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Something a bit different - Messerschmitt Bf 109 V-30


109 fan

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A bit different, but yet another 109. There aren't many Bf 109s in a natural metal finish, which is what drew me to this one. I The V-30 was a prototype, basically a 109 F morphing into a G. It began as an F-1 airframe but has the pressurized cockpit of the G-1. This involves changes to the canopy and cowling...and a very interesting paint scheme; but more of that later. 

Construction began with the cockpit (doesn't it always?). In this case a very nice resin piece from Resin-IM. The only addition was a set Eduard pre-painted steel seat belts.

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As I mentioned this bird has quite a bit of natural metal, mostly on the fuselage. I haven't done a NM model in a while and materials have changed in the interim. My first impulse was to go with the known: Gunze Sangyo, i.e. "God's paint". I have experimented a bit with with this line and decided the best starting point is SM08, Mr. Color Super Metallic, Next Plate Silver. The finish is superb, but it rubs off with even light buffing. The solution is to mix the paint with GX-100 clear gloss lacquer. 

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Panel variations were done by adding Gunze Gloss Black lacquer paint. I experimented on some spare Fine Molds fuselages, first by riveting, then painting. The finish was then buffed with a Q-tip, followed by random streaking using Uschi Van Der Rosten polishing powders. Here are some of the trials.

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These parts also show some oil washes as well. The photos have limitations but give you some idea of the process.

Comfortable that this could work, I proceeded with the V-30.

Here is where she stands at the moment. Notice the small air scoops on the cowl. These were not present on the original 109 F airframe and are in different positions than on the 109 G. The scoops from the Fine Molds G kit could not be used so the search for replacements began. The solution came from the Hobby Boss Bf 109 G-10 kit. These cowl scoops are a bit too prominent. After removing them carefully using a single edge razor blade and sanding them thinner, the looked right. There is another unique scoop at the rear of the cowl, facing rearward (!).

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After the oil washes dry I'll overcoat with Alclad Aqua Clear, then proceed to the other colors.

Thanks for looking.

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Very nice!

I’ve not tried the Mr Hobby metallics, looks like I’m going to have to order some. How much of the GX-100 clear do you add to prevent the metallic from rubbing off? Also, does it need a gloss black undercoat like some other metallics do?

- Bill

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Painting continues on the 109. The original is a true patchwork of natural metal, RLM 76 light grey and various primers. I've just about completed the paintwork (after days of masking).

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I was changed the camera settings on the last two photos which caused in the tonal variations.

Next up will come decals then washes and weathering to break up the RLM 76 areas.

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As Adam says this one is different to the usual 109 selection commonly seen and is being done to such a high standard that it easily captured my interest :) 

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Things begin to get interesting with the application of decals. Actually there have been a few things added. Among them is some overpainting with RLM 02 grey around the panels containing the fuselage crosses and some of the cowl panels. The unusually large Stammkennzeichen (manufacturers codes) really set off the scheme. I used some Fantasy Printshop decals that I picked up at Telford a few years back. They are invaluable since they come in a large variety of sizes.


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Next up will be another clear coat then oil washes on the non-metal areas.

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I have progressed to the weathering phase of the RLM 76 light grey. This was done with oil paints. It is actually not a wash but just a slightly thinned paint from the tube. I used a light grey, burnt umber and black, mixed as I went. Darker colors were used near the wing roots and lighter grays further out on the wings and undersurfaces. After about 20 minutes the colors were rubbed off (in actually) with Q-tips. When first applied the look is horrendous.

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But after streaking it with randomly I got the look I wanted.


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The cowling panels have not yet been attached. Those in the photos are spares used for ease of handling during this phase of the build. I'll tweak the weathering then let the oils set up for a bit. A coat of Gunze GX-100 clear gloss will fix them and the final semi gloss will be sprayed.

Thanks for looking.

Edited by 109 fan
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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the kind words, gentlemen.

A bit more progress to report. The landing gear legs have been detailed and painted. The first task was to cut some Albion Alloys .03mm brass tubing to act as guides for the brake lines. I have tried stretched plastic Q-tip tubes for this purpose in the past but they refuse to stick, regardless of the glue used. The brass is considerably more difficult to cut, since about 2 out of 3 fly off into the ether. They are attached by softening a spot on the gear leg with Testors liquid glue then sticking on the brass mini-tube. When the glue has dried the joint is reinforced with a tiny bit of medium viscousity super glue.  The brake lines are .007" Detail Master model car detailing wire. If you haven't filled the tube with super glue threading them through should go rather easily.


