jrlx Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 EDIT: this thread started as an entry to the BoB GB. Since I didn't manage to finish in time, it was moved to the KUTA GB. ----------------------------------------------- Dear All, this is my third and last entry in the BoB GB: Helmut Wick's Messerschmitt Bf 109 E4, as flown on October 1940. Wick was the most successful German fighter pilot at the time, as he reached 56 confirmed victories in 168 combat missions, before being himself shot down over the sea, near Britain, on 28 November 1940, at the age of 25. During his career he was awarded several important military awards, including the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub. The aircraft I'm building was the following one: As can be seen, painting this camouflage will be quite a challenge... The kit itself is the one from Tamiya and comes with the correct markings for the above profile. The picture shows the box, sprues, decals and the PE fret from Eduard I'll be using for better detailing the cockpit (mainly). The kit itself has a good amount of detail but I want to take it to the next level. IMAG2298 I've already planned the build in some detail and hope to be able to finish it relatively quickly. This is important because I'm also building Airfix's Defiant (WIP here) and Do 17z (WIP here) for this GB. It's quite ambitious for me, especially because I'll be using a lot of PE, which will be a first... Anyway, as said in my other posts, I'm still finishing three British Phantoms for the Phantom GB, which ends on the 26th, so I don't think I'll be able to start the BoB builds before that. Thanks for looking. Cheers Jaime 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 You are definitely going to be very, very busy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 Stix, yes I will. In fact I'm already very busy. I hope this isn't too much ambition... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboydim Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 This will be another little gem Jaime. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Thanks, Joe That's very kind! I may start my BoB builds with this one, because I've already planned it in some detail and looks it can be done relatively quickly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 Hi again, At last, I'm starting the work on my BoB GB entries. All three at the same time. I'm beginning with the transparent parts, just to mask them and put them to the side right from the start. I'll build the Bf 109 with an open canopy. Here's the sprue: IMAG2520 As in the Dornier and Defiant, I used my recently acquired RB-productions micro saws to cut the parts off the sprue. Here they are, just after cutting: IMAG2521 I made the cuts well away from the parts, in order to avoid any damage from mechanical stress. I can say that the micro saw used works really well. The excess plastic was removed with x-acto blades and sanding sticks (see my technique in detail here). Here's the final result: IMAG2522 The parts are very transparent. I washed the parts with water and dishwasher liquid, to remove all dust, and then gave them an Aqua Gloss bath. Here they are, ready for the bath: IMAG2527 And here they are, drying: IMAG2528 They are fully dry now and look really good: brilliant and transparent. Next step: masking. For this kit I don't have pre-cut masks. I'll have to mask them by hand. Thanks for looking. Jaime 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboydim Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Hi Jaime, they have come up really well. Very good tip that. Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Hi, Instead of masking the canopy, I started taking the parts off the sprue. The main parts of the cockpit, fuselage and wings are shown in the next picture: IMAG2552 Here are the cockpit parts. The kit's instrument panel is not shown because it won't be used. PE parts will be used instead: IMAG2553 The propeller, tail wheel and main gear legs will receive Alclad primer and Alclad paints, since they have metallic areas: IMAG2554 These small parts of the undercarriage legs (what's their name?) were removed because they'll be replaced by PE parts: IMAG2556 I made a quick dry-fit, and confirmed that everything fits perfectly: IMAG2555 I disassembled the parts and marked with a pencil the raised detail that must be removed from the inner starboard cockpit wall. This detail will be replaced by PE parts: IMAG2557 This was removed with a curved x-acto blade. Here's the end result: IMAG2558 The small parts were glued to toothpicks and are ready for priming and painting. This is how it all stands right now: IMAG2559 Thanks for looking Jaime 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Coming together nicely Jaime. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Thanks, Steve. I hope to start painting and installing the cockpit PE enhancements this week. I'll have to repaint the RLM 02-painted PE parts because the colour is not coincident with the Gunze's RLM 02 I'll be using. Cheers Jaime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted August 27, 2015 Author Share Posted August 27, 2015 Hi again, At last, I'm back to the bench, after holidays and getting back to the office. I resumed work on the Wick's Bf109, starting by applying the PE parts from the Eduard set. In the picture we can see the PE fret, the cockpit base and seat, the acrylic base and handle used for cutting PE parts off the fret (to the left) and the PE instructions (to the right): IMAG2574 Here's the first PE part cut off the fret. The acrylic handle was used to hold the fret, being placed over the part to cut off, to avoid it going orbita. A curved blade was used for cutting the gates: IMAG2575 It is a handle that is glued to the left side of the seat. I used CA glue applied with a toothpick:: IMAG2576 Then, I glued the green rectangular part, right in front of the seat: IMAG2577 This green is not quite RLM 02, so I'll paint it over, when I paint the cockpit. The next PE part is number 21 in the instructions (can be seen in the following picture, on the bottom right corner). This part must be bent twice before being glued in place. In the picture we can see the "teethed" tool and blade used for bending PE. The part is on the black base of the tool: