A Twin That Did Not Get Away - Eduard 1/48 Bf-110C ***FINISHED***

[Retired Bob]

7 hours ago, Ray_W said:

Reviews of this kit would of scared some would be modellers away. I did not find the parts count excessive and there is very limited PE. Replace the exhausts with aftermarket and I think you eliminate what would be the tedious part of the build for a better effect. I'll post some pics on that soon. I also used the Quickboost MG15 ammunition magazines only because I like their look. This streamlined this part of the build although, again, the kit construction is OK. Thankfully it does not have the option of showing off motors with poor fitting cowls for those who choose to close it up. Now that would be a PITA. I still have that nose to close up.

I have the Quickboost hollow exhausts and various resin wheel sets for these kits, its just they haven't got to the top of the build pile yet.  As I planned for my retirement I bought loads of kits, including the Eduard Royal boxing of the Bf 110 (3 fuselages and wings/bits to build 2 aircraft) and the limited edition C-6 (only 12 were converted during the BoB to carry a 20mm gun pod) so 9 bf 110s in all.  Quickboost also bought out a set of leading edge flaps for this kit, but I have been told they are too short in length.   Great work so far, it will be interesting to see how you tackle the nose section. 

[Greg Law]

Good work Ray. You will be overtaking me soon. The nose wasn't that difficult.  I'm using brass barrels as the plastic ones wouldn't make it to the end of the build.

My wheels and exhausts should turn up tomorrow or Friday. 

[Retired Bob]

Hi Ray, I posted earlier recalling from memory, always a dangerous thing at my age.  Afterwards I thought I should check my books and sure enough I was wrong about the colour of the direction/compass dial, here is the only picture I could find:

This is a picture the cockpit of a Bf 110C forced down in Switzerland by Swiss Bf 109Es on 8/6/1940.  The numbers and letters were written on the photos by the Swiss authorities.

On the Bf 110C-6, the 12 aircraft were converted from the C-5 variant by removing the two 20mm MG-FF canon and fitting a 30mm MK 101 canon in the underside, semi-recessed but with a fairing covering the gun and magazine.  Note to self, check before  you post.

[Ray_W]

9 hours ago, Greg Law said:

I'm using brass barrels as the plastic ones wouldn't make it to the end of the build.

Hi Greg,

 

I took another approach. Used the gun floor and made a piece to take the guns barrels. I have Quickboost resin  barrels for this build even though I much prefer brass. I'll feed them in at the end of the build. A bit of engineering over kill. Just don't want it letting go once all locked up.

 

Also squared the nose and added some pieces to fix the nose to the fuselage. I'll paint the white "stringers" RLM02 and inside the nose black.

 

 

With the insert in the nose and the nose pushes on nicely. A little adjustment gluing and no gaps. 

 

 

But I'm not happy, that horizontal nose cover line rises slightly so I want to tilt the nose down. It then looks much better even though the gap in the photo is exaggerated.. I could either sand some off, taking most off the bottom, or shim. I'll check my references tomorrow and decide.  I think it will be a shim job. I suspected I would need to do that anyway.

 

 

1 hour ago, Retired Bob said:

here is the only picture I could find

Thanks Peter, I'd guess it was red.

 

Ray

[Retired Bob]

14 minutes ago, Ray_W said:

Thanks Peter, I'd guess it was red.

That's my call as well,  Peter???

[Ray_W]

6 hours ago, Retired Bob said:

Peter

Sorry Bob. Too many forum replies at once. 

[Ray_W]

Nice when your build gets to this stage. 

 

 

I'm glad I tilted the nose forward. The gap was small, yet was still enough to improve the look to my eye. In the end I just used a little CA/Talc in the gap and it filled and feathered nicely. Re-scribed the panel line at the rear where it abuts the plastic. Seems like another scribed line at the front of the fill. This is just an optical effect at the join.

 

 

In the following image you can see I added a little filler at the front where the plastic moulding of the top gun port part cowl was a bit shabby and again re-scribed the panel line. I like CA/talc as a filler. Ideal for these small jobs. Easy to work with, drys fast, no shrinkage, doesn't chip out, files and sands nicely and takes a scribed line. I was trying to do this as a no filler job but I'll accept a couple of these minor things.

