2015 Messerschmitt Bf 109 Group Build

Ernie, I was going to mention the fit before you even mentioned it. Can tell from today's pics it is quite good. Nice work on that supercharger!

What tricks do you guys use to paint those pre-installed gun barrels? This is one if my favorite assemble now or assemble later dilemmas.

Mike, looking crisp and clean and ready to finish up.

Thanks gents and a Happy Fourth to all!

Tbolt

That paint and decals look awesome.

Greg

bending the belts is quite easy. I use tweezers to manipulate them and bending the angles so they are draped over the seat. I secure them with a dab of Aleene's Tacky Glue.

I have used no filler at all up to now on this ROG kit so the parts have an excellent fit. The Plat I Weld and Touch N flow applicator do an excellent job and filling in any small gaps as the plastic melts along the join.

 I also have the Zvezda kit you have which looks very detailed and very well made. That one should be an excellent build. 

I only meant to get some touch up work done today and I found myself not stopping and the next thing I knew the mottled camo is complete. Well, on the to the splinter camo now.

Okay, now I'm done for the day. My back is shot. I have the splinter camo done and only need to touch up two planes. It's really starting to look nice now. I painted it with RLM 74/75 lightened up with about 30% white. Again, I am using Mr Color acrylics.

Looking Good Brandon... Yeah, sometimes I set down and when I look up its been a few hours too! lolol...

Speaking of which... I did a bit more today too...

Got the wings on...

Same ole issue with the gaps in the wing roots however small they are. Just a piece of .010 plastistruct strip did the trick. I also had to insert a spreader in the port wing to achieve a better height fit with the fuselage.

I filled in the wheel well spaces with a .010 x .250 Plastistruct strip. I'll also be using white metal landing gear legs on this one. I don't trust the aged plastic legs and their mount supplied with the kit. The new leg mounts are round (.250) rods cut to fit snuggly at the wing root and drilled to accept the mounting tangs of the legs.

Much stronger then the originals would have been.

Starting the campaign and ID markings. A flat white base makes the top coat SOOOO much easier to apply.

And lastly for now, the yellow markings are now applied.

That's it for now... Happy 4th to all!!! Take care...

Doug 

Thanks Doug, Greg and PJ! The plan is to move her along today, and have her up on her gear as soon as possible.

Brandon -- excellent! The 74/75 looks great, did you homebrew the shades or use them from the bottle? If so they look an excellent match!

Doug -- sweet work on that classic kit!

M/TB379

Doug,

She's looking good. Man, that thing looks huge. 1/32? right?

TB,

The 74/75 is Mr Color numbers 36/37, straight from the bottle diluted 30% with Mr Color #1 white to fade them some. I've got a couple touch ups that may be chanllenging due to the fade. But, not today, I'm spent.

Thanks for the positive remarks, gents.

BK

Thanks, Brandon, the shades really look the part!

Progress on the E-7, or lack of it, I just did the wash to remove the decal solutions that mess up the final clearcoat, and NINE decals simply fell off in the process... I don't know what it is with this kit, first the paint falling off with masking removal, now the decals won't grip... I'll do my best to restore the lost items and I have some Am stencils I can draw on if need be, but this is a lot more ag than I'm used to!

I'm starting to imagine the mess there's going to be when I unmask the canopy...

M/TB379

Okay, I've been able to recover and reapply all but one of the decals, the problem is they're bonded by no more than the capillary action of the dried chemistry, there seems to be no glue. Maybe it's a defect of the sheet... The only thing I can do is hose on the last clearcoat to lock them down and hope the spray doesn't blow them around in the process. What a drag!

M/TB379

Mustang,

Thanks for the add.  My 109 will be in Battle of Britain markings, not British markings.  

The good news is I was able to locate and reapply almost all the decals, replace one that disappeared, and I'll keep an eye out for a replacement for another that vanished. The final clear is now on, and nothing moved as it was being sealed. I've got the decals on the prop and sealed those too, so my next round of work is oil wash weathering, detail painting and final assembly.

M/TB379

Today's progress on the Hasegawa E-7: decals on and sealed, detail painting of pitot, mass balances, gun barrels, formation lights and trim tabs; gear bay doors sprayed; gear legs cleaned up and spot-painted; wheels unmasked; prop decaled and sealed.

The prop is simply push-fit here, this is a quick snap of where she's at:

Target for tomorrow: paint tail wheel, assemble and fit main gear, paint centreline canon barrel and fit prop; paint exhausts; do oil wash weathering, possibly also graphite; unmask canopy.

When I do the latter I'll know how big a mess I have to redo, and if the rest of this project is anything to go by I'll be reworking the canopy struts. I may make up some decal material as I did for the Stuka I did last year, which would be 71 over 02 on decal film, then cut strips with a guillotine and apply. I've had enough of a poor experience to consider doing it this way from scratch in future, and sealing the decal strips by dipping the whole canopy in Future -- not something I've done before so it would be new ground.

