Finished....1/48 Hasegawa Messerschmitt BF 109 G-2 (Work in Progress)

Very nice work so far.

Joe, Looking good.  Is that your normal 'pit painting method, lay out the parts on a clothes pin with blue tack?  Pretty good idea.  I just paint mine on the sprues, which leads to "where is that damn control stick again?"

Taggin along!! Fine work so far on the pit!! Can the block on the bottom of the pit floor remain or does it have to be removed??

Thanks guys.  MAgather, yes I always remove the pieces and attach them in this manner for painting and general handling.   I can't remember where I learned this trick but I've been doing it for years.  Eric, thats a good question about the resin block.  I'm hoping to get away with not doing so since I actually hate sanding these almost as much as masking canopies.  If I remember correctly from my G-6 and 14, it may only need slight sanding to fit.  I will advise accordingly.

Oh .......and I have no idea what happened to the first picture...Photobucket hiccup?  It was just a picture of the box top as seen in that last picture (upper right).  Anyone know how to edit a post after its posted?

Joe

There should be a pencil icon in the lower left corner of your posts Joe. Click that and it allows you to edit them.

Such nice work.  Had to do a double take from the first pic to the second, thought it was a before and after detailing, THEN I read the text!  Very encouraging!  

Great start Joe, looking forward to seeing this come together.

Thanks guys.  Eric....thanks, I never noticed that icon....duh.  In for a quick update.  I gave the cockpit a "Detailer" wash then dull coated it.  I added some clear epoxy to the IP lens to simulate glass.  I decided to forego the postshading because I felt the RLM 66 was dark anyways.  In case anyone is curious, here's the detailer wash I use .  I swear by this stuff. 

Heres how it looks applied...

I closed up the fuselage without issue.  Hasegawa does not seem to supply the promiment luggage door (I think thats what it is) on the back of the cockpit sill in their 109 series, so I fabricated this with sheet styrene and .10 styrene rod for the hinge.  

I got the airframe together in about an hour.  The cockpit and IP were inserted up into the fuselage without issue.  I did however have to sand the casting block on the cockpit floor slightly for clearance of the lower wing which was no biggie.  This is for the most part an easy kit to assemble.  The same cannot be said for the cowl engine covers.  They just don't fit well on this kit, typical of Hasegawa and their inserts.  I don't however recall issues here on the G-6 and G-14 I built.  After trimming a bit and some finnagling, I added Tenax to the gaps and it melted the panel lines into a more appropriate size.  Its passible now.  I have read these panels didn't fit all that great on the real thing.   

A test fit of the windshield.  The fit looks like it will be good here..

I hope to get a primer coat added tonight, maybe more,,

Joe 

Sweet!

Nice. These kits build up fast don't they? The cowl inserts on the later G kits are designed different and only include a top piece. That's why they fit better.

It also occurred to me when I re-read your original post about the panels not fitting well on the real 109 that many inexperienced modelers sand the joint smooth on the top of the fuselage and do not rescribe the panel line that runs the length.

That pit looks awesome Joe!!

Thanks Eric, Reasoned and Nathan.  Reasoned, I forgot about the panel line along the spine and bottom of the fuselage.  I'll have to scribe those in.  Nathan, I just saw that, out of curiousity I pulled a G-6 out of my stash and then remembered the cowl differences.  They must have saw the design flaw and changed it.  It seems the G-6 kit is slightly more detailed too since there are a few rivets added here and there.  

Joe

Reasoned

It also occurred to me when I re-read your original post about the panels not fitting well on the real 109 that many inexperienced modelers sand the joint smooth on the top of the fuselage and do not rescribe the panel line that runs the length.

I also end up with a little gap at the top of the cowling panels, so I use a small styrene strip and scribe some lines in it and leave it slightly raised up to represent a hinge.

Nathan T

Reasoned

It also occurred to me when I re-read your original post about the panels not fitting well on the real 109 that many inexperienced modelers sand the joint smooth on the top of the fuselage and do not rescribe the panel line that runs the length.

I also end up with a little gap at the top of the cowling panels, so I use a small styrene strip and scribe some lines in it and leave it slightly raised up to represent a hinge.

That's a neat idea.

