Bf-109: Reich Defender GB The End

Looking great Frank. I can't wait to see it with the spinner attached! These late war 109 look so much different than the earlier one's. Alot more Green on the fuselages and alot furthur down the sides. Proving how bad things really were in the end as it was much more important to not be seen on the ground than in the air. It is nice to see so many different camo styles as oppossed to the standard camo colors and patterns that were so prevelent during the mid years of the war.

                                                                                      Soulcrusher

Thoses figures really look the biz' there Gary. That is going to be one busy scene.

                                                                                 Soulcrusher

soulcrusher wrote:

I can't wait to see it with the spinner attached!

Here's one just for you SC!

Marc- Yes, dozens unfortunately.  Generally, I wait about 20 minutes to a half an hour between coats.  As long as you don't flood the decal with solvent, they usually respond well to multiple applications of it.

Gary those figures are amazing! I bet that scene looks more realistic than the picture when completed!

Frank that paint job is incredible!  Looks like the thing just landed!  Like the spinner as well! Your really on a roll! Gonna be done before you know it!

Neu you jumped right in and are making great progress! Looks mighty fine so far!

Daywalker wrote:

Marc- Yes, dozens unfortunately.  Generally, I wait about 20 minutes to a half an hour between coats.  As long as you don't flood the decal with solvent, they usually respond well to multiple applications of it.

Well, I'm glad that I know that now - I've had some otherwise great builds spoiled by lackluster decal results...hopefully I can prevent that in the future. Have you ever tried Solvaset? Seems to be a bit more potent than the Micro-Sol, but I worry if it gets too strong if it'll start attacking the paint.

Daywalker wrote:

I finished adding the decals today, and they went OK 'cept for the starboard upper wing cross.  Fair amount of silvering on this one, and the fuselage crosses were as thick as duct tape.  Dozens of applications of micro sol and mr. mark softer, and they are passable now.  I had the same issue with the last 109 I built using Eagle Editions decals.  The ones on the sheet with more than one color (two-tone crosses, numbers w/ outlines, etc) are EXTREMELY thick.  I almost opted to paint the crosses, wish I had now.  Next time!

Frank you have taken spinners to a whole new level! If we could just drag you away from those darn Corsairs for a bit now!

                                                                                           Soulcrusher

Hoyhoy`Al.

Tis Dun.

When the mood takes me I feel that another 4 or 5 figures along the right side admiring the model may give it that crowded look as in the photo, but for now I`ve had enough and besides I`ve got no more walking figures left to use.

If you want to see the full build and more pics of the finished model then go here:

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,22461.msg323693.html#msg323693

All comments and crits welcomed as always, enjoy and I`m of for a well earned drink.

Cheers

Gary

Hi Neu,

Perhaps I did`t make myself clear or perhaps you don`t know of the origins of this build. It was started to try and copy the photo below, but I changed the plan to be of around the time of the photo. When I said "to the right" I meant the front of the plane as it is intended to display this as per the photo and the `front of the dio is the side view, if that makes sense. The extra figures would generally add to the crowd scene and make it look more fuller as in the picture.

Hope this clears this up and thanks for the interest and good luck with your build.

Cheers Gary

Gary- That is some stunning work!  Excellent job, and thanks for sharing it here.

I was not happy with the upper wing crosses on my G-10, so I decided to strip them off and paint them on.  The large areas of clear decal film caused some serious silvering, and the dark paint underneath only amplified the problem.  Luckily, I had not clear coated the model after decalling, so removal was fairly easy.  I used scotch tape to pull most of the decals off, then soaked what was left with a bit of solvaset.  After letting them soak for about 15 minutes, I scrubbed more of them off.  The last stuborn bits I had to sand off , which unfortunately went through the Future coat and into the paint.  So, I used the micro-mesh polishing system to smooth out the chips, and repainted everything.  Luckily, I had saved the paper masks I used originally and was able to reuse them.  Painted the gray last night, and the green tonight.  You can see the slight difference between the paint with Future and the fresh paint, but it should blend nicely after another coat of Future.  I also used some grays and tans to mute the other paint effects, and blend the fuselage markings in with the camo.

After removing the decals, and polishing the surface to remove the chipped effect:

Gray is on, and masked and ready for the green:

And repainting done:

You can see the muted fuselage colors in the photos as well.  After a day for the paint to dry, I can give it a clear coat and begin masking for the new, painted wing crosses.

Looking great Frank. I always fear those white outline upper wing crosses. The are a recipe for disaster every time. Sometimes you can do everything perfect and still get the silvering. I think I saw some vinyl masks for them made by someone. Alot of the Aeromaster decal sheets have the printed out masks on the decals placement sheet. A vinyl mask would be great. You could probally reuse them several times. That would definetly put an end to many repaints due to silvering.

                                                                                               Soulcrusher

Thanks SC!  I masked and sprayed the new crosses this evening, and they came out pretty good IMHO.  I muted the white a bit, and misted it on to give a patchy, faded look to them.  The taped wingtips look quite stark at this point, but the weathering to come will help them.

Those crosses look great Frank. Did you make the masks yourself of did you use a pattern. I think I am going to spray them on the next Luftwaffe build. They look som much better and like you have done you can weather then in to to paint better too. Looking foward to seeing more Frank.

                                                                                              Soulcrusher

Frank, sorry to hear about the silvering problems, however it looks like you've got them well under control.

Not a lot of progress on the G-14AS. The engine plug has come up a good 2mm narrower on one side, which has meant lots of filler and sanding.

It's still not right, so is languishing under my bench while I finish the Dornier and the Raiden.

Karl

Aw man I saw your post here Frank and I was all ready to see some more cool pics. Oh well I'm glad to hear you are nearing completion. I can't wait to see another master piece from you Frank.

                                                                                Soulcrusher 

While the Hase/MDC G-14 is on ice, I was thinking of picking up the Revell K-4 just to ensure that I actually finished a 109 before July 1st!

Has anyone built this kit? 

From what I've heard it's not strictly a K-4, and needs some mods, anyone know what these are?

Failing that I might pick up the Revell G-10 as I have plenty of spare decals for G-10s.

Karl

Looking very tidy Frank, love your paint work and cant wait to see this finished

Cheers...

Karl I had the G-10 in the stash but I stole all of the small parts out of the kit to add the missing detail to the Pegasus G-6 I did for this GB. The kit looks decent in the box and the basic shape looks spot on. The cockpit is a little sparse but a closed canopy would take care of that. I would be willing to bet the K version is going to have the master compass door panel on the fuselage and the radio access panel in the wrong spot. Both easy fixes. Other than that OOB it could be a nice simple build.

                                                                                         Soulcrusher

SC, I figured that the radio hatch would be in the wrong place, wasn't aware of the master compass hatch though.

As you say, both easy fixes.

Thanks

Karl