Bf-109: Reich Defender GB The End

Hi Frank and all --

The good news is a big box of kits arrived from the States today, 14 eBay wins, so I have some new bargains to drool over. The bad news is there are no 109s among this batch. The really bad news is my jury service has begun and it may be next weekend before I get any benchtime to speak of.

Mike

Daywalker wrote:

Thanks again for being such a prolific member here SC!  I have really enjoyed this one, and hope to do another in the future.  Perhaps a "FW-190 Reich Defender" or perhaps the ME-262?  Only time will tell I guess... I know what you mean about Phoenix... I have tried PMs, emails, phone calls, and have asked a number of people that knew him if they had any idea what happened to him.  Nothing yet, unfortunately.  Hope that wherever he is, things are OK with him.

Frank,

I got an email from Stan a couple weeks with his new email, PM if you're interested and I'll forward it out to you (assuming you didn't get the same one). 

Made some more progress on the K.

Put the dot wash on last night to give that rain streaked look of an aircraft stored out in the woods in all weathers, followed by a matt coat tonight.

Needs a few more coats of matt to knock that shine off, but I reckon it ought to done by the weekend.

Karl

Mike- Bummer about the jury duty, but don't worry- we'll wait!

Mikester- I didn't get an email from him, PM inbound! 

Karl- Stunning progress!  Looks like she is just about there.

Looking great Karl. I can't wait to see the pinished pics.

                                                                               Soulcrusher

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

Slight problem at the moment as I've run out of Gunze Flat Clear!

Thought I had a few bottles in the stash, so this build will have to go on hold while I wait for the post man to deliver the ones I ordered this morning.

I know there are other flat coats out there, I know, I've tried most of them, and Gunze is the very best.

While I'm waiting I'll finish up the smaller details like the aileron mass balances and antenna.

Does anyone know whether the prop blades on the K's were wood or metal?

Karl

KJ200 wrote:

Does anyone know whether the prop blades on the K's were wood or metal? Karl

Metal, some very early 109's used wooden blades but every other version were metal.

Karl I believe in sticking with what works for you. Its best to wait in my opinion. The wooden props were found on the Fw 190 Dora's if I remember correctly.

                                                                                            Soulcrusher

Mike, thanks for that.

I picked up the AB the other night with the intention of replicating the paint worn off the back of the blades as per most late 109s when I suddenly thought 'Were these all metal?'.

SC, I managed to find a few extra drops of Gunze Flat Clear in what I thought was an empty jar last night, so I might get get this one done this weekend after all.

Karl

OK, my K is done!!! I added the canopy hood and antenna wire this morning. I used stretched sprue and then once glued in place a just extinguished out wooden match underneath provided enough heat to take out the slack- a technique I saw demonstrated at a IPMS chapter meeting.

I am really glad to have joined this GB because the work I saw here really pushed me to some of my best work yet. (in my mind) Thanks for the inspiration guys.

Hope you guys like her... thanks for letting me play along

Nice build Carlos. Glad to have you here with us building. Well Done!

Hopefully we will see Karl's Karl shortly!

                                                                                            Soulcrusher

OK, now to the part I enjoy, painting!  I didn't really have a good reference to work from so this is kind of speculative based on other's people's builds on the net.  The decal instructions call out a 74/75/76 scheme but every other rendition I've seen used 81/83/76 so that's what I went with, the paint is MM (76), Aeromaster (81,83) and Polly S (Italian Dark Olive Green) acrylics.  The Italian dark green was used to over-paint the the swastika and what I assume was a unit emblem on the cowl, chances are this was a plane turned over to the ANR from JG 53 or JG 77.  This color was more speculation on my part but the one (not so good) photo I have  shows a dark splotch so the Italian dark green seemed logical.  Sorry about the poor photos but this one's on it's way to club meeting then due for a coat of Future so wanted to get the pics up before I got too far along.

Carlos, great job on the K.

The camo looks spot on.

Mike, liking the look of the big G.

An ANR colour scheme is something you don't see too often.

The postman turned up with 4 new bottles of Gunze Flat Clear this morning! That's less than 48 hours after I ordered them from MDC!

I can now focus on adding the little odd and sods.

Karl

Mike, your camo job looks really superb! I especially love the fuselage mottling. I just wish the pics weren't so dark! This one is gonna look awesome when completed I am sure!

Guys, thanks for all the kind words on my Karl, aside from a few minor glitches I really enjoyed this build and am looking at which 109 in my stash to tackle next... just so many choices...

Karl and Stick -- fabulous work, guys! Mike -- can't wait to see her in proper lighting, she looks great already!

Jury duty occupied most of the week and Saturday I was too drained to get to work on the K-4. But I managed a bit today, putting the top of the wings and tail into RLM 75:

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Next time I'll do the flank masks and get the fuselage top into same, then I'll be working with the masks to get the green into place. I'm due in the jury pool again tomorrow, so I've no idea when I'll be able to take another shot.

Thanks for waiting, guys, it means a lot!

Cheers,

Mike

OK, got the stickers on, combination of Sky Decals "Bf 109 in Italian Service" and decals from the kit.  They all went down beautifully.  The wing Balkankreuz will be over-sprayed with dark olive green and the Italian insignia will be applied.

Mike, looking sweet.

The K is almost done.

I've attached most of the sticky out bits, just need to attach the canopy, the gunsight, the DF loop and a small Fug antenna on the aft fuselage.

But here are some pics in the mean time.

The canopy will be open when finished as it's slightly too wide at the rear to match the fuselage profile.

Karl

luftwaffle wrote:

Karl- Absolutely gorgeous!

That has got to be one of the sharpest looking 109's I have EVER seen, well done!  You must be awfully proud of that one Karl.

Moving right along...

The tail wheel was smooth hunk of plastic where the protective leather boot should be, lead foil to the rescue.  Wadded it up into a ball to give it some contours and then glued it to the tail wheel:

And then finished product, much better!:

Exhaust stacks were drilled out, would have like to have gone thinner but was afraid of going through the side wall:

Wash and flat coat applied, some of the other major components installed, starting to look like a 109!

I have some silvering on the wing insignia, can't seem to get rid of it which is real frustrating.

Mike- You are really going to town with this one!  Lookslike you are about finished with her, and she looks stunning my friend.  Great tip on the tailwheel boot too, thanks buddy!

I was thinking about part two today... I have the Knights of the Sky II Group Build running right now through October.  Perhaps a Reich Defender II starting November 1st?  Just a thought.  What do all of you think?  I would love your input.  It's you lads who have made this GB so much fun and informative.  Should we pick another airframe, like the FW-190 and it's variants, or possibly the 262?  If we were to consider something more obscure like the 162, 163, etc I'm afraid it would really limit the possibilities for different schemes as there were not that many utilized.  So, what do all of you think?

Frank I would be in for what ever GB parameters you set. I have something to suit just about any theme. I have the Tamiya Me 262 a Hasegawa Me 109 K an Eduard Fw 190 F-8. Just let me know when and where and I will be there tube of glue in one hand and exacto knife in the other! I would really like an excuse to build the Hasegawa 109 K. The November timeline sounds good also.

                                                                                     Soulcrusher 

Frank -- I'm with the others on this, anything you line up will be met with glee! I have three Tamiya 262s on the shelf, I've put some extra 109s and 190s in the stash, though late model 190s have been a bit of a pain to get hold of. I'm sure i can come up with a suitable subject for any Reich Defender II you'd like to field!

I got the soft-masks onto the fuselage of my K-4 and have a photo, and I'm hoping to lay the 75 onto the fuselage today. You never know, if I get the bit in my teeth I might try to press on and do the green as well, then I'd be looking at touch-ups as needed and into the final stretch.

Mike

Thanks for the input fellas!  I am quite happy to hear that you enjoyed this GB, and would be up for another.  You guys ROCK!!!

I must be honest, I am quite partial to the 109 so perhaps another 109 GB?  I mean, I like the 190, 262 and the others but there's just something about a 109...

Aaron- Isn't it just like me to corrupt you with 109s?  I have another one inbound to you tomorrow.

SC- You know?  I don't have a Karl in my display case.  I think I should remedy that along with you.