pacificmustang Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Ive always like the lithe looks of the early 109s and have wanted to build one and finish it in the classic Battle of France/Britain 65/71/02 for a while, so took the opportunity to gram the dragon kit out of the stash I started off by riveting the parts using a Rosie The Rivetter tool following plans I found in the Aero Detail volume on the 109. It was actually easier than I imagined. Apart from Master Models barrels for the wing guns, the model is OOB, and went together well aside from getting the cowl to sit down over the guns. I ended up just gluing the barrels to a plasticard bulkhead i made and glued to the inside of the cowling. There is still a step between the engine and gun cowls that i am not happy with. Prior to painting the model I used black watercolour to apply a sludge wash, then wiped off the excess leaving the black just in the rivets and panel lines. A sort of pre wash!!. The colour coats still allowed the rivets and lines to show through. I did it this way as I did not think my rivets would survive the subsequent paint coats. Montex masks were used to airbrush all national insignia apart from the swastika which is an xtradecal item. The raven, shield and werknumber are decals from the montex set The aircraft was flown by Lt Walter Schneider and proved quite hard to find photos of, I eventually turned up two. I also found it quite interesting researching Schneider. He survived the France campaign and The Battle of Britain with around five kills only to die in a crash in 1941. I found the Dragon kit enjoyable to build apart from the cowl Thanks for looking Bruce 33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Very impressive model. Thanks for sharing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Very nice, like the faded paintwork and weathering 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booty003 Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Very smart, classic looking 109. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave N Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Yes. Like that a lot! Restrained weathering is v. realistic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Now that is a good looking 109 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 That is very impressive Bruce. Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reini78 Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 lovely big 109, nice painting and weathering 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Superb, great 109, painting and weathering excellent. The base really finishes it off beautifully. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauls9cb Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Bruce - It's a great looking model of one of my favourite a/c. I've lost count of the number of Emils I've built, mostly in 1/48 but a couple of larger scale ones. I like the balance you've managed to strike between finishing it as it would have come off the production line and the skillful weathering you've achieved. I find it diffiicult to resist overdoing the stains and other signs that the a/c's been used. Fantastic early camo job! Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Very good looking Emil indeed! Incidentally, digging a bit deeper into the history of Oberleutnant Schneider, I came across his personal diary, scanned on a website that I unfortunately forgot to bookmark. Anyway, it turned out that he had a recurring problem of 'Maschinengewehr Überhitzung' – he would probably have ended up with more victories but for this unfortunate situation. In the end, he had his mechanic adjust the engine cowl to leave a gap at the rear. Apparently, this field modification was successful in eliminating the machine gun overheating. I'm impressed that you've managed to recreate this little known fact so convincingly. It's a beautiful model, although I venture to disagree about the obviously de rigeur dark shading of the ribs of the fabric covered surfaces. As anybody knows who has been around fabric covered planes, there's no visible sag at all since the doped linen is (should be!) drum skin tight. This is particularly important regarding the control surfaces. ;-) Kind regards, Joachim 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasto Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Nicely done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacificmustang Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 On 13/01/2018 at 3:57 PM, Spitfire31 said: Very good looking Emil indeed! Incidentally, digging a bit deeper into the history of Oberleutnant Schneider, I came across his personal diary, scanned on a website that I unfortunately forgot to bookmark. Anyway, it turned out that he had a recurring problem of 'Maschinengewehr Überhitzung' – he would probably have ended up with more victories but for this unfortunate situation. In the end, he had his mechanic adjust the engine cowl to leave a gap at the rear. Apparently, this field modification was successful in eliminating the machine gun overheating. I'm impressed that you've managed to recreate this little known fact so convincingly. It's a beautiful model, although I venture to disagree about the obviously de rigeur dark shading of the ribs of the fabric covered surfaces. As anybody knows who has been around fabric covered planes, there's no visible sag at all since the doped linen is (should be!) drum skin tight. This is particularly important regarding the control surfaces. ;-) Kind regards, Joachim Hi Joachim, good work on unearthing that very little known fact! I also agree with you regarding the shading. It does provide a bit of dimension, but like you say, is just not prototypical Regards Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza l Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Great model and an interesting story. gazza l 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod bettencourt Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Really nice finish on that. Thanks for sharing. Rod 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niknak Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Very nice built and finished. What did you use for the grass on the base?. Nik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtickWarspite Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Makes me want to build a Me109 now. Very inspiring! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacificmustang Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 5 hours ago, Niknak said: Very nice built and finished. What did you use for the grass on the base?. Nik Hi NiK, I used static grass from a model railway shop. I could not tell you what brand unfortunately, as its stored in a Tupperware container I(which my wife seems to have missed!) Bruce 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niknak Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, pacificmustang said: Hi NiK, I used static grass from a model railway shop. I could not tell you what brand unfortunately, as its stored in a Tupperware container I(which my wife seems to have missed!) Bruce Thanks Bruce, you should do whot I do act inocent. Nik Edited January 16, 2018 by Niknak 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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