Greif8 Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 Hi all, as I stated in the "Rules of the Road" thread, this will be the first of - hopefully two builds - the other being a PCM Mark I Hurricane. Below are photos of the kits and most of the AM I will be using, as well as the two figures that will go along with the 109. I am still looking for a figure that fits with my "full circle" plan of showing one aircraft and its personnel preparing for a sortie, and the other returning from a sortie. The German figures are going to be a nice little challenge as both the faces are looking somewhat downwards which makes painting the eyes area well fairly tough. The way the figures have to be presented will also pose a challenge to get them constructed, painted and positioned in a competent manner, should be fun - I hope! Figures primed and the acrylic flesh base laid in. I will be starting the detailed painting with oils in a couple of hours. Ernest Gazzas, dodgem37, coogrfan and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 Two Bf 109s vs one Spitfire at the moment, I'll fly wingman to you Ernest Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greif8 Posted June 1, 2020 Author Share Posted June 1, 2020 4 minutes ago, RLWP said: Two Bf 109s vs one Spitfire at the moment, I'll fly wingman to you Ernest Richard Or maybe I should be your wingman Richard! I think we will be fine as long as we remember to fight in the vertical plane and not get drawn into a turning battle. Ernest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greif8 Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 I spent yesterday painting the faces and hands of the figures, assembling and paint the IP and the pilot's seat. I'm going to wait for the oil paint to dry before taking photos of the faces as wet oils tend to look very garish and nothing like when they are dry. Below is the seat with an HGW seatbelt. I like HGW seatbelts and think they are well worth the effort to assemble; this one turned out fairly good. The IP is the kit one with Airscale decals and hand painted details; not perfect but it will do. As an aside, I have a Yahu IP and decided not to use it as I think the kit one looks better, and of course it fits perfectly so no fiddling around when it comes time to assemble the rest of the pit. Ernest The photo has a bit of a blue tint that I failed to notice before posting; need to work on the color balance. I did not reach 100% perfection with the IP, but from normal viewing distance it looks the part. dodgem37, Gazzas, Phantom2 and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 Greif8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greif8 Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 4 hours ago, MikeMaben said: Thank you Mike. I still need to touchup the IP a bit in a couple of spots. MikeMaben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greif8 Posted June 3, 2020 Author Share Posted June 3, 2020 The cockpit area has been primed and gotten it base coat of RLM 02. I am using Mission Models paints for the airbrushing with the exception of the very few metallic colors; for those I am using either Alclad II or Mr. Metal, on this build and Lifecolor for detail painting. Light conditions are poor for photography right now so I'll limit the photos to an overall shot of the parts laid out and one photo of the head of one of the figure's that will be included in the build. I am doing some very minimal scratch building and the little part with the 3 wires projecting from it will be the O2 regulator that goes next to the O2 canister. I doubt much of it will be seen once the pit is buttoned up but I am interested in trying to replicate it at any rate. The figure's face is still a bit wet, it normally takes 3-4 days for oils to dry completely without putting them in a drying box - which I did not do this time, so it still looks a bit garish. It came out pretty well and I am happy with the result. Once everything is dry, and I have better light, I will post the others. Ernest LSP_Kevin, thierry laurent, MikeMaben and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greif8 Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 The cockpit is finished. Overall I am satisfied with my effort. As I suspected it would, the little O2 assembly I made disappeared once everything was in place. I only did a moderate amount of wear and tear. I also finished the engine; here I only built up the basic parts as the engine assembly will not be seen once everything is buttoned up. A shame really as the engine is very nice, but having the cowlings open will not work for the scene I am planning. Ernest Erwin, dodgem37, Uncarina and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greif8 Posted June 6, 2020 Author Share Posted June 6, 2020 Well the build has hit a bit of a snag. The two rubber inserts that go into the landing gear bays have turned brittle; one in fact broke into several pieces under very gentle pressure. This is the first time I have seen this happen with any Dragon rubber parts and at this point the only option is to contact Dragon to see if I can get a couple of spares as I don't have another 109 E type kit on hand. On a happier note I managed to get the lower cowling in place with a minimum of putty, and I also got the two cowling pieces that make up the frames that hold the exhausts and turbocharger cooler to mate so well that there should be no seam where the parts join. If the upper cowling goes into place as well I will be a very happy man. The wing cannon covers are also coming along well after a bit of shaping and I think they will look pretty good once finished and painted. Ernest Houston - we have a problem. Cannon covers coming along nicely. The fit of the lower cowling turned out pretty good. The other side. I'm very pleased with the joint of these two parts. Alain Gadbois, Trak-Tor, LSP_Kevin and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 Why are those parts made of rubber? Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greif8 Posted June 6, 2020 Author Share Posted June 6, 2020 3 minutes ago, RLWP said: Why are those parts made of rubber? Richard Hi Richard, I have no idea why Dragon decided to use rubber for the parts. To be fair, this is the 4th Dragon 109 I have built and this is the only problem I have ever had with any of the kit parts. Unlucky this time! Ernest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 I'm planning to make a lining for the Eduard kit to represent the canvas, you could superglue yours back together and do something similar Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greif8 Posted June 6, 2020 Author Share Posted June 6, 2020 2 hours ago, RLWP said: I'm planning to make a lining for the Eduard kit to represent the canvas, you could superglue yours back together and do something similar Richard That would have been a great option, but the part is also warped very badly - or was when it was whole - and it is so brittle that it crumbles at the slightest pressure. I am looking at using some PE to make a frame and than cover that with something resembling fabric, much like you will be doing. I have also queried Dragon to see if getting two replacement parts is possible. We shall see! Ernest RLWP and Alain Gadbois 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alain Gadbois Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 I have the same problem with my kit. It was in the stash for a few years until I opened the box to check it out and the lining had become so brittle it broke as I exerted the slightest pressure. I bought another kit and the soft parts are fine (for now!). I was thinking of making a mold and cast a spare set for my first kit and another if the new parts go bad also. Alain Greif8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 No problems with mine, the flexibility made it easy to install even after the wing halves were together. Greif8 and nmayhew 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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