Airfix 1/48 Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4

[TJ]

Mike you're mods on this are really making it stand out. Before the Eduard kits came out my favorite 109's were the Hasegawa kits.

[Mike]

Nov 3, 2024 4:36:25 GMT -5 TJ said:

Mike you're mods on this are really making it stand out. Before the Eduard kits came out my favorite 109's were the Hasegawa kits.

I do remember always wanting to build a Hasegawa 109 when I was a teen ager. I remember they were highly regarded and even Verlinden himself built one with all of his PE and resin goodies at the time. It was seriously impressive to 16 year old me. This kit... isn't bad at all. 

Airfix did us all dirty with the ejection pin marks on the wheel wells though. It's probably the worst part of this kit for me so far. I did my best trying to just scratch them out with a a modified blade but then I tried to use watered down PPP to fill in the scratches but that only worked a little in this case. So I'm taking a bit of artistic license and I've sculpted some canvas dust covers out of Milliput. Not my best sculpting but it should look better after I paint it.

I also scribed the access panel into the fuel tank for the filler hole. This doesn't look too bad. It might be a bit large, but it should be there regardless and so it is. 





And another dry fitting to make sure things are going well.



Things are looking good. Moving on.

[dodgy]

You're making me want to start mine, but I really don't need another part built kit hanging around! Lovely work mate.

[Mike]

While I've been waiting for things to dry, cure, or otherwise force me to wait, I went back to the pilot and decided he needed his yellow floatation vest thingy. Since I didn't want to mess with anything I've already painted he's wearing it under his chute straps and collar. Close enough.



Popped in a few more highlights while I was at it to bring out a bit more life to this little guy.

Dodgy, it's a trap. lol

[Mike]

It's been a productive morning... and I guess afternoon now lol. Everything has pretty much gone without issues except for one thing; my compressor bleeds pressure too quickly and that caused some spattering issues with my Iwata Neo, which is a good starter AB and pretty reliable as long as you keep it clean. I had to break out my Nedeco made-in-China-replica-of-something-better, but it has a built-in pressure valve and that made a huge difference in my spray patterns, which had to be fairly precise for the fuselage mottling. Wobbly, rattle-trap Nedeco FTW!

I'm very happy with how this turned out!







So that's the RLM 70/71 over RLM 65 with RLM 02 mottling. Looks pretty cool to me and I wasn't supremely confident I could pull it off. A lot of the mottling was guesswork, but I love it. Masking the nose and wig tips for the yellow after I let this paint dry for a little while. Don't want to screw it up now!

[dodgy]

Ooooh, nice. I'm scared stiff of mottling. 

[stikpusher]

Looking real sharp now! (cue up “Battle of Britain” movie Luftwaffe theme music for an appropriate mood setting)

[stuart]

That's superb!

I built this kit a few years ago, and even though I didn't finish it I really enjoyed it.

[Mike]

Thanks guys! It looks pretty spiffy with the yellow all completed too. Time for a gloss and then we'll get some decals on.



I'm still not sure what kind of weathering I'm going to do yet.

[kyledehart5]

Very nice paint work!

[Mike]

Nov 4, 2024 19:12:29 GMT -5 dodgy said:

Ooooh, nice. I'm scared stiff of mottling. 

There's nothing to be scared of, Dodgy. Try practicing on a bit of card scrap. It's just a matter of practicing before you start painting a model like every other thing we do. Do it more and you get better at it. There's nothing to fear if you try it on some scraps for fun. I've found that its all in the paint and the pressure coming out of the airbrush. 

I hope you can find a way to see it as a challenge and just have fun. You might be surprised with the results after some time.

[Mike]

Nov 4, 2024 19:23:30 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Looking real sharp now! (cue up “Battle of Britain” movie Luftwaffe theme music for an appropriate mood setting)

I might have to do that!

[Mike]

Nov 4, 2024 19:31:20 GMT -5 stuart said:

That's superb!

I built this kit a few years ago, and even though I didn't finish it I really enjoyed it.

Thank you very much, Stuart. I appreciate your comments! I think the reason this kit is so easily enjoyable is because it's a copy of the Tamiya kit. Not a direct copy, of course, but a copy of how the parts go together. Obviously it's no Tamiya kit, but it's really close.  It's certainly looking like a Tamiya kit now lol.

[406 Silverado]

Heck, I'd be happy with that paint job too Mike! I was intimidated by mottle patterns early on with Luftwaffe subjects but once I did a couple of aircraft, I got the hang of it and now I'm fairly comfortable with the process. Your outcome on this one shows a more than successful airbrushing session or two at the bench. Great progress man.

[Mike]

Nov 5, 2024 7:07:12 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Very nice paint work!

