Werdna

Thanks Yes, the wings do droop slightly - easily fixed by simply not looking at the model head-on..

Hi all - this is the old Revell/Dragon Focke Wulf Ta 154 kit. Quite a nice kit to build with no major issues and just the right amount of filler to make it interesting Painted to represent an aircraft photographed at an Me262 base at the end of the war - airfield uncertain but I have seen reference to both Lage and Oerlinghausen. (If anyone knows for sure, I'd be interested to hear). Although intended as a nightfighter, this particular a/c (supposedly the third production A-1, identified as 320003) was not put to use in that role and had no radar fitted - and no tactical markings either, which suggests it might not have been used for combat operations. It is thought to have been used as a twin-engine conversion trainer for single-engine fighter pilots making the transition to the Me262. Pictures appear to show the a/c finished in a standard 74/75/76 scheme, but with a very tight mottle (possibly in RLM70) applied over the top of the upper surfaces. Markings applied with some spare paint masks, decals for the hakenkreuz. Hope you like the pics..

Elektron is a product name though (for a magnesium alloy), rather than an electroplating process..

None of us were there, hence the discussion - we need the name & address of the guy who painted the u/c doors The consistency of the pattern in the two pics (despite the light source being at different angles) makes it an interesting topic for further investigation, but that's probably all it is at the moment. Two pictures (currently) is probably not enough to form a definitive position.

It's a great kit - a lot of fun to put together and the fit is ridiculously good. I built one last year as G9+TH, the RFI is on here somewhere..

There's a lot to consider there. But leaving aside the 'RLM 83' argument (ie not a green, but a blue), I don't think there has been any previous evidence presented of 109 undersides being painted in anything but either RLM76 or the late war '84' version - or alternatively left unpainted - aside from some late Erla production(?) where the fuselage colour is thought to have wrapped around the entire fuselage. I've never seen anything which suggests the undersides were painted in a similar fashion to the late war D-9 schemes. Also, referring to '81' may not be specific enough, as there were thought to be at least two, possibly three shades, ranging from a dark brown to a dark green - the dark green shade being the colour invariably (erroneously?) referred to as RLM83.

Well yes, I guess everything is possible. But do you think it a coincidence that the sun is casting an almost identical pattern to that in the other pic, even though the light is coming from a completely different direction..?

Stove enamel is a possibility, although it's fundamentally still a paint finish. Chipping wouldn't preclude the use of anodizing though, as it's usually only a very thin surface treatment..

I believe the hub assemblies were aluminium alloy (happy to be corrected), so it's possible they could have been anodized? If so, that would typically leave a 'satin' or semi-gloss finish, which would seem to make sense given the pics above..

So is the appearance of a gloss black in all of the images above simply an anomaly..?

@Troy Smith I managed to link to the pic directly, saves scrolling through the album....

I found one of the pics I was referring to in one of Marc-Andre's albums - https://www.flickr.com/photos/28092068@N03/albums/72157635677312595 - 5th pic in the series. The pattern on the door is not the same, but certainly similar to the one in the pic above...

You may be right. I just remember seeing pics of some late-model Gs (Erla-built, I think) where the doors had some kind of splinter camo applied to them - in a pattern almost identical to that. Wondered if this might be another example..

To me, that looks like paint - certainly seems darker/more intense than a shadow..

Interesting pattern/markings on the u/c door..?

They all could - or none of them could. I don't understand what point you are making.

Is it too late to point out that the wheel hubs are also the same colour as the cows..?

Using that logic, you can argue that almost any b/w pic of a 109G might have red gear legs. I'm (literally) not seeing it....

Have another look at the pics posted by Troy on P1 - I don't think any of them have gondolas fitted.

Further to this - the pic of the up-ended/bombed 109 which Troy posted on P1 shows a clearly red wheel hub, but with no stencilling. Assuming the stencilling is absent (as opposed to being present, but simply not being visible in the pic), it might suggest a more informal type arrangement where these were re-painted in the field, as opposed to being painted in the factory. Just a thought..

Surely mixed fuels were commonplace anyway? Most airfields usually operated more than one aircraft type and in those cases the octane triangles seemed to have been sufficient for getting the right fuel into the right aircraft. I’m just struggling with the concept that, with a new fuel type, it became necessary to engage in some relatively complex re-painting. As I said earlier, It’s the logic I’m struggling with, not the purpose

Sorry, I'm not doubting the evidence, but I am struggling with the logic. From a purely theoretical standpoint - is painting the landing gear legs (and/or wheel hubs) red really the most efficient or practical way of indicating the type of fuel required? Most of the time, the Luftwaffe managed to fill their aircraft by referring to a simple - and relatively small - octane triangle. Surely something more simple (and requiring less paint and effort) would have been just as effective?

Indeed, I remember reading some discussion about whether the Junkers cowling top colour might have been something like RLM70 - which I guess is possible given the amount of aircraft they were turning out in bomber schemes..

Just think - somewhere in the Belgian government archives, there is probably a crash report/intelligence summary which details the exact colours on this aircraft...

Patchwork is what makes it interesting! Bearing in mind the 'power eggs' were delivered by Junkers fully built/painted - not necessarily in the same combination of upper/lower colours as the rest of the a/c.. Also, loving the box art on that 'G-6 late' - 1/48 aircraft being flown by a 1/72 pilot..