2015 Messerschmitt Bf 109 Group Build

Doug, I have never actually out anything over any pigments or pastels, I just recall reading about it many years ago so have always avoided it. I mainly use MiG pigments which are really nice but I did use AK for my Pz III build as it was the only N African pigment I could find.

I haven't mentioned my build in a few weeks. You may recall I had some issues. Well, despite asking HPH a couple of time for the cost of the parts I needed, I got no reply. But on Fri I did get a package with the parts. I must say that HPH are just the best. This is the second time that have got me out of a mess with this kit. The resin parts are few in number, but there size means they are about a third of the resin in the kit, which wasn't cheap.

So, a big huge thanks to HPH, I will try not to mess up again. So, before posting I wanted to make sure I could assembly this correctly and now the engine is all together. After checking various pics I don't think there is anything else to add that will be the same colour. So this is where it stands now.

I plan on getting the other pars, such as the mounts, together before I prime and paint. The prop blades and spinner have been painted, but they are out to dry for a few days.

I mainly do armor and have stolen a trick from a friend at another board. He does a LOT of aircraft and uses pastels to work on raised panel lines. I've used some of his tricks on my armor builds

After painting, decaling and dull coating he works in the pastels. The dullcoat helps them stick. When done he sprays them with a fixative designed for artists pencil and chalk drawings. Here is what he uses and I use it now too. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W4PEJ6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It helps keep them from smudging. It doesn't dissolve pastels like other clear coats. It leaves a satin finish so you'll need to spray a dull coat over it.

Here's a link to a tutorial on the panel line method and another finishing tuit where he uses it

http://www.wedmodelfactory.com/Pastel%20Panel%20Lines.pdf

http://www.wedmodelfactory.com/How%20I%20Finish%20My%20Models.pdf

Okay Gents, I have a question, It may seem silly to some and it may have already been discussed; however, I was wondering, why the kit decals that come with some of the newer kits don't include the swastika decal?  Is it because they don't want to offend anyone?  I am hoping to make my 109 look as good as possible, but without the swastika I think it just wont look as good.  Sorry if someone already has covered this question.

Doug, your build looks awesome!!!  I only hope that mine will look as good.  I didnt spend any additional money on AM parts for my build; however, I did step into the realm of scratchbuilding my own seatbelts and a few minor interior details using lead foil from a wine bottle.  I'll get some pics taken in the next day or so of my cockpit progress.

Bish... That engine is looking great. I know its a big kit, but how big will it be when finished? about a foot?  which is what , about 300mm? something like that? now that you have posted pictures, I'm anxious to see more results!

Raider...

Thanks, I had top coated dull coated then applied pastels then dull coated again, and it did lighten the effect, but by reapplying and speeding up the drying time of the thinner it helped a lot. But it would be nice to cut down on the steps.

Doug

Yes it is.  Some companies are in Germany where the swastika is band.

Jelliot

A whole sheet of various swastika's can be had for about eight bucks, in various scales if you must have them. I'm like you and felt I needed them, so I picked up a sheet. Seems to be plenty enough for several kits. A good investment of you plan on building more than one Luftwaffe kit.

Today's activites took me to the SC 500. It's from MDC. A pretty cool little AM kit. There was even a little template so I could paint the ID on the side. I did it with Tamiya Acrylics, XF-61 and XF-63 and a tiny bit of flat white. Thanks for having a look.

Before...

After...

Soo much better then the molded plastic! Very realistic...

Doug

I got lots of good work done last night.  only the littlest decals left,  Ugh!  But here is what she looks like.  Also one question, what are the wheel wells on a G-6 painted?  Silver?

John

Rigidrider

OK, Morning all! Had a good peaceful day yester day, so I was able to get a lot done...

falconmod

I got lots of good work done last night.  only the littlest decals left,  Ugh!  But here is what she looks like.  Also one question, what are the wheel wells on a G-6 painted?  Silver?

John

Nice little bird John. Wheel wells are RLM 02. 

Doug- Very impressive airbrushing. Nicely glossed and decaled too! This has to be one of my favorite builds of yours. Nice to see it come together. 

panzerpilot

Today's activites took me to the SC 500. It's from MDC. A pretty cool little AM kit. There was even a little template so I could paint the ID on the side. I did it with Tamiya Acrylics, XF-61 and XF-63 and a tiny bit of flat white. Thanks for having a look.

Before...

After...

Cool! Very realistic looking ordinance, Tom! Great job on the details.

Bomb looks great!

Rigid - Wonderful looking bird, love the paintjob !

Falcon- great job on such a small bird!

Bish-  Good to see you up and running again!

Gosh, you guys are rockin' it. I can't wait to get back on my kit. Keep up the great work, it is very motivating.

Bish.

I'm glad to know HpH came through for you. That's going to be a very impressive build and I look forward to seeing it.

I went to their website and looked at the manual for it. What a stunning kit! The detail is amazing.

I also like that they do a Merlin as well.

Handi, Cb, Nathan.... wow...thank you guys, alot of search and study, alot of convincing myself to attempt, and yes , loads of patience. I hate to say it but its turning out to be better hen Expected and thu far a favorite of mine. Thank you guys again.

Falconmod, you have packed lot into a small kit! Very impressive.  There areothers of course, but for one, Bish has always amazed me with what he can do with a 72nd kit.

Doug, I measured the 3 main bits when I got the kit and it come to around 7inches. I am just going to get my F-16 done and then will spend a night or two getting more of the construction done, so should have some pre primer pics by the weekend.

And thanks for the complement.

Tom, they have some interesting stuff. I do like the look of the He 162 engine. And I don't know if you saw it, but they have a launch catapult for the 1/32nd Ar 196. I don't have that Revell kit yet, but I reckon it would look nice on that launcher. I don't really have any kits on the immediate radar at the moment, so I might snatch those up later this year.

I checked Sprue Brother's last year and they have the DB 605 and Merlin but I could not find the stand, without which I am not sure how you would display it.

Thanks for all the encouragement.  Now I've gone and really done it. I went to get off the couch on Saturday and my back went out. I can't even move. I made it to the Dr and got some meds . So I'm in pain and still can't move. The bright side is if I get mobile again and miss work, then I will have time to work on the 109.

Well the weatherman has predicted and it's started. A winter storm of historic power.  Expecting 2 feet + and winds in excess of 60mph. No work tomorrow. Wife is management at a nursing facility. She has been told that she probably won't be home til Wednesday.   Small honey-do list And bench time

Jubya. Man, sorry to hear that. I hope you get well soon.

TJ...Oh yeah..good old bench time!

I shot the RLM 04 on the nose today. I used pollyscale acrylics that I have in my stash.  I like how their yellow looks. Not too bright and a touch faded out looking. It will fit the scheme I am doing nicely. I tried something I have never done before today. I thinned it with 70% alcohol and distilled water. It seemed to come out smoothly with that 'brew'.

Jubya... Careful... Get that back better, Tis a bad thing to hurt. Take Care!

TJ... Hunker down my friend, We don't get too much of that white stuff here in the South, but when we do... Hang on for dear life! Just not as well equipped to handle that type of weather. Butttt, sure is nice to get snowed in for a few days, nice break in the action!

Luck to all of our Northern friends with the blizzard moving in!

Doug

Very nice smooth coverage! And I agree with Greg, that primer looks great! looks like it went on very smooth and even.

Doug

Hope you get well soon.  I am still recovering from my shoulder surgery back on Oct 1.  Get well soon.

As for the rest you guys are making up some beautiful builds.  Keep up the great work.  I am getting closer to starting my 109.  My other GB is getting into the painting stage.

moose

Making some progress, but finding some problems. Photos are great for showing up any number of screw-ups. Noticed that two of the four tail reinforcement strips have fallen off which isn't too big a deal. More importantly I noticed a wing seam open on the left wing. We'll see what i can do with that.

Jay

Jay -- awesome finish and looks! One amazing piece of work!

Joe -- that's a very impressive pit! I always struggle with the cockpit for some reason, it's not my most enjoyable part of a build.

The -D has been moving along slowly since last week, I was away a couple of days over the long weekend, then got home so late Monday I didn't get anything done, then weathered a migraine Tuesday morning and have only just got back to it. In cleaning up masking solution on the tailplane struts I scratched the paintjob on the fuselage sides, and as it is a mixed shade I couldn't match it for a simple brush touch up, so I had to remask and respray. The first clear coat is now on -- she doesn't look much yet as it's a simple scheme, but she should come to life with the decals.

Line accents up next...

M/TB379

PS: I finally got a straight, clean leading edge demarcation!

Bish: Man I am really looking forward to seeing that 605 being built. I'm glad HPH pulled through for you on that!!

Tom:That is amazing work on that bomb!! It's a model in itself!!!!

John:That paint and decal work looks great!! All in 72nd scale too!!! You're a better man than me bud! I would have gone half crazy by now. As Nathan said, the wheel wells are 02.

Joe: Keep up the great work on that pit. I built a Trumpeter K-4 kit in '12 and didn't come even close to this. The overall kit is a great kit but there were parts of it that are WAY over engineered (the landing gear for one) and there were like 1000 ejector pin marks (namely in the landing gear door and inside the flap area). Once finished it made a great display in a case on top of my dresser where she has proudly sat for ....well.....going on three years now.

Jay: This build just keeps getting better and better. It looks great despite the shortcomings you pointed out. Pssst......I would have never noticed had you not said something. lol . Coming along nicely. Say do you have a pic of your display case with your built 109's in it? I seem to remember you having something like that.

Mike:Sorry to hear about the migraine. My wife gets those all the time and feel for you there. Your paint work came out smooth. The decals will really set this build off!! 

jubya:Sorry to hear about your back. Hope you're back up and running soon and hope the doc's are able to help you out. We're all rootin' for you here! 

Thanks, Mustang! The panel accents are now done and resealed. the paint is not actually so smooth but the second clear coat has helped. I'll get into decals tomorrow, there are 16 mains plus stencils. Then one more coat of clear and into the final leg...

M/TB379

Thanks, Joe. I didn't notice either until I saw it in the pics. I got on top of that seam last night. Couldn't go to sleep thinking about it. Here are some pics of my display case. It's full so I need another one. Can't even get all of what I have in this one, plus the 110 on top won't fit at all.

Jay