Wow the standards remain high!

Great job on the Bf110 Trey.  It looks fantastic.  The inflight pictures are pretty cool also.

Travis, the office of your 110 is looking very good.  I thought it was 1/48 scale when I first saw it; the detail is that good.

Andrew, the Nighthawk is progressing nicely.  It looks very very nice.

Greg, sounds like you have one on those builds that makes us question why we pursue this hobby.  I am sure you will overcome the kit's engineering and the results will be up to snuff.

I made quite a bit of progress on the Uhu this past week.  It is assembled, as are all the major sub-assemblies, and I primed and painted the RLM76 base coat on it over the past two days.  Next up well be the mottling, which is always a bit of a nerve racking phase for me.  The actual aircraft had a "soft" mottling scheme of RLM75 which looks like it was a bit thicker on the tailplane.  It also looks like there was a very light over spray of RLM75 over the entire upper surface.  It will be a challenge to bring it off.

I took the following pictures this morning.  I'll be tackling the mottling as soon as I finish posting.

Ernest

Ernest, your Uhu looks great!  Are you doing the mottling freehand or with masks?  It is interesting about the light rlm 75 overspray.  I would have never known that,  and that is good to know, thanks.  You have a good eye.  And thanks for the encouragement too.

Cheers,

Greg

Gregbbear

Ernest, your Uhu looks great!  Are you doing the mottling freehand or with masks?  It is interesting about the light rlm 75 overspray.  I would have never known that,  and that is good to know, thanks.  You have a good eye.  And thanks for the encouragement too.

Cheers,

Greg

Hi Greg, thanks for the kind words.   I did the mottling freehand.  I have never been able to use masks or templates to spray a convincing looking mottle.  As you can see by the pictures, I have finished the mottling on the He219.  I think it turned out ok, resembling the pattern on the actual aircraft pretty closely.  Having said that,  I am open to any comments or critques from others.  This group here looks like a pretty experienced one, so constructive comments are always welcome.

Ernest

Andrew the stealth is looking good!

Vance,p38jl thank you very much, getting them aligned was a major pita!

ERIC von not waiting for the n/f version I can scratch whats missing,ie exhaust supressors,radar antanae and cannon

Doogs ,Hercmech,Mo thanks hope I do the 189 justice

Greg big thanks really appreciate the kind words and you're taking the time to host this g/b.The 189 n/f was a rare bird and finding good ref pics has been frustrating, thankfuly Manstien found some that I did'nt so hope to pull it off ,we'll see

Hammer looking forward to the he 219 build pics

Travis thats some awesome detail on a 1/72 looks great!

Ernest thanks, the mottle is perfect you've nailed it! This is really looking sweet great job!

Trey: What can I say? If I may make a bad pun the Bf-110 looks like 110% awesome! Great job all around!

Ernest, Travis, and Andrew: Great stuff guys!

Greg: Looking forward to the P-70. Didn't even know there was such an a/c until you brought it up.

Von Hammer: Did I read that correctly??? Von Hammer is doing a TAMIYA kit??? I am shocked, I tell you shocked

A 110%?  Pun or not, I like that Gamera!  Accurate description of Trey's plane for sure.

Ernest, you are a master with the airbrush.  I have done only one mottling job, and it only looks good from about 5 feet away.  It is not easy.  Maybe I should just mail my next Luftwaffe job to you or Trey?????

Cheers,

Greg

Thanks for the kind comments guys.  Greg, practice makes perfect as they say.  I used to struggle getting mottling right until I hit upon the right combination of paint, airbrush and compressor psi. 

 I use Lifecolor paints for most of my airbrushing, and all of the mottling work, though I plan to give Vallejo Model Air a try on my next build.  Basically, I thin the paint at a ratio of 25/75 paint to thinner, drop the psi down to 5, and use my Iwata HP-C+ to spray the mottling.  I normally warm up on a piece of scrap practice to "get my hand in" before starting work. 

