**** DONE: GB-36 1/32 Bf109G-10 Erla - Axis Manufactured Aircraft of WWII

[Crimea_River]

Ah, I see. I wasn't aware. Looking at the two pics of this plane, I suppose the windscreen at least does look a tad darker. Unfortunatelty, the hood is open in both.

 

[JKim]

Fantastic John, the weathering looks great!

Out of interest, did you end up using a fixative for the pigments?

Yes, I did Kirby. I ended up buying some Pigment Fixer. It smells alot like kerosene or some other type of fuel. But it seemed to do the job. It left a bit of sheen so I may have to give it a shot of flat.

Ah, I see. I wasn't aware. Looking at the two pics of this plane, I suppose the windscreen at least does look a tad darker. Unfortunatelty, the hood is open in both.

It was a purely speculative choice. I didn't see anything in the Hartmann G-10 photos that indicated that the frames were RLM 66 but I decided to go with the kit instructions. I can always revert back to the camo colors but I would have to do it soon as the build is approaching that point where the masks come off.

 

[Wurger]

Here is what I found at the Falkeeins' site ... FalkeEins - the Luftwaffe blog: Hartmann's JG 52 Bf 109s - Erich Hartmann's last Bf 109 G-10 - Edit October 2015

 

[turbo]

Yes, I did Kirby. I ended up buying some Pigment Fixer. It smells alot like kerosene or some other type of fuel. But it seemed to do the job. It left a bit of sheen so I may have to give it a shot of flat.

Yes, I noticed that too. It also seems to subtly alter the colour of the pigment sometimes, so I've been messing around between using the fixer or just enamel thinner which doesn't fix quite as well but doesn't have these side effects.

The canopy frames were masked off and painted RLM 66. Although I cannot verify this for Hartmann's G-10, I have seen this practice on late G's and K's with the Erla-Haube style canopy. The kit instructions call for RLM 66 canopy frames. Anders Hjortsberg's profile of Hartmann's G-10 may or may not show RLM 66 canopy frames.

They may have been doing this earlier as well. Here's Galland's "special F" - the canopy frames look suspiciously RLM66.

 

[JKim]

This one is winding down. Just adding the last bits and pieces. The canopy masks and masks for the wing lights finally come off! Any stray bits of masking adhesive and paint leaks are carefully rubbed away with the tip of a toothpick.

The various antennae and the belly tank are glued into place.

The last ordeal has been attaching the aerial. I've been using stretched sprue. It's a bit of a pain as the thin wisps of stretched sprue are difficult to paint. The first couple of attempts ended in failure. The aerial just wouldn't lay right and finally, when I got it looking ok, I got it too close to a source when tightening the aerial that it melted it apart. Then I remembered that I have some of Uschi's rigging thread that a friend gave to me. Why not give it a shot. It's similar to EZ-Line in that it is elastic but it is a bit smoother and comes in finer gradations. I used the standard grade here. The attachment at the rudder tab was fabricated using a loop twisted from a thin copper wire strand inserted into a small section of brass tubing. The end of the Uschi thread was glued into the tube opening and then attached to the rudder tab.

The rigging thread is dark so it doesn't need to be painted. I added blobs of white glue that were painted black. The thread worked very well and seems to be able to stand more abuse due to the rigging's flexibility.

And with that, all that is left is to push the spiraled spinner into place. I'll save that final view until tomorrow and I can get some proper pictures taken with the DSLR. Next stop... the FINISHED pics!

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Great stuff, especially the antenna wire.

 

[Torch]

 

[Crimea_River]

Really nice.

 

[JKim]

The AMUR Reaver prop is on and this build is done!

 

[Wurger]

 

[Crimea_River]

Looks great John.

 

[turbo]

Fantastic model John, it's come out beautifully as always! Weathering is lovely

I'm interested in your opinion on the Uschi thread. I've seen it on some smaller scale models at shows and it's a very solid un-scaled black colour that IMO doesn't look realistic in those smaller scales. 1/32 could be a different story though, so how do you think it has come out to the eye on yours?

 

[Gnomey]

Great work John!

 

[JKim]

Fantastic model John, it's come out beautifully as always! Weathering is lovely

I'm interested in your opinion on the Uschi thread. I've seen it on some smaller scale models at shows and it's a very solid un-scaled black colour that IMO doesn't look realistic in those smaller scales. 1/32 could be a different story though, so how do you think it has come out to the eye on yours?

Thanks Kirby! I've only used it this one time and I like it. It looks to be a very dark grey. I used the standard grade and I think it is appropriately scaled for 1/32. I also have a thinner grade that can probably be used for 1/48. What do you mean by "un-scaled black colour"? I think the color is appropriate enough for many purposes but it can always be painted if desired.

 

[Stephen Craig]

Thanks for the comments!



Great point Andy! I've modeled my 109s without splayed tires. The angle between the wheel axel and landing gear leg on the kits that I've built always seem to encourage the wheels to sit perpendicular to the ground and not splayed with the landing gear.

View attachment 473248
View attachment 473249
View attachment 473250

There is usually a lot of play in this joint so the wheels will naturally sit into wherever I've made the flat spots, which was for the wheel standing straight up. Now that you've pointed it out, I'll re-sand the flat spot at an angle. I've got a bunch of spare tires with two G-10 kits and one G-6 kit. I don't feel comfortable dragging my model across sandpaper... sounds like an invitation to break something!

Why are there red areas on the landing gear legs. Is that something with G-10's, or just that particular plane?

Stephen

 

[Airframes]

I believe it indicated the fuel type for the engine fitted - no doubt someone will provide the exact info.

 

[Hartmann52]

JKim Tell me, what colors were used for camouflage? Revell offers camouflage RLM-76 bottom, and the top RLM-83/74 with spots additional RLM-02 on board. Eduard offers bottom unpainted aluminum + RLM-76, top - 75/82. Which of them is right?

 

[Torch]

Wow,Beautiful