I forgot the starboard side stencils, or rather forgot that they are supposed to be overlaid by the field applied individual markings, and it would probably look a bit odd having them over the "1."

M/TB379

That's nice and crisp paint work, Brandon. I want to try some Mr Color acrylics and am still confused about the branding. Are you using aqueous, the one that is challenging to get in the US? And if not, how do I know if I'm ordering acrylics or solvent based? (I find Gunze's product naming confusing).

Doug, looking good....and good idea re the metal struts to hold up that big boy. Curious what brand and color you used for the yellow?

Mike, that is some rapid recovery work for all of the problems you are having.

Mike, that's looks really nice. I am getting a bit of a thing for yellow nosed German aircraft, and I don't know why, but there is something about it with that scheme.  I have the Tamiya 72nd E-7 that I plan to doing a similar scheme, but with mottling added. I think I will have to try and fit that one in soon.

But I have to ask, what's with the yellow band, not seen that before.

Coming on nicely Mike, seems to be lots of yellow going on around here.

TB,  That 109 is looking really nice. I especially enjoy that scheme. It really looks nice.

With regard to the MR Color line of paints I use I believe they are the acrylic line. They say Mr Hobby, Mr Color and are bottled exactly like Tamiya paints. I buy them through Sprue Bros. You MUST use Mr Color Thinner or Mr Color Leveling Thinner to use them, no other thinners will work. They are pretty thick paints and must be thinned to about 30% paint 70% thinner for them to spray well. The trick I figured out is to thin them until I can back flow air and make bubbles in the paint cup that immediately pop. If the paint is too thick they will linger or not pop at all, so I thin until they pop like they would in water. I spray them about 20 PSI in my Iwata for general work and down below 5 PSI for up close and detailed work, just thin the paint till it sprays like you want. Here is a link to the paint I am using. I clean up using regular lacquer thinner.

store.spruebrothers.com/SearchResults.asp

BK

Brandon, thank you for the detailed explanation and the link to show me the Mr Color packaging/bottles!

This is what the bottles actually look like. I have several not in the shot that are sitting on the bench while I complete the paint work on the 109.

Thanks Greg, Bish and Brandon! I just want this sucker off my bench... The good news is I should have a replacement canopy before long for the G-2 I started way back, so that one will be coming up in due course too.

M/TB379

Brandon, T-bolt.  Your builds are really looking great.

Thanks guys you keep inspiring me to work on my D.  My batteries for my camera should be charged now.  That way I can take some pictures of the status of my build.

moose

Well, my batteries are charged and here is an update.

First up is the back of the propeller spinner.  I noticed on my Academy kit.  I added a brass sleeve.  

The canopy is the kit one. I decided to use the Squadron vacuum canopy. Much thinner and scale like. As for the rest of the build I have the pit installed and wings on her. First up I have learned to put the IP gauges in before I installed the IP. I didn't do this and the gauges didn't fit good. Also while test fitting the pit into the fuselage, I knocked the O2 bottle and the mount for it off. Yep the floor monster claimed another victim. Built a new one and looks Ok. Not perfect but I have learned. Installed the PE parts into the wheel wells and rear area of the radiator. I have opened up the front of the radiator as well. I need to install the PE screen. I am surprised of the fit of the wings. I needed to sand the leading edge of the wings to eliminate a slight misalignment. The wing root area turned out real well.

I green stuff on the exhaust is micro mask. I am trying something new. I have painted the exhaust burnt iron and didn't want to repaint after I paint the rest of the aircraft. Any comments or tips would be appreciated. Thanks moose

Thanks guys...

Brandon, Yup... 32nd scale. I'm really starting to shy away from the 48th scales, while I still have them and still build them, most new purchases tend to go to the 32nds. And 72nds??? Fo Get About It! aint happening anymore.

Greg ... Thanks and the yellow is Model Master Chrome Yellow. It suits a variety of needs and goes very well through my gun and lays out smoothly. The white metal legs are almost a must on the older kits due to the plastic becoming brittle over time, and the mounting for these legs (meant to be foldable) were going to make them even weaker so I spent a few extra bucks and went with the white metal ones.

Mike... Yes I (and my wife) do a lot of yard sales, and I run across many many older kits, and I just cant pass them up. I probably (most likely) have more kits in stash then I will ever be able to build, But I cant pass up a good deal. That's not all I have (classic kits) but again, when I find em I pick em up! My wife just grins and shakes her head (having around 200 kits in stash) but I just tell her that they are her inheritance when I'm gone. lolol... Hey, I  don't say anything about her buying handbags and such... lolol...

Take care all...

Doug

Thanks for the pics of the actual Mr Color bottles, Brandon. Something about actually seeing them makes me want to actually buy a few to try.

