Revell 1/32 Messerschmitt bf110

[BarryW]

Time for an update and all is going very well. Getting on with the cockpit detailing.

For seatbelts I am using these from Finemolds, these are my favourite type of seatbelt but I only have one set so I am using them for the pilot seat and I have cobbed together p.e. lap belts for the navigator/gunner.


These are plastic molded in one piece and just need painting and weathering after removal from the fret.

What I like about these is that they don't need any fiddly threading like the p.e. and micro-fabric types. Every attempt I have made at HGW fabric belt has ended up binned The other seatbelt type I use are the 'steel' Eduard sets that dont need 'threading' but look a little 'flat' unlike these.

Here they are painted and weathered.


So, for the lapbelts on the other positions I did use the Eduard set but 'not as per Eduard instruct'. I put them together to get the right kind of effect rather than the full Eduard way which I find nto be very difficult. Anyway, they look fine.



More detail painting done and Revell supply decals for the i.p. and other internal parts. These decals are actually quite good and bedded in well with multiple applications of solution. The parts were all sprayed first with gloss varnish, a pin wash then applied and, after decalling, a matt varnish sprayed followed by a drybrush with Uschi metal powders and, on the floor a dark earth pigment. Gloss varnish was then used for the glass in dials.








So far, so good. This kit is as good as I remembered. I just wish Revell did a better job corrcting the instructions.

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
Those seat belts look excellent. I've not heard of plastic seatbelts before. I've used the prepainted PE ones but found the colour cracked/chipped when bent. These are very nice. Instruments have come out really well. Your approach certainly gives a very pleasing result.
Jim

[BarryW]

Have pulled together the cockpit and attached the fuselage sides. All fitted perfectly with no issues. I the added a few sections to the bottom including some strong wing spars. Again all a perfect fit.





The seams needed very little sanding, made easier by the top/bottom panel lines these aircraft had.

i then pulled together the nose components and did a test fit. All is spot on. Fitting the guns into the nose will be part of final fittings as they are vulnerable, besides it wil make painting easier. I will temporarily attach the nose for painting without the guns.


I have been getting on with the engine, covers and undercarriage sub-assemblies. I am aware of issues here that the instructions have not addressed and these need approaching carefully, test fitting several stages ahead.

No pics yet, they will follow.

It is more apparent than ever what a poor job Revell have made of the instructions. They cannot be trusted at all and their drawings are deceptive. It is vital not to commit to cement unless you are certain something is right. I have lots of parts and subs stacking up as I work that can only be fitted later when I can be sure of how they go.

To be honest, I have concluded that it would be easier to use the original Dragon instructions backed up by the Brett Green addendum and Eduard 1/48 bf110 instructions. Right now, trying to reconcile Revell’s instructions to the Brett Green addendum is an added complication I could do without.

[Jim F]

Maybe this will help https://www.scalemates.com/products/...structions.pdf regards Jim

[BarryW]

Thanks Jim. All Revell seem to have done is separate out various diagrams and re-order them. In some cases it makes it harder to see what position some parts are meant to go in. A very disappointing bodge job by Revell.

However the parts fit, you just have to take your time and be alert checking several steps ahead.

A couple of shots of subs and parts awaiting fitting.




I tested the position of the wheel well floor and bulkheads parts in the wing to make sure that I get the right combination. Do not trust either set of instructions on this.



after very careful checking i cements the correct parts into position.


A similar check is needed on the wheel legs.

[BarryW]

There are some decals to add inside the engine covers for three dials each side of the engine. I applied them and painted the back black to help them stand out.


Note, as well that I have glued tabs of plastic card to strengthen a join between front and rear panels.



i masked the dials. I have a lot of sheets of round masks of many sizes. something that’s very useful to have.



I also glued in some ‘stringers’ inside the wing sections.

-
I had a close look at the Mastercasters resin exhausts and I am not pleased with what I found. The kit ones are solid, a bit of an oddity in this kit given their use of slide moulding so a decent resin set will help with the appearance.

in this pick you can see a solid kit part at the top and the resin below. See how poorly they are rendered. I cleaned one up (breaking it is the process, easy to resolve) and only then did I see how poor they are.


As I result I decided to order the Quickboost resin set. I won’t buy Mastercasters again.

[BarryW]

Plenty of progress but the going is slow as I am having to pick my way carefully and slowly due to the poor instructions.

Speaking of which, they said nothing about drilling the holes for the centre bomb rack. Fortunately you could see where the plastic was thin where I needed to drill.




The Quickboost resin exhausts arrived and they are much better than the Mastercasters one. Also, the Mastercasters are very inaccurate. The Quickboost are on the moulding block, the Mastercasters are pictured loose, note to long exhausts at one end.... not on the Mastercasters set.


