Bf 109 G-2 of Johannes "Macky" Steinhoff - REVELL - 1/32

[monthebiff]

Nice work Denis, It's unfortunate that the Revell G-2 kit has the late G-14 wooden footplate rather than the correct steel part. I managed to squeeze the ZM part in to my build.

 

Regards. Andy 

[Furie]

Thanks Andy, the worst thing is that I didn't realize it right away, but fortunately I did it in time before I pasted everything. The most obvious things don't show up right away it seems.
And another nice surprise from REVELL, I just looked at the pictures of the plane and the REVELL parts (while I'm replying on the forum): the leather padding on the rear armor plate is missing...
Do you have any advice to give me to make it (which product or material to use)?

 

[mozart]

Great thread Denis, very amusing to read through and to plot your course on “Les Aventures de Denis”!  
 

I’ve only ever built one Bf109, it was the Revell G-6 and I quite enjoyed it but (and it may have been mentioned already but I missed it), on that kit at least the undercarriage legs are soooooo weak that they collapse! I had to buy some after market ones which immediately worked well, so be warned. There are some good alternatives out there these days. 
 

Looking forward to the next episode already! 

[Furie]

Are you serious ???
Are you talking about the old REVELL G-6 kit from the last millennium or the new REVELL kit ???
Are there any other surprises to discover ?
You can tell me everything now, I'm ready to hear everything.
I'm not out of the woods yet... (In France we say: je ne suis pas sorti de l’auberge !)

Now it's obvious that REVELL has a personal grudge against me.

 

I just reread Thierry Laurent's article and here is what he wrote about the landing gear:

 

LANDING GEAR

• Kit gives two options for rims and tires. The star-shaped G2 rims are correct but could be finer. If not absolutely required, replacing them with aftermarket parts will result in a noticeably better in-scale look.
• Add the flexible brake hose on each main landing gear leg (between the wheel and the leg).
• The main landing gear door kit part actually depicts two different parts on the actual airframe. A large ejection mark is unfortunately located on the internal side of the rear section.
• The multipart landing gear legs are accurately detailed but tedious to assemble. Removing the seams is a lengthy job. Replacing the legs with aftermarket ones will be a time saver.

Strange, he doesn't talk about its fragility.

Tell me mozart, you wouldn't take a bribe from EDUARD to get people to buy their products?!!? 

 

On the other hand the article does not mention the missing headrest on the armor plate.

 

And I'm glad that you like the story of my "exploits" in a humorous tone, I try to make my return to business fun and light-hearted. 

Edited March 10, 2023 by Furie

[mozart]

I thought I’d done a WiP but perhaps not, just an RFI but already you can see the odd angle of the undercarriage, this was the kit ones. No idea I’m afraid Denis of how old or new the kit was, not being a “student” of Bf109s! Ask me about Bf110s and that’s a different matter,

 

 

[Furie]

As I have to order other things on an online site, I will add in my "basket" a landing gear kit in addition, I am not so close now...
Thank you for your information mozart.

Edited March 10, 2023 by Furie

[Furie]

A little bit of work done, redone, undone because I wasn't satisfied.
But I'm getting there.
I just painted the cockpit in RLM66, lightened in places and for the moment I don't touch it anymore. 
Yesterday I was at the same stage of progress and I did a drybrush.
The problem is that my drybrush was not really beautiful: the effect was too strong, with traces of brush strokes, in short, not pretty. 
I used artist's oil in a tube: white mixed with grey to avoid the drybrush to be too bright. Of course, I wiped my brush well to avoid "painting" but to make a subtle drybrush.
The problem is that it wasn't subtle at all and I redid it all in RLM66 as I wrote above. 
I really need you, your advice (as I wrote at the beginning of this topic) because I know (?) the theory but I don't master the practice.
So any help and advice will be welcome because I'm not even sure if I should make this drybrush with Gunze, with an oil paint for artist, if I should apply a varnish before this drybrush, if the color should be the very thinned RLM66, or white, or aluminum etc etc...

 

Denis, who is in a jam.

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Furie

[mc65]

well, Denis, you asked for... 

 

I think the only trick to make drybrushing that isn't painting is to have the bristles of the brush almost completely dry.

if you want to use oil paints, I think a good system is to use a cardboard instead of a synthetic palette on which to place some of the paint: in this way the oily part of the color will be absorbed by the cardboard and mostly pigment will remain on the brush.

obviously, before applying it to the model, "unloading" the bristles on a kleenex will help to get a minimum amount of color, and only on the highest and most angular points of the kit's  parts.

