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Airfix 1/72 Messerschmitt Bf109 G-6, 9/JG 3 new(ish) tool


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Underside and fuselage sides sprayed with a Tamiya custom mix for RLM 76 (XF2:7 + XF23:1 + XF66:2).

Several thinned light coats are the order of the day here so as not to completely cover the preshade.

I like the effect to be exremely subtle.

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I then realised I hadn't done the pitot or Morane antenna. As the kit doesn't have them it was out with the brass tube again.

The pitot on the port wing leading edge was made from 0.3mm tube telescoped into 0.5mm tube. As the hole down the centre of the .5mm tube was smaller than .3mm I drilled it out using a .3mm Micro drill in a pin vise.

The Morane antenna was made from a piece of 0.6mm brass tube into which I fet a short length of fine EZ line and then squashed all but a couple of mm of the tube flat. I then filed the flattened section to shape and sanded smooth(ish). appropriately sized holes were drilled and they were fitted using superglue.

Now you can play spot the difference :D

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I will get around to masking and spraying the spinner, I promise :whistle:

Edited by Phil Lewis
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I was planning to leave the drop tank mount as is but the more I looked at it the less happy I was.

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Unfortunately my skills do not extend to scratchbuilding such a complex shape so... I had recently bought the marvellous Airfix 1/72 Bf109E which had a beautifully moulded tank mount.

As I wanted to use this in the kit it was meant for I thought I decided to try my hand at simple resin cast using umm.. blutack.

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Still waiting for it to cure so no idea how this will turn out.

In the meantime I'll have to do something about this.

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Wish me luck :)

Edited by Phil Lewis
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Nice work! Hope the casting comes out ok.

I think the lines around the tank were so that it could be rolled down a railway line to save transport costs.....they were obviously allowing for a multitude of different gauges... :whistle:

Ian

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I think the lines around the tank were so that it could be rolled down a railway line to save transport costs.....they were obviously allowing for a multitude of different gauges... :whistle:

No. It was to make clean-up more difficult for 21st century modellers.

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Masked off the RLM-76 area using Tamiya tape and sausages of white tack

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Tamiya mix of RLM75 applied freehand to the appropriate areas for the camo pattern and then masked off and Tamiya mix of RLM 74 misted on.

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Main masking removed and then masked off areas to be yellow and sprayed a light undercoat of white.

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Including the spinner :D

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Model Air RLM04 applied and masking removed.

The cowl bulges look a bit rough and will need touching up.

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The spinner and the yellow under the nose look good though.

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Next up will probably be the mottle on the fuselage sides.

Comments and suggestions always welcome.

Thanks for looking.

Edited by Phil Lewis
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Phil -

That's really excellent work. I especially like the mixes you've come up with for RLM 74/75/76. One suggestion you might try with the mottle: if you're using the Tamiya acrylics, try thinning them with 96% isopropanol or ethanol and lower the input pressure on your airbrush to 1 bar or so (about 12-14psi). I've found with Tamiya acrylics that you can get in very close to the model's surface this way and get better control of the mottle effect. The alcohol thinner also drys more rapidly than the Tamiya X20 thinner, which helps avoid "pooling" of the paint.

I've been working on the same kit, but have just been building it straight from the box. I'm impressed by the improvements you've made to yours. You're a heck of a lot more efficient then me; I've been working at this one since October, and only just finished painting the camouflage!

http://s1213.photobucket.com/user/Halicat98/media/Swiss%20109_zpspwiif8rl.jpg.htmlSwiss%20109_zpspwiif8rl.jpg[/url]

Edited by GPBooth
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Phil -

That's really excellent work. I especially like the mixes you've come up with for RLM 74/75/76. One suggestion you might try with the mottle: if you're using the Tamiya acrylics, try thinning them with 96% isopropanol or ethanol and lower the input pressure on your airbrush to 1 bar or so (about 12-14psi). I've found with Tamiya acrylics that you can get in very close to the model's surface this way and get better control of the mottle effect. The alcohol thinner also drys more rapidly than the Tamiya X20 thinner, which helps avoid "pooling" of the paint.

I've been working on the same kit, but have just been building it straight from the box. I'm impressed by the improvements you've made to yours. You're a heck of a lot more efficient then me; I've been working at this one since October, and only just finished painting the camouflage!

http://s1213.photobucket.com/user/Halicat98/media/Swiss%20109_zpspwiif8rl.jpg.htmlSwiss%20109_zpspwiif8rl.jpg[/url]

Thank you for your kind words.

Nice airbrush work on yours. I also noticed you couldn't resist hollowing out the supercharger intake :)

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Well, after 6+ attempts using different types of houshold type resin, one of which was so old it wouldn't activate properly and came out like slightly melted toffee, I obtained the correct resin after work and made 5 in a row (just in case).

This turned out to be rather more successful and after a little work to shape the underside and drill out holes for brass tube I ended up with this.

