1/48 Finnish 109 G2 in Finnish Service ***FINNISHED!***

[Max Headroom]

A couple of more shots before calling it a day. Didn’t quite make it to the undercoat today, but hopefully Saturday (I have been told that “there are things to do” tomorrow).

 

The flaps and slats are positive fits.

 

 

As you can see, the wing roots needed some filler. Given the fine detail, I masked the roots so as to preserve as much as possible. As an aside, I’ve got to say that whatever the  Czech equivalent of Rosie the Rivetter happens to be, she’s done a subtle job. I can only assume that they only become prominent, if an excessive amount of post completion wash is applied.

 

Regards

 

Trevor

[AaCee26]

6 hours ago, Max Headroom said:

A quick question to all 109 aficionados. I have just added part I 13 to the wing underside and which shows as two rectangles on the outside.

 

 

Is this how it looks or should this be filled in and smoothed over?

 

Thanks!

 

Trevor

Hi,

 

Those are shell ejector shutes for heavy mg's installed from G-5 and onwards.

 

Cheers,

 

AaCee

[Max Headroom]

Thanks @AaCee26
 

I wasn’t sure, as to whether those should have been blanks, or whether the depressions meant something! 
 

As you may have gathered by now, I’m approaching this build from a position of total ignorance!!

 

Much obliged.

 

Trevor

[fubar57]

Looking good. I had a gap on the left wingroot as well.  For gaps I use 3M Glazing and Spot putty as a filler (found in the automotive section in hardware stores) and Sally Hansen nail polisher remover. I put masking tape on either side of a gap as close to the gap as possible. Fill the gap with putty and scrape off the excess and immediately remove the masks. Dip a Q-tip into the nail polish remover and start wiping it length ways along the gap. No sanding and removing of panel lines or rivets. Some people disagree with the nail polish as it contains acetone and could be harmful to plastic. If concerned, rinse the area immediately with water. I've used nail polish remover to completely strip acrylic paint from three 1:48 fighters with no adverse affects. Maybe I'm lucky, I dunno

 

EDIT: I should also mention that the 3M putty is far cheaper than modelling putty and if looked after, won't harden like the two Squadron putty tubes I had oh so many years ago

Edited April 16, 2020 by fubar57

[Max Headroom]

Hello @fubar57 thanks for the tips.

 

I also have a new gen Airfix 1/48 Spitfire  I on the go and in my AMARC (aka the garage), there is a semi dead 1980’s issue Spitfire I all painted up, but uncompleted. I aim to refine it with my MK.I leftovers, so removing the paint with your method seems an attractive option .

 

Trevor

[fubar57]

Do so in small sections. For stripping models I fold up paper towels into 3" squares, dip into the nail polish remover and rub into the paint. This is very time consuming as the paper towel only picks up a little bit and then you have to use a new square. An elevator may take several minutes so be in for the long haul. I always start on the bottom to check and make sure the remover isn't going to affect the plastic. I will stress this; always wear a respirator when doing this lest you want to see Care Bears roaming around your modelling room

[Max Headroom]

Duly noted. I think I’ll do this outside and hope the Care Bears wander off next door!

 

As an aside, were you stripping enamel or acrylic paint?

 

Trevor

[fubar57]

I'm strictly acrylic though I do have a few bottles of enamel for detail work

[Max Headroom]

Hello again. After a brief hiatus I’m back in the saddle again.

 

I ran some paint over the major joints to see if there was anything that needed attention before the rattle can of primer. There were spots on either wing root, but nothing major, so a small smear of fillers and smoothing afterwards sorted that out. The windscreen and rear cockpit transparency were added and then masked off. Nothing left for it but to mask off and spray away.

 

This is the before....

 

 

I’m now firmly in the ‘during’ phase.

 

Trevor

[Max Headroom]

A bit more progress.

 

I used the undercarriage fairings, along with blobs of bluetack to mask the undercarriage bays.

 

 

One or two areas needed a slight rub down to eradicate some blemishes and specks of trapped dirt.
 

Next off, was to paint the yellow areas in white to give a base to the theatre markings.

 

 

Time to break out the yellow from the Lifecolor set I bought especially for this build. To be honest, it’s a bit watery!

 

 

I still have the old fashioned ‘one coat of enamel covers everything’ mindset, so having to do several thin coats of acrylic still seems odd. Mind you, this would be to the benefit of not drowning the surface detail I suppose. Although I’ve not shown it, I’ve also done the wing tips too. I suppose that for my next few sessions, I will concentrate on completing the yellow bits. Logically, the blue underside will be the next to do as it’s easier to brush dark over light, rather than vise-versa.

 

That’s all for today. Thanks for looking!

