Jump to content

* Bf109D


Recommended Posts

Can I suggest using needles as guns in the wing holes? The radiator flap is a tricky fit too.

Now there's an idea! Thanks. I'll take a bit of care with the radiator flap.

The model feels quite hefty now. That's a lot of resin at the front end. At one point I was wondering if I should put some ballast in the rear fuselage to stop it from being a nosesitter! :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Disaster!!!! Catastrophe!!!! :yikes:

Okay... it's a minor issue but I was quite annoyed! I had just finished spraying the final coat of RLM 71 tonight. So I emptied the remaining paint back into the paint jar. As the paint came up to the lip, I thought "hmmmm I don't remember there being that much paint before..." Turns out I had just emptied the RLM 71 into a jar of RLM 70! :wall:

So, I have half a jar of RLM 71 left, a full jar of RLM 70 and a full jar of a weird 70/71 mix. :banghead:

Anyroads, on with the show.

This is the model with a final coat of RLM 71. I sprayed the white band first and masked it off roughly. You can just about see the masking tape. After I had put the first coat of RLM 71 on, I decided that I wasn't happy with the joint line between the nose and the fuselage, so I reworked it and rescribed the panels. The only problem is that I couldn't re-prime the reworked areas, so the paint is spraked directly onto plastic and resin. It remains to be seen what happens when I mask off the disruptive pattern! :shrug:

040.jpg

All the other airframe components sprayed in RLM 71. Masking and application of RLM 70 to come during the rest of the week.

041.jpg

These are the Alley Cat resin propellor componets, ready for assembly. Complete with a honking great chunk of resin dust on the spinner! Where did that come from?

I've actually removed a little too much from the base of the forward spinner section, so I will need to do some filling. But, it's coming along.

042.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking great - I'm really impressed with the Alley Cat conversion

I'm very impressed with it. It goes together like a dream. Any filling that has been needed is entirely due to my bodgehandedness!

I had intended this to be my only 1/32 build, but now I'm thinking that I want to build a Bf109A, using another Alley Cat conversion kit. The quality of the Alley Cat parts is also giving me the confidence to go for that resin Gannet AEW3.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The paint has gone on beautifully mate and there isn't a flaw to be seen in the build. :clap2:

Plenty of time for that to change :analintruder:

I have started to apply the RLM 70 in stages. My major concern was that as the paint over the join line was applied directly onto plastic and resin, that the masking tape would lift it, so I'm saving that till last. However, the tape has still lifted some paint from the primed areas. Not a great deal, but enough to be annoying!

The other issue is that there is hardly any contrast between the two colours. A few months ago I built an Airfix 1/72 Bf109G to test the colours. It came of pretty well after it had been given a few coats of matt varnish. I'm hoping its big brother will turn out the same way.

Test01a.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay... minor setback. Maybe.

I've sprayed the uppersurface disruptive camouflage and the lowersurfaces. The problem is that there is very little contrast between the two colours and unless you look really reeeeeely closely, it looks like the model has a single-colour uppersurface. Looking at the photo at the start of this thread, I know that the real things looked like that, but I would have liked some contrast. So, I will make a decision about respraying tonight. I might substitute Xtracrylix Dark Slate Grey for the RLM71 as it is a little bit lighter. I don't want too much contrast, but I do want to be able to see that there are two colours...

Comments?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seeking the help and advice of the BM Massive!

This is the model so far. I have sprayed the uppersurface colours and also the lowersurfaces. But as I mentioned above, I'm really not happy with the contrast between the two greens. There should be a low contrast, but I feel the two Lifecolor paints are too close in contrast.

043.jpg

So I have sprayed the RLM 71 areas on the starboard tailplane in a slightly lighter colour - Xtracrylix XA1025 Dark Slate Grey. The port tailplane is Lifecolor RLM 70 and RLM 71.

I would really like to get a similar result to the one that Jazzy Jase got on his superb build here. Now that's just class! :thumbsup:

044.jpg

So whaddaya think?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the contrast was low in real life wasnt it?

The D is easier than the A conversion. The A version needs wing changes for the slats. Remember to cut out top and bottom wing surfaces to fit the larger slat and then glue the slat shut. I couldnt get it as neat as I wanted or get the gun covers on the top wing to disappear with sanding. The little extension at the rear of the wing that sticks out at the back of the MG cover needs to come off, but that leaves a recess on the flap that wouldnt have been there.

Have you test fitted the canopy yet? I must have had the front cowling a fraction too rear as the folding canopy section would not squeeze between the other 2 canopy sections.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, we're trying again. Whenever I use a new paint, I spray a blank business card to use as a paint chip reference. I went back to my chips and found something that was very similar in tone to RLM 71 but had a suitable contrast difference. Then I resprayed the whole thing with that paint.

Here it is, masked up ready for the application of the darker RLM 70.

045.jpg

And with the masking removed. There are some minor areas where the paint has lifted. They will need to be sorted tomorrow.

046.jpg

The undersides sprayed.

047.jpg

I'm now happy with the contrast between the two greens.

What was the lighter green I used? I don't think you're gonna like it...

Xtracrylix RAF Dark Green.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Touch ups finished... sort of... A couple of coats of Klear and we're ready for the decals.

048.jpg

049.jpg

I'm not too bothered about the hyoooge chunk of paint missing from near the radiator lip. I will be adding a strut through the lip, so it will get sanded down and resprayed anyway.

050.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another disaster! :yikes:

051.jpg

Decals applied. All the small components built and painted. It's ready for final assembly.

But as you can see from the photo, I have lost the port flap! :wall: I've looked everywhere, but can't find it. Surely it can't be in the lair of the carpet monster? He can't take something that big, can he?

I'm sure it will turn up sooner or later, but in the meantime, I'm going to use the flap from the Eduard kit.

I'm aware that I haven't done anything with the oil cooler housing. That will be applied last.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay... I'm sort of on schedule to finish this next weeked. Only the seat to instal and the canopy to fit.

The problem is that I've made a complete hash of the seatbelts, so rather than installing the Aires seat, I'm going to temporarily install the Eduard one with no seatbelts. Hopefully I can sort the seatbelts some time in the future and swap the seats over. :undecided:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

It's finished! :yahoo:

Not quite as successful as I would have liked. I had a total mare with the seat harness, so the seat doesn't have one. I'll add it when I work out what I'm going to do.

As for the rest of it, it certainly has presence. The bottom photo shows it next to a pound coin for scale.

The Alley Cat resin conversion set was just superb. I highly recommend it. Converting an Emil to a Dora is quite a major job and the whole thing looks very daunting at first. However, the conversion set makes it all very easy indeed!

I shall be attempting to improve my skills and then I'll try my hand at a Bf109A.

054.jpg

055.jpg

056.jpg

057.jpg

058.jpg

059.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...