That's a great idea Nathan...and nice 109.  How did you drill out those small scoops.  That looks great!  I was scratching my head trying to figure out how to do this without loosing them to the floor forever (another "nice job" Hasegawa), so I just painted the front black.  Reference the cowl, I remedied this by using styrene "tabs" glued from the underside for attachment points.  I then glued the two top pieces together at the said tabs and let it dry. The seam itself never touched the glue.  This way I preserved the hinge detail on top (darn...I should have snapped a picture). I think it worked fairly well but what a lousy fit and design.

Anyways, I got a little bit more work done.  I scribed in the top spine and bottom fuselage panel lines using Dymo tape and a Squadron scribe tool (which is getting dull) then pre-shaded the all panel lines with XF-1.  For the areas that are supposed to be RLM 04 yellow, I cut XF-3 Yellow with a touch of XF-7 Red to brighten it up a bit.  Truthfully, I cant tell the difference between RLM 02 yellow or regular yellow so I just eyeballed it.  For all I know there isn't a difference other than the snazzy name....lol. 

If your one of the people who have trouble airbrushing yellow....follow these instructions with these ingredients:

1.  Take Tamiya XF-2 Flat White and thin it with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol.  Get the consistency to thick milk.  Do not use any other thinner.  Forget Tamiya X-20, their lacquer thinner, Mr. Gunze leveler or any other thinner for this purpose.  Spray the white first and let it dry (few minutes). 

2.  Thin the yellow mixture the same way as the white and spray it.  I usually use about 15 or 20 psi and spray several light coats until you get the look you're after.   Still transparent?...add more yellow. 

The trick is that the white applied first helps gives the follow up yellow depth and the alcohol dries so quick the paint doesn't have time to build up.  Its as simple as that...end of debate..lol.  Kidding aside, this works great for me.  I recently did a P-47N with a yellow tail using this very method and I had zero trouble. 

Anyways, I sprayed in the lower cowl, lower wing tips, then the fuselage band for Rall's JG 52 bird. 

That's where I'm at so far, I hope to start on the RLM 74, 75, and 76 soon.  I'll be using Gunze Aqueous for the 74 and 75 which I think are the best for these colors to my eye. 

Joe

You're a machine Joe!  Yeah yellow in the AB is a PIA (at least for me), that's a good solution but I use enamels so a variation is in order.  I did try white primer under it this time which helped a lot.  I think RLM 02 is a little darker than the standard "yellow", at least to my eyes but at the end of the day it won't matter if there is nothing to compare it to.

I think that yellows looks pretty bright and rich, I like it. Will be 'borrowing' this method on my current build Joe! Moving this one right along!

Joe, I drilled out those scoops after I cemented them to the cowling using a small drill bit to start, then oblonged them out with an exacto blade.

Thanks Reasoned.  Nathan, I never thought of that.  I suspected Dremel.  I had a paint-a-thon last night.   I got the RLM 76 down with the Tamiya's recommendation of XF-2+XF-23 and then XF-66.  I of course altered this till it matched an old Model Master bottle I have.  I then sprayed the Gunze RLM 75.  I think I figured out Gunze Aqueous.  It has to be sprayed thicker than Tamiya paints and at a slightly higher psi (about 15 psi), otherwise, its goes on transparent.  I cut it with Tamiya X-20 thinner and just kept adding more paint until it I got Tamiya-like coverage.  I then taped off the splinter scheme and sprayed the RLM 74.  All colors received condensation streaks by lightening the paint with XF-2 Flat White.  In lieu of using the kit decals, I found Aeromaster sheet 48-461 on E-bay which has Rall's G-2 markings.  Unfortunately I'm still waiting for them to arrive so I pulled up the profile online to paint the scheme (I have no patience).  I don't like Hasegawa decal grief, so I use Aeromaster, Eagle Strike, Superscale or Sky whenever possible.  I secured the slats, flaps and rear radiator doors with strategically placed blue tac pre-paint and once complete, I premanently secured them with Tenax.   

I decided the yellow was too lemon-like, therefore, I added more red and shaded it in on the center of the panels that are yellow.  I like the effect.  The model got a post shading once the scheme was down.

I suppose I'll work on the other bits while I wait for the decals. 

