Let me see, all of this in between Reserve flying (I take it you're in the AFR), commercial flying, working on a book, family, and husbandly responsibilities? No wonder you're grey!! Too cool for school, Pete. Sincerely, Mark

'now, where on earth can i get this here in UK / Europe?' Any art or crafts supply store will carry it. http://artsuppliesonline.com/catalog.cfm?cata_id=6480 What you link to on eBay is Crystal Clear, which is a spray-on gloss clear coat like Future/Klear that dries to a hard finish. Sincerely, Mark

'Acetate curves to very tight curves without crazing, but the curvature of this canopy is not that dramatic. You will see it in a short while when I get to it.' It takes a while sometimes for things to bubble up to the surface, but I'm now hip on the acetate. 'Wet media acetate' came to mind, which I've used on past work-related projects. Very cunning use of and for this material. You have an excellent and enviable transfer of knowledge skill set. Sincerely, Mark

Nicely done is right. What a great looking scheme. You say the scheme is out-of-the-box? Sincerely, Mark

'Many German aircraft were fitted with a multitude of parts made from a variety of materials, including pressed steel and wood or plywood (especially towards the end of the war) in order to save on strategic materials.' I know about the wood/plywood, only from my readings. But the pressed steel surprised me. After I had posted the question I thought about the situation a little more and rightly or wrongly, concluded that maybe oilcanning of an aluminum insert may have been a concern and that steel offered more rigidity. And now I know. Thank you. 'Yes, you guessed right. My canopy upgrade set includes acetate panels that have to be fitted to the metal frame. There are three panels: two side panels and one top panel (just like the real thing).' I now see by your website a sheet of clear acetate comes with the upgrade. So one needs to curve the top to match. No worries about crazing? What is the acetate thickness? Thank you. Sincerely, Mark

The kidney-shaped "bulge" in this kind of wheel wells were made from one piece of stamped steel and riveted from the inside. Steel was usually coated with primer or paint in order to prevent corrosion. So, because this is supposed to represent an "unpainted" wheel well, the bits that were "aluminium" were painted aluminium and the bits that were meant to be "steel" were painted with RLM02. Most excellent bit of detailed knowledge, Radu. I'm surprised by the use of dissimilar metal materials. Do you know why aluminum wasn't used? You mean the clear parts? First I glue in the side panels. The outer edges of the top panel will then rest on the upper edges of the side panels and thus will stay in place. They can be glued with Johnson's klear. Am I to understand that the clear parts are separate panels and each is set into and adhered to the canopy individually? Does your upgrade provide the clear as well? Thank you, Sincerely, Mark

Since I'm using my Aero Detail 5 Bf109G as a rivet guide, I'm just going to read the paras attending to the drawings of the particular aircraft of which you're interested. Notes on the drawings (Pgs.80, 81, 82, 83 for G-2 & Pgs84, 85 for G-4) confirms much of your Wikipedia search. Additional info should include: a.) the compressed air filler access hatch for MG 17 located on panel 5 right side for the G-2 is missing on the G-4. I don't know if it was relocated. A right side drawing of a G-4 is not shown. b.) Cockpit air intakes on both windshield triangles for G-2. c.) tail wheel bay open for G-2. G-4 production began Nov. 1942. G-6 production began March 1943 prevented the G-4 from being mass-produced. Later G-4's had one-piece main wheel hubs and the 'Galland Panzer' head armor as seen in the latest G-6s. Pg. 84 now i don't have W.Nr. for the 2 G-2s from 2./JG77 which are shown, but the pics are from Tunisia in early 1943, so would these machines likely have had the larger mainwheels and upper wing bulges etc?? If the aircraft are on line in early 1943, then they were under production late in 1942, tested, then flown to the theatre. I would say they are too early for late production G-2's. Mid production maybe, but I think that may be stretching it. My guess is they are early production. So my answer your question, is 'No'. Others I am sure are more knowledgable of the production/testing process than I are certainly free to differ. I took a look at the bibliography when I clicked on 'Note 2'. If any of what is on the page is from any of those references, you would be hard pressed to go wrong. As an aside, I plan to use the Trumpeter F-4 as Gunther Rall's G-2. Sincerely, Mark

I remember it well. That is just so good, Jeroen. Sincerely, Mark

More of the same, but this time with the fuselage. A little prep work was needed. I set up a grid to make the horizontal runs easier to mark prior to rivetting. Spacing here is 1mm. The cowling top had a poor fit on the left side, so I stuck my nose into the problem and saw that the poor alignment on the flat surface was hitting the bottom of the gun trough. A little scraping was necessary to allow for a tighter alignment. Some superglue corrections. Nose. After I glue the cowling top on I will rivet the edgework. I still need to rivet the access hatches. Right or wrong; wing fillet fasteners, done with a #4 bead beading tool, are every 2mm's. Panel lines were done first, then the lateral line second. All other measurements were taken off of the lateral line, which is just above the small circular access hatch. Other than the lateral line which is completely straight, all other lines are straight up until #5 panel line, the panel line after the left-most oval access hatch (see above image), then they start to converge. The bottom set of rivets terminate at panel 5. End of line. Thanks for dropping by. Sincerely, Mark

Lovely work all of the way around, John. Nice extra detailing on the engine and in the cockpit. And with invasion stripes, no less. Really nice stuff. I'm looking forward to more of your updates. Sincerely, Mark

That is one nice piece of hand made art. Sincerely, Mark

Great stuff. Really nice work. I love that tiny antennae detail on the second aircraft. I didn't notice it on the first one. The camo scheme on the first aircraft is cool. Thanks a heap. Sincerely, Mark

You got some good juju going on there, Phil. Sincerely, Mark

Most excellent detail painting, Brian. Sincerely, Mark

A genus in the making. Sincerely, Mark

Judy, Please check your message center. I had sent you a PM. Thank you. Sincerely, Mark

That looks great. Sincerely, Mark

Very nice. I like all of that painted and built intricate detail. Sincerely, Mark

Very nicely rendered. The rivetting really gives it an added dimension. Sincerely, Mark

Nice attention to detail on those weep holes Excellent circle cutting and finishing. What is the diameter? You've gotten that arc right on! Really, really nice, Rammstein. Thanks a heap for sharing this build with us. Sincerely, Mark