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My 109 Addiction: Bf109G6 in 1/48: Build-off! Complete


Gazzas

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Mate,

Shoot me a PM with you address and I will have s set of wing uppers to you in the snail mail next week. Standard G-6 kit number and part numbers and they will be off. When the others arrive, shoot them onto me.anything else you need, just ask.

 

Problem solved!

 

Regards

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Kent,

    Thanks for the offer.  I really appreciate it.  I have another Eduard 109, because I bought two, as postage for two was virtually the same as postage for one.  I bought both Erla and Regensburg  kits.  Seems silly, but it never really entered my consideration to cannibalize the second bird.  I've cannibalized older kits before...   But supposedly another set should be here any time.

 

Maybe I'm being stubborn.

 

Thanks again,

 

Gaz

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Looking good so far Gaz.  I'm enjoying the builds.

So now that you know what you know regarding the Tamiya engine twist problem, what would you have done differently?  Is there anything that could have been done to prevent the problem that you can think of?

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Looking good so far Gaz.  I'm enjoying the builds.

So now that you know what you know regarding the Tamiya engine twist problem, what would you have done differently?  Is there anything that could have been done to prevent the problem that you can think of?

Hi and thank you, Ringleheim.  I think what I would do next time is to sever the engine bearer completely, then re-attach it with brass rod, leaving it unglued until the moment I was certain everything was aligned perfectly.   Then a quick squirt of CA.

 

Gaz

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Hi everyone!

    This is a strange sort of update considering only the Tamiya kit. 

 

How many of you like masking?  Do you find it therapeutic as well as exciting?  Do you have trouble progressing past the "masked" stage?

 

If you answered yes to those three questions, this update will make you rush to open another window and order the Tamiya kit straightaway.

 

If you do like me and follow the directions step by step until you end up with an unpainted but assemble model you'll be in for a big masking session.  Last time I spent this much time masking I was doing the turrets and greenhouse of a BV-138.  But...  If you paint some of your cowling pieces before you assemble the 'opened' parts, you won't have to mask as much later.

 

Here are some pics:

NJkDVF.jpg

Now...  I probably could have saved some time by closing it up and masking only the canopy.  But then I would have run the risk of the Tamiya white primer blasting it's way through the gaps.

ERqS1r.jpg

Plus, I wanted to mask it up before I added all of those protruding things like DF loop, Pitot tube, and the ever-irritating aileron horn balances.

jxpoOb.jpg

Any of you guys use Panzer Putty?  I really love it in wheel wells.  It's perpetual molten state keeps it filling the corners much better than a bit of sponge.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Gaz

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Another small update on the Tamiya.   Usually I mix my own colors from tube paints.  But...there are a couple Luftwaffe colors that always give me trouble...  RLM 70 and RLM 71.  This build doesn't use 70 and 71 but ...  it does have 74, 75, and 76.  And they come in this set:

AK20012.jpg

So...  I'll give them a try.

Here is RLM 76 against a white background:

ZTVH6r.jpg

It looks pretty green.   But I'll bet that that green will turn into a pale gray once it gets joined by RLM 74 and RLM 75.

 

Cheers,

 

Gaz

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Coming along nicely!

 

I don't have the panzer putty, but do have several eggs of "silly putty" and I use it in every creative way I can to avoid masking with tape as I hate that process!
 

I do use it in wheel wells like you did with the PP...it has to be the best way to mask them off.  

 

It even slightly "settles" with time to absolutely perfectly/evenly fill the well up, and it pops out without sticking to anything.

 

I would probably have used it over the engine area as well as long as there are not tiny/delicate pieces that can be snapped off.

 

Looking forward to next update!

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Guest Peterpools

Gaz

Just finished reading the entire thread and a Big Thumbs up ... . You easily covered all the bases, showed us were there could be a bit of trouble and how to fix it.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

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Hi  again Everyone,

    I'd like to thank you all for the positive and helpful comments.

 

I have a problem.  My over-spray is not to scale when I do mottling free-hand.  The only way I could see to overcome that issue was to make raised masks like these:

5X8ZGj.jpg

With the kit comes a in-scale painting guide for the version I'm doing.  So, I have a lamp with a glass table enabling me to trace the splotches.

