1/72 Revell He 177 A-5 (1 Viewer)

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Here's some progress over the last few days. As the model advances, I'm becoming more and more eager to work on it. It's just too bad I can only spare a few hours every few days for it...

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Here are the props. I rather painted the spiral pattern, than to use decals.

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Fitting of the transparent parts is really horrible! There is a lots of work to make them fit and even with my new best friend Kristal Klear, results are only just fair.

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Navigation light made of Kristal Klear

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Wind stoppers on the gunner bay I made of latex gloves.

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Ready for primer, and then we'll see what next...
 
Hope they weren't used.....

Seriously, that is a truly outstanding dsiplay of workmanship. I especially like how the spinners turned out, knowing from personal experience how difficult it is to mask and paint them.
 
I used to have one many years ago but after a series of engine fires, I scrapped it.

Mmm.. to be a really accurate model it would have to be positioned returning to base just after take off with at least one engine on fire. The trials and tribulations of KG 100 crews using this death trap during Unternehmen Steinbock makes for astonishing reading.
 
I finally caught some time to work on a model... I started the paint job. Here are the photos of primer with preshading and after I applied the basic color (RLM 76). Unfortunately these were taken with a cellphone camera, so the image quality is not so good. The final preshading effect is pretty good, although it's not really visible on the photos....

I have to apply camouflage scheme next ( RLM 75). I only have model assembly guide as a reference. If anyone has a profile, or even a photo of an actual aircraft I would really appreciate it! We are talking about F8 + CK aircraft of the 2./40 KG at Bordeaux-Merignac in the end of 1944.

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Nice work so far. Here are a couple of pics and a B&W profile which might help. The first pic is from Bundesarchiv, the second and the profile from 'Wings of the Luftwaffe', by Eric Brown. All He 177A5/R6 of II/KG40 at Bordeaux- Merignac, 1944.
 

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Thanks for the references Terry! (I recon that's your real name Airframes?). I think that on those pics is the more common RLM 73 over RLM 02 and RLM 65 on the bottom scheme of the II/KG 40. The bird I'm looking for should have more random and irregular size patches of RLM 75 over RLM 76... at least that what it seems like from the profile in the box. Everything should be on the internet these days right? And Revell CO. had to find photo of that bird somewhere in order to make decals and profile... I have to try harder :)

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All of the pics I've ever seen of this unit's aircraft were shown as in the pics I posted. Even those used on 'Steinbock' by other units, had a similar pattern, with black undersides, although some were lightly mottled. The colours are reported to be RLM 74/75/76, according to the notes with the Bundesarchiv photo, although I suspect it's actually 75/76.
I'd be more inclined to follow the photo references than the kit's instruction sheet, especially as the latter is a line drawing.
 
Some nice work thier Gak I have found that method of pre-shading the best for me also on Luft planes.
 
All of the pics I've ever seen of this unit's aircraft were shown as in the pics I posted. Even those used on 'Steinbock' by other units, had a similar pattern, with black undersides, although some were lightly mottled. The colours are reported to be RLM 74/75/76, according to the notes with the Bundesarchiv photo, although I suspect it's actually 75/76.
I'd be more inclined to follow the photo references than the kit's instruction sheet, especially as the latter is a line drawing.

I think you're right! So far I've looked: AirDoc - He-177 "Grief" by M.Griehl; Airlife - He-177,277,274 by M.Griehl and J.Dressel; Aicraft Profile - He 177 by Alfred Price; Warpaint series 33 - He 177 by Kev Darling; Wydawnictwo Militaria 46 - He177 Greif (polish) and another russian book, as well as numerous web pages... Most of the camouflage schemes I found support what you're saying ( although I found some different), but what I didn't find is the photo of the model I'm trying to build. That make me wonder, what Revell used as a reference then???
I found this photo of another aircraft of KG 40, painted in light gray scheme, and that's probably what I'm looking for.

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Firstly, the Revell colour notes/profile are more than likely based on a generic scheme, to allow the average 'I'll build one of these' modeller to produce an acceptable model.
Second, look closely at the pic you posted, and note the high contrast, and burned-out highlights and shadows (part original negative, part x-times reproduction); the colour scheme and pattern are the same as the pics I posted.
From the little I've learned about this unit's operations at this time (mainly maritime), the schemes were maintained until 'the end', and i have yet to see a definitive pic showing full codes. I would guess that, as is common with (relatively) rare Luftwaffe types, that decals etc are provided (in kits) to present a representative aircraft, based on known KG codes, and not perhaps those for actual aircraft. This could be especially true if the loss rate, either through U/S aircraft or total loss, negated the application of code letters.
 

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