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

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!

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!

Trey,

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

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

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?

 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

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        

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

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

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!

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

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

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

Travis, that looks good.  It doesn't look 72nd scale at all!  I recommend that you enlarge the pictures when you look at Travis's 110.  I like the added belt detail.

Andrew, your Nighthawk is coming along good.  You are the only non-WWII build going so far.  Thanks for mixing it up.  It also looks nice for an especially small scale.

HVH, alright!  Looking forward to what you do with the Uhu.  I'm sure I'll learn some new ways to do things as always.

As for my P-70.... Trey, I like the beer can metal idea, but I didn't have any cans, and I got impatient and ordered an Eduard set.  I tried with sheet aluminum, but it was too thick, and I screwed up my templates while trying to cut the metal.  As for my engine problem, I got the Verlinden engine set in the other day.  It looks nice.  It would require a bit of clean-up, but still it looks nice.  The bad news is that while test fitting and comparing, it is too wide to fit in the cowl.  It would require some serious skills (that I don't have) to make it work.  Vacu-forming part of the cowl to a realistic thickness, and shortening all the cylinder heads a little bit would work and make it displayable.  Alas, I don't vacu-form, yet.  I will get there eventually, just waaaay too much going on at home to find the time to develop that.  Of course, if I had the time and money, I would have just learned to make a resin copy of the good kit engine!  I am just going to modify some of the cylinder heads to fix the deformed engine.

Cheers,

Greg

Travis,

Looking good so far.

Can't wait to see the Owl Hammer!

I got some work done on the Bf-110. It was actually nice cause I had a major crisis on my Viper for my own GB and was able to step away and think the problem through while getting some stuff done on this kit.

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I added the ammo belt from foil (i use the foil cover from Costco coffee. It is thick and easy to cut down to small strips.) not sure how much will be visible when the canopy goes on but....!

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That's t for now. I also have the engines mounted to the wings. They will need some filling and sanding. More pics to come.

Travis

Ok, I've decided... I'll start work on the Tamiya 1/48th He 219...

Trey, fantastic!  I will add to the honor roll.  Add it heck, it is the FIRST!  An Fw-189 NF, now that would be interesting.  I didn't even know such a beast had existed.

Cheers,

Greg

Trey, Fantastic! The 110 looks stunning and the photo's are great. Nice work on the engine nacelles, turned out VERY nice. Those Eduard mask really look like the ticket for a multi-pane canopy. Yours came out nice indeed.

Mo

Trey....words don't do it justice...

Nice picture skills too.

Trey - the 110 looks fantastic! Can't wait to see what you do with the 189!

My P-47's off the bench so I should be starting the Mossie soon. Just want to get the 109 more into the assembly phase so I don't fall into the trap I've been in of having multiple builds, but having them all at about the same stage. Sucks when you have three kits to paint and it rains...

TREYZX10R

Hercmech thanks

Greg thanks,maybe some beer can metal would work? I've almost wrapped up the 110 would like to start another on here, this one would be the FW189 from Ng100

this cool with you?

VanceCrozier

Looks good Trey - and just to top it off, looks like you got the antennae all aligned!

 

Looks good Trey - and just to top it off, looks like you got the antennae all aligned!

Big thanks for all the kind words everybody ! Finished it up enjoy the pics and all comments and critiques most welcome thanks

some 'in flight'

Some nice work going on Ernst and Trey.

Not much happening myself, to much post christmas stuff plus have a house guest as well

Current situation, I have the gear and weapon bays painted, canopy masked ready for a coat of black.

Andrew

I've just about wrapped this one up just have to give it a good cleaning then outside for some better photos. Heres a few teasers until the photo shoot tomorrow

Hercmech thanks

Greg thanks,maybe some beer can metal would work? I've almost wrapped up the 110 would like to start another on here, this one would be the FW189 from Ng100

this cool with you?

Ernest, interesting bio.  NF pilots are an interesting breed.  I can only imagine the skill, instinct and bravery it took the pioneers in Night Fighting.  Even in peace time, the weather and darkness can conspire against them in a deadly way.  No margin for error.

Trey, I ran out of adjectives, so forgive my repetitiveness.  Your 110 is awesome!

My Verlinden engines came in the mail today.  I am washing them with Bleche White.  They look ok.  I've also been working on the intercoolers, and trying to add some wheel well detail.  I'm thinking I might need some p.e. for some of the details.  I spent a few hours on some stuff with thin plasticard, and it still looked out of scale.  Maybe sheet aluminum???

Cheers,

Greg