Thanks Kyle. Although I've done nothing fancy with the scheme such as pre-shading or fading of any kind I'm not so sure my style of building models is going that direction anymore. I might do some post fading with oils, but this paint scheme has caused me absolutely no trouble for once and I'm happy with the results. After I add the decals I'm going to add exhaust and some MG effects, but mild chipping and other minimal effects should finish this kit off nicely and my panel lines aren't choked full of so many paint layers. 

Not that I'm against all of those types of really impressive paint techniques. I've tried my hand at most of them so far and I like those results too. But I get bogged down in it all and these days I just want to complete some things. Not every build has to be a masterpiece for me. Besides, armor is my thing.  

[Mike]

Nov 5, 2024 14:42:09 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Heck, I'd be happy with that paint job too Mike! I was intimidated by mottle patterns early on with Luftwaffe subjects but once I did a couple of aircraft, I got the hang of it and now I'm fairly comfortable with the process. Your outcome on this one shows a more than successful airbrushing session or two at the bench. Great progress man.

Thanks! Mottled schemes are some of my favorite types. I find them visually interesting and fun to paint. They can be so varied as well because they were applied in the field be each squadron and such. So much variety! I think that's why German aircraft are so interesting to me. Everyone has a different way of painting them and the results are always interesting to look at. Just another one of those things I used to dream of being able to do as a kid, and now I can.

Edit: I think this is why I have so much more enthusiasm for this build over the 152. There's no mottling on the 152 and it's not as visually interesting to me.

[406 Silverado]

Nov 5, 2024 14:53:01 GMT -5 Mike said:

Nov 5, 2024 14:42:09 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Heck, I'd be happy with that paint job too Mike! I was intimidated by mottle patterns early on with Luftwaffe subjects but once I did a couple of aircraft, I got the hang of it and now I'm fairly comfortable with the process. Your outcome on this one shows a more than successful airbrushing session or two at the bench. Great progress man.

Thanks! Mottled schemes are some of my favorite types. I find them visually interesting and fun to paint. They can be so varied as well because they were applied in the field be each squadron and such. So much variety! I think that's why German aircraft are so interesting to me. Everyone has a different way of painting them and the results are always interesting to look at. Just another one of those things I used to dream of being able to do as a kid, and now I can.

  I feel exactly the same way all the way through those comments Mike.

[dodgy]

Thanks for the advice Mike. I fully intend to have a crack at mottling as I've got some old paint hulks to practice on, besides, the 109 is my favourite aircraft. So, no choice really!

[Mike]

Nov 6, 2024 17:56:53 GMT -5 dodgy said:

Thanks for the advice Mike. I fully intend to have a crack at mottling as I've got some old paint hulks to practice on, besides, the 109 is my favourite aircraft. So, no choice really!

Meh, you've probably heard it before. But practice does seem to always be the answer for me. And you've always got a choice.

As far as this build goes, I've had some success and I had a bit of a tragedy today.

I made up a mask to spray RLM63 Light Grey over the original Hakenkruis location per the instructions. I have a decal for the tail that will be lightly sprayed over after I get the decals on. That's historically accurate, although a few sources say the paint scheme was RLM02/71 on the wings and upper fuselage with splotches of RLM63 on the fuselage. I'll stick with the instructions this time.





I masked the nose vent so I could paint it black in there, which I should've thought of sooner, but we all know that no plan goes perfectly lol. That lifted up some of the paint on the nose and I sanded it down and painted it by brush so I didn't mask anything else and possibly lose more paint while repairing this area. 





I masked up all of the small areas that need to be painted in RLM02 before that and had no issues with paint lifting. so I didn't expect that to happen. But it's all fixed now and good as new.

Currently I find myself in need of food and I'll get back to masking up my clear parts so I can get those painted up tonight. Oh, and I still haven't glossed anything yet. I realized I needed to mask and paint a few areas before I did something I'd regret.

[406 Silverado]

Whew!!!    That was a close one on the paint lifting Mike. Glad to see that you were able to get this all fixed up and are moving forward on this build again buddy.

[406 Silverado]

Nov 6, 2024 17:56:53 GMT -5 dodgy said:

Thanks for the advice Mike. I fully intend to have a crack at mottling as I've got some old paint hulks to practice on, besides, the 109 is my favourite aircraft. So, no choice really!

  You should give it a shot bud. For me, the trick is to barely open the needle on the AB and keep the AB moving. Practice always makes perfect so the more you do it, not only the better you get at it but the more confident you become. 

[TJ]

Seamless repair work Mike. You'd never know it was brushed

[handiabled]

Glad you were able to fix the lifted area. Your paint work on this is outstanding! Both the splinter and mottle look terrific!