 

 

Here is a final inside shot before it mostly disappears with the likes of the canopy in place. 

 

Just on the canopies. This will be the next job after the undercoat goes on. I will try to improve their clarity with my preferred technique - polishing. We'll see how I went in the next post.

 

 

So, it's time to get some undercoat on - Black Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 suitably thinned with Mr Color Levelling Thinner. You can see that dirty black colour and why I also like it for prop blades and tyres.

 

 

 

Lovely! Looks like a Bf 110 all ready set up for its successful war time role - night fighter. Sorry guys, RLM 02, 71, 76 coming up and take your chances with Hurricanes and Spitfires and we all know how that turned out.

 

Ray

 

 

 

 

 

[jean]

Hi Ray,

 

extremely smooth finish.  Well done.

Re the nose you were right to change it. Great corrective job.

 

Cheers

 

JR

[Johnson]

43 minutes ago, Ray_W said:

Just on the canopies. This will be the next job after the undercoat goes on. I will try to improve their clarity with my preferred technique - polishing. We'll see how I went in the next post.

Looking forward to seeing what you use. Must be better than the things I’ve tried (toothpaste, Brasso) with varying degrees of success.

Looking very good Ray!

[Ray_W]

5 hours ago, Johnson said:

Looking forward to seeing what you use.

 

I don't do anything sophisticated when polishing canopies. I use the Tamiya Polishing Compounds - Coarse, Fine, Finish. Easy with a Dremel and a polishing/buffing wheel. Currently, I am polishing by hand using cotton buds and a soft cloth. If it's a bad canopy, I'll start with wet/dry 600 or 1000 depending and then finish with 3000 before switching to the polishing compounds.  The Eduard Bf-110 canopies are quite good and are a polish only job.

 

My tubes of polishing compound are getting towards the end. This is serious. 

 

 

Since switching to this method my stash of Future has been slowly dwindling. My wife has been using it on floors. Would you believe it? What a versatile product. What will they think of to do with it next?

 

Don't worry, Future is like cash in the mattress. I always have some hidden somewhere. It just does not get used for canopies anymore. I also don't have cash anymore. I spent it all on Tamiya Polishing Compounds.

 

I believe any canopy, no matter how good,  improves with polishing. I mentioned that the Eduard canopies on this kit are really quite good.  Up close and personal, Eduard as supplied on the left and polished on the right. I think it's the little things, like this, that take models up a step. Makes them special without going full-blown Spanish School. 

 

 

Ray

 

 

 

 

[Rabbit Leader]

Just spotted this thread Ray. The 110 has never been one of my modelling ‘must do’s’ however there’s some very tasty progress going on here, all of which looks excellent. Those canopies have really come up well too and that Tamiya compound (as expensive as they are) seem to be good products to have in one’s kit bag. Any kit that looks that smooth under black primer is well on it’s way to stardom. 

Cheers.. Dave 

[Johnson]

1 hour ago, Ray_W said:

I believe any canopy, no matter how good,  improves with polishing. I mentioned that the Eduard canopies on this kit are really quite good.  Up close and personal, Eduard as supplied on the left and polished on the right. I think it's the little things, like this, that take models up a step.

Very impressive. The results speak for themselves. A good canopy makes all the difference. If I can make it work my preference is for a good vacform. But there are many cases, as with your 110, when the kit parts will work better. Thanks Ray.

[Ray_W]

10 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

The 110 has never been one of my modelling ‘must do’s’

Hi Dave,

Same for me. First 110 I have built and I have gained some appreciation for the aircraft. The early versions are a very streamlined aircraft and it is surprisingly small. I'm glad I picked it up as I am really enjoying Eduard's rendition. I like the GB's for that reason. You will do a subject that you may not normally do. And having said that, soon I will be back into another, yes, Spitfire.

Ray

Edited August 29, 2020 by Ray_W
Missing word

[Greg Law]

Interesting Ray. I was surprised how big it is compared to the Ju 88A-1. 