 My technique is to start very close to the model, about 5cm, and slowly pull the trigger back until just a ghost of a spray comes out.  The trick is to be slow and gentle with the trigger and watch the spray closely to you don't get too much paint in one spot.  If I do get a bit too much paint in a place or two, I touch that area up using the base color to tone the mottle down.   I try to get a good combo of splotches and squiggles to give the mottling some varience.  It actually is easier then it sounds.

Nothing to post today.  I expect to finish decaling and weathering tomorrow and will post a few pictures then.

Ernest        

 Ernest, Liking the 219! The mottle looks VERY nice. Looking forward to seeing more of the Uhu.

 Things have been kinda busy round the dog house lately.  Hope to get back at it soon.

Mo

Gamera thanks!

Ernest great painting tips thanks for sharing!

I got a move on the 189 ,here is the office

since the camera wo'nt be used I figured the hole would've been covered by a panel, I used 3 layers of 3m masking tape

almost ready to button it up

I ca'nt locate any interior pics for this variant so a lot of it will be a swag. I need to decide where the radar panel would be located inside ,any ideas?

TREYZX10R

Gamera thanks!

Ernest great painting tips thanks for sharing!

I got a move on the 189 ,here is the office

since the camera wo'nt be used I figured the hole would've been covered by a panel, I used 3 layers of 3m masking tape

almost ready to button it up

I ca'nt locate any interior pics for this variant so a lot of it will be a swag. I need to decide where the radar panel would be located inside ,any ideas?

Great stuff

Trey,

I Felt like a slacker when you completed your first model and I had not even started...now I feel completely inadequate.

Everybody's work is looking good.. nice job

I hope to wrap up my HO in a few days.. Canopy is done ( just needs a dull coat), landing gear in, just some minor stuff to wrap it up..

Pics soon!

TREYZX10R

I ca'nt locate any interior pics for this variant so a lot of it will be a swag. I need to decide where the radar panel would be located inside ,any ideas?

Lookin' good Trey!

The only ideas I have for the radar gear are... probably with the operator facing forward, so the pilot doesn't get glare from the radar display on his windscreen. And I'm guessing it was a field modification?? So out in the middle of the open area of the cabin rather than blended into the fuselage side. Just my guess!

Nice start on the 189 Trey.  You are alot faster at building then me!

Finished decaling and weathering the Uhu about an hout ago.  I followed my standard procedure in prepping the model for decaling and weathering, spraying 3 coats of future and letting it dry over night.  I used the kit decals as with a bit of mixing and matching the markings matched Heinz Strüning's 219 circa mid-44 when he commanded 3/NJG1. 

I used a light grey wash for the panel lines and a combination of Tamiya weathering pastels and oil paints to add a bit of weathering.  That mostly consisted of powder marks from the weapons, fuel stains around a couple of the fuel caps and various oil/grease drips and marks around a few access panels and in the wheel wells.  I added a large oil stain streaking back from the port engine upper access area as that was the engine that conked out and had to be replaced.  I also added heavy exhaust staining along the underside of the aircraft, the gear doors and lower tail fins.  Reports state that most He219's displayed this heavy staining after several hours of flight ops.

Only 3 pictures, because I got lazy with uploading them to my computer.  

Ernest

Greif8

I used a light grey wash for the panel lines...

Hi Greif, what type of paint do you use for this wash? Oils, acrylics or enamels?

Cheers

Casper the Chihuahua

Greif8:

I used a light grey wash for the panel lines...

Hi Greif, what type of paint do you use for this wash? Oils, acrylics or enamels?

Cheers

Hi Casper, for this wash I used a pre-made wash by War Pigs.  It is a water based wash that works pretty well as long as it is applied to a gloss surface.  War Pigs have three colors, Black, Brown and Grey.  I imagine they work just like the other water based washes that various companies put out.

Ernest

Ernest: The Uhu looks great. I esp love the neat faded subtle look to the ink blot camo you've got there.

Trey: The cockpit looks great, with all the windows on the 189 it's going to look fantastic.

hello again fellow Bat peeps..

here is an update...paint done.. details done.. gloss coat down, decals and washes soon...

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the small notch in the canopy of a molding defect from the attachment point to the sprue.. bad Dragon.. bad..

