Matchbox 1/32 Bf109E-3 Resurrection

[turbo]

Thanks Mike, you're right, good idea - I hadn't paid attention to that. The other stuff I have stripped that the previous owner has done has been acrylic so should be no problem.

[turbo]

So we've got the basic camo on. It's clear from the reference photos that the mottling was painted around existing insignia, so they're the next thing to go on in the painting sequence. I'm using Montex masks which I transfer in their entirety from the backing sheet to the model using Cricut Transfer Tape. As it's easy to stretch or distort vinyl masks during handling, I find this method helps keep everything in proper shape and register. Here's the sequence for a balkenkreuz on the lower wing. The entire mask is positioned on the airframe using marker lines as guides.

 

 

The mask elements for the white parts are weeded and placed on the backing sheet. The same white mix used for the nose and wing tips is then sprayed,

 

The mask elements are retrieved from the backing sheet and carefully replaced and burnished down.

 

The mask elements for the black parts are then weeded and a scale black mix sprayed.

 

The entire mask is then removed to reveal the finished balkenkreuz. 

 

I find this is the quickest and most efficient method, but it still takes a couple of hours to complete the airframe - well worth the effort though. Balkenkreuz on the upper wings and fuselage were scrubbed with a damp stiff brush shortly after painting to introduce some initial fading and reveal the rivet lines.

 

 

The airframe is now resembling something like its original scheme. So next I get to be a luftwaffe black man and throw mottle all over it!

[turbo]

So I just remembered I've got a few more markings to add before proceeding to mottling, being an assortment of small stencils and the nicht betreten lines. The stencils were from the kit decal sheet which were a bit thick and appeared yellowed but to my relief looked OK after treatment with MicroSol.

 

 

The B-4 fuel stencil points to nothing as the fuel filler is not moulded on the kit. I should have scribed this earlier but didn't think of it until I put the decal on, so will have to live with it - it's OK, that's part of the kit. The nicht betreten lines were painted on.

 

 

 

 

There are nicht betreten stencils on the decal sheet - I'll put them on later. So we're ready for the mottling at last. I'm always a bit nervous about this to be honest as it's not a structured camo pattern and you need to make it up as you go along a bit while trying to remain faithful to the subject. Paint was thinned right down and I switched to my Badger airbrush with 0.2 mm nozzle spraying at about 12 psi. I always have a Q-tip moistened with water on hand to deal with any spiders or other mistakes. The RLM02 mottle went on first, being built up slowly using the reference photos above as guidance for the pattern. It's a bit hard to see on the photo against the RLM65.

 

 

Next up was the RLM71.

 

Although the reference photo shows quite heavy mottling below the cockpit on the port side, I'm not happy with the way it's turned out. It just looks too dense or something. It was the last section I did and I was starting to lose a bit of concentration.

 

Starboard side looks better. After sitting on it overnight, I decided to photograph the port side of the model from the same angle as the reference photo to try and see what was wrong.

 

 

Yeah, not really close. A lesson here in taking a break when you start losing concentration. I went back and resprayed the area.

 

 

OK, happier with that.

 

Did a check of the starboard side while I was at it.

 

 

OK, I'm satisfied with that - phew!

 

[LSP_Kevin]

Superb painting!

 

Kev

[MikeMaben]

Looks just fine. Better than most 

[dennismcc]

Great work with the paint, I remember many years ago a work colleague found out that I built model aircraft and fetched in a partially build kit the same as yours for me to finish. At the time I was a 1/72 and 1/48 modeller so it was quite a revelation for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[turbo]

On 4/26/2020 at 11:20 AM, LSP_Kevin said:

Superb painting!

 

Kev

 

On 4/26/2020 at 7:46 PM, MikeMaben said:

Looks just fine. Better than most 

 

Thanks Kev and Mike!

 

On 4/26/2020 at 7:59 PM, dennismcc said:

Great work with the paint, I remember many years ago a work colleague found out that I built model aircraft and fetched in a partially build kit the same as yours for me to finish. At the time I was a 1/72 and 1/48 modeller so it was quite a revelation for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

Agree Dennis, if it hadn't been given to me I would never have considered this kit - it's been kind of fun!

 

Anyway, small update. With the camo finished I unmasked the airframe.

 

Whoa, need sunnies for that white! It'll come together under weathering though. Montex thoughtfully provided both decals and masks for the unit emblem. Although it was quite fiddly, I opted to paint the emblems.

 

 

A seam has come apart towards the front of the cowl that will need to be repaired. While checking this, I noticed my first major screw up of this build that I don't think I can leave. Anyone else see it?