IMAG2578 First, the part is inserted under a "teeth" and the bending line marked on the part is aligned with the "teeth's" edge. The blade slides under the part and is used to bend it: IMAG2579 Here's the part after the first bend: IMAG2581 The part is re-aligned for the second bend and here's the result: IMAG2582 The finished part, ready for glueing in place (NOTE: each square on the mat is 1 cm x 1 cm): IMAG2583 Here it is, glued in place: IMAG2584 Next, some PE parts had to be glued to the gunsight. The gunsight is the transparent part held on the tip of the pencil in the following picture. This pencil is an Ultimate tool, used for holding small parts like PE: IMAG2585 Since the gunsight will be painted black, the glass must first be masked: IMAG2586 Then I applied the PE parts to the sides: IMAG2588 The scissor links (is this how they're called?) on the main gear legs are also replaced by PE: IMAG2589 To finish with, I masked the PE fret so that I can paint some of the parts that are unpainted or pre-painted with the wrong colour: IMAG2590 Note that I removed the gates on parts 8,9 and 16 on the sides that will be visible, so that I manage to cover those areas when painting them on the fret with the airbrush, avoiding the need for touch ups with brushes after glueing in place. All this took me three hours. A bit slow, perhaps, but it was my first confrontation with PE. It wasn't particularly scary but care must be taken about how to hold the parts and position them while glueing. Tweezers are to be avoided as much as possible, otherwise we run the risk of having the parts go orbital. I think the best is to use the Ultimate pencil (or equivalent) for holding the parts and use a toothpick for adjusting the positioning with careful touches. The pencil shouldn't be pressed hard on the parts because it leaves residues as it is very soft. Hope this rather long post is useful for someone considering a first battle with PE. It's not that hard really, but a lot of patience should be in store. Thanks for looking. Jaime 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Nice going Jamie, can't believe you masked the gunsight, especially in 1/72. I'd have gone mental by now trying that, as for the rest...... Sean 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted August 27, 2015 Author Share Posted August 27, 2015 Well, the gunsight went orbital while I was tightening the masking tape with tweezers... Fortunately, there's no carpet monster here, since I have a wooden floor, and managed to find it quickly. The yellow tape helped a lot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboydim Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Your doing really well with the etch parts Jaime. They are tiny to fit. Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 Thanks, Joe. Yes, the PE parts are really tiny and I have to use a magnifying glass to do most of the work with them... But I think this first session with PE was not too bad. I feel motivated to continue, as I have a lot of PE sets for most of the kits in my stash. Cheers JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 This is just a small update. Last night I didn't do much, just finished cutting the remaining parts off the sprue, cleaning and glueing them to toothpicks, ready for priming and painting. Here they are: IMAG2592 From right to left: flap balance masses, machine gun barrels, antenna and pitot tube, armoured plate, wheel well covers and wheels. The wheels had ejection marks on the inner hub faces, so I applied putty to cover those marks. Probably wouldn't be noticeable, since they will face the well covers but it's just a small additional effort to do things properly. Cheers Jaime 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Methodical and precise... The exact opposite to my own efforts. Very well done 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 Thanks Dan, much appreciated, at least I try to be like you say... The downside is my glacial pace of progress... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalkeEins Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 ..you glue the parts to toothpicks ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 ..you glue the parts to toothpicks ?? Yes,I use a drop of super glue. The parts are easily removed when ready for assembly. I try to chose a contact point/edge that will be the glueing point/edge when the part is assembled. Doing this, I'm able to prime and paint the parts without any (or almost any...) need for touch ups with brushes after final assembly. This wouldn't be possible if I primed and painted the parts still in the sprues. Cheers Jaime 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Great progress Jaime, especially with the dreaded PE! Good job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 Thanks Ced, much appreciated :-) I spent the weekend with the Dornier PE, one of my other BoB GB entries. Quite tiresome but managed to progress a bit. I'll post pictures later. Cheers Jaime 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 Hi again, I've been working slowly on my four current builds (3 BoB GB and a Tiger Moth GB) since last week but the day job hasn't allowed me much time for substantial posts here. So, finally here is an update on the Bf 109. I started to remove the excess putty from the ejection marks on the wheels: IMAG2680 Then, Alclad Grey Primer was applied to the PE parts that must be painted or have their colour rectified: IMAG2681 The plastic parts that will be painted with metallic colours or yellow were treated with Alclad white primer (on the right side of the picture). The remaing were treated with grey primer. After the white primer dryed, I painted the metallic colours: Alclad white aluminium on the gear legs and tail wheel and mate aluminium on the propeler hub (on the right): IMAG2682 Finally, I painted the interior base colour: RLM 02 Graugrün (grey-green): IMAG2704 and also on the PE parts that are RLM 02: cockpit parts (centre top) and brake lines (left): IMAG2708 Thanks for looking Jaime 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Looking good with the paint going on Jaime. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 Thanks Stix! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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