[Mike]

Nov 7, 2024 6:03:31 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Whew!!!    That was a close one on the paint lifting Mike. Glad to see that you were able to get this all fixed up and are moving forward on this build again buddy.

It was a shock when I removed the tape, for sure. I have had no issues with it anywhere else so I was pretty dang confident I wouldn't have any issues at all. I've go the clear parts masked and painted so they're ready to go when I've got the decals and effects completed. I'm glad I kept them off of the model as it looks like I don't have the usual massive paint build up around the masking this time and I know that will look so much better for the finished model.

Nov 7, 2024 6:55:52 GMT -5 TJ said:

Seamless repair work Mike. You'd never know it was brushed

After lightly sanding to bring down the edges of the lifted paint I brushed on two light layers of Flesh and then four layers of yellow. That Flesh trick made this a lot easier and keeping my paints on the thin side made it look flawless. Hooray for mistakes of the past or this might have been different lol.

Nov 7, 2024 9:44:30 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Glad you were able to fix the lifted area. Your paint work on this is outstanding! Both the splinter and mottle look terrific!

So am I! LOL! I'd hate to have to shelve this build now. I'm so close to completing it. The paint work I've kept simple with no pre effects shading and such and it's made a difference in how easy it was to paint this model so far. I have a bad habit of building up a lot of paint layers and drowning out my panel lines. This way I can do the effects afterwards and not lose the panel lines. I'm still strongly considering post shading with oils as I did that with a Revell 109G-10 years ago and it turned out very well.

Thank you all!

[406 Silverado]

It was a shock when I removed the tape, for sure. I have had no issues with it anywhere else so I was pretty dang confident I wouldn't have any issues at all. I've go the clear parts masked and painted so they're ready to go when I've got the decals and effects completed. I'm glad I kept them off of the model as it looks like I don't have the usual massive paint build up around the masking this time and I know that will look so much better for the finished model.

I hear on the confidence front Mike. Sounds like you've got everything sorted out with this one and I'm looking forward to seeing pictures.

[jkim]

Wonderful work, Mike. I really admire the neatness of your work... something to strive for!

[Mike]

Nov 7, 2024 15:36:01 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

It was a shock when I removed the tape, for sure. I have had no issues with it anywhere else so I was pretty dang confident I wouldn't have any issues at all. I've go the clear parts masked and painted so they're ready to go when I've got the decals and effects completed. I'm glad I kept them off of the model as it looks like I don't have the usual massive paint build up around the masking this time and I know that will look so much better for the finished model.

I hear on the confidence front Mike. Sounds like you've got everything sorted out with this one and I'm looking forward to seeing pictures.

I've got it under control, but in a sec I'll tell ya how I messed up. Again.

Nov 7, 2024 17:27:54 GMT -5 jkim said:

Wonderful work, Mike. I really admire the neatness of your work... something to strive for!

I'm certainly no master like you are, John. Good grief, your 109 is just a work of art.


So... I was adding the decals today, or at least I started to and the upper wings, fuselage, and the swas on the tail all went on with no issues, just some Sol and they settled in. However the bottom Balkenkreuz were a little less agreeable and I fussed with them a lot. There were not as many panel lines to deal with on the upper surfaces but the bottoms of the wings have a lot of panel lines for the access panels and well, that made me keep adding more and more sol and then when that didn't appear (I say "didn't" but it was working fine I was just being an impatient dumbass) to be working I decided to use the nuke option with Mr Hobby extra thin and I made a bit of a mess.



Fortunately this isn't the first time I've been an impatient dumbass when it comes to decals. But one quick swipe and I knew I'd made a mistake. So out came the hairy stick and I accepted my fate.



When you screw up as often as I have you learn how to fix stuff. If you ever screw anything up, just ask good 'ol Mike. I probably know how to fix it.

Anyways, the other decals are fine. Next I'll add the stencils and then the unit markings last as most of those were painted over the stencils in the field as far as I know. I've seen it done both ways on models so I think it's just a matter of preference. The swas on the tail are lightly oversprayed with yellow for some reason, but I'm not going to argue with the instructions. The historical references show this was how it was done on this plane. So I'll tackle that later.



Well that was all I got done before I headed off to work earlier today. The wing decals settled in very well after I left and now they look great. SO my fussing was ultimately unnecessary and just plain problematic. I just love to make more work for myself I guess.

[TJ]

Been there, done that. Must have patience kimosabi

[handiabled]

No harm no foul Mike. Glad the decal didn't disintegrate on you.

[Mike]

Nov 8, 2024 4:59:32 GMT -5 TJ said:

Been there, done that. Must have patience kimosabi

(sigh) I know. I do try.