**** DONE: 1/48 Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-2 - Me/ Fw Group Build.

[Gerry]

Thanks David and Vic. I have to say, I like to challenge myself every now and again. Terry, thanks for the speedy and definite reply. I can hold off on the head armour for a while, as it would only be put in before I attach the canopy. Let's see if we get any other responses, first.

 

[rochie]

a fine effort Gerry, well done

 

[Crimea_River]

Hi Gerry. I can't find fault with anything you've said there. I agree with Terry on his assessment. 2nd pic makes the armoured headrest less obvious, but still possible. Unfortunately my references on the G models are few but the Kagero volumes refer to a "modified pilot head rest" being introduced on the G-2.

Consensus exists with scholars on the M8 code for this unit so I'd close the "debate" on the possibility of this being "2N". I'm a bit surprised the decals have apparently not arrived yet. It's been 10 days now.

 

[Gerry]

Thanks, Karl. Andy, also very reassuring to get your support for my interpretations, and, no, the decals still haven't arrived. Will drop you a post as soon as they do.
Regards, Gerry

 

[Catch22]

FANTASTIC stuff Gerry!

 

[Gerry]

Thanks Cory, much appreciated.

I didn't get as far as I'd hoped with the build over the last few days, but here's progress to date

Photos 1 2. I assembled the tail unit without any dramas and attached it to the fuselage making sure it was straight and parallel to the wings. Then I added the main wingtips. I drilled out the guns from the spare nose supplied with the kit. This was a better solution than drilling the faired-over nose, as when the guns disappeared, they left the natural blast channels. The nose has a slight step on top, when joined to the fuselage. The whole assembly still needs to be checked for gaps/seams and treated as necessary. I'm hoping to get away without too much work here.

Photo 3. My next step was to tackle the undercarriage sub-assembly. The kit parts were assembled and given a spray of RLM 02. Based on the photos in Post 94, I added the triangular spar at the top from sprue. Some brake lines were made from 15 amp fuse wire, painted copper and Antracite Grey. These were glued into position with spots of superglue and clips added from 5 amp wire. The gaiters were painted a black/brown mixture. A pair of hydraulic units were added from spare pieces of plastic rod from an old kit and painted.

The wheels were assembled and the tyres painted Dark Grey. The lettering was dry-brushed with Medium Grey and grass/earth stains added with dry-brushed Dark Earth. The hubs weer painted Satin Black, then dry-brushed with Boltgun Metal and Chainmail Silver.

That's it for now. Next task is the prop/spinner sub-assembly, then sanding and filling as necessary, before getting some paint on.

More anon.

 

[Crimea_River]

The gear looks amazing Gerry! Well done!

 

[vikingBerserker]

I agree, that landing gear rocks!

 

[rochie]

fantastic, Gerry

 

[Wurger]

A good job so far.

 

[Wayne Little]

Doin' great Gerry!

 

[T Bolt]

Just been catching up with your build here. Amazing job Gerry!

 

[Gerry]

Andy, David, Karl, Wurger, Wayne and Glen, always very reassuring to get such positive feedback. Thanks Guys.

It's time to look at the fuselage seams now, so I'd better get on with that. It's a Sunday afternoon, not unlike late November, here - so I've no excuses.

 

[Airframes]

Very nice work so far Gerry.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

That is one nice set of legs Gerry and a neat job with those flaps.

 

[ozhawk40]

Great job so far Gerry, cheers

Peter

 

[woody]

Looking good Gerry keep it coming.

 

[Gerry]

Thanks Terry, Vic, David and Jerry.

I'm having a problem which you may well have a solution to. I'm intending painting the spinners in three colours, from front to back: red, white strip, swartzgrun. My problem is cutting an accurate mask for the strip. As I'm sure you're all aware, this has to be cut at a continuous curve to match up around the diameter of the conical spinner. I'm having difficulty calculating the curvature. Is there a geometrical formula to calculate what the curve should be (ie. pi x radius x2 etc)? Fortunately, there's an engraved line around the spinner at the point of colour change. I've been able to mask to this, by using triangular strips of masking tape and cutting carefully along the engraved line - but this only gives me one side of the strip, the other side will have to be a visual guess, at best. There must be an easier way??? I must have been on a day off when they covered this in geometry class at school!

 

[woody]

Gerry would it be possible to use a o-ring.

 

[Crimea_River]

A common problem. Here's how I do it. Start by painting the red colour at the front of the spinner first. Once that's dry, apply a straight piece of a thin slice (maybe 1mm) of your tape to form the forward edge of the white band. You need only pay attention to the edge of the strip of tape that will form the paint edge. The other edge (facing the front of the spinner) will not fit as well, being on a smaller diameter but that doesn't matter. Once the edge to be painted is secure, cut another slice of tape and form it over the first piece, overlapping slightly but leaving the edge of th efirst piece exposed. Continue this until you cover the red tip. Essentially you'll be forming a cylinder which you can eventualy press down and kink to close any gaps. Don't be shy to use lots of tape til the whole thing is covered. At this point, apply the white (may take a few coats going over the red). Once that's dry, strip the tape and repeat the process for the inner edge of the white, then paint the green.