75th Anniversary of 1942 (World at War)

Thank you check! This is really turning into a fun little build. Just what I needed.

And that is looking very sharp, stik.  Very fine!

Thank you D. They just might be visible, so it's a case of better safe than sorry.

I am really quite motivated to finish this one up for some reason. So here is today's progress report...

First off the trademark stamp, circa 1978. I still have the IPMS Update issue in my library with the review of this kit. Back then it was THE 109 kit in 1/48.

Then some more shots of my scratch work in the cockpit, and the molded on sidewall detail pre painting. Not too bad. And the canopy hood armor plate. I sanded that down to a more scale thickness compared to its original look

Then I airbrushed on a coat of Tamiya Dark Gray, XF-24, thinned with lacquer thinner to give it a little more "bite" on the wire and foil I added. XF-24 looks to be a close match to RLM-66... at least as Model Master has produced the color. After washes and dry brushing it won't really matter.

That's all for today....

Steve, nice job on that Zero.  The color looks right, and the weathering is spot on.

Stik, good job on the detail in that 109.  Even if you can't see the rudder pedals when it is done, you will know it's there.

D

checkmateking02

Very accomplished, stik!  You've got some finely detail work going on.  Well-done!

 

Thank you Check. I'm trying to keep it simple and quick here, just with basic improvements. I want to get the cockpit wrapped up ASAP, as that is usually the biggest speed bump during main construction. 

Very accomplished, stik!  You've got some finely detail work going on.  Well-done!

Some nice work there PJ. Nice to see an old kit getting a touch up.

checkmateking02

Unlike over at the Midway GB, these photos came through fine as jpegs.  I'll use one of the first two here, and the other one over there.

Thanks again for participating in this GB.  It's always a pleasure to see what rolls off your production line!

 

O you deffinetly should. There a bit more choice for the F there's days, but its still doesn't seem as well covered as other variants, especially the G.

I did a bit more detail work on this today. I drilled some lightening holes, thinned down the heel rests with my Dremel, and added some foil top straps...

then with some wire, I made some anchor points for the seat harness decal. I did not add side anchor points as those will not be visible.

and lastly, I began drilling out the exhaust stack ends...

that's all for now... 

Cmk thanks. The 109 is a good looking aircraft. Fought from the first day to the last day of the war.

Unlike over at the Midway GB, these photos came through fine as jpegs.  I'll use one of the first two here, and the other one over there.

Thanks again for participating in this GB.  It's always a pleasure to see what rolls off your production line!

Bish

 checkmateking02

I've built some -G's in 1/72  years ago, and the cannon didn't show up in the cockpit, so I found this very interesting.

  As Stik says it is rather prominant, but as you can see in the pic, its not obvious that its the gun with the housing around it.

 

Just some minor progress today before work.

Here are the markings from Aermaster that I will be using

Then I did a little work in the cockpit. I filed the hub cannon housing to shape it more like the actual item, and I scratched up some rudder pedals. They are not exact, but they look better than what was there, and will hardly be visible once the cockpit is sealed up...

Just about ready for paint in there...

Steve, awsome job on the Zero. I can see what you mean about the different shade of grey.

checkmateking02

I've built some -G's in 1/72  years ago, and the cannon didn't show up in the cockpit, so I found this very interesting.

 

As Stik says it is rather prominant, but as you can see in the pic, its not obvious that its the gun with the housing around it.

WOW Stik, thats a blast from the past. I built that back in the 80's, going to be fun watching this.

Steve, the Zero looks fanatastic - nice to see what can be done with these new Airfix kits.

regards,

Jack

The different weathering process I tried was a thick oil wash rather than my usually oil pin wash. I also used oils for the fuel and smoke stains.

checkmateking02

I've built some -G's in 1/72  years ago, and the cannon didn't show up in the cockpit, so I found this very interesting.

 

Yeah, the breech is pretty prominent in there.

I've built some -G's in 1/72  years ago, and the cannon didn't show up in the cockpit, so I found this very interesting.

Thank you CMK. A little work can make a huge improvement!

Yes, the breech of the hub cannon was mounted behind the motor into the cockpit. But apparently Airfix got the shape wrong on their kit. They have it circular instead of square. That might be for the E models, I'm not sure. I think I have something in my spares bin that will work.

Great start, stik.  You made quite a difference in the appearance of the seat; much, much better now.

I had no idea the cannon entered the cockpit like that.  Another good piece of information to know.

Ok, since I'm now clear of my F-86, here we go....

Stik is building a 109? Yup, actually this will be my 3rd in the past 10 years. But I am gonna do my utmost to keep this simple and quick.

So here is the kit. It is Airfix's mid 70's vintage Friedrich version. I will be doing mine as a North Africa version.

I bought the kit at a local shop 20 years ago, that has since closed, for the princely sum of $9.98 plus tax. I think that I'll get my money's worth out of this...

So one of the first thing I did was take my Dremel to the pilot's seat. The part was way too thick as molded, and I'm not gonna use the kit pilot on this one. After about 5-10 minutes of careful work, here it is, before and after...

next I glued the rear cockpit wall to the floor and then placed it into the fuselage to set at the proper angle

Then I assembled and cleaned up the hub cannon cockpit housing, and assembled the propeller. Each blade is a separate part glued into place after seam clean up. And I drilled out the bore of the hub cannon the spinner.

and lastly I finished up basic cockpit assembly... all ready for paint now...

The colors really look great.  

Sorry Check, I forgot to post here as well.

I repainted with the JN grey. I think it looks better.
The decals are thick but were able to settle down. Now comes the washes. I'm going to try something diffrent on this one.

Still looking good over here, too, Steve!

At least there aren't fifty shades of Japanese gray.

Are there?

The JA gray has more green than the JN gray

That Zero's paint looks like the hemp colour that's lately been the rage, but could be quality of the lighting.

regards,

Jack

OOP's. Is there much differance between the two.