Ju 87G-2 HOT off the "production line"

Thanks, stinger ! I just enjoy painting Luftwaffe camo schemes. I have a lot of free time, so the builds actually have a lot of time in them. I usually invest 50 or more hours in each one, tending to go "the long way around." Simple & easy things don't hold too much interest for me anymore.
Glad you liked it !

Pix - I was right. You truly are the Luftwaffe Guru!

What an incredible build, and in so short a time. I don't know how you do it!

That is one awesomw looking Stuka, my friend. Thanks for sharing with us, and again, for all the help you've given me on my Dornier. You give me inspiration.

Awesome. Just awesome!!

stinger

Thanks, cassibill !

I'm currently building a 1/48 Hasegawa A6M2 "Zeke" for the Pearl Harbor group build, a 1/48 Trimaster Me 262A-1a in NMF for the Me 262 group build, and a 1/72 Olimp Curtiss JN-4D for an IPMS review. I may also start an Eduard P-39Q or an Accurate Miniatures TBM-3. Haven't made up my mind yet.

Beautifal work as always, Pix. You're spoiling us with the quality and quantity of your builds. Thanks for sharing as always. What is the next conquest?

Thanks, tempestjohnny & fuzzy !

This was definately one of my most enjoyable projects, "battle damage accident" aside.

Pix,
Glad to see another inspirational masterpiece. Excellent camo and aircraft. Thanks for sharing the photographs and your painting techniques .
Fuzzy

I love that camo PIX must have been a bear to paint though Great work JOHN

Thank you, Murray, TANGO, jimz66, & BSquires !

TANGO - I first painted the splinter camo (RLM 70 & 71 over 65), using masks. When that was dry (48 hours), I scanned the decals & printed them out. I put pieces of drafting tape over the national insignia & fuselage codes and band, and cut the shapes. These were applied to the model in the places that they would go, then Model Master flat white was sprayed freehand. I first "drew" the shape, then filled it, mostly following the direction of the air. I tried to let the base color show, and not get an even coat. I mix the paint thin, use low pressure, and minimal paint flow. The model then got a coat of Future, and I applied the decals. When they were dry, I overcoated parts of the decals with more white. Then it was Future, wash, dullcoat, and done. Its not really hard, as long as you can spray thin lines at low pressure with minimum paint. Its just time-consuming.

Glad you liked it ! I am truly humbled that you can find inspiration from my work, and thanks so much for your kind responses !

WOW!!!Amazing paint job great bird

Pix. Pix, Pix. you truley are an inspiration to us all thanks for shaing with us. Nice job and nice paint scheme. Nice work. Thanks again.

Pix,
thanks for sharing such a great build! Once again I feel compelled to offer my most sincere admiration for your work
Your praise is certainly very much deserved and I believe an inspiration to all of us here.

Now how the heck did you do that paint job? I'm terrible with camo schemes and would love to do what you've done myself. As always, it's a real pleasure to see your models here. Thanks again for sharing.

Darren.

Looks gorgeous. Another ringer!! Ding Ding!!

And, again.... nice photos..

Murray

Thank you, obiwan, Chris, Nick, & Brian !

obiwan - I almost couldn't wait to remove the canopy mask & install the gunsights. The little PE parts really make the difference. If you look at the windscreen carefully, there are even handholds for the pilot !

Chris - everyone is worthy, as long as you don't short-change yourself. (that doesn't sound like a line from "Wayne's World," does it?)

Nick - the spiral on the spinner is a kit decal. I had a near disaster with it. When I applied Micro Sol, I came back to find the center of the swirl had slid down the spinner, folding over itself. Copious amounts of water finally smoothed it out, and I needed touch-up in a couple of places. What a relief !

Brian - I was searching the web for reference pics for a Ju 87, and stumbled on a site that showed this bird in winter camo. And I could still use the kit decals ! There's not many aftermarket sheets for Ju 87s, and NONE for the "G" model. I really lucked out.

Thanks again, fellow builders !

Here are the other three in the "production line," all built, painted & decalled at the same time.

1/48 Shanghai Dragon FW 190A-8 in Joseph "Pips" Priller's markings.


1/48 DML Ta 152H-1 with Eduard PE


1/48 Trimaster Me 262A-1a out of the box with Eagle Cals markings

Again, an excellent job, Pix! That camo is so interesting and so well executed.

I'm very grateful you've chosen to share your treasures with us.
They are indeed winners, my friend!

pix what can i say?! just wow, wow and wow!!
i remember you mentioning this baby a while back...i feel like i followed this one all through it's construction! can i ask how you did the "swirly thingy" on the nose? (can't remember the official german name for it!)
many thanks for sharing once aagain.
regards,
nick

That is a truly stunning piece of work Pix. We are not worthy!!

definately your most awesome by far!
the canopy glazing looks so real and the photo etch
gunsights simply pop out at you.

another superb build.

