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Greetings all Just started on the Kotare Bf109K-4. Although I have a couple of other kits from Kotare, this is my first build of the brand. Having seen the test kits built up and other builds, I was expecting good things, but wow, this takes it all to a new level at the moment. The detail is astounding, and the bit of assembly and dry-fitting I've done so far is just phenomenal. I don't want to count my words yet, but if this is a kit that needs any filler or serious remedy at all, it's going to be down to my "operator error". What really astounds me is the quality of the actual plastic. It's like the story of Goldilocks and the 3 bears....not too hard, not too soft, but just right! I can't think of any kit I've built so far that I've drooled over the quality of the actual plastic...no, not even Tamiya - and that itself is a joy to work with. I'm not going to be using the kit markings, but will be using the AML markings for a K-4 "White 5" from 1./NJG11 found at Holzkirchen, in May 1945 - night fighter of course! I haven't decided yet whether to use the decals - which look like they have a wonderfully thin carrier film, or use them as a template for home-cut masks. We shall see... I've made a start on some of the sub-assemblies just to get my head back into the game after a few months hiatus after moving houses The only thing I've reworked so far is the compressor intake - redoing the weld seam using stretched sprue, and scribing the intake ring onto it. I'm still very undecided whether to rivet the airframe. As the main colour is RLM 76 with a bit of mottling, it'll probably provide some nice contrast with the rivet lines, but the Germans also tended to fill rivets and smooth panel joints as well, so might be wasted bench time. Time will tell! Cheers Iain

Just started my next project. Bought this kit over the summer and have been looking forward to building it. It's my first ZM kit project. Besides the main kit, I purchased the upgrades for the cockpit detail, instrument panels, wheels, metal barrels, and metal landing gear struts. I'm planning on building White 3, the main winter camo subject of the box art. I just started on the engine today and will post an update shortly.

This build is the Kotare 1/32 Messerschmitt Bf 109 K-4, completed as my interpretation of Option B from the kit instructions. Here's the build thread: https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/104689-132-kotare-bf-109k-4-adolf-borchers/ The aircraft represents a late-war machine flown by Oblt. Adolf Borchers, of III./JG 52, operating from Czechoslovakia in the final weeks of the war in spring 1945. Kotare’s K-4 has already gained a strong reputation, and after completing this build I can say it is one of the finest-engineered aircraft kits I’ve worked with in this scale. Fit is precise throughout, parts breakdown is logical, and the surface detail is restrained and consistent. Construction was smooth and enjoyable from start to finish. Kotare’s engineering allows the major components to align positively with little need for correction, which made it easy to focus on careful assembly and surface preparation rather than problem-solving. The landing gear, in particular, is exceptionally well designed and installs securely with precise geometry. The clear parts deserve special mention — they are exceptionally thin, distortion-free, and among the best I’ve seen in 1/32 scale. All primary camouflage colors were sprayed using Mr. Color lacquers, while Vallejo and Tamiya acrylics were used for weathering, smaller details and touch-up work. The underside was treated as a mix of late-war finishes rather than a single uniform color. The underside of the fuselage was painted in the greenish-blue variant of RLM 76, while the wing undersides and associated panels incorporate subtle variation between bluer RLM 76 tones and bare metal panels. These variations were kept restrained and integrated to avoid drawing attention to individual panels while still suggesting different manufacturing and finishing stages. For the upper surfaces, I deviated from the kit’s instruction profile after closely analyzing the tonal relationships in period black-and-white photographs of the aircraft. While the kit profile depicts a green and brown interpretation (using a brownish RLM 81), photographic analysis suggested a RLM 82 / RLM 75 scheme, with RLM 82 reading as the darker green and RLM 75 as the lighter grey-violet. I chose to finish the aircraft accordingly. To reflect late-war manufacturing realities, major subassemblies — fuselage, wings, engine area, and tail — were painted with subtly different mixes to suggest variation between paint batches and subcontractors, per the instruction call-outs. All markings were done using the kit-supplied decals by Cartograf, which are outstanding. Carrier film is extremely minimal, and the decals respond beautifully to setting solutions. The upper-wing and fuselage crosses are particularly noteworthy: only the white portions are decals, supplied as four separate sections per cross. These require careful alignment, but once in place they look excellent and avoid the transparent center sections. Overall, the decals were a pleasure to use and contributed significantly to the final result. Weathering was approached with restraint and built up in layers. After a satin clear coat, panel lines were treated with Abteilung 502 oil pin washes to suggest accumulated grime rather than sharply outlined structure. Oil modulation was then used to integrate colors, subtly fade decals, and introduce asymmetry across the airframe. Localized grime buildup, panel streaking, and exhaust staining were applied using Tamiya acrylic black and brown mixes, sprayed very finely and built up gradually. Chipping was kept subtle and done using Prismacolor and AK weathering pencils, focusing on high-traffic areas such as wing roots, access panels, and fasteners. Minor fluid streaking and tonal blending were added last. The overall goal was to convey an aircraft that had seen operational use, but not prolonged front-line service. A final flat coat unified the finish and brought everything back into scale. This was a deeply satisfying build from start to finish. The Kotare Bf 109 K-4 is an exceptional kit — accurate, well engineered, and a genuine pleasure to work with. It rewards careful planning and subtle execution, especially when modeling the complex realities of late-war Luftwaffe production. I’m very pleased with how the camouflage interpretation, tonal variation, and restrained weathering came together, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this kit. I’ll definitely be building another Kotare 109.

Greetings. It's been a while since I've posted, but I wanted to catch you up on my latest 1/32 project, Kotare's new 109K-4. I preordered a couple of them and am mostly complete on the first one. I'll provide some WIP photos shortly.

Clang Clang Clang Clang Scramble Maidstone Angels Two Zero. Achtung Indiana von links ! Launching within the 85th Anniversary Year of the Battle of Britain, the most important part of our UK history, and the world let alone us in the UK would not be what it is today without us winning in 1940, I announce the launch of my website. www.BattleofBritainandBomberCommand.uk Think of it like a ship, champagne bottle bang into bits, the hull floats, now the bulk of the work lies ahead in the superstructure ! Bear with me whilst I spend many more months adding to it. It is an ongoing never ending project. I launch today but there is a lot more to be added so keep going back please. I wanted to catch the 85th anniversary year, and its 1 day before the end of the BoB period 1940 ! I am as exhausted as our Few were in 1940 ! Searching 45 years of photography taken for this moment, editing the photos, some into real scenes, more of that to do, learning a website editor with 5 hours of OBS screen capture made into photoshop layers, with help from my webmaster and all done in the space of 2 weeks, and page designs a few more weeks. The RAF button alone was a few days getting the lighting right, the material a few days work. Its not for tablets and mobile phones. Models at actual size require a known device size, so a 1920px monitor its designed for. I hate piddly little pictures and the facebook toilet roll system so full screen is the way here on a lot of real items and scenes. It’s the subject but in both model form and actual objects and humans. The ‘Gen’ at the home page is essential reading. , as is model selection criteria used. Its about accurate shapes and colours, recreating what was actually seen back then, not necessarily what model paint manufacturers would have us believe was in use. Not any model makes it, its not for showing ‘any model’. Some I have yet to see in all that time. If anyone has anything meeting with the criteria used, then contact me. details on the website. No Gladiators, or Lysanders, only one He111, Italy, mega rare, uniforms and kit, hens teeth ! I have taken the decision to show models often at their ‘ACTUAL’ size, as blowing up a 1/72 model X3 is unfair. Some are so good I have also shown them larger as well. Its also for historians, the public, collectors and they may wish to see things bigger just to appreciate what the subject looked like back then and without incorrect colorisation ! Any buttons clicked that don’t show anything, mean I have yet to do that subject ! I have focused on the Battle of Britain , for the 85th, now to start adding in Bomber Command as well as adding more meat to the bones of BoB. Its not just models, its a reference to real items, as well as links to sources of items shown, a visual treat to all things Battle of britain and Bomber Command ! If you spot any nav issues or errors the email address there, is the place to go. Hope you like the site, Scramble, Horrido, Merlin

Greetings all Here is my latest offering of a Ju87D-8(N) E8+HH that was operated by 1./NSGr.9 during the second quarter of 1944 near Florence, Italy. It was lost in action on 7th July 1944. The final camo pattern and colours are a bit of a departure from the kit call-outs, but the rationale behind the decisions because of actual photographic evidence can be found on the build article. 1/32 Hasegawa JU87D-8 kit Aires cockpit AIMS AB500 bomblet containers plus some flash hiders I poached from one of my AIMS Bf110 detail sets and an antenna isolator HGW seatbelts SB cannon barrels and pitot tube Quickboost Type A exhausts Quickboost Spinner and VDM blades Profimodeller detail set for airbrake hinges and underside bomb release Master Mg81Z barrels for the observer position Nice build overall, great having a big Stuka in the collection now!! Real bird is the 2nd aircraft of the image underneath...

'Spanner Anlage I, II & III' infrared system Hi everyone, A new 3D printed set arrived today. 1x set of Spanner Anlage I, II & III infrared system - £10.00. If interested just email me at aimsmodels1@gmail.com or wait for Hannants to have in stock Thanks so much John

Greetings all I've always enjoyed the Stuka since I was a kid, so had it in the back of my mind to build a night attack version using the Owl markings. Managed to get hold of a Hasegawa G-2 (with Mater barrels) that I was going to convert into in D-8, but then as luck would would have it, I found a D-8 on an auction that fit the bill perfectly. So.....I suppose I will eventually get to building the night G-2, but this D-8 comes first. So below is the version of the D-8 I was going to build, however, the kit markings and camo scheme are way more appealing to me. So there we go. I'll be building that specific version as on the box art. The G-2 version I'll do at a later stage with the Owl markings... As you can see from the above pics, I've the Aires interior set, Eduard masks and HGW belts for it. On the way is a Quickboost spinner and blade set, as well as a Yahu IP Cheers Iain

Hello everyone, After a long break from the hobby, I'm back with another 1/32 Fw , this time is revell's FW190 F-8 The painting scheme will be the following , founrd on Kommandeur decal sheet KD4805, I dont actually own this decal sheet but i am going to use it as reference in order to prepare painting masks for the camo and markings I also have many aftermarket sets including the bessin sets from eduard. unfortunately i couldn't find either either landing gear replacements or Henri Daehne propeller.. She will also be displayed with an open engine.. so, here is the kit and the two brassin sets

*NOW TAKING PRE-ORDERS!* Dear Luftwaffe fans, The time has finally come to pull the trigger on our new project, 'Axis Wings'! Chandos Publications, in association with Robert Forsyth at Chevron Publishing, will soon realise a long-held ambition to release the first in what we hope will be a long-running compendium relating to the Luftwaffe and co-belligerent air forces. Drawing on the talents of many well known names in the Luftwaffe research and writing community, each issue will be packed with stories, photographs and artwork. There are many fascinating pieces of information on the Axis air forces that are still unpublished, that are too short for a regular book, but are also too important to sit on a hard drive ad finitum. ‘Axis Wings’ aims to make these stories known, accompanied by specially commissioned artwork, and photographs from private collections. Each issue will be approximately 200 pages long, in a softcover format, and is aimed at historians and model makers. Initially we plan to release two issues per annum.The success of this project very much depends on how well the concept is received, but as long as there is a demand we will keep working. We hope that ‘Axis Wings’ will grow organically, and become self-perpetuating, and to that end we welcome the submission of stories, photographs and comments for future editions. The PDF files are with the printers, and we hope to take delivery of issue 1 by the end of February 2024. Issue 2 will hopefully follow a few months later. The book is ready to pre-order, so please head on over to the shop section of the website (link below) to secure your copy. As usual we will be working with our distribution partners around the World, so if you want to wait until they stock the item then please feel free. We will also be listing the item on our eBay (UK) page, and there you can order the item and pay any relevant taxes at source. All in all, we have tried to cover all bases when it comes to obtaining your copy of this exciting new book! https://www.chandospublications.co.uk/product/axis-wings-the-luftwaffe-and-co-belligerent-air-forces-compendium/

Hallo Installation of the resin Bf 109 K-4 cockpit set for Hasegawa from Aires number 2044 . The kit is the Bf 109 K-4 1/32 from Trumpeter. Since the set from Aires is destined for Hasegawa, a lot of modification work was necessary to fit in the Trumpeter kit: 1. Sanding the side walls of the kit 2. Adapting the side panels of the Aires set to the kit: the side panels were too long and there were overlaps with the instrument panel. 3. The covers for the centreline MK 108 were too long, therefore I had to shorten the cover. This created finally a gap, but it is not visible when assembled. 4. The firewall to the engine was too high. 5. Engine mounts are now only an auxiliary support, the engine is only fixed latteraly by the exhaust scoops and in the front from oil cooler for the reduction gear. 6. Installation of the top MG 131 on the cowling, as the bases for the MG were lost due to the rebuild engine installation Finally, the Aires set fits into the model and I was glad to have found a proper solution. Thanks to the input from the forum! Happy modelling

White 12 is now complete. Here's a link to the build: Here are the final photos. Thanks for looking!

Greetings fellow modelers: After building a few 1/48 scale kits, I'm back to take a crack at another 1/32 Dora. I've decided on White 12, Wk Nr. 500408 from 5./JG 301. Here's some nice artwork from IBG's new 1/72 release. I tend to gravitate to the Mimetall camo schemes for some reason. I'll be using the Hasegawa ST-19 kit with a number of aftermarket items for the build. The aftermarket goodies include: Aires cockpit upgrade HGW riveting set Eagle cals #32-61 HGW seatbelts Yahu instrument panel One man army stencils Synthetic ordnance works landing gear Quickboost Exhaust Eduard canopy masks Quickboost gun barrels Master metal gun barrels Barracuda wheels Eduard exterior detail set I wanted to use a Henri Daehne spinner and prop kit, but unfortunately Henri has shut down his shop in Germany for good due to the economic situation. I'll have to make do with the kit prop and spinner. Mr. Color lacquers along with Tamiya acrylics will be the main paints used. Here are some photos of the front office, which is now complete. I've also completed the engine plug with some extra plumbing and wiring. Starting on next steps to close up the fuselage. Thanks for looking. Comments and critiques are always welcome.

Not quite 100 percent even now she still fights back I have the Revel one to build at some point hoping it will be easier than this,

Hi everyone, I am off another month yet but before my last surgery I got some new sets 3D printed. So to be clear I am not taking orders - I just thought you might like to see them. I also had started selling the decals from my 1/32 Bf 109 G-2 and G-4 conversion sets as stand alone items. So I wish you all a happy Christmas and look forward to hearing from you perhaps at the end of January. 24P001 Luftwaffe airfield set - 2x Type C Trestle and 2x Wheel Chocks £24.00 32P031 Luftwaffe airfield set - 2x Type C Trestle and 2x Wheel Chocks £18.00 32D029 Bf 109 G-2 (as found in set 32P015) £7.50 32D030 Bf 109 G-4 (as found in set 32P016) £7.50

Hello guys! It's been a while since I uploaded something in here. This is my first 1:32 109 in a long time, Hasegawa's G-6 with markings for Erich Hartmann's aircraft.

Hi Everyone here is a preview of my next figure - a Luftwaffe fighter pilot in cold weather flight gear. Figure has been measured to have left arm resting on a Fw 190 tail plane. Will advertise when ready, thanks for looking.

Hello, folks! Paid a visit to Rechlin Luftfahrtmuseum these days. Rechlin was THE test- and evaluation center of the German air forces from the end of WW1 to the end of WW2. From Fokker to Focke-Wulf, so to say. After WW2 it became a Soviet air field, housing f. e. Mig-23s and Mig-27s. A part of the facilities was rebuild into a large communication equiment storage for the East German NVA. Another part was made into a shipyard building small fast attack crafts and modern lifeboats. Nowadays it is a museum about all 3 branches. Been there some years ago, but they recieved a plethora of new and amazing stuff. So it was about time for another visit, armed with my trusty camera: You know what this is? Great news that is! We have a Do-335 in Germany! The only original one is at Udvar in the US of A. We got a replica, using as much of original parts as possible. Yes, it will be shown as a B with wing guns! Dunno, why the image is sideways. The orignal image is upright. Forgot to take a photo of the whole thing. I've got carried away by something different. Wait for the end of this post Tank Ta-154 replica. Was build by cabinet maker apprentices from Paderborn (Germany) years ago as a training project. DFS assault glider. Remember the Bronco kit? The type used to assault Eben Emanel fortress in Belgium. This? Fokker D.VII without covering. There is also a complete replica in full Lozenge wear. Not to mention a Dreidecker. A Junkers D.I replica. An Etrich Taube. Siemens-Schuckert D.III. Junkers F13. Replicas alltogether. Not to forget WW2 rebuilds: A Me-262 with some original parts. A rebuild He-162 Volksjäger. Reichenberg IV suicide bomb. Cockpit replicas of the Ju-388, Arado Ar-234, Me-109 and other stuff. A Buchon, rebuild into a 109 G2. A lot of engines. Like this one: Hirth engine that powered the Bücker 131. If you want more photos to superdetail your ICM engine, just ask me. I have a full walkaround set. This is the Lilienthal glider. Otto Lilienthal was the first human to build and succesfully fly an aircraft! Anno 1891 was this. The story behind this rebuild is also amazing: It was built by an 14 years old schoolboy from Munich as a school project. He used the original Lilienthal drawings, that were made public by the Lillienthal brothers themselves. It took him a full year with a lot of ons and offs. Guess you know about this phenomenon Finally the very special and unique thing of the Rechlin museum that carried me away. Guess you know what this is? Gotha Go-60. A very promising German late war project (the Luftwaffenministerium even had some real toughts to stop the Horten IX /Ho-229 fighter project in favour of this one). Due to it's layout fast and capable, with heavy armament (4x 30mm MG 108 firing forward, 4 more upwards) and a 3 man crew! Where the navigator and the radar operator were positoned? Lying in the left and right wingroots, with a small window in the leading edge Guess THIS is something you will not find in 1:1 scale anywhere in the world. Except in Germany I have a lot of more photos if you are in need of images. Look here what stuff they have at Rechlin. This was a very enjoable day, indeed! (not to mention cruising the Autobahn with 200 km/h speed the whole way ) Enjoy! - dutik