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The landing gear appear rather dark in photos of this bird so I opted for RLM 66 dark grey. They have been dry brushed with oil paints and given a water color black wash. None of which can be seen in these photos.


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Finally, the cowl panels are done. Even though they are just snapped in place here (the lower cowl is hanging somewhat loose), it is time to glue them to the airframe.



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More soon and thanks for watching.

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Here's the endgame and finish line. The final bits included completing the canopy. There was more here than I anticipated. The 109 V-30 used a pressurized cockpit. These versions had a flush fitting armored plate at the back of the opening section. It included two small triangular windows in the upper corners to give the pilot some semblance of rearward vision. I made this from clear acetate sheet. The windows had to match exactly on the front and rear surfaces, so a tape mask would not do. I decided to make them from shaped sections of .005" plastic card. They were attached with tiny drops of white glue and one side was sprayed RLM 66. When that dried I popped off the masks and reattached them on the opposite side and sprayed it. The canopy frames are strips of painted clear decal sheet. Other bits included tiny white discs cut from white decals using a sharpened piece of Albion Alloys brass tube. these represent the desiccant tablets inserted in six canopy panels. There are also opening knobs on the front side panels made from stretched clear sprue, then flared by holding them near a candle flame. They were painted silver and attached with white glue. Finally a retaining cable and spring were made from very fine wire. Here is a photo which doesn't show very much, but some of the details can be seen on the completed model shots.


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The canopy was glued to the fuselage using my usual plastic card brace.


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The final doo-dads were added then it was on to the antenna wire. This is stretched black sprue with white paint used to represent the insulators. The tiny cones protecting them were made from .010 plastic sheet. This was heated over a candle flame and a sewing needle was plunged into it. After making about 20 of them, two were acceptable. The tips were painted silver and then sliced off. I used the same needle to punch a hole through the tip and they were threaded through the sprue. It all worked fine until 30 minutes after I was finished. The wire decided to separate from its mast for no apparent reason. Time to do it all over again. Remember modeling is fun...modeling is fun.



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Thanks for following.

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1 minute ago, 109 fan said:

Here's the endgame and finish line. The final bits included completing the canopy. There was more here than I anticipated. The 109 V-30 used a pressurized cockpit. These versions had a flush fitting armored plate at the back of the opening section. It included two small triangular windows in the upper corners to give the pilot some semblance of rearward vision. I made this from clear acetate sheet. The windows had to match exactly on the front and rear surfaces, so a tape mask would not do. I decided to make them from shaped sections of .005" plastic card. They were attached with tiny drops of white glue and one side was sprayed RLM 66. When that dried I popped off the masks and reattached them on the opposite side and sprayed it. The canopy frames are strips of painted clear decal sheet. Other bits included tiny white discs cut from white decals using a sharpened piece of Albion Alloys brass tube. these represent the desiccant tablets inserted in six canopy panels. There are also opening knobs on the front side panels made from stretched clear sprue, then flared by holding them near a candle flame. They were painted silver and attached with white glue. Finally a retaining cable and spring were made from very fine wire. Here is a photo which doesn't show very much, but some of the details can be seen on the completed model shots.


49411700756_ca603a35e2_b.jpg


The canopy was glued to the fuselage using my usual plastic card brace.


49411700751_9b182a559d_3k.jpg


The final doo-dads were added then it was on to the antenna wire. This is stretched black sprue with white paint used to represent the insulators. The tiny cones protecting them were made from .010 plastic sheet. This was heated over a candle flame and a sewing needle was plunged into it. After making about 20 of them, two were acceptable. The tips were painted silver and then sliced off. I used the same needle to punch a hole through the tip and they were threaded through the sprue. It all worked fine until 30 minutes after I was finished. The wire decided to separate from its mast for no apparent reason. Time to do it all over again. Remember modeling is fun...modeling is fun.



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Thanks for following.

Looks absolutely incredible!

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Wow! What a stunning result. Watching your progress has been an inspiration. Thanks for sharing your progress and the end result.

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Excellent! I will unashamedly swipe your ideas for NMF and weathering from this build. :wink:

It's turned out really well!

Congratulations on a really high quality model. As other shave already said - even more kudos for this being 1/72 :like:

 

SD

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This is turning out to be such a unique, interesting build. You’re absolutely killing it with the paintwork and details! I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about the size, but it’s truly amazing the amount of tiny detail you’re able to put in to it, stuff that’s usually reserved for 1/48 or even 1/32!

 

 Thanks for sharing!

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