 

[turbo]

Small update. A bit of post-shading around structural elements such as slats and control surface ribs with Tamiya Smoke to start building depth.

 

 

Be back with the first weathering steps shortly...

[turbo]

So at this stage the scheme is not terribly well integrated, with the white in particular looking pretty stark despite the scale shade and pre-shading. I'm going to attack this issue first with a filter. A filter's probably normally considered a painting technique, but I often use it as both this and also a subtle weathering effect. Here I've decided to use a grey/green filter (diluted Mig AMMO winter streaking grime) which should help tie the RLM02/71 camo colours together and dull the white down with a slightly dirty look.

 

I stopped half away across the white wing tip to check the effect. A filter can be a bit alarming at first, but it dries down into something more subtle. I think this is achieving what I want.

 

 

The airframe completed. Definitely starting to pull things together I think.

 

 

 

It was about at this point that I noticed the major snafoo that I mentioned further up. The kit oil cooler fairing is attached as a separate part but there is no panel line on the real aircraft. I meant to fill this earlier but completely forgot until now 

 

 

 

I know this is part of the kit design but it is just too obvious so I couldn't let it go. So back to filler and sanding...

 

 

Sprayed with my scale white mix. A good contrast showing the effect of the filter.

 

 

And filter re-applied.

 

 

A bunch of work that could have been avoided but I always budget for a srew-up or two! In a position to begin weathering with oils now.

 

Thanks for stopping by guys.

[bdthoresen]

Man she looks good!

 

Keep it up!

 

THOR    

[turbo]

On 5/3/2020 at 10:43 AM, bdthoresen said:

Man she looks good!

 

Keep it up!

 

THOR    

 

Thanks guys and thanks Thor!

 

I've had a bit of a break now I've got to the weathering stage. I don't have a set sequence for weathering, it's different for each model depending on the subject matter and what I'm trying to achieve. As there's no instructions for this, I sometimes have to sit on it for a while until I can see it in my mind's eye. I think I've got a plan now, so the first stage is some preliminary work with oils to further fade the camo and add depth to panel and rivet lines.

 

 

 

The trench-like panel lines on this old model look over-emphasised as I suspected, so I'll probably tone these down later. 

 

The spinner assembly was rivetted, painted, and given an initial oil treatment. The prop hub was painted with Citadel Ironbreaker and dirtied up with oils.

Thanks for looking in!

 

[Thunnus]

Awesome Kirby!  Your weathering techniques are very effective and convincing.  Oils are something that I've only dabbled in but you've really illustrated how effective this technique is in establishing wear through tonal variation.  The only thing slightly bugging me is the translucence of the Yellow 15.  Did you shoot it straight on the RLM 65?  For some primary colors like red, blue or yellow, I like to undercoat those with white or grey.

[Lothar]

That looks very promising, we're up for a treat 

[turbo]

On 5/17/2020 at 11:38 AM, Thunnus said:

Awesome Kirby!  Your weathering techniques are very effective and convincing.  Oils are something that I've only dabbled in but you've really illustrated how effective this technique is in establishing wear through tonal variation.  The only thing slightly bugging me is the translucence of the Yellow 15.  Did you shoot it straight on the RLM 65?  For some primary colors like red, blue or yellow, I like to undercoat those with white or grey.

 

Thanks John, appreciate it! Yeah, I'm not 100% on the yellow 15 either. I deliberately didn't underspray it with white and I also used Tamiya XF-4 yellow/green instead of straight RLM04 as I didn't want the yellow to be too overt with fading and weathering in mind. Maybe I've overdone it now, I'll reassess at the end and maybe "reverse fade" with oils or selectively overspray with thinned RLM04. Thanks for the observation, it was bugging me too!

 

On 5/17/2020 at 2:16 PM, Lothar said:

That looks very promising, we're up for a treat 

 

Cheers Lothar!

[turbo]

The next layer of weathering consisted of some subtle salt fading on the upper surfaces and fuselage and addition of some stains and grime to the lower surfaces. I used light grey enamels diluted around 1:10 with thinners for the salt fading which won't react with any residual water in the salt crystals. As well as further fading the camo, salt fading introduces an interesting effect resembling stains and splotches.

 

 

Despite careful cleaning of the salt, small crystals often randomly appear in the days following salt fading. You can see some on the machine gun access hatch in the picture above. I'll give it a few days and carefully clean all of these off before proceeding to the next stage.

 

Some staining and grime was introduced to the lower surfaces using enamels.

 

I'll let these layers cure for a few days before moving on to the next stage...