A new sheet from Fantasy Printshop: FP-1130 Current Luftwaffe Insignia Have fun! Iain

Hello guys I finished another Messerchmit BF 109...what else This is 109 Nr. 13 in my collection and its a Revell kit with mix of Eagle Calls and Hasegawa decals. Unfortunaly I had problem with EC decals, both number 7 decals along with two fuselage crosses just disengrated when put in the water. Luckily for me had Hasegawa boxing with same markings so I used those . That's why there is a slight difference in decal color. As for the model itself this is my third Revell Bf 109G-6 finished along with one G-10 and I really starting to hate that landing gear and prop assembly. Rest of the model is more than ok with exception of MG covers which I replaced with resin ones. Model painted with Model Master Authentic enamels with Valejo varnishes. Here are some pictures, hope u like the model One is Hasegawa kit ..Can u guess which one

Here are some photos of my Airfix Bf 109E-3 in Franz von Werra's markings.

We take a look at a brand new 1:24 resin figure set from Elan13 - Luftwaffe Pilot with dog WW2: Have fun! Iain

Just finished this one. This was on the shelf of doom for quite a while. I had purchased the kit for quite cheap and, due to the shape issues of the kit, it ended up being the last Bf 109 in my kit stash, so I figured I would go ahead and build it. However, I managed to destroy the canopy/windscreen parts before completion and also started to be really annoyed by looking at the shape issues, so I just shelved it. I finally decided to use a vac canopy from my spares and modify it to fit. I also sanded down the huge sharp corners that come off the trailing edge of the wing root fairing, into the rear fuselage. The fuselage cross section still leaves a lot to be desired, but this did improve the overall look of the fuselage, even if only slightly. But, don't even get me started on shape of the nose! In any case, I was able to complete it by adding the canopy mentioned above, MM enamels, oil and pastel weathering. The main decals were from the kit, but the unit/number markings were from a few different sources in my spares and represent an aircraft flown by 1./JG 2 around the Battle of Britain. I also added a few bits from scratch in the somewhat strange looking cockpit. In my rush to finish it, I introduced plenty of problems on my own, but the goal was to just finish it and then decide what I'm going to do next. I would really like to get into the Multi-Engine GB, but not sure what I'm going to do next. Anyway, I'm calling this one done (and I'm also likely done with Trumpeter, spare a couple of kits I already own that are from their "A team", which has apparently disappeared). Thanks for looking, John

This is representation of Erla-built Bf 109G-14 "Black 13" from15./JG5 at Kjevik, Norway in 1945. All A.M.U.R. Reaver sets, such as spinner & airscrew, cowling and oil cooler fairing with radiator mesh were used. The plane had late-war finish with several shades of RLM76 on lower surfaces and 75/82 on top.

Well there she is. A bit late in the weekend, but finally had time to take pictures and post them here. This is my latest build. I started this build in June 2016 but it stalled due to becoming a father again, so the better part of 2017 was a lost year for modelling. Anyway, it doesn't matter, because I finished the bird! When I first heard of this conversion I had to have it. I had seen pictures of it as a kid and it always struck me as such an advanced design, almost alien like. I bought the excellent book about this plane from Cristoph Vernaleken and Martin Handig. These men have done a lot of research on this subject and their book and website http://ju388.de is invaluable if you want to model this plane. But I have to say, the book is not written with the modeler in mind. So I think that about 30/40% of my time went into research. John form AIMS did a stellar job in researching and creating the conversion, but there was still room for improvement.. With a lot of searching on the web, visiting several obscure forums, and with a little help from people here, I had enough info to make the most accurate representation of it to my ability. In the process you learn a lot about your subject which is one aspect I like about modeling. Anyway, I'm not going to repeat all the steps I have taken in the build. If you're interested you can visit my WIP-thread here on LSP: Link. But I'll give a short summary of what I used for this build. Model: Revell Ju88 A4 Conversion: AIMS Ju388 L-1 Aftermarket: Henri Daehne propellers Anttena: scratch build with Albion Alloy fit and slide tubes Instrument panel: Designed and 3D printed instrument panel Painting: Mr. Paint (primarily) Weathering: AK Interactive Paneliner So, there you have it. Without further ado, here are the pictures. Please feel free to ask questions or give critique (don't hold back, I can take it). Wouter