Richards 1/24 Airfix BF109 Messerchmidt (Build)

[Guest]

Brilliant belts. The nice thing about larger scales is being able to do this sort of thing.

I was about to say pretty much the same thing

[rtfoe]

I was about to say pretty much the same thing :smiling3:

And I was going to say thanks Jakko. The larger it is the more stuff to add...it can be enjoyable or a pain. :smiling6:

Cheers,
Richard

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
You are really good at making these silk purses from sows ears. Love the way you sorted the undercarriage bay walls. Seat belts are brilliant. So many useful little tips to be had following your builds.
Jim

[rtfoe]

Thank you kindly Jim,
When you sit and think hard enough out of the box and plan, things will fall into place. Some of the ideas are simply everyday stuff we do and take for granted until wait a minute howz about I apply it here suddenly hits me in the head. They are nothing new. The other driving factor is to use as little money as possible and make whats available around the house.
Now who would have thought cumin, caraway or fennel seeds would look like bananas? The first thought was the scale, shape and the color yellow and these were formed...



Cheers,
Richard

[rtfoe]

More on the painting...tried out new masking tape I got from Ace Hardware. Wasn't that tacky when touched but to be safe I ran it over my pants before applying. It still lifted some of the paint. The pieces protruding from the canopy are tape that I wedged in spaces for the gaps...

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Removing the masking is always quite nerving as you don't know what to expect. This time it looked ok. The clean colors at this stage doesn't seem to look right until weathering and decals go on.

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The BF 109 is a small plane, imagine the size of a Mustang or Focke Wulf.

Mottling comes up next...

Cheers,
Richard

[rtfoe]

Hi,

It's about time I continue with this delayed thread...the mottling...



Done with random spurts of the airbrush. The masks protecting the splinter camo have been removed.



Cheers,
Richard

[rtfoe]

I had a problem with the shape of the propeller...it just looked too paddle shaped and thick so I sanded the edges.



I don't know if it was the right call but it seemed a lot better.





I couldn't sand the wheels as they were rubber so I sliced off with a blade very carefully as it sits with a slant angle.

Cheers,
Richard

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
So much to admire and learn from. Seat belts are great. Mottlling is fine - a tribute to good AB skills. Prop and wheels alterations have certainly made a difference.
Jim

[Guest]

Excellent work Richard :smiling2:.

[rtfoe]

Thanks Ralf and Jim, I believe that there no bad kits (bad instruction sheets perhaps :smiling6, if you're willing to put enough effort it might just turn out ok.

The decals were very old and were very brittle so care was taken on application. Any bits that tore were pieced back like a jigsaw puzzle.





Afert setting them down, a coat of varnish was sprayed and washes added.

Cheers,
Richard