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Casper thanks

Hercmech get building you slacker!,just kidding.I just have a lot of time in the wee hours to build and relax. I say as long as your enjoying the hobby do'nt worry about output.

Vance thanks for the input sounds like that would be the logical placement option

Ernest what can I say your Uhu is looking awesome !

Gamera thanks

p38jl the wing is looking great and on the homestretch

I jumped ahead to the engines and a dry fit of the major parts ,looks like very little filler will be needed

still geussing on the Fug radar instal I'll have to make a decision soon

P38- looks like your doing a great job with the horton, gotta love those dragon kits huh? My build was stalled for a while waiting for primer and a vac canopy. I'll have pics of the Ju 88 soon. Great job on those engines trey. the painting and detailing looks perfect. Excellent 110 build by the way, that eduard kit must have fell together, unlike the dragons.

Nathan

P-38: Looks great, she's really coming together.

Trey: Good stuff, love those PE wiring harnesses on the engines.

Got a little work done on the P-61. Note to self - on black plastic prime the thing before painting it! I must have laid down five or six coats of US interior green before I could entirely cover the black plastic of the kit. No worries though, started work on adding the Eduard PE parts to the  cockpit.

Hi guys, the quality of work continues to amaze! 

I finished the He219 last night.  Now I am working on the figures and equipment for the diorama.  Overall, I am pleased with how this build turned out; now I just have to not screw up the diorama stuff.  The only thing I scratch built for this kit was the FuG 212 radar antenna; you can see it in the center of the nose.  The aircraft this build depicts had one during the summer of 1944 and the kit does not have the parts for the antenna.  It turned out ok, though the vertical antenna parts are a little too thick.

Attached are a few shots of the completed model mounted on its base.

Ernest

A  few more shot of the Uhu.  Critiques are welcome as always.

Ernest

Hi guys,

I haven't got the jump on this GB that some have, although I've been lurking to see what's been afoot. I agree: the level of workmanship has been excellent, and I'm excited to have my build alongside the work here. That'll come when I finish my project for another GB, but in the meantime I have to say Greif8 has been particularly inspirational with his He 219 (same bird as my build). Just fantastic......

Absolutely fantastic Ernest!  I added it to the finished list.  You must be very proud of your work.

Cheers,

Greg

Ernest thats an awesome build. the camo looks real life for sure. Did you give it a light misting of rlm 76 after you mottled it? It looks really nice and subtle. I gotta question. what is everyone using for rlm 76/75? i'm using MM acrylic and its awful! the airbrush tip dries out every 45 seconds or so, even with retarder mixed in with the water/alcohol thinner i use, and at every pressure setting i try. I bought some Gunze acrylic to try out from now on. So thats slowin me down on the painting part, but i hope to have pics up soon.

Nathan

Thanks for the kind and generous comments guys; sometimes the moon and stars align and a project comes out well in all aspects.  I hope to be able to post some pictures of the finished diorama in a couple of days.  I'll be able to dedicate nearly two days of work to getting it done as a minor miracle occured - no honey-do projects cropped up this weekend!

Trey - the 189 is looking very nice.  I really like the engines.

P38 - the Horten is also looking slick.  Nice job on the build!

Nathan - I used Gunze acrylics for both the RLM 75 and 76.  They sprayed nicely and the color matched the color chips from Merrick's "Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1939-1945" pretty closely.  I thinned the RLM 76 to about 60/40 (paint/thinner) with Gunze's Mr. Color Thinner, and the RLM 75 to about 25/75 for the mottling.  I also put a couple of drops of retarder in the cup and sprayed the base coat at around 15 psi. The mottling was sprayed at 5 psi.  Hope this helps!

Ernest     

Ernest,

Great looking build...my hats off to you!

Greg is there still room to get in on this one?  I have a couple of other GB's to finish first but I would like to build for this one.  I have a 48th Tamiya Mosquito NF.XIII that I started awhile ago but never finished.  I do have some in progress shots of what I have done so far.  Thanks   JOHN

Welcome aboard John, we are not even a month into the GB, so you have plenty of time left.  And we love wip shots here.  I'll get you down on the main roster, and you can start when you get a chance.

Cheers,

Greg