Axis Aces Sep 2006 - Jun 2007

Bob great pickup on the 262, that's an awesome price .

Scott glad to hear you had a great time on the weekend, it sure sounds like you found one heck of a great way to pass some time.

Progress wise on the Fw-19A7 well it's 99% done .  All that’s needed are a couple of touchups with the paintbrush a radio antenna and a few pigments around the wheels to be added.

I haven't taken any proper shots yet but here a couple to show what it basically looks like.

Nice score Bob, that's a killer price on a very nice kit! 

And yes, that cold beer was nice, as was the 2nd! 

I dipped the canopy for the G-14 in Future this morning, tomorrow I mask and install it, and spray the whitewash. 

As a side note, my daughter and I drove down to Sacramento this afternoon to see the B-17G Nine-o-nine, the B-25J Tondelayo and the B-24J Witchcraft.  I was amazed at how low to the ground the B-24 was, never seen one up close before.  And the B-25 is tall!  I took a lot of photos, and we climbed around inside the B-24 and B-17.  We got to see all 3 take off and land, with paying passengers on board.  Rides were $400 each, little pricey for me but I hope to go for a ride in one of those someday.  Good thing I wasn't wearing one of my Bf109 T-shirts.    There is just something really cool about watching those old warbirds fly. 

As an added bonus there is an air museum right next to where the planes were, with a lot of 50s, 60s and 70s Air Force jets on display.  We did a quick museum tour and took a lot of pictures there too.  I'll post them in the forums once I get some time to upload all of them.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day Weekend!   

Scott-sorry to hear of all of your recent 'challenges'.  I'm sure you will pull thru though....and I hope you had that beer.

Just because I have to tell someone..I went to the local HobbyLobby here in Huntsville, Al (whilst visiting in-laws) and found the 1/48 Tamiya Me-262a, list price of $40.- on the clearance rack for $10.74.  Made my day.

Alright, I managed to get the RLM74 pre-shade sprayed after several problems.  A roll of paper towels that I had on top of my spray booth fell down and knocked the freshly mixed RLM74 in the paint cup over spilling it on the carpet.    Thank god for Windex!!!! 

I got everything cleaned up, mixed a new batch and tried using the ultra fine needle and tip again that I tried out last night.  I had major problems with that setup, just like last night, so out of shear frustration I swapped out to my medium needle and tip just so I could get the Gray-Green sprayed.  I think I need to take a break from any more modeling for the rest of the evening.    I'm thinking a cold beer is in order. 

Anyway, here are a couple of quick shots with the RLM74/75 pre-shade.

Thanks guys, I wasn't too worried about making the RLM 75 perfect, and won't worry about the RLM74 too much either as it's all about the pre-shade.  My goal is to have the two colors show through enough to give it a realistic, slightly worn whitewash look to it.  It did give me a chance to practice with my new tip and needle.  I picked up a much finer tip and needle at my LHS (High Sierra Hobbies) the other day and figured I'd give it a try. 

The new tip and needle are great for very precise work (mottling etc.) but I was having a heck of a time with it last night as the paint just would not flow through it very well.  I may have to look at thinning my paint more when I use that setup.  In fact, the first time I tried to spray before dinner, the paint just wouldn't flow other than just a very brief splat each time I pulled the trigger back.  Very frustrating, but thankfully I always test spray on some scrap paper to make sure the mix is good and the A/B is functioning properly before I risk messing up my model.  I ended up dumping out the RLM75 mix, completely dismantling the A/B and cleaning it.  I always thoroughly clean my A/B so I was a bit perplexed that I was having any problems . 

Anyway, got everything put back together, mixed up a new batch with more thinner this time (maybe 40% instead of the 30% I used originally) and it sprayed much better, but it's very difficult to get full coverage over large areas with that tip combo.  Also, until I got the air pressure just right I wound up with a couple of heavy mottles, but again, it's mostly going to be covered up by the white so I didn't sweat it.  I'll need to master this new setup though for future mottling work.  I'll need to buy a medium tip and needle for the bigger camo and solid color jobs.  I can probably squeak by for a bit with my old needle, but it is showing some wear.   