You are making a much better job of yours than I am. I discovered a rather badly painted leading edge on the inner right wing that needs sorting. I don't know how I miss these things.

[Ray_W]

20 minutes ago, Greg Law said:

I was surprised how big it is compared to the Ju 88A-1. 

I also think the Ju-88 is small 🤣 relatively speaking.

 

29 minutes ago, Greg Law said:

I discovered a rather badly painted leading edge on the inner right wing that needs sorting. I don't know how I miss these things.

 

We all have this issue. I always think modelling requires an iterative approach. Always checking, repair and, hopefully, gradually reducing the defects. Here's my 110 about to be eaten by a Tempest. The white is grey Mr Surfacer 500 patching some defects after the undercoat was applied.  

 

 

Ray

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ray_W]

I tidied up a few of the defects and reapplied some more black undercoat. It was then time for a bit of fun. I marble coat in the finish colour starting with the underside. I have used Mr Hobby Aqueous Hobby Colors throughout all thinned with Mr Color Levelling Thinners - RLM02 H70, RLM71 H64, and RLM76 H417. 

 

 

Finish coat applied over the top.

 

 

The top coats were done the same way - marble and blend.

 

I wanted to preserve the splinter pattern with a softer edge so did some free hand edges and also temporary masked edges with a post-it label or a piece of thick tape.  The thick tape is strip of tape I cut from sticking 6 layers of low-tack masking tape together to give myself a wall on one edge to angle the spray over to soften the edge. Tricky to do. Needs to be a single pass to not get a ghost edge. I also hand sprayed up to the finished demarcation to give some variability. There was no big masking job. Spray the RLM02 a little larger than the area needed and then do the RLM 71 using these masking techniques. 

 

 

I like the black basing. The whole idea is to get some variability in those colour coats without the geometry of pre-shading panel lines. It is not only a colour variation but also a texture variation. I like the effect. I will do some post shading (airbrush or oils) although this is usually to accentuate wear like  on the wing walk areas or a definite panel change colour that I can see in photos on the actual aircraft. For example, fabric control surfaces. Typical for a coral atoll F4U but less so for a Battle of Britain era Bf-110. If the photos show an accentuated panel line then I will post spray or oils. If it is a dark area I allow for it in the marble coat. 

 

 

 I was trying to achieve the "dirty" mottle effect typical of these aircraft.

 

For those who might be interested I shot the mottle through my Iwata HP-B Plus with a 0.2 mm needle, 12 psi. I do not thin the paint more than my normal mix. Paint again thinned with Mr Color Levelling Thinner.

 

 

 

I like to leave this now for 24 hours or thereabouts and next will be a Gunze GX112 gloss clear coat.

 

Ray

[Retired Bob]

5 hours ago, Ray_W said:

I tidied up a few of the defects and reapplied some more black undercoat. It was then time for a bit of fun. I marble coat in the finish colour starting with the underside. I have used Mr Hobby Aqueous Hobby Colors throughout all thinned with Mr Color Levelling Thinners - RLM02 H70, RLM71 H64, and RLM76 H417. 

Not trying to throw a spanner in the works Ray, but most of my references go with RLM02, RLM71 and the underside in RLM65, I thought RLM76 came in post BoB with the RLM74 and RLM75 colours.   I agree with your canopy polishing, I'm just wary of some products (labeled as plastic polish) causing stress lines.  The Eduard Bf 110 is the best kit, I also have some older Fujimi 110s and beside the lack of cockpit detail the nose is too thin, it will go inside the Eduard one.  The other contender, from Dragon, has the main spar as a raised feature from the fuselage out to mid-wing on the upper and lower wing surfaces, weird!

[Ray_W]

1 hour ago, Retired Bob said:

Not trying to throw a spanner in the works Ray, but most of my references go with RLM02, RLM71 and the underside in RLM65, I thought RLM76 came in post BoB with the RLM74 and RLM75 colours. 

Well done Bob! I wondered if anyone would pick up on this. Yes! You are correct regarding RLM 76. There was method in my madness.

