Thanks Terry. My Aeromaster decals actually reference the Jagdwaffe books as where they got the schemes from. Did you actually see a pic of this aircraft there? The one at the front of this post was found on the internet and is purported to be one this actual plane. However, I have my doubts as, if you look in the top right of the photo, you can just make out what appears to be the edge of the a/c number and is does not look like it would be an 8. Rather it looks like a 1.
OK, now that I have a few days off, I've been putting some time into getting this one started. Here's where we stand so far. The instrument panel was hand painted on the sprue based on a few colour references. The panel is very small and I'm not that impressed with the outcome. Looks satisfactory from a distance though. Maybe I'm spoiled having typically used the PE stuff.
Below is the cockpit glued into the right half of the fuselage. Everything was first painted in RLM 02, except the breaker box which was black with white caps on the buttons and the oxygen container which was given a dull aluminum colour. Then everything was given a wash of thinned brown/grey. The seat received a cushion made of Milliput with a Tamiya tape strap stretched behind the seat to hold it up. PE seatbelts protrude through the cushion and the map case received a couple of pieces of paper as maps.
Next is the fuselage glued together and before sanding the seams. The areas on the engine block that will be visible through holes in the cowl were painted black. The left side of the cockpit was used as is, having resisted the temptation to scratch build a new throttle and mixture control.
Next we have the MGs drilled out before painting and placing on top of the engine.
The picture below shows the MGs now painted and glued in place as well as the cockpit viewed from behind with the rudder pedals and oxygen equipment visible. Also, the fuselage seams have been sanded and polished up. I will be adding scratch built fuel pump and fuel selector levers on the right and left sides of the instrument panel, respectively at a later date.
Finally, here's a shot of one of the gear legs painted RLM 02 and the oleo section done with Testors silver.
The wing halves have been glued together and will be assembled to the fuselage tonight to set over night. The fit on this model is superb and it's been going together like a dream. There will be little, if any need to open my tube of putty, a welcome departure from my kitbashed CF-5 which is still staring at me.
Thanks for your interest and nice to be finally participating in this build.