 

Trevor

 

 

 

[Max Headroom]

Had a bit of a rest from this for a few days as I had ‘chores’ to do -well at least the garage door has had a fresh coat of anti-flash white

 

Back to the job in hand. This is very much a ‘during’ update. First the underside

 

and the upper

 

 

The underside is much less translucent than the yellow and the green sort of halfway.

 

Now then, I think I may have reached for the wrong pot for the underside. That’s not blue-grey is it? In the box is also a pot of Vaalean Harmaa (UA541), which on reflection looks a lot closer. I think I’ll finish off the upper camouflage and will then cover up my mistake......

 

More later.

 

Trevor

[Vesa Jussila]

FAF used in this period so called DN-väri for underside. That is basically same as Luftwaffe RLM 76. Grey was used in early part of war.

[Antti_K]

Nice work so far Trevor! Check the decals before you decide any further action on the under surface colour. The discs of the national insignias were painted with DN -Colour instead of white. An early "Low-Visibility" experiment so to speak. Try to match your paint colour as close to the decal colour as possible.

 

Cheers,

Antti

[Max Headroom]

Hello again!

 

This evening I had time to lay down a couple layers of the black, again using the Lifecolor paint. Drying within minutes, after I had finished the first pass with the brush, I was able to apply a second layer. The two coats give the desired density I was looking for. So here are some more pix to show progress.

 

 

 

 

The paint is thin enough so as not to obscure the surface detail and although I’m no expert I would imagine is thin enough to spray straight from the bottle.

 

Next, I’ll tackle that underside with the ‘correct’ colour, making sure that I follow @Antti_K’s advice on matching the grey disc.

 

Finger’s crossed.

 

Trevor

 

 

 

[Max Headroom]

Getting there.

 

I am in the middle of tidying up the topside surfaces. Yes I know the yellow areas are a bit iffy, even with my (not very good) masking.

 

 

Meanwhile on the underside, a couple of coats of the grey had blocked out that blue!

 

 

Thing is, it’s still a lighter grey than portrayed and with the best will on the world, that Hakaristi disc doesn’t blend in. So, do I live with it, or do I go down the rabbit hole of home brewing a mix?

 

Trevor

 

[Vesa Jussila]

@Max Headroom I might open now can of worms. So what is known for sure is that in this plane underside is RLM76 related "DN-väri".

MT-213 was first Bf-109 fully repaired in State aircraft factory in Tampere and was painted then standard war paint. When I look national marking in side for my eyes there is clear difference between colour of round disk and underside colour, that is RLM76. And when I look what is in top of the wing I have my own thoughts as well.. So is it white?

 

Sorry bringing bad news.

 

 

[Max Headroom]

Hi @Vesa Jussila !

 

That photo is the same one as I have in the book. I agree there is a clear difference in the tonal values as you suggest. I also agree there is an argument for the upper wing marking to be on a white disc too! But if you stare long enough, both the wing and fuselage discs could be the same colour. Look at the number 3 on the nose. Given that’s white, the wing marking is darker.

 

I think!

 

Trevor

 

 

[Vesa Jussila]

I agree that tactical number is clearly different colour. I also saw lately discussion related this "low-visibility" in one forum, but I think that didn't ended any final conclusion so better that I don't muddy waters more. Anyhow good progress with model.

[Max Headroom]

@Vesa Jussila I don’t mind muddy waters at all, it gives me more scope to get something wrong without somebody proving it

 

I think I’ve just about done with the main painting, meaning I need to finish the legs, wheels and flaps. At some point in the proceedings I will use polishing cloths to even out any bumps in the paintwork, but Lifecolor is wonderfully thin.

 

After that, maybe a waft of rattlecan gloss before slapping on the stickies.

 

Trevor 

[Vesa Jussila]

Ok, then I open my big mouth again.

 

One typical character for Bf-109 was black dirt that came from exhaust during flight. This is visible in photo below. Look area below cockpit. So this might have changed white area...

This is not scientific result...just my thoughts.

 

 

[Max Headroom]

@Vesa Jussila 
 

Thats a good photo! My skills to produce exhaust stains are somewhat limited, so.........er.............I’ll model mine as if it’s not long out of the paint shop

 

To be effective with that sort of staining I think you need an airbrush, something I’m afraid I don’t possess

 

Trevor

[Troy Smith]

1 hour ago, Vesa Jussila said:

Ok, then I open my big mouth again.

 

One typical character for Bf-109 was black dirt that came from exhaust during flight. This is visible in photo below. Look area below cockpit. So this might have changed white area...

This is not scientific result...just my thoughts.