 

Eduard are all confused they mention RLM 65 in their text then use the Gunze RLM 76 in their profile. They also get the Gunze numbers reversed for RLM 70 and 71 (they have this wrong in other kits too). Of course RLM 65 should be used for an aircraft of this period. Even to the point where I bought another pot of Gunze RLM 65 in anticipation. Then comparing the two paints and the fact that Eduard state that this was an experimental scheme (no references just one grainy photo available),  I opted for the RLM 76. I thought it might provide a little more contrast to the RLM 02 in comparison to Gunze's RLM 65 while retaining the hint of blue. Gunze RLM 76 is a shade greyer and lighter than their RLM 65, as you expect, but does still have the hint of blue that you can see in the close-up fuselage image in my previous post. I thought maybe still passable as a RLM 65.

 

However, as happens, the colours change in my view as they dry and I feel it is tending more towards grey. In fact, a really good rendition of RLM 76. I  was already planning a RLM 65 overspray depending on how it looked in the natural light tomorrow. Your post has convinced me in advance. Nothing dramatic. A thin coat to add that touch of 65. I wanted to darken the RLM 02 side mottle anyway. I am very interested to see the effect.

 

Thankfully, I apply thin coats anyway.  

 

1 hour ago, Retired Bob said:

 I agree with your canopy polishing, I'm just wary of some products (labeled as plastic polish) causing stress lines. 

I have had no trouble with the Tamiya products. As you can tell I like the effect. You have to be careful though you don't crack the canopy. Easy to do. 

 

 

Ray

[Retired Bob]

31 minutes ago, Ray_W said:

Well done Bob! I wondered if anyone would pick up on this. Yes! You are correct regarding RLM 76.

I think most people on this site, myself included are wary of pointing out mistakes as they are not always taken well.  For me, I'm happy if an error is pointed out, especially if it's before the decals go on.  I know what you mean about the colour of RLM65, it can appear more blue or grey depending on light conditions and age.  Most makes of RLM65 look too blue to me until they are weathered back.

1 hour ago, Ray_W said:

I have had no trouble with the Tamiya products. As you can tell I like the effect. You have to be careful though you don't crack the canopy. Easy to do. 

I bought some plastic polish from America, in their defence it wasn't actually for modelling.  It polishes canopies superbly, then stress cracks appear, must be the solvent it contains.  Must get some of that Tamiya polishing compound, the He111 I'm building could do with some.

[Ray_W]

20 minutes ago, Retired Bob said:

I think most people on this site, myself included are wary of pointing out mistakes as they are not always taken well. 

As you can tell, like you, I do not have a problem with this and appreciate the advice. 

[Greg Law]

Good call Ray. I was thinking the same thing as Bob. Your idea of a overspray may even look even more scale. 

[Greg Law]

I finally managed to get my 'E' code on today. Now I have to make the codes for under the wings.

[Ray_W]

I was up early and able to put that thin coat of RLM 65 over the 76.

 

@Greg Law @Retired BobYes, a good call. It turned out to be very easy job with the thinned RLM 65. Any overspray onto the RLM 71 and 02 is not noticeable so it was a very quick job for the desired effect.  Not a haphazard spray. No masking, just limit the overspray. 

 

The change in the RLM 76 is very noticeable by eye. Hard to capture in an image. The RLM 76/65 surface darkened and obtained more of a hint of blue. Very RLM 65 'ish. The side mottle darkened slightly which was also what I wanted. These images in natural light are probably a little better.

 

 

 

It's very shiny because I had already applied a gloss coat of Mr Colour GX 112 UV Cut before making the decision to change. 

 

I like the Gunze blue grey representation for 65 and 76. For those who have not seen it, there is an interesting comparison of expert opinion on Luftwaffe colours here that I find useful:

 

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/luftwaffe/colors.html

 

Ray

[Greg Law]

Definitely worth the effort. 

[Ray_W]

10 minutes ago, Greg Law said:

I finally managed to get my 'E' code on today. Now I have to make the codes for under the wings.

Good fun. I'll be into decals tomorrow and being a new breed but older Eduard kit (2007), they're Cartograf. 🎉🎉

2 minutes ago, Greg Law said:

Definitely worth the effort. 

Wish all correction jobs were so easy.