1/32 Revell Bf 109G-6(14), Maj. Erich Hartmann, JG 53 (Complete)

It's always truly difficult to really tell what the paint is up to in those old low res pics. I am no expert, but my brain says they didn't start with a pure white 109 and added grey stripes. What my eye, for what it's worth, sees in the pic is a normal 109 scheme over painted with large bloches of white paint leaving the underlying camo showing through in those greyish areas. It does not appear to me to be grey over white, it looks like white over camo with no grey. Just my .

Your work looks great so far.

BK

BrandonK

It's always truly difficult to really tell what the paint is up to in those old low res pics. I am no expert, but my brain says they didn't start with a pure white 109 and added grey stripes. What my eye, for what it's worth, sees in the pic is a normal 109 scheme over painted with large bloches of white paint leaving the underlying camo showing through in those greyish areas. It does not appear to me to be grey over white, it looks like white over camo with no grey. Just my .

Your work looks great so far.

BK

 

Thanks Brandon - I tend to agree with you. Patches of white makes more sense than solid white with grey lines.  Thanks!

the Wall

What color do you use for the interior paint? Do you use the same for the wheel struts?

 

For Luftwaffe cockpit interiors after 1941, I use RLM 66 dark grey. For other interior areas (wheel wells, landing gear, flaps, engine covers, etc.), RLM 02 is usually called for. I've had good results with AK real colors paints. 

BrandonK

It's always truly difficult to really tell what the paint is up to in those old low res pics. I am no expert, but my brain says they didn't start with a pure white 109 and added grey stripes. What my eye, for what it's worth, sees in the pic is a normal 109 scheme over painted with large bloches of white paint leaving the underlying camo showing through in those greyish areas. It does not appear to me to be grey over white, it looks like white over camo with no grey. Just my .

Your work looks great so far.

BK

 

With you BK 110% on this. It makes sense that the whitebash was painted over  and removed after the winter time back to the operational regular colors. 

Still in awe of your instrument panels. Brilliant work. If I may, they had standard camo which was then white washed. I surmise the gray you see is some peeking through. 

lawdog114

Still in awe of your instrument panels. Brilliant work. If I may, they had standard camo which was then white washed. I surmise the gray you see is some peeking through. 

 

Thanks Lawdog! I agree on the camo approach. I plan to paint a standard 74/75/76 scheme and will then apply the white wash in patches. Thx. 

Excellent looking so far! For sure it was a white wash over standard splinter cammo. Looking forward to seeing Bubi's whip finished out!

TREYZX10R

Excellent looking so far! For sure it was a white wash over standard splinter cammo. Looking forward to seeing Bubi's whip finished out!

 

Thanks TREYZX10R!

The build is wrapped up and the standard summer camo applied with the usual approach using AK Real Colors RLM 04, 74, 75 and 76. I preshaded for the benefit of the underside since it will be mostly lost under the winter white on the upper surfaces. I used Eduard's scheme for Hartmann's G-14 as a guide for the camo. 

The winter camo is next!

I made some more progress on Hartmann's winter Gustav.

First, the standard camo was cleaned up a bit. I wanted some scalloping on the leading edges of wings to show through the winter camo, so I added the effect to the standard scheme before the white.  I also masked and painted the wing walk boundaries and trim tabs in red since I thought having these show through in places under the white camo would add some interest. 

Next, I added the white in uneven streaks, mottles and patches, with the underlying camo showing between the patches. I used AK real colors flat white thinned (1:2, paint:thinner) with AK thinner. It sprays very thin so it was very easy to control the opaqueness of the white areas.

After 2X coats of Tamiya X-22 clear gloss thinned 1:1 with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner, I sprayed a coat of 100% MCLT, which resulted in a nice surface for the decals. The AIMS "Tulip 109s" decals went on without a hitch.

Next I'll spray on another thin coat of gloss over the decals, clean up the camo and tulip markings, and start panel lines and more weathering. 

Thanks for following along. 

Wow thats looking amazing!!!

TREYZX10R

Wow thats looking amazing!!!

 

Thanks Trey! Much appreciated. 

lawdog114

Nailed it!...........love the stand too.

 

Thanks Lawdog!

I agree with Joe. You nailed it. This is exactly the look the pics have and most likely the way the bird was painted IRL. Super nice work there.

BK

BrandonK

I agree with Joe. You nailed it. This is exactly the look the pics have and most likely the way the bird was painted IRL. Super nice work there.

BK

 

Thanks BK! 

Mr. Color thinner is fantastic mixed with the Tamiya paints. That is one gorgeous looking 109. 

plasticjunkie

Mr. Color thinner is fantastic mixed with the Tamiya paints. That is one gorgeous looking 109. 

 

Thanks plasticjunkie! I've only tried MC with the gloss - I'll have to try with the colors as well. Thx

tempestjohnny

I agree with everybody. Perfect rendition if the scheme

 

Thanks tempestjohnny. Much appreciated. 

Erich Hartmann's JG 53 Gustav is finally complete! The Revell 1/32 G-6 is a really nice kit and I'm happy with the way it turned out.

After the decals, I kept the weathering light with a medium gray panel line wash and then some brown/black on control surfaces and exhaust. I also added some oil streaks, fuel drips and some minor chipping and wear. Using the reference photos I also recreated the overpainted "7" that was starting to show above the << on the port side.

I decided to have the canopy closed since I really like the lines of the Erla Haube on the Gustav. I also thought a decent base was in order so I created a section of tarmac and added some light micro balloon "snow" with hairspray.

Enjoy the photos!

That is hands down one of the best 109s I have ever seen.  And the photos make it difficult to tell I'm actually looking at a scale model rather than the real thing.

You killed this one. You nailed the paint, as we said before and it shows in the finished pics. Excellent work.

BK

Wingman_kz

That's nice! Great pictures. Gonna order that kit today. Tony

 

Thanks Wingman, much appreciated. I recommend the quickboost gun bulges. I used some of the other aftermarket items also, but I think these are the most noticable improvement. Good luck. 

Aggieman

That is hands down one of the best 109s I have ever seen.  And the photos make it difficult to tell I'm actually looking at a scale model rather than the real thing.

 

Thanks Aggieman! I really appreciate your encouraging comments. I really enjoy the photo process and am glad you like them. In fact, I found that photographing the white camo was actually more challenging than usual. Getting the white balance right and matching the lighting intensity with the backdrop took some trial and error. It's easy to both over- and under-expose the shots. Thanks again for the comments.  

BrandonK

You killed this one. You nailed the paint, as we said before and it shows in the finished pics. Excellent work.

BK

 

Thanks BK!  And thanks again for your thoughts when I was contemplating the camo scheme. I like the way it turned out. Thanks.