Axis Aces Sep 2006 - Jun 2007

silentmodeler wrote:

hey guys let ya know i have to drop this gb out since the kit i got isnt what i expect.  the 21st century toys is totally different than the normal kits such as revell, HAS, dragon and so on.  not just that,  i got new schudules at my job so it cut down my free time  darn! so i dont have much time to do it.  but if someone of you do axis aces again in the future  for sure i will join again and hope i pick the right kits.

Sorry to hear that, but understood.  Don't worry, I'll make sure there is always some sort of Luftwaffe GB going on. 

Oh, 1:32, well, then thats another story...

Just kidding, still amazing looking belts, I have only ever built one 1:32 model (Ju87 Stuka) from way back and It took up so much space!  I'm sticking to the cute little ones for now.

Everything I've built so far after getting back into modelling is 1/48.  I have a bunch of 1/32 kits I'll be building in the near future so I'm going to have to figure out where to display them.  I may hang them from the ceiling at my office, might be kinda cool! 

Hey guys, just finished the left lap belt for my Hasegawa 1/32 Bf109G-14.  Here are two pics.  It's hard to believe there are 8 pieces that make up the belt. 

And here is a shot of the IP after I created lenses for the instruments by dabbing Future over them in a series of 4 or 5 layers.

The seatbelts are finished! I need to figure how to improve the lighting for my photos. Without the flash everything is too yellow, with the flash it's too white.

Now to get them attached to the seat.

My wife suggested I put something in the photo to show how small these seatbelts really are as the macro setting on the camera gives the impression that they're huge.  Great idea eh? 

bobbaily wrote:

Nice work Scott.  I must try a 1/32nd someday....if I can find the space to store it....

I've been doing all 1/48 so far so I'll have to deal with that hurdle when this kit is finished.

I was toying with the idea of hanging the 1/32 aircraft from the accustic ceiling above my cube at work. 

I'm on a roll today!  Woo Hoo!  That's the beauty of it being cool and gloomy outside, the kids are playing computer games, my lovely wife is watching chick flicks upstairs.... life is good! 

The lapbelts have been attached to the seat.  The shoulder belts can't be installed until after the seamwork is finished on the fuselage and the cockpit tub has been installed as the mounting points for the shoulder belts are at the base of the back decking of the cockpit.

In the last photo you'll note the big gap towards the end of the tail section.  This is a necessary evil due to the modular design of the Hasegawa G series.  Based on some great tips I got from Floyd S. Werners DVD on building Hasegawa's 1/32 Bf109G-6, I chose to install each half of the tail assembly to the fuselage first, making sure it was a flush as possible with the curved sides.  The straight gap which exists now that the fuselage halves have been glued together will be a snap to fill and rescribe (don't forget 109 builders, there is a seam that goes all along the top and bottom of the fuselage due to the way the design and assembly of the real thing  :idea: ).

Thanks Darson, ya that's the way to go with any kit that has the modular tail assembly.  Makes for much easier seamwork. 

I finished up the seam work on the fuselage and the rear deck behind the pilot seat.  I'll need to give it a quick spray of dark gray, but I'm beat, so I'll do that tomorrow.

I'm almost done building up the lenses, I just keep putting a drop of future on the lenses, slowly building it up.  The lenses are much more level than they appear in the photo.  I can't seem to be able to find the right angle to capture how they really look.  sigh... oh well, this shot is close enough for government work.

The cockpit has been installed.  I still need to install the shoulder belts, but I had just lost a small part from my Bf109D to the carpet monster and I don't want to do that delicate work when I'm feeling frustrated.  I think it's time for a beer and TV. 

Thanks Jay.

I've been lucky that I've been able to devote an hour or two a night the past week.  My wife and I are kidless this weekend, so that frees up a lot of time during the day.  I'm also taking Monday off (for having to work last Saturday) so there is a lot of modeling going on in the Espin household this weekend. 

I got this little tip from Floyd S. Werner, Jr.'s DVD "Building the Bf109G-6".  I've noticed that on every 109 kit I've worked on, the rear portion of the center fuselage underside section always leaves a step that requires some akward seam work. 

I cut strips of .005" Evergreen Sheet Styrene, glued them to the rear edges, then trimmed them to be flush with the edges of the part.    Makes for much better fit and should theoretically eliminate the need for any seam filling there... hopefully, as I'm a bit burned out on seam work from my Hasegawa 1/48 P-40E and Classic Airframes 1/48 Bf109D. 

And here are the finished results. 

Does anyone have a picture, or know where I can find a picture of Erich Hartmann's Bf109G-14 (sometimes erroneously labeled as a G-6) in the white winter camo scheme? 

The only photo I've been able to find is a close up of Erich standing on the wing by the cockpit, either just having climbed out or getting ready to climb in.  The photo only shows the side of the fuselage where the cockpit is.  I'd like to have a pic of the whole plane as it will help immensely for inspiration when I get to the weathering.

