Werdna

Nicely done There is actually a thread in the armour RFI section for 'airfield support' vehicles here:

Thanks Ian As you say, it might just have been expediency on behalf of the subcontractor, although there doesn't seem to be evidence of any other a/c in that particular production block with similarly-finished (ie unfinished) covers. That's not to say there weren't any though.. Thanks Volker. The undersides are my mistake. For most of the build I was labouring under the misapprehension that 213097 was from an early production block (low number and all that), but it turns out 213xxx was probably the last block completed - I was well into the painting before I realised that, so decided to stay with it. I was looking at doing Dortenmann's 190D at around the same time I started this, which is from the 210xxx block, which was one of the very first blocks off the line - so I just assumed (without checking) that 213 was also an early block. However, one of the colour callouts I looked at did suggest full 76 undersides, but it's probably more likely that there was some bare metal panels underneath. If I was doing 'white 11' again, I would probably go for some unpainted sections under the wings.

Simply outstanding! One of the best presentations I have ever seen on here. Just brilliant work, well done

Hi all This is yet another Hobbyboss D-9, finished in the colours of W.Nr 213097 'white 11', a JG51 aircraft which was photographed at Flensburg towards the end of the war. Notable mainly for its un-painted gun covers on both fuselage top and wings. As I understand it, 213097 was from one of the last production blocks, supposedly built in March 45. It's not immediately obvious why these covers were either stripped or left unpainted - 'unfinished' replacement parts is a possibility, or maybe it was for ID purposes - who knows - it certainly wouldn't have helped ground concealment - but at least it makes for an interesting topic. Painted with Vallejo and Mig 'late-war green' RLM colours, paint masks for the markings and decals (nicked from the Eduard 'D-9 late' profipack) for the WNr and octane triangles.

Unless you mean a small hole in the lower r/h of the windshield itself? - which could be for the fitting of a telescope/telescopic sight. There are pics of Galland's a/c with the telescope fitted.

Overall pretty well. It requires careful trimming of the lugs which hold the nose assembly into the fuselage - they are too long, which means the two halves will not close properly if not trimmed. Also, the gun bays are designed to be posed open, so if you plan on closing it up, I would suggest leaving all the interior detail in the box. The panels may not fit flush otherwise. Same with the canopy - if you want it closed you will need to trim the lugs which are designed to pose it open. All relatively minor stuff, but still a good kit.

Great work - well done I've only ever built the Hobbyboss 262, not the Tamiya. This looks impressive though..

You may be right. However, there are a couple of pics of V53/DU+JC in the Nowarra book which appear to show a different engine cover than the one shown in the above pic. The pics I have seen of V53 show an unpainted engine cover, but with black hi-temp paint around the exhaust area - none of which is apparent in the above pic. Also, there is no evidence of inner gear covers on the pics I have of V53, although it's possible they could have been closed. Of course, it's also possible that the engine covers could have been changed, too.

Well, I always thought not. But this pic I found earlier - of what appears to be a D-9 - seems to suggest otherwise... Any thoughts? The Ta152 had inner doors, but this ain't a Ta152H or C. The other thing to say about this pic is that it bears some similarities to WNr 213097, which famously had bare metal gun cowls, of which a couple of pics exists, supposedly taken at Flensburg in spring 45. But anyway - it's quite possible I'm missing something, but the pic is new to me, so I thought it worthy of discussion. Even if nothing else, it's a great guide for weathering patterns Link to picture source here: https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/germany/aircrafts-2/fw190d/fw-190d-9-nose/

Hi Lindsey - I tend to agree that the Luftwaffe schemes become easier once some airbrushing skills are acquired, but there are also some truly excellent and very authentic-looking examples of brush painted Luftwaffe schemes in the RFI forum. It seems either can be used to good effect

There are a couple of pics floating around various 109 FB groups which show a pair of NOS 'late model' 109 wheels, which appears to have dark grey hubs, so possibly something like RLM66.

According to spec, the A-5 did run on C3/100 fuel, but whether that accounts for the red paint is probably still up for debate, as Graham says...

Hi all This is Hasegawa's 1/48 Bf109K-4, finished in the colours of Lt Gunther Landt. Landt was a Staffelkapitan with 11./JG53 and flew the K-4 with some success, although this particular aircraft was lost on 22 Feb 45, in a collision with a P-51. He bailed out, returned to flying and ended the war with 22 victories. Retired to Munich after the war, I believe. There are documented pics of Landt sitting in this particular K-4, although unfortunately, none of them are hi-res colour (), so the colours are my interpretation. I took a couple of pics under different lighting just to see how the colours varied and, well..... Anyway, comments welcome, as ever..

Thanks Nigel I don't really know enough detail to comment authoritatively, but I suspect you're right. I would guess there was a considerable amount of brush painting going on, although perhaps with stencils, assuming major markings were applied at depot/maintenance unit level, rather than in the field. I do recall seeing some pics of recently recovered Bf109 wing sections (recovered from a lake) where the upper wing crosses had clearly been stencilled on by brush, rather than spray gun - the brush marks were still visible in what was left of the paint..

Yes, it could well be a 'G' (or an 'F' maybe?). Interesting point about the spar being there to support the mast - but it makes me wonder whether it would have been easier to support this from the fuselage end, rather than through the canopy frame? I'm sure they knew what they were doing though..