I'm still trying to figure out the more advanced tricks with my double action A/B and learned some good lessons about tips last night!  As a side note, I have a Ju 88A-4 which I'll be building soon with the splinter scheme and the wave pattern (spaghetti) of light gray on top and dark gray on the bottom.  I practiced spraying the spaghetti striping and was able to pull it off!  I'm stoke, I'm going to try to freehand that for the Bombergruppe GB.

As far as the white wash is concerned.  I'm still trying to decide how to approach it.  I was debating whether to add a little gray, or maybe just a touch of light brown.  What do you all think?    I can't find any color pictures of any white washed 109s, so it's hard for me to tell how the paint held up under combat conditions and what dinge it picked up over time, know what I mean? 

I will use the fine tip to spray the white though as I think I'll be able to get just the look I want.  I need to study the few black and white photos that I do have so I'll make the whitewash thinner and more irregular in the high traffic areas, like the wing roots etc.  I have maybe 5 or 6 pics out at least dozen 109 reference books... guess the cameras didn't work too well at 20 degrees below zero on the Eastern Front

Here are two shots of a quick preshade of the RLM75.  Tomorrow I'll do the RLM74 preshade.  The whitewash winter scheme will go over both of the preshades on Saturday.

Thanks Bob.    I know all the gotchas now with the CA kit, so when I build my other 109D and two 109A kits, I can be pro-active with the trouble spots. 

If I get back early enough from my daughters ROTC Awards Ceremony tonight I'm going to freehand one of the colors of the splinter/mottling Bf109G-14.  I'm not worried about making it perfect as it's going to be mostly covered up by the winter whitewash scheme.  Not only will it be great practice freehanding with my airbrush, but it will work as a more realistic pre-shade for the winter scheme .... at least that's the theory 

Hi Darren, I keep forgetting everyone doesn't watch all the GB threads.   

I did the Classic Airframes Bf109D for the Spanish Civil War GB.  It was a challenging kit to build.  All I can say is dry fit, dry fit, dry fit.  The resin is gorgeous, especially the cowling, but getting the resin wheel wells to fit in the wings was a major undertaking.  The backside of the wheel wells needs to be sanded down until it's translucent, then you have to thin out the upper wing so they'll fit in there.  Pay attention to the front side of the wheel wells too.  I wish I had paid more attention to that part a bit more as then they would have fit a little better.    All in all I think it turned out pretty well, especially considering it's only my 6th completed aircraft model since I was a kid, and it had loads of resin and PE.    I tell you, between the Hasegawa 1/48 P-40E and this kit, I can handle any seam work that gets thrown my way! 

I'm in the process of doing a full write up of the kit and hope to have it posted later today or tomorrow.

Did you order the new CA release Bf109D "Molders" or the original release?  The original release has been out of stock pretty much everywhere for a while now.  If it's the Molders release, I'd send their customer service an e-mail or call them as they have it listed in stock.  They've been really good about answering their e-mail, at least for me anyway. 

Here are a few pics of the 1/48 Classic Airframes Bf109D.  I did mine as a Condor Legion aircraft during the Spanish Civil War flown by Werner Molders.

espins1 wrote:

Whew!  Finally go the Classic Airframes 1/48 Bf109D flown by Werner Molders finished!  Man, that was a lot of work!  How's everyone else coming along?

Scott I can't believe you've finished your 109D.  I'm glad for you don't get me wrong but I mine is still on pre-order from Great Models . 

Anyway how about some photos??? 

My 190 build is coming along just nicely and I'm in the home stretch.  All I have to do is apply the landing gear & prop and do a couple of last minute bit's and pieces and she's done.

Made a lot of progress tonight, finished up the seam work and got the RLM 76 sprayed on the sides and underside. 

Had some issues at first with the paint.  I mixed 3 parts XF23 Light Blue to 2 parts XF2 White and 1 part Tamiya Thinner.  Well, both the paints I used were pretty old and just about empty.  The spray at first was inconsistant and a bit spattery.  It was then that I realized that the paints I used must have been a bit thick, so I added more thinner to the paint cup and voila!  Spray issue solved!   

Whew!  Finally go the Classic Airframes 1/48 Bf109D flown by Werner Molders finished!  Man, that was a lot of work! 

The G-14 is now in the center of the work bench!  It will be nice to work on a Hasegawa kit for a bit 

How's everyone else coming along? 

darson wrote:

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

Great links, thanks Darren! 

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

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. 

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 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. 

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! 

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....

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! 

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 

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.

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. 

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.