Hello everyone!
For years I never share my R/C builds or plastic builds on any forums; but I figured it's time to start -- now at my ripe old age of 24! When I started this diorama build, I did not have intent on posting it, so I don't really have any WIP pictures of the 109. I will have WIP pictures of the Kubelwagen and the diorama base itself.
One of my favorite aces of WW2 is Joachim Müncheberg, so luckily I did not have to purchase any aftermarket decals when choosing this kit.Yes, the Tamiya decals worked just fine! Excellent kit and the aircraft I wanted to represent -- win, win. The 109 is built straight from the box with the exception of a few interior Eduard placards, and Eduard photo etch harnesses. The harnesses came form Eduards 49002 set "Seatbelts Luftwaffe WWII Fighters".
Here is a link to Joachims Wiki page! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_M%C3%BCncheberg
I modeled mine with the flaps down BUT the LE slats retracted. I read a few places that sometimes ground crew would close the slats by hand after landing to keep dust and such from collection and causing a malfunction. I also came across a picture of the ground crew doing so.
I only made three modifications to the kit itself. Obviously this is an earlier 109, so the shoulder harnesses came through the top of the seat. Tamiyas seat is solid, so I did have to cut out oval for the harnesses to pass through. This was easily taken care of by drilling the proper sized whole side-by-side, then using a fresh #11 to cut out the center. The second modification being an oxygen hose made from wrapping a super-small diameter wire (not sure of diameter) around another piece of the wire. The final modification was scribing top and bottom seam lines on the fuselage. Oh, yes -- I did add antenna wire as well. But that's a given! I did not weight the tires because it will be sitting in non-manicured grass. So it will hide the bottom of the wheels. EDIT: I still have a little work to do on detailing the antenna wire and I still have to make the exhaust stacks a little more sooty.
Though not picked up by the camera, I did dust of the arframe,wheels, and tires quite a bit. Most of the weathering was done with a light amount of color modulation, pigments,and a light amount of chipping.
The topside of the model got a light airbrush of Flory wash. I went a bit heavier with airbrushing the wash at the bottom and build up layers. The underside came out OKAY, but I did have a small tragedy that involved me removing the airbrushed wash from the bottom and restarting -- thus leaving the weathering on the underside a bit -- uneven. Be that as it may, i'm more or less happy with the end result.
The diorama will be simple. It will feature a nice, stained base with longer, untrimmed grass. The 109. And the Kubelwagen. The pilot and driver will be standing next to each other reviewing a map as per the way Tamiya molded them. The pilot figure (Joachim) is wearing a late-war flight suit that I doubt Joachim truly wore. But my goal is not to spend a lot of money, so instead of going after-market for the pilot, I will use what is supplied.
I TRIED to keep this short, so before it gets longer, i'll stop here! If you have any questions, please ask
It may not be the best work but hopefully Joachim, though long gone, will be proud.
