Rangi01

Hi All, BA very interesting thread indeed. but if I remember correctly wasn't the XP80 significantly smaller than the P80 production machines. I think they had to enlarge the whole machine to fit the British engine. I could of course be completely wrong and happy to be proven so. I will look up my references to see. Shane

Thanks Winenut, really appreciate your comments.

Thank you for a wonderful build. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride you took us all on. You, Sir, are a true artist. I heartedly agree with the comments everybody has made, bravo. Shane

Hi All, After a hiatus due to moving house I have finally completed the NGJ1 bf109. u/c on, touch-ups complete, aerial wire attached. I will upload more photos into RFI when I get a chance. Thanks for looking. Shane

Some more progress. Weathered with oils, graphite and silver paint then sealed in with a dullcoat after which I was able to remove the canopy masking. Prior to dullcoat After dullcoat Thanks for looking. Shane

Not much progress I'm afraid. Touch-ups where I handled the model, painted the background of the unit badges ready for the decals and painted the trim tabs. Please enjoy and feel free to comment. Thanks for looking. Shane

I like Tamiya, easy to spray and robust but I find it doesn't like to brush very well whereas both Italeri and AK brush very well. I went with the Luftwaffe sets for both of as I plan on doing quite a lot over the next few months. Anyway I managed to find time to get the bulk of the decals on, just need to do the smaller decals and print up the unit badge then it's a bit of touch ups and then weathering. Did these under very different lighting as you can see... Cheers

More work done... Masked and painted the codes, not that happy but it will do. Coated with Klear and ready for decalling. Hope that you enjoy the pictures and happy to hear any comments. Cheers Shane

Thanks James I used both Italeri and AK acrylics. Italeri as the RLM76 and 75, AK for RLM74. I have had a bit of trouble finding the right thinning mix for the Italeri acrylics, sometimes I get it right but other times the paint just dries in the tip when trying to do fine painting, so I thought I would try some of the AK acrylics. I haven't played around with them enough to comment if they are any better/worse. I am currently using windscreen washer fluid to thin the paint and getting quite good and consistent results now. I use a Harder and Steenbeck Evolution airbrush which I find excellent (although to be honest the only other airbrush I have used was a cheap chinese one) I am planning on masking and painting the code letters but haven't decided whether or not to paint or use the decals for the national markings. Thanks for looking and your comments Shane

Hi All, This is my rendition of NJG1's Bf109e4, continuing on from my Nachtjager builds. This is the aircraft I am basing this on. Thanks for looking Shane

Nice! What techniques did you use to weather?

Thank you Gentlemen, I appreciate your comments. Shane

Hi All, well I am pleased to say that I have finished (well enough to go on the shelf for the moment) my 72nd scale FW190. Loved building her with very little in the way of fit issues, the upper wing/fuselage joint needed a shim of plasticard on either side. The only real disappointment was the canopy, moulded in 2 pieces but as the rear sliding part is molded into the fuselage the canopy cannot be posed open without surgery. Also the clear plastic was thick, scratched and distorted. A polish and dip in Klear helped a great deal but it is still not up to the quality of the rest of the kit. Panel lines are fine and crisp with a very high level of detail and a number of options. You can complete the model as a standard A8 or the R-11 Nachtjager with 'stag-horn' style antenna. I chose the Nachtjager however the antenna are a bit too heavy to be convincing so I fabricated some new ones from stretched sprue but I am still not completely happy with them. I may replace them at a later stage. Anyway here are the pictures, I hope that you enjoy them Decals are kit supplied, with the exception of the swastika, which went down nicely but are a little thick. Paint is a combination of Tamiya and Italeri acrylics, preshaded with a dark grey and with a dark grey oil pin wash in the control surface joints and a oil dot weathering of yellow and blue on the upper surfaces. Thanks for looking, Shane