Note that it is best to glue the rads into the wing, not the cover as per the instructions. The fit is tight and needs a little sanding.


Tail on, perfect fit...


Some canopy framing... and rear machine gun.


Engines fix easily into place as did the rad covers and bomb racks.


The centre bomb rack in position.



A few more fittings to do and some masking before there is some painting to get done.

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
Excellent, neat progress. Those resin exhausts are indeed pretty poor.
Jim

[BarryW]

I have primed the subs and have some seam flaws on the wheels to deal with so I applied some Mr Dissolved Putty.



I have grouped others subs based on the colour I will be spraying them










I will soon prime the wings and fuselage and deal with the flaws. i will then superglue in the exhausts and spray the wheel wells, weather them and mask them before attaching the wings.

[BarryW]

I painted the rear machine gun. Black primer over which I dry brushed Uschi Metal Powders, painted the detail, applied gloss varnish in a few places followed by a brown pin wash.


I need to dirty up the handle a little but it looks good.

i primed the wings and airframe, dealt with the flaws and superglued the exhausts into place.

I am now ready to start painting.

[stona]

Looking very nice, for all the trials and tribulations!

[tr1ckey66]

Looking really good Barry

[BarryW]

Looking very nice, for all the trials and tribulations!

The only real problems are a result of the terrible instructions Steve, the plastic is as good as gold. I have had a little bit of warping (not as bad as the warping on the Airfix plastic) that was easy to deal with. The actual build is pretty much trouble free as long as you can get your head around how it all goes together.

This morning I sneaked into the garage and sprayed some colour...


Later I will seperate those parts that dont need any detail painting or more work until I get to the varnish stage. The others will have some detail painting to do and the interior 'bits' will need weathering as well. I am debating leaving the wings off until final fittings, the fit is that good. Not decided yet.

[BarryW]

I have been working on the subs.
Detail painting and a few decals










I am waiting for decal solution to dry, then I will be weathering. But, in the meantime some subs need ‘pulling together‘.

[BarryW]

Weathering of the internals is under way...

Looking at Facebook modelling sites I see a lot of comments regarding weathering such as;
’i prefer the clean newly painted look’
or
’i dont want to risk spoiling the model’
or
’i can’t get the hang of weathering’
and similar comments that you don’t see so much on specialist forums such as this one.

Well, in many cases I really don’t think that they get the point and what they are really saying is, I cannot be arsed or they are scared of it.

In my view weathering is a catch all word that covers a whole range of different processes and treatments designed to make a model look more realistic. Without such processes all you get is something that looks like painted plastic and that’s not really what modelling is all about.

This is my favourite stage as it is what makes a model come to life and start to look like the real thing.

It does not have to make a subject look all dirty and muddy. Even a ‘newly minted’ aircraft on arrival at a squadron will have been flown, probably more than once and will show some signed of that. Even if perfectly clean, looking at a full size aircraft it can look different in different types of light, what is more large irregular shaped surfaces do not look a ‘constant’ even shade because of the way light reflects off the surface. A small model will not look like the real thing without help from the modeller.

Weathering need not be complex or even particularly time consuming. Some modellers seem to spend ages applying lots of different washes, dry brushing and other treatments obtaining outstanding results exhibiting the patience of a saint. The truth is that you can get a decent result with much less effort and, indeed, even some small and basic treatments can make a world of difference.

I don’t have the patience of a saint and I fall somewhere in between those who might just dry brush to make detail pop and those who go the whole hog...

The truth is I started the weathering as soon as I first laid down a primer and, of course, I did some weathering to the cockpit. Now though the weathering starts in ernest. A black primer helps create shadows in detail and helps modulate the colour. This is reinforced by washes and then by dry brushing you can really make detail pop. Just washes and dry brushing alone can make the world of difference and it is so easy.

These are the wheel well doors. They were sprayed RLM02 over black primer and then I did a dark brown pin wash sealing it all with a matt varnish. These are not finished yet. I will be dry brushing with Uschi Metal Powder, chrome type, to make it look like painted metal. I will focus on edges and ridges where the metal powder catches the light.

The photo provides much more contrast than is really the case thanks to the really harsh lighting.

below is a wheel well, with u/c leg, at the same stage.


That looks a little better than the wheel well doors, perhaps because it is not in quite as much direct light. As well as Uschi Metal Powder I will also dry brush a dark earth pigment inside the wheel well to depict dirt and mud. It won’t be too heavy, just enough to aid realism. I will show more photos when these are finished and I will try to get better lighting.

I have also temporarily attached the nose cone ready for painting.


You can see the perfect fit. The Micro Liquitape is ideal for this. When painted I will remove this and insert the guns, the whole assembly will then be glued into place.

hopefully I can get on a bit more later today and post more progress pics.