 

 

 

59 minutes ago, Max Headroom said:

@Vesa Jussila 
 

Thats a good photo! My skills to produce exhaust stains are somewhat limited, so.........er.............I’ll model mine as if it’s not long out of the paint shop

 

To be effective with that sort of staining I think you need an airbrush, something I’m afraid I don’t possess

 

Trevor

you sell yourself short Trevor.

I have seen a few comments you have made about lack of airbrush. 

In the case of the exhaust stains, chalk pastels.

 

 

I got these, cheap of ebay, at the mo, £4.29 posted.  

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-Set-Jakar-Assorted-Earth-Colour-Artist-Pastels-Art-Sketching-Drawing-Sticks/292704469350

 

No connection to seller,   i saw them on here.  

 

get some sand paper, and rub a stcik on it, you cam mix colours by doing this anotehr stick. Get an old brush, cut it down,  rub in powder, rub onto model

Apply over a matt coat, as it stick better.   you can get it off with a damp cloth .  No need to seal if you don't handle the model where you apply.

this is how this was done

see here

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235052380-hurricane-airfix-72nd-fabric-wing-mki-oob/&do=findComment&comment=3315765

Gives a matt, and sooty deposit appearance. 

 

Try out one something old first till you get the hang of it.  I wasn't totally happy with the above, but it was close enough, and I really needed to finish a model.

  Can also be used on the main parts,  Hurricane show in photos that the fabric fades faster than the metal parts.  I used some pale grey chalk scrubbed onto the fabric bits, and then wiped it off, a little remained.

 

There have been thread where people have used them to simulate sprayed on mottling as well. 

see , explanation in post #13

 

 

 

I should add this to my Sig line....

 

If the materials and techniques used get you the results you want, they are the "right" ones.

 

By this, I have read countless thread on here, and seen plenty of different methods and materials employed, and what works for one modeller is a disaster for another.   

 

Got be worth gambling the cost of couple of pots of paint on?

 

HTH

T

 

PS as I find colour images really help,this shows a similar dirty black, from high power engine use,  this is a G-10, and it was the hotrod of the 109 family.

 

I'll see if I can find more. Also, this gunk does get cleaned off when the aircraft is serviced after a mission, so you can do MT-216 after a clean up, though some residues  will remain. 

there is a collection of Finnish 109 photos here

https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Bf-109G/FAF.html

 

which show differing levels of of gunkiness

this is a post war shot,  heavy grey deposits from running a lean mixture, and a well weathered airframe 

 

But have look through the link.  Study the images, see how the deposits are laid down and blown by the exhaust and slipstream. 

PPS and if to echo @Vesa Jussila  note the effect on the FAF roundel. 

 

One question/comment for @Vesa Jussila I was under the impression that the FAF underside blue, was based on the Dornier 17's that had, and the underside collour on the Do-17 was RLM 65.

FAF Bf 109s were in standard Luftwaffe RLM 74/75/76 when delivered until they got FAF warpaint.  Did the undersides get redone in DN blue? 

[Antti_K]

Hello guys

 

I might have an answer to this question.

 

MT-213 got overran by MT-216 only minutes after it collided with a Luftwaffe Junkers W34. The damaged aircraft (MT-213) was sent to VL (State Aircraft Factory) for repairs. It returned to service on January 3rd, 1944. On February 27th N. Katajainen made a forced landing at Suulajärvi AB after a total engine failure. I have a photo of MT-213 landing at Suulajärvi in March 1944. And now the important part: the discs beneath the blue swastikas are grey.

 

After repairs MT-213 returned to duty on May 1st, 1944. The photo in post#41 shows MT-213 in May 1944. The fuselage insignias look white; or to put it more precise, lighter than the under side colour. But as Trevor noticed, the wing insignias look dark. Actually they should look very bright if they were white. And all this after some repairs...

 

Cheers,

Antti

[Vesa Jussila]

@Troy Smith Thanks for correcting. DN-väri is based on RLM65 as you stated. Should never write anything without checking from references (Those are now in other side of border). I go and be shamed of my mistake. 

 

Most Bf109G's kept standard RLM 74/75/76 camouflage and no re-painting was done. Or if that was done it was done in a way that that work was done as fast as possible. Most important thing was keep planes flying.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Vesa Jussila

[Max Headroom]

Thanks @Troy Smith that’s something to contemplate. I don’t have chalk pastels at the moment, but will happily put this in the ‘useful stuff to know’ folder for future reference. Cracking 109 photo btw!

 

@Antti_K thank you. I think you’ve given me licence to carry on with my current plan
 

@Vesa Jussila ditto. I’ll work on the basis that if someone can’t prove to me I’m wrong, then I could be right

 

Hopefully, I’ll have some more progress shots tomorrow - this by my standards is a blitzbuild. Just as well really, as I have a Sea Balliol in the post from big ‘H’ and a Vickers Nimrod to finish.

 

Trevor