Wings been drilled for the wheel bumps on the topside, wheel wells have been carved out for the larger wheels used on the G-14 and the radiators have been installed in the wings and painted.  I'm just about ready to attach the wings, just waiting for them to set.....

but I see a Peppercorn NY Steak, baked potato and some Jeremiah Red beer in my future.    Heading off to BJ's brewery shortly with my wife, oldest son and daughter in law. 

espins1 wrote:

Does anyone have a picture, or know where I can find a picture of Erich Hartmann's Bf109G-14 (sometimes erroneously labeled as a G-6) in the white winter camo scheme?  The only photo I've been able to find is a close up of Erich standing on the wing by the cockpit, either just having climbed out or getting ready to climb in.  The photo only shows the side of the fuselage where the cockpit is.  I'd like to have a pic of the whole plane as it will help immensely for inspiration when I get to the weathering.

Scott, I have checked my references and I must have the same as you because in my Osprey Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front I have the same pic as you describe.

Also, here's a couple of shots of the 190 with it's decals on.  The whole thing should look a lot better after a little weathering and giving the paint a slight satin finish.

Cheers 

darson wrote:

Btw the kit is looking outstanding, I really love that trick with the styrene to avoid a step on the lower fuselage, nice one . Cheers

Thanks Darren, this Hasegawa kit is a gem!  It's a nice refreshing change from the Classic Airframes Bf109D I've been working on.  I stole that styrene trick from Floyd S. Werner's DVD "Building the Bf109G-6".  It is a great 3 disk DVD set.  He builds the Hasegawa 1/32 kit from the ground up and man, I learned a lot from seeing that!  He uses a lot of the techniques that others mention on these forums, but being able to see him actually do it on the big screen is fantastic!  The guy knows his stuff. 

Excellent work on your 190 by the way, it looks just like the picture!    Looking forward to seeing more pics! 

Thanks Bob. 

Here are a few shots of my progress so far today.  The wings, tailplanes, gun cowling, lower cowlings, radiators, supercharger intake, drop tank rack, and MG bulges have all been installed. 

I'm taking a short break to eat some lunch and get my hair cut.  When I get back - on go the slats, flaps and ailerons.  There is virtually no seam work to be done, which is a nice break from the CA Bf109D!    Heck, at the rate I'm going, I might be able to lay down some paint later today! 

I think I'm going to do a quickie camo job airbrushing by hand (doesn't need to be perfect as it will be over sprayed with white).  This will do two things.  Good practice for me with the airbrush and it will help give it the right look with the whitewash as I want the underlying camo to barely show through in a few spots for a more realistic white wash effect.  Being able to actually pull it off is another matter....

Slats, flaps and ailerons have been installed.  The required panels have been filled and sanded (didn't appear on the G-14, Hasegawa's modular design philosophy). 

I think I'm just about ready to do some spraying! 

I have a question I'm going to toss out there in case anyone has some detailed information on Erich Hartmann's Bf109G-14 with the white washed winter scheme.  I'm pre-painting the 109 with RLM74/75/76 and will then add a light, slightly worn whitewash over it.  My question pertains to the yellow identification colors painted on the lower cowling and radiator cover.  I've seen in profiles of his G-6 (without the whitewash) that he did not have yellow painted on the lower cowling, although the Hasegawa kit instructions call for the yellow identification markings to be painted on his G-14. 

Does anyone have any pics or info that may shed some light on this?  I'm not a rivet counter, but would like to try to make the markings as accurate as possible.  I know the yellow identification markings on the lower cowling were used extensively on the G series Bf109, but were used less and less during the last year or so of the war. 

espins1 wrote:

I have a question I'm going to toss out there in case anyone has some detailed information on Erich Hartmann's Bf109G-14 with the white washed winter scheme.  I'm pre-painting the 109 with RLM74/75/76 and will then add a light, slightly worn whitewash over it.  My question pertains to the yellow identification colors painted on the lower cowling and radiator cover.  I've seen in profiles of his G-6 (without the whitewash) that he did not have yellow painted on the lower cowling, although the Hasegawa kit instructions call for the yellow identification markings to be painted on his G-14.  Does anyone have any pics or info that may shed some light on this?  I'm not a rivet counter, but would like to try to make the markings as accurate as possible.  I know the yellow identification markings on the lower cowling were used extensively on the G series Bf109, but were used less and less during the last year or so of the war.

Scott, I spent some time over the weekend hunting through references on whitewashed late model 109s and came up with zip, sorry.

I also agree with you that the yellow ID band under the cowling was used less and less during the last months of the war as supplies of everything (including paint) dried up.

Cheers

I find it ironic that there are several kits in various scales of Hartmann's white washed G-14, the reference photos of it seem to be non-existant. 

Thanks for checking. 

Scott, I've had a bit of a slow day here at work so I've been continuing my Hartmann 109 hunt for you.  Unfortunately I haven't found a phot but I did go to Eagle Editions website as these guys really do their homework when it comes to their decals.  Have a look at these links they may be of some help:

http://www.eagle-editions.com/blondknight.htm

http://www.eagle-editions.com/decal36.htm

Cheers