Thanks for the yellow clarification, Doug.  Looks to be a good versatile yellow for sure.

Looking good, Moose. I'll be interested to see how the micro mask works on the exhaust. I am getting tired of going around in circles with these. I spent a ridiculous amount of time painting the exhaust stack on my last bird, only to have my mask job fail and ended up repainting them anyway.

Bish -- the yellow fuselage band seems to have been something unique to this aircraft or unit. This is 5/JG 77 in the Balkans before they went on to North Africa. I've never seen it before so the extra band really stood out.

Well, almost all targets were achieved today. She's up on her gear and the prop is installed, oil wash weathering is done, exhausts painted. I tried my hand at condensation streaking, using white oils but didn't like the effect and removed most of it, what remains is probably too subtle to show in pictures. I also recoated with Micro Flat as the solvent for the oils brought up extra shine. The flat is barely any different from satin, so there's still plenty of lustre.

I've put off unmasking the canopy for tomorrow, as I'm expecting a big mess and can't face it tonight. I'll see how much reworking is needed. After that there's just the antenna to go, then dust and carbon and I'll be calling her done.

M/TB379

Update.

I worked out the details of using an Eagle products spinner designed for the Hase kit to be used on the Zvezda kit. I ordered a resin prop assembly and the blades for it will fit the Eagle spinner. Those props are also thinner and more scale correct in dimensions that the kit parts.

I also managed to correct the touch ups that needed done, painted the tabs on the flight control surfaces and installed the radiators and flaps in the full open position. I have it cleared and waiting decals soon.

Thanks for looking,

BK

I was mostly out of pocket for the last few days due to being out of town so I'll be catching up on all the spectacular work that's been going on since then....

Greg: Slow or not it don't matter. Get in here and start building this bad boy. The GB will be closed to new entrants at the end of the year............not participants who are finishing.

Mike (TB): Man that E-7 looks great with that smooth paint work you have on there! Really nice work!

Brandon: Looks like you've got that mottle thing down bubba! Paint looks great!!!

Doug: I wished I would have opted for metal landing gear on mine (the 1/24th scale build) . It needed it due to all the weight. As always, great work on all the fine engine details. Bravo man! Bravo!!!

Ernie: The added work on the supercharger intake hole and the seam strip will pay off for you later. Lookin' awesome!!!!

moose: Nice scratch work on that spinner and PE detail!

Mike (T-Bolt) I really , over all of the beautiful 109 variants Like the "E" the best, And your doing an amazing job on it. Just something about the lines, No, its not as sleek and clean as the F,G,and so on, but it has a mean, rugged I Dare Ya, kind of look about it. The first one I did here was an early Balkan campaign with the "Crazy Road Map" scheme and again, the "E"  looks so mean just sitting there. Keep up the great work, shes really coming along!

Doug

Thanks, Mustang and Doug!

Mustang -- the paint is actually nowhere near as smooth as it looks, but from a short way back it blends in, and the effect is what counts!

Doug -- I remember that one you did, excellent work! This one has been a trial for a number of reasons, but it's nearly done. I haven't had a chance to touch it today, I have another commitment to be completed, but I'm hoping to have it off the bench in the next day or two. I must do a crazy roadmap scheme too -- eventually I hope to have all the significant marking variations covered.

I'm just hoping the canopy isn't too much of a pain when the masks come of!

Cheers, M/TB379

Alright... Moving right along... I have to rush abit, cuz Bish said I'd likely have another 109 started by the time he returned from his vacation, and I don't want to disappoint! lolol...

OK, I was able to get the 76 on , Its actually 76 with about 20% light grey in with it. I just cant deal with straight 76... too blue I guess.

Starting to do the splinter, this will be a soft line splinter , and the 75 is going on nicely so far. By the way, going back to the last picture I added the strengtheners to all three radiator cowlings. I don't know why they are either completely missing or WAY to thick. The pictures I'm using show them as very thin pieces of rod possibly 1/4 in in dia.?

Guess I forgot to mention, this will be a basic 74/75/76 camo with light mottling on the fuse sides, fading as it gets lower.  

A lot of people fret over mottling and never seem to get it the way they want. For many years now...(we can always learn something new, and every one has they're was of doing things) At the modeling club I like to get together with I always here the same thing... Mottling is too stark, over spray blends it all together, too faint to see...  Well what I do is make the mottling with the color I want, and yes its a tad dark sometime but that's OK... after I get the pattern I want (like on this one) I take some of the 76, due to it being the base cote, thin it at about 50/50 or a bit more (on the thinner side) then go over the mottled area, in between the mottle and even around,,, which softens the mottle (which is usually how it looks) and blends and tones down the over spray. And hey, worse comes to worse... Start over! lol... At this point its not hard to do, Thanks all... More soon...

Doug