Bf 109 in the Russian mud (1/48)

[Steven000]

Hi guys,
I already did 2 Bf109F-kits from ICM in the past (link), although these are cheap kits they can be turned into nice models with a bit of extra work.

I still had this one in the stash, it's the R6 version with canons under the wing...
Box-art :


I would like to make a small dio with the model, based on these pictures :
This would be a G2 'white 6' with wing canons in the Russian autumn mud,
I assume this 109 was parked for cover into a bomb-crater which got flooded overnight...


I don't have to worry about the cockpit interior or canopy-masking :thumb2: ...
The bottom engine cowling and spinner-front-disk appears to be yellow, the rest of the spinner is a black&white.
Some nice mottling on the nose...


Sprue-shots :
Same soft sprues as last time, all parts need a bit of cleaning-up...






This sprue wasn't included in the other ICM kits, a nice set of bombs, 2 external fuel tanks and the R6 wing-canons...


Clear parts.


That's all for now,
Thanks for reading, have fun, stay safe & kind regards!
Steven

[Mini Me]

Hi Steven, That looks like a very interesting topic for a Dio. In looking at the pictures, I'm thinking that the 109 might be parked in a man made revetment. The height from both camera angles seems too uniform in appearance. just a thought.
:smiling2: Rick H.

[Steven000]

... In looking at the pictures, I'm thinking that the 109 might be parked in a man made revetment. The height from both camera angles seems too uniform in appearance. just a thought ...

Thanks Rick!
Yes, you might be right, I can image there would be lots of shovels around too :smiling6: ...



I've put the model together this week, no need for a cockpit or engine :thumb2:...
As before there is some scraping needed and the nose was build up with the engine panels...


Again I drilled out the solid-molded nose-canon and replaced it with a plastic tube...


Under the tarp I still need the basic shape of the canopy,
so I glued the clear-parts in place but replaced the box-shaped piece with plastic-card, this way I have an extra spare one for future builds.
Based on the images the radiator-flaps were opened 'full' and the middle-flaps lowered 'minimum'...


In the picture I noticed that the model has two missing air-intakes,
so I shaped a piece of sprue into a 'suppository' (1), then cut that into fragments (2) and glued them onto the nose (3)...


The tarp was made from a layer of tissue...


Then the tissue was soaked in diluted wood-glue and put onto the fuselage, a bit tricky...
I wasn't able to replicate the image exactly because the wet tissue was too fragile to manipulate further, but I think it will work ok...




Because the kit has these 'soft-plastic' parts the wing-canons were too flexible to work with. (1)
So I've cut them off, drilled out the plastic (2) and glued some steel-rods in place with the same thickness :thumb2:...


Some separate parts on wooden-sticks for painting...


This evening I sprayed a coat of black primer, the tarp will be better visible in the end though ...




Thanks for reading, kind regards & keep safe!
Steven

[adt70hk]

Steven

Nice start and nice not to have to worry about the inards!

Keep up the good work.

Andrew

[JR]

Russian mud :nerd:caught my attention Steven, great idea.:thumb2:
Definitely will follow please .:nerd:

[Mini Me]

A well thought out approach Steven, I think that tarp is just right and a good bit of insight to save the canopy for a spare.
I knew JR would be along when "mud" was mentioned. I hope there is plenty of coffee as he always gets a little "whiney"
if there are no refreshments. :crying:
Rick H.

[Steven000]

Thanks guys!

Some slowly progress on the 109,
I sprayed the underside in an Rlm76 and highlighted some panels roughly...


Then I added some freehand camo with rlm74/75 on the wings and I tried a few different things on the fuselage as well...


I tried to draw and cut out a mask from Tamiya-tape, based on the '6' visible in the images. A bit too 'bold' (font) but it is what it is...


Here I masked the yellow band and white six, the yellow panels on the underside are masked too...


Underside-parts sprayed in yellow...


Here I had some paint chipping off when removing the '6' mask, the mask was a bit fragile so I didn't remove the tape-stickiness on my skin...


Underside...


Some masking of the spinner, based on the images...


Spinner painted...


At the moment I got this, the tarp is painted in an rlm02 color, it was probably a darker color in the images, but I don't know what would work best...



Next is a gloss coat and some decals...

Thanks for reading and keep it safe!
Steven

[Mini Me]

That is just right Steven. The camo. is top drawer and you are on your way to a great looking diorama. I am anxiously awaiting the next phase of this project. Rick H.

[Jack L]

Looking really good Steven!

[Jason Crausby]

Top notch!
Jason.

[Guest]

That tarpaulin has worked out a treat.

[john i am]

Paintwork looking great.

[dave]

Coming along very nicely

[scottie3158]

I like this all looking very nice the tarp looks great.

[langy71]

Wow, an excellent build so far, really love how you've got the sit of the tarp looking spot on.. :thumb2: :thumb2: :thumb2: :thumb2: