1/32 Hasegawa Bf109K-4 Weisse 8

[AceofClubs]

One of the best K4 ever seen 

Ciao

Filippo

[Antonio Argudo]

2 hours ago, Vincent said:

On the K4, the 2 compressed air bottles for the canon were in the left wing, inside what used the be the 20mm ammo bin

thanks for the aclaration, make sense! cheers

Edited December 18, 2019 by Antonio Argudo

[Antonio Argudo]

48 minutes ago, Thunnus said:

Thanks guys!  So the Compressed Air stencil is in the right location?

according to Vincent yes, although  I can't see that stencil in any of my "K"  reference pictures

[Guest Vincent]

2 hours ago, Thunnus said:

Thanks guys!  So the Compressed Air stencil is in the right location?

 

It is

 

 

[Guest Vincent]

Here you can see the bottles in the wing and the refill point under the hatch (item 1 on the picture)

 

 

Edited December 18, 2019 by Vincent

[Thunnus]

With the gloss coat still on, I did some post-shading to dirty up the aircraft.  Various combinations of brown and black blown ultra-watery through the airbrush.  Also did some base chipping using the sponge.

 

If the streak was too heavy, I wiped it down with 8000 grit Micromesh and this gave me some interesting wear patterns to break up the airbrush uniformity.

 

The separate control surfaces were glued into place at this time.  I should've held off since I was planning to do some salt-fading.

 

A flat coat has been applied.  I've been dabbling with various flat coats, having tackiness issues with the Alclad clears, toying with Aclad Aqua Gloss + Tamiya Flat Base, trying Testors Dullcote and finally settling on Model Master Acryl Flat for now.

Getting close to the end on this one.  Gotta evaluate whether or not I want to put some salt fading.  I really like the effect but it's a bit of hassle trying to avoid the spots of crusty salt showing up everywhere after you thought you've cleaned it off thoroughly.

[nmayhew]

Masterclass!

[Antonio Argudo]

cracking weathering job John, loving it !!!

interesting reference picture , cheers 

[Gazzas]

That's beautiful work, John!  As much as I love everything, I really have to say that your underside weathering is very inspiring!

 

Gaz

[French frog models]

Beautiful work, happy ending

[Thunnus]

Thanks guys!  Have enjoyed this build but it seems like we are approaching the end. Here's the model after I wrestled it back from a botched salt fading attempt.  The best result is when you mist a highly thinned lighter color and I shot it too heavy.  So... I micromeshed the most offending areas, touched up other areas with the camo colors and then toned everything down with a satin coat, remembering that a clear coat on top of a salt fade effect tends to dial it back. Some chipping was also added using colored pencils.

 

It's time to put the legs on White 8!  First, the tail wheel.  I also fashioned a tension spring for the radio aerial and hung it on the tab on top of the rudder.

 

The main gear legs were glued in using JB Weld Kwik Weld to allow me time to set the stance right.  Knowing that these legs have a metal rod core gives me peace of mind that they'll not break.

 

I also added the exhausts and the deflector plates that I earlier fashioned from brass sheet.

 

After the JB Weld cures, I can set White 8 on her own legs for the first time.

 

Almost finished!  Just have to add a few of the bits and pieces and fashion the aerial.  I'll post some sneak pics of the finished model before I put it up on RFI.

[LSP_Kevin]

Excellent work, John!

 

Kev

[zaxos345]

Awesome!!!!

 

John

[Gazzas]

Beautiful work, John!  The aerial tension spring is a great idea!

[Thunnus]

Thanks guys!  Eight months after I started this build, I now am at the finish line.  Although it didn't turn out the way I envisioned, I'm glad I did the salt fading on this model.  The initial effect plus all of the corrective work to tone it down and re-establish the base camo colors adds to complexity and depth of the finish, I believe.  It tells a story, unplanned as it was.

Adding the last bits and pieces to White 8.  The balancing units underneath the ailerons, the various small antennae, the pitot tube, the landing gear outer doors and finally the prop are finally glued into place.  Some pieces have been sitting painted and unattached for half a year.  The masks for the clear parts are carefully peeled off and thankfully, no nasty surprises from within the cockpit (my worst nightmare).

 

 

The aerial is still to be strung between the rudder tab and the top of the fuselage but once that is done, it will be time for the finished photos.  Curious to see the color scheme in natural light. But the weather here in Southern California is bad right now and so the courtyard that serves as my photo studio won't be available until the weather clears up.

I am going to jump onto the Corsair next and then start up a new project.  Which will be...

 

The Zoukei-Mura 1/32 Ta 152H-1 kit, which I will be backdating to a H-0 and depicting W.Nr. 150007 White 7...