Here are some of the results:

x1W9RJ.jpg

I also used the raised-masks to get the soft-edged-splinter look.  The AK colors RLM74 and RLM75 are very low in contrast.

 

FPEZmx.jpg

O4xeze.jpg

z83AXE.jpg

A recommendation to the wise:  There are support struts for the open cowls.  I wouldn't glue them on until after all of your painting and masking is done.  I managed to break both.

 

There is some touch up to do and some yellow to paint before I break out the Future and prepare for decals.  I'm hoping that a wash or two makes my mottling look a bit better.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Gaz

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Hi Gaz, the mottling looks good but still a little too hard-edged to me. Have you thought about or tried just going back with some 76 afterwards to get rid of the unwanted overspray? Just a thought. I am at the painting stage on mine and definitely your tips on this thing. Yes, a lot of masking if you do the opened up version.

 

Jay

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Guest Peterpools

Gaz

Looks good and if Jay recommends anything "109" related, he is the king!

I've never used masks that way and am wondering if backing off the working psi and a ,2 tip AB might be helpful in getting the results you want.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

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Jay and Peter,

    Thank you for the recommendations.  This is obviously an area I need to bone up on.  I don't really have a lot of air brush experience, only been using one for a couple of years.  Another airbrush would put me at three, though number one is showing a lot of wear and has me contemplating  chucking it.

 

I recently took a kit from the SOD and made it a paint hack.  So, I can practice without fear of ruining a paint job and having to go back to square one.

 

I also took some 4000-grit micromesh and wore down the paint a little, so the mottle looks a little less stark.  A few washes should help a bit, too.   It helped a little:

AJdt3v.jpg

 

hglXNj.jpg

 

My only concession to weathering so far is some surface paint scratching at the wing root, and side of the canopy whee the pilot would climb in.  I'm no longer going to go for bare metal anywhere on a LW bird unless I see some good, unequivocal photographic evidence.

QXKdWA.jpg

 

The AK paints, while I like their colors and ease of use are very, very frail.  Even easier to flake off than the stuff I make with tube paint and Future.

 

Thanks again!

 

Gaz

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Guest Peterpools

Gaz

I'm holding steady with four air brushes these days and all are H&S and Iwatas. All have different tip sizes allowing different paint application. Over the years, I've found varying the psi just a bit and jockying the trigger allows me to handle specific needs and effects.

Seems buying air brushes is a disease with no known cure.

Peter

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Nice progress Gas. Are you still waiting for the upper wing replacement from Eduard?

 

I am currently doing a similar comparison at Britmodeller, but included the Zvezda kit into the mix. I am still in the cockpit assembly stage, so it is interesting to see your experiences with the two builds.

 

I found the Tamiya kit the leader of the pack in regards to accuracy and amount of incorporated detail. The Eduard kit on the other hand is lacking in detail (compared to the Tamiya kit) and has a lot of errors when it comes to detail which is a real shame.

 

And as you already noted, the Eduard fuselage is unfortunately still a bit out of wack, being too tall and too wide behind the cockpit. And yes. it is not by much, but still results in a noticeable difference.

 

Talking about noticeable, I question the accuracy of the AK Interactive 74 and 75 tones. I am not an expert, but the contrast between the two looks very low on your model and 74 looks more like an olive green, at least on your pictures.

 

The picture below is the Australian 109G which as far as I know is still in the original colours.

Bf_109G_6.sized.jpg

 

Looking forward seeing your progress.

Cheers, Peter

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Peter,

     Thank you!  And thanks for sharing your comparison build.  I hadn't ,noticed the fuselage depth of the Eduard kit being out as I didn't press opposing halves against each other.  I built the Zvezda last year and found it to be a decent kit which was unfortunately molded to have the radiator flaps closed, just like on the box art.  I have an account over at Britmodeller, so I'll start watching your build.  I can already seen you've gone into a bit more detail than me.

 

    I'm less than perfectly happy with the AK paints and have experimented in tinting them, and making them a bit tougher with acrylic tube paints and Future.  My experiments worked on my paint hack, so I won't chuck them.  The bad thing is, I'll have to touch up all of the places the primer came through.

 

Cheers,

 

Gaz

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