Bob's BF109E4/7Trop

[moaning dolphin]

Good evening all,

I have decided to jump in with this GB. Over the last few weeks I broke my elbow and have generally been quite 'meh' about model making so I need something to get me going again. Now I know next to nowt about this aircraft type but saw this kit in the LHS for little more than a tenner. Here will be my build

 

 

The moldings do look very nice and being modern Tamiya hopefully even I can make a half decent effort! So here are the kit shots.

 

 

 

I haven't decided what option yet, there are 3

7/JG26 looks like blue underside and green / violet (?) Upper

2/ JG 27 sand/blue with mottled effect

And finally

Major Helmut Wick of JG2 looks like green/grey upper and blue lower

 

So looking at my paints I have

(All RLM) 76, 79, 04, 71, 02, 70, 72

Now not being an expert I reckon I have the blue (76), sand (79) and yellow (04) insides (02?) Leaving just the option 1 and 3 uppers. Not sure if I have what tamiya call grey violet (AS4) but what would AS3 (grey green) relate to? Or their mix of RLM grey and khaki or olive drab and khaki refer to. I am hoping this will be my Biggers headache lol

 

Hope to get this kicking off by the weekend.

Cheers now

Bob

[Ozzy]

Sounds like a bargain Bob, hope the elbow healing well.

[moaning dolphin]

On Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at 5:34 PM, Ozzy said:

Sounds like a bargain Bob, hope the elbow healing well.

Thanks for the sympathy, a few weeks on its getting hard to find especially at home 

 

So manning up a bit I have made some progress, as ever I have started in the cockpit, just taking parts off tidying up as required

 

 

Then it was out with the RLM 02 which I think is a safe banker for the internal parts. I am using Model Master Acrylics which is my go to spraying medium. I am hoping to spray 90% of this kit. So initial coat,

 

 

I still haven't decided on my version but I think I am good until I put it all together. I did some research on the pilot for each version and did ponder on fitting a pilot in for extra interest. But alas....

 

 

The pilot resembles more of Kevin the teenager in some sulk than a German war ace so may just leave it bare. Next it will be a bit of black and some detailing of the cockpit and some homemade seat harnesses.

 

Until then, Laters! 

Bob

[moaning dolphin]

Well it's been a bit of time since my last update, I've since been away for a few days and caught up on yard work but I have managed to get some modelling done and have progressed quite far!

 

After painting up all the internal parts I assembled on willy nilly until I got this far

 

 

And yes after all that work on the cockpit I forgot to take any snap shots  but hey hoo never mind. I have decided to have the canopy open so I decided to mask the inside of the glasswork.  This is where I enjoy the German war engineering. Their canopies are so square making it easy to mask (I'm sure they were thinking of us modeller when they designed them!). So masking was relatively easy and then a coat of RLM 02 applied.

 

 

Whilst I had the 02 out I coated a few more the the ancillary parts

 

 

And then fitted the canopy which goes without saying was a flawless fit!

 

 

 

With all that together, I gave it a prime and decided for the first time to try pre shading! So before the colour was applied

 

 

Looks a bit like a zebra! And now after a coat of RLM 65 here she is

 

 

Quite pleased with how she looks, I have used Vallejo Model Air for the blue which I think is a bit greyer than the Model Master version. I was also quite happy with the shading, very subtle. 

 

I have decided to go for Helmut Wicks version so will have to mask off for the RLM 02/71 upper and then try to fathom out the stippling pattern on the side. Until then, Laters! 

Bob

[moaning dolphin]

Aaaannnndddd.......... Masked up with first coat of RLM02

 

 

Bob

[georgeusa]

You are at the part that always kills me, the German camo schemes with their mottling. Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out as you have shown mottling, while maybe not your friend, is also not your enemy, as it is mine. 

[moaning dolphin]

20 hours ago, georgeusa said:

You are at the part that always kills me, the German camo schemes with their mottling. Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out as you have shown mottling, while maybe not your friend, is also not your enemy, as it is mine. 

 

I do like the basic camo schemes but am a bit nervous of the mottling, I have ideas on how to do this but will see how it all goes. I need to try some experiments first.

 

Aaaaaannnnnddddd now we have some RLM71, to ad a bit more colour variation, here she is with masking stripped ready for the next stage.

 

 

 

As I said above I am still not too sure how to do the stippled pattern but will experiment. Also I have the yellow bits to cover.....yay yellow my favorite colour!......not!

 

So until then......

 

Laters all!

 

Bob

[stevej60]

Excellent progress Bob,cracking kit this one too.

[moaning dolphin]

18 hours ago, stevej60 said:

Excellent progress Bob,cracking kit this one too.

Thanks, I do like this kit, it seems to be going together nicely which is always a winner!

 

So I started to look into the 'mottling' effect on the sides. I don't want to use a sponge or cut down brush as I am using thin acrylics and I think the effect will be quite pants, and I don't have any RLM 02 enamel either. The spots are also way to fine for me to airbrush effectively. So I had a think and thought about a template, I had just enough time last night to have an experiment and my first thought was a paper template. I got a sheet of paper and cocktail stick and merrily went about stabbing the bejeezers out of it! The using this had a spray on my paint mule. You can just about make out the template behind.

 

 

Not a bad start, it has given me a good way ahead but certainly needs refining! I also looked at the yellow bits and bobs

 

 

I gave these an even coat of grey primer as yellow is a pain to get consistent. I will follow this with a light even white primer coat before I even think about the yellow. It has worked ok before so should be fine this time.

 

Well that's all for now!

Laters!

Bob