My thanks to samreicheart, shrikes, didfal, Rick, AJACKETSFAN, Bossman, & Jason for your kind comments !

samreichart - I only know of the old Revell kit in 1/32. I seem to remember building that one some 35 years ago, so my memory isn't too fresh ! It was probably a typical kit of the day (their Bf 109, F4F, Spitfire, etc. in 1/32). I know that Airfix produced one in 1/24, but I never built it. There may be vac kits available, but I'm not a vac builder, so I don't know for sure. Wish I could be of more help.

didfal - giving away & donating your builds is a wonderful gesture. I imagine that you spread much happiness that way. You're to be commended.

Rick - I don't know if I would consider a Hasselblad camera as obsolete ! You can do things with their cameras of which a digital is incapable. Then there is the paper for the photos. You can't do albumen or platinum prints with a digital!

AJACKETSFAN - I think the next one I will start will be a Me 262 in NMF, for the group build.

Thanks again for your words of encouragement, everyone !

pix that came out awsome. I got cold just looking at it JAson

Pix,

You are one talented artist man ! The models and the photography are great. Thanks for sharing it.

Pix, they seem to get better every time... I can't wait to see what you do next. Thank you very much for sharing your amazing models with us. No one would ever know that just a few weeks ago this "dive" bomber took a fall, it just looks fantastic.

Pix, I agree with your philosophy 100%. Years ago, I started entering competitions at local and regional IPMS events. I won a few pieces of hardware, but found I was worrying more about Judges than enjoying my builds. Thats when I stopped competing and just built models for my own enjoyment and education. Thanks for the input on the camera. I used to moonlight as a pro photographer for a local studio but gave that up when I retired from my real job as an engineer 6 years ago. I have a lot of Nikon 35mm equipment and a couple of Hasselblads, but the digital revolution has made them sorta obsolete, not to mention the devaluation. I am a complete novice when it comes to Digital, but I hope to learn when I can afford a camera. I have never considered posting pics as "showing off". I love seeing other models from the Forum members and I've posted a couple of mine (scanned images so they do lose some quality). We can all learn from each other and seeing some of the results is very gratifying. Best regards and keep the model pics coming, as well as those fantastic Photoshop works of art.

Rick

Outstanding work and well deserving of envy. I can see now that I'll have to invest in an airbrush and a digital camera. One for paint jobs and the other to keep a record of models I build because I give them either to my grandson or the local VA hospital. All of the information, advice and photos contained in this forum have brought many of us 'ole timers' back to the hobby. The best part of all this expertise that is exhibited in all the areas of model building is: all of you started with 'sticky fingers' and now look at your skills. So, there's hope for all of us.

Fantastic bird you have there!! another beauty to add to your shelf! Hmm... maybe you can write an article and submit that to the Magazine! That way you can get modelers from all over the world scratching their heads as to how the heck you got that paint on!! Again, good job, Pix!!!!

Pix-
what a beautiful finish to the model!!

Is there a good 1/32 scale Stuka available?

BTW, I agree with you...the "Gallery" is my favorite space in the magazine, and I think viewing the photos displayed here is one of the great things the internet allows...

Thanks, Rick, benzdoc, & Faris !

saltydog - absolutely no offense taken. You had no way of knowing what happened to me. I just accept it as the way it is. Everyone has their shortcomings, mine just affects my ability to do certain things.

Rick - I don't do competitions. I believe that if a modeler does their best on a kit, and honestly examines it for ways to refine their techniques, how can it not be a winner? All models are different, all modelers are different. They can't be compared or judged, in my opinion. Its the old "apples & oranges" thing.
I use a Canon Power Shot G2 camera, with four megapixel resolution. Before my recent injury, I was a media arts student, majoring in fine art/photography, so I've had some education in it.

Faris - if you knew me, you'd know that I'm the last person that would show off. I post pics of my models here to share them. Otherwise, they would be just dust-collecting objects in my home. I love looking at pics of other people's models, its my favorite feature of FSM magazine. With this forum, I get a chance to communicate with other modelers, and learn how they did something that I saw. Can't do that with the mag ! As long as you don't let your own talents down, there's no reason to feel jealousy. Anyone can build realistic-looking models, and this is a great place to learn new things.

Thank you again !

I always kinda thought it was self serving of us to "show off" our models, but in reality, awesome is awesome. Great work, maybe I'm just jealous!! And great tip on the backdrop for the photography, thats been a challenge for me also. Faris

im totally sorry about the joke pix, i had no idea. boy, do i feel like an idiot! thats a good idea for the photo shoot, ill be giving it a try. im doing a semi production line right now. im working on an A-4M by hobbycraft, 2 P-51Ds, one by hasegawa and the other by tamiya, and an israeli F-16A with israeli desert camo sceme by hasegawa(cant wait to paint this bad boy!). all of these are 1/48. im also in the design phase of a display cabinet. ill post some pics of it as soon as im finished with it. later.

ps. sorry if i offended you in any way pix. it wasnt intended my friend.

Pix, that is out of this world! And, I appreciate that you haven't let a physical challenge keep you down!!

Keep up the great work.