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I also tidied up the yellow paint on the cowl cannon/MG bulges

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Sorry, no fuselage mottle today.

Edited by Phil Lewis
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I've been lurking along enjoying this Phil. It really is looking good now. That drop tank mount is a little corker!

Lovely colour mixes; may have to steal your recipes for those ;)

Best regards

Tony

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I've been lurking along enjoying this Phil. It really is looking good now. That drop tank mount is a little corker!

Lovely colour mixes; may have to steal your recipes for those ;)

Best regards

Tony

Thank you Tony.

There's no secret to the paint mixes, I found them here

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Fuselage mottle done! :frantic:

I also painted up the drop tank mount and gave a coat of colour to the Morane antenna (this is more of an undercoat as I believe in reality they were made from wood and given a clear varnish coat)

The red outline to the fuselage bulges (applied using a red CD pen) does not appear in the Airfix instructions but does appear in the Eduard version of this aircraft which is also the scheme I followed for the mottle as I happened to like it better. :fight:

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Time for a gloss coat ready for decals.

I'm hoping to have this ready for the Shropshire Scale Model show on Sunday :D

Edited by Phil Lewis
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Thank you for the link to the paint recipes Phil.

I've been struggling with other brands (my ineptitude I know). So just to get going again after a big gap in modelling (since 2003). The Tamiya recipes will help a lot. Tamiya paint is always kind to my not very sophisticated (erm...cheap) airbrush.

I also researched Plastic Putty after I saw how you used it on the cannons. I have purchased some from evilbay- it looks a great product. To be used (very soon) on a KP Avia S-199.

Love the mottle!

Keep it going and ready for the weekend show; you can do it! :)

Best regards

Tony

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Thank you for the link to the paint recipes Phil.

I've been struggling with other brands (my ineptitude I know). So just to get going again after a big gap in modelling (since 2003). The Tamiya recipes will help a lot. Tamiya paint is always kind to my not very sophisticated (erm...cheap) airbrush.

I also researched Plastic Putty after I saw how you used it on the cannons. I have purchased some from evilbay- it looks a great product. To be used (very soon) on a KP Avia S-199.

Love the mottle!

Keep it going and ready for the weekend show; you can do it! :)

Best regards

Tony

Thank you Tony.

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Decals. The spiral on the spinner was a pig to fit. It appears to have the wrong curve so I had to keep poking and prodding using micro set and sol to get it to sit in place. This is the result

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Not perfect but passable. I may revisit it with some black paint if I'm feeling brave.

The rest of the decals went on easily enough but I did have some fun and games with the tiny frame numbers on the port fuselage. Got them all in place in the end though :)

Oddly enough, Airfix provided some of the tiniest stencils imaginable but did not provide the wing walkway lines so I masked off the wings in preparation for painting them in.

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The swastika's came from a fairly ancient Xtradecal sheet I have.

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Dashed lines painted in using Tamiya XF-7

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And masking off to reveal...

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Honestly, I'm amazed how well it came out :analintruder:

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Time taken: 4 hrs

Was it worth it? well I'm happy with it.

Detail painting next with some initial weathering followed by a matt coat.

Tomorrow... possibly

Thank you for looking.

Suggestions, observations or just general comments always welcome.

Edited by Phil Lewis
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A sudden surge sees me nearly done. Some detail painting done (guns, cannon, exhausts, tailwheel and antenna mast) drop tank detailed and painted (don't try to read the stencils, they don't say anything and your eyes will go funny :hypnotised: )

Exhaust stain lightly applied using Tamiya Smoke and a wash of Flory Grime applied and then mostly wiped off again to keep it subtle.

Matt coat applied and masks removed.

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Stencils on the drop tank were applied using a fine brush with red and black paint to give the impression of writing.

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The exhausts were given a thin coat of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and an experimental dry brush of X-31 Titan Gold which seems to have given a nice effect

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All that is left is to fit an aerial line, some fuel stains on the drop tank and some oil streaks on the fuselage. Attach the drop tank and fit to a stand.

I may scratch build a couple of aileron mass balances too. :boom:

If I've forgotten anything please let me know :D

Edited by Phil Lewis
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Aerial line added and applied some fuel/oil streaks using AK engine oil glossy finish. Decided not to do the mass balances yet but will probably revisit it later on.

I'm going to call this done.

Here are some more pictures.

I'll post an RFI when I have had a chance to take some better pictures with the DSLR.

Thank you all for the encouraging comments through the build.

If any of you are going to the Shropshire Scale Model Show at Cosford tomorrow I hope to have this somewhere on the Sutton Coldfield Model Makers Society table.

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Keep building folks, I wouldn't have attempted this without all the inspiration I got from everyone here on Britmodeller :thumbsup:

Edited by Phil Lewis
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That looks absolutely smashing Phil. I knew you'd do it, but had no idea just how stunning it would look.

Have a great day at the show; this shows that with true modelling skills the Airfix can be made into a lovely model :)

Best regards

Tony

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