**** DONE: 1/48 Bf 109G6 - Winter War / Eastern Front WWII

[dneid]

Hey, Andy,
Thank you for taking the time to write up your airbrushing technique for exhaust staining. I do appreciate you taking the time to do so. I have been looking at the reference I posted earlier in this thread in an attempt to get a idea of the port/starboard staining. I have a piece of PE for that sheet metal you mentioned. I have not put it on yet. It will go on with all the fiddly bits.

Vic, lol... I had to scroll back up to see what you meant. I can now see how that could be considered "what the hell are you doing with all the yellow" kinda thing.

 

[Wayne Little]

lookin' good Dale.

 

[JKim]

Good job on the camo pattern!

 

[Gnomey]

Looking good so far!

 

[fubar57]

Very nice Dale.

Geo

 

[dneid]

A quick update. I have the clear gloss coat on and I have tossed on a few decals. I am still noodling over how get those barrels installed. Damned tight clearances on that cowl. Oh, exhausts are back in and the PE left exhaust/supercharger intake is installed as well. Let me get the barrel thing figured out and I will post some pics then.

 

[Donivanp]

Cool looking to see some more photos

 

[Crimea_River]

Okee doke. I think the guys had some good ideas on the barrels. I have nothing to add to that.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Look forward to them pics Dale.

 

[dneid]

Hey, Guys,
I am "adding" brake lines. Adding is in quotes as it appears Eduard molded them in the legs... mostly. The line running down to the wheel hub is not molded in. So, I tried drilling a very small hole and stretching some sprue. I was able to get what I wanted on one leg. The sprue on the other leg keeps breaking off the molded in brake line. So, I created two other lines with some plastic rod and added the lines to the hubs there using some fine copper wire. Problem is, I really like some of the additional detail molded in to the Eduard lines. Can I add that with the rod? Yeah, I think I can. If I go with the rod lines, I will need to add them to both legs as the final lines are considerably different between the sprue versus wire lines. See pic 1.

Pic 1:

I snapped a coulpe of pics of the bird with the start of the decaling and the exhausts back in place. I REALLY like these EagleCal decals. Nice and "dainty" without being overly fragile. They lay down like a dream and a dollop of setting solution gets them to sit down just beautifully. Pics below:

Andy, the challenge I have with the barrels is the very snug fit of the upper cowl and the very narrow amount of material at the aft of the gun troughs on the cowl. I tried the milliput idea, however, the milliput popped off as I was reseating the cowl for a test fit. Tried that one more time with the same result. I sure wish that would have worked as it is/was an easy solution to the problem. I am thinking maybe some sprue added in the fuse maybe the way to go. More fiddling with that tonight.

BTW, your advice on the differences in exhaust staining on the lft versus the rgt was a great tip! That sheet metal assembly sure makes for an impressive difference between rgt and lft staining.

 

[Donivanp]

You are really getting the hang of that airbrush. How was my singing?

 

[Wurger]

 

[dneid]

Hey, Guys,
MGs are finally installed! I wound up squaring off the ends of a couple of small pieces of sprue and gluing those just aft of the fuse/cowl joint. I then dabbed a bit of flat black on the ends. Waiting for everything to dry. I installed the cowl and using my dubbing needle, I marked the approximate centers. I removed the cowl and progressively drilled out the mounting points. I then pressed the barrels in (a nice and very snug pressing it was). I then slipped the cowl back carefully and there they were. Nicely mounted and very snug. Removed the cowl and painted the brass barrels with MM Gunmetal. Snapped the pics and this is DONE.

The last picture is with the cowl slipped back on. It is not glued yet, just slipped on. I will do a final alignment and then glue it tomorrow after a couple of decals are set.

BTW, did I mention I LOVE the EagleCal decals (well, except for the 2 piece/part swastika)?

 

[Wurger]

Looking good.

 

[Crimea_River]

Great work Dale.

The Eduard "brake line" does not look right to me. The rigid line running the length of the leg was of much smaller diameter and the looped hose was thicker than the rigid line. There was also a guide rod that allowed a section of the cover to telescope as the gear retracted and this could be confused with the brake line. The photo below is from a 109G but the F was similar I think.

 

[Gnomey]

Nicely done so far!

 

[dneid]

Interesting, Andy. I need to do a dbl check on a test fit to the door. I do think the casting on the gear leg is supposed to be the brake line. I just do not see it as the door system. But, I will dbl check that. I am really leaning towards replacing the molded on brake line, but I know see I to invert the widths to get that correct. I just may use wire for the entire thing. Leave the insulation on the lower part to mimic the larger diameter flex hose.

 

[JKim]

Great fix on the gun barrels! Can't wait to see the decals on the yellow bulges!

 

[Wayne Little]

Good work Dale, switch to the wire mate, will look better....

 

[dneid]

Hey, Guys,
Well, I decided to step back from the brake line issues for now. I have the wings all decaled up and the left fuse as well. No, the rudder is not broken off, I had tacked it with white glue for the prior pics. It is off and safely packed away along side the gear and other fiddly bits awaiting final glue up. Single pic below of the left side. I am doing the rgt side now.

Don was up for the weekend. We had a philosophical debate about stenciling on birds used long term in the field. Between the beating they took in action and the patching and over painting, most of the stencils do indeed get lost in the shuffle. Hell, I can attest to that on B-52Ds when I was active duty. The key stencils were maintained on the flight line, the lesser ones were dealt with in phase maintenance at best. While I readily admit there is stencil loss while in service, I just do like the completeness a full set of applied stencils provide. Ok, love to hear everyone's thoughts.

Promised pic (BTW, did I mention I am completely impressed with EagleCal decals?):