Joe      

Hi Joe,

Very nice!  I am a big fan of your builds and they really motivate me to get working on mine and improve my skill level.

Allen

Thanks Allen for the kind words.  I'm in for an update.  The decals came yesterday so I was inspired to get some more work done.  I gave the G-2 a couple of coats of Alclad Clear Gloss and while I waited for it to dry, I turned my attention to the canopy masking.  I've  been spoiled lately with the pre cut canopy masks that the Eduard Profipack kits have supplied (Hellcat, Spitfire....).  Since I hate masking canopies, I'm a huge fan of these.  These are a tad above sliced bread to me o the "best thing since" scale.  Unfortunately I couldn't find one for the G-2, so I had to go "old school" and mask it myself (Maybe the others would have worked but I decided not to risk it).  Out came the Tamiya tape, fresh #11 Exactos, and the mirror.  I suppose I needed this skill check to keep me honest.     

Aeromaster sheet #48-461 Augsburg Eagles Part IV provided markings for Rall's G-2.  These were dated 1996, but still went down without issue under Micro Sol.   I am a big fan of their products and have never had any noteworthy issues with their decals.  The Aeromaster sheet indicated the spinner was all RLM 70, however, the kit profile sheet said it was one third white.  I don't know which was correct, possibly both at different times, so I just went with the white version which just looks more interesting. 

It shouldn't be too long now..

Joe 

Nothing starts the morning off right like clicking on the a/c forum and seeing an update to one of your WIP's Joe! I love how this one is turning out. I have no G models in the stash which is a problem I need to rectify soon! Very nice sir!!

Fantastic Joe, good call with the yellow.

I seem to have missed this one. This is one sweet looking 109. The pit is amazing. And loving the paint scheme.

Nice looker Joe, paint and mottle look very realistic. Eduard offers the masks in the 109F pack. Took me a while to figure that out but when I purchased a set for an F-4, the ones for the G-2 clear parts are in there too. And when you build a G-14 with the Erla canopy, you have to buy a set for a G-6, as well as a K-4 if your lazy like me.

lawdog114

I turned my attention to the canopy masking.  I've  been spoiled lately with the pre cut canopy masks that the Eduard Profipack kits have supplied (Hellcat, Spitfire....).  Since I hate masking canopies, I'm a huge fan of these.  These are a tad above sliced bread to me o the "best thing since" scale.  Unfortunately I couldn't find one for the G-2, so I had to go "old school" and mask it myself (Maybe the others would have worked but I decided not to risk it).  Out came the Tamiya tape, fresh #11 Exactos, and the mirror.  I suppose I needed this skill check to keep me honest.     

 

Yeah i'm with you on canopy masking and cheating by using pre-cut masks.  That's why I can't wait for my next bubble top! 

im with you about the canopy masking. i use eduard mask on all my builds. I think i only masked one canopy my self which was a ki-61 canopy. i used glad's press N seal. works extremely well. alclad didn't attack it all. as for the G2 canopy, you may be able to use another eduard mask. I had to use a K14 mask on my 48scale G-10 canopy. only G-10 mask they had was for the 32nd kit. hope this helps. awesome work btw!!!

I'm gonna call her done.  To recap, its the 1/48 scale Hasegawa Bf 109 G-2, done up in Gunther Rall's JG52 mount on the Russian front in the fall of 1942.  Rall was the third leading ace of all time behind Hartmann and Barkhorn with 275 kills.  I used Aeromaster sheet 48-461 with Rall's markings and a True Details cockpit.  I utilized Gunze Aqueous for the RLM 74 and 75 then I custom mixed my own RLM 76 with Tamiya paint.  The figure is from the Hasgawa Pilot set.  These are somewhat of a disappointment because they just aren't very well detailed. 

I have mixed feelings about the kit.  For one, the clear pieces were bagged with the sprues and mine were scratched up pretty good.  I was able to polish some of it out with Novus.  Also, the engine panel fit irritated me a bit.  I got it to look passable, but it still bugs me a bit.  I have taken solace in that these didn't fit perfect on the real aircraft.  The design here is much better on the later G models.  Other than these, it was a fun build.  It's by no means a contest winner, but it was a fun build.  Thanks for following this thread and comments are welcome.

Joe