 

about the leather pad, I like to use for these little parts a product easily workable called Fimo, after some manipulation it became soft and capable to retain the tiniest detail. When dry it can be heated, becoming hard and stable.

 

Speaking  of the 109 Revell's landing gear (the modern series) I think it's its true Achilles heel: very thin and at risk of collapsing.

on the other hand, its decomposition allows you to adjust the compression of the shock absorbers very easily, which considerably increases the general realism of the finished model.

 

wanting to avoid aftermarket metal or resin legs, I think the only way to sleep peacefully is to place the finished model on a base, so that the wheels are anchored to the ground with metal pins, this helps a bit.

obviously my usual two cents, ehm, francs! 

 

 

 

cheers, Paolo 

Edited March 11, 2023 by mc65

[Furie]

Buonasera Paolo!

Thank you for your complete answers because I was so disappointed with my drybrush completely missed.

And yet I watched some tutorials on YT!
I'm going to try it on a "test" model with oil paints and also with Gunze.

I think I'll try it with a light gray (lighter than RLM66) but not too white either, to give a fairly subdued effect. The hardest part is to measure both the shade of color you choose for the drybrush and the "volume" of drybrush you apply.
Concerning the landing gear, I think I misunderstood the remarks about this kit: I thought you meant that the landing gear was so fragile that it could break under the weight of the plane, but in fact (if I understood correctly) it's that the 2 landing gears will bend outwards (and not break).

So your advice to put the model on a definitive base, with the wheels well stuck to the ground of this base allows to avoid my 109 to look like a giraffe drinking in the savannah!  

 

 

 

Grazie a te e a presto!

 

 

No lira in my pocket because I spent all my money at the caffé Florian, but 5 kopecks !

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Furie

[Furie]

Well, I've made progress on this 109.

 

-so RLM66 Gunze lightened with Tamiya Tan because I thought the color was too dark.
-I also lightened this mix to paint the center of the panels.
-installation of twisted wires to simulate the strands of electrical wiring
-drybrushed with a light gray while walking on eggshells
-painting the oxygen circuits, electrical circuits, straps of the gun case

 

I still have to put straps on the 2 rudder pedals, a strap on the back plate (luggage compartment), redo the throttle, glue the Eduard set in decals and PE, install the oxygen regulator and its hose, paint the fuel system hose.
Pass some aluminium pencil strokes, a little earth color on the floor and then a general wash to highlight all this work. 

 

As I'm quite satisfied with myself, I'm rewarding myself with a little Green Spot.

A votre santé les amis ! 

 

Denis is slowly but surely making progress (once bitten, twice shy)!

 

 

 

 

And here is what I took as a tutorial: 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by Furie

[Hoss FL]

Following along. Great scheme -- I did the same scheme on Eduard's 1/48 kit. Looking great so far. 

[Furie]

3 hours ago, Hoss FL said:

Following along. Great scheme -- I did the same scheme on Eduard's 1/48 kit. Looking great so far. 

 

Thanks Hoss.
Did you paint the engine cover yellow with RLM70 spots or did you interpret the photos differently?
Personally and logically I only see yellow painted like a spotted leopard.
I made good progress today on my cockpit, I painted a lot of small details and I was about to apply a gloss varnish but my compressor kicked the bucket...
Kaputt! A la poubelle ! Sabotage !

 

Back to work on Thursday!

 

 

Below is a "silver" pen that helped me with the small details.

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by Furie

[Hoss FL]

1 hour ago, Furie said:

 

Thanks Hoss.
Did you paint the engine cover yellow with RLM70 spots or did you interpret the photos differently?
Personally and logically I only see yellow painted like a spotted leopard.

 

 

 

Yes, my interpretation was that the intent was to tone down the yellow engine cover with the darker RLM 70 spots. I'm thinking the ground crew applied the spots with a ~3-inch brush.  

 

Here are a few photos from different angles. I applied the spots with a toothpick using Mission Models acrylic paint, attempting to follow the photos closely for size, position and density. I smoothed the surface down with some micro mesh after the spots were dry and then applied the flat coat. Hope it helps. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mywifehatesmodels]

Furie,

 

If I'm reading this correctly, you still are looking for an armored headrest with the leather padding? You may want to see if anyone closer to you has that part from a Hasegawa kit. I'm willing to bet it would fit, or could be modified to fit without too much trouble. I could check my spares and send you one, if I have it, but you may have better (faster) luck with someone on your side of the pond. Sculpting one from milliput or a similar putty would also be an option, but the buttons/snaps would be the tedious part.

 

Looking great!

 

John

[Antonio Argudo]

nice work, could the cowling been painted by hand? 

Edited March 13, 2023 by Antonio Argudo