Revell 1/32 Me109 G-6

[BarryW]

I have sprayed the camo. I do love spraying mottle. The great thing is how easy it is with MRP. When they say airbrush ready, they really do mean it and there is no need to thin even for the intricate detail spraying. I just wind down the pressure from about 12psi to 8 to 9 psi and tighten the screw on the airbrush to restrict paint flow, a bit of testing and you are away..... I really would not have had the confidence using Vallejo MA with the tip drying issues. This was with the 0.3 needle on my Topnotch a/b which gives me all the control I need with no a 'splotch' in sight to deal with....



The instructions say the band is grey ‘close to’ RLM075 but what does that mean? I could spray RLM075 but that would be boring, so after a bit of testing and playing around I used Gunship Grey.




I think that’s close enough....

A bit of touching up and detail painting then out comes the masks for the markings.

[BarryW]

On now to painting on the main markings. If you have not used masks in the past then I really recommend that you try it. I find masks a lot easier than decals and you get a much more authentic painted on look. In fact, Luftwaffe markings would be a good and easy introduction to using masks because they are just black and white while being all straight lines. It is therefore easy to ‘tidy up’ if you go wrong using ordinary masking tape.

The masks I am using are Montex and made of a vinyl material. I much prefer Maketar, specifically their Kabuki paper ones (Makatar provide both types). I find that vinyl tend to lift on curves and don't bed down into detail even if you burnish them down with a cocktail stick. Consequently there are places where I have supplemented the vinyl masks with tape and after spraying, in a few places, I have had to mask with kabuki tape and make corrections. It is all easy enough though.

some pics.

I always extend the area around the mask. When spraying do so directly down onto the mask, don’t flood, use light coats at a low air pressure.





Above is after I sprayed the black areas, replaced the elements over the black and removed the elements where I need to spray white.



when the masks are removed, no possibility of silvering and a perfect painted on look, as indeed they are, ready to be weathered






above I have applied some masking tape to correct some small issues where the vinyl has caused a problem. In that particular case the problem was caused by the inner element shrinking from the outer part, resulting in a less than perfect mask. A common problem with this type of mask and another reason to prefer kabuki tape.

The spacing of the markings meant that I could not do them all at once. So after removing and touching up the initial markings I went back to do the rest. In fact I had to do these in three stages in all.


Below, the main markings all done.

Next I will lay down a thin light gloss varnish just to ‘pull it all together’. I will then apply the remaining markings using the kit decals before applying my second gloss coat prior to pin washes.

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
Well maybe not the best of kits but you have certainly ensured the best result. The paintwork looks spot on and although I have never masked for markings I can see what a perfect looking result that method gives.
Jim

[BarryW]

Some reflections on this kit, Revell and MRP.

I will never be a fan of Revell, far from it, but this kit has been a surprise. It started badly with all that crap in the very first step of the build but it has redeemed itself. To my surprise it has been a very problem free build and something of a real pleasure. Revell will never become a ‘high end’ producer of kits but we do need some companies producing cheap kits for the casual builder and, perhaps, to hook new people into the hobby who can then be tempted to explore high-end kits. What this kit proves is that Revell can produce something pretty decent but, in a way, that makes it even more annoying that they cannot do just a couple of simple things that would make their kits, not high-end, but at least mid-range quality. It surely would not add much to the cost of a build to put just a little thought into sprue organisation. To group associated parts on a sprue and/or to identify the sprue in the instructions are such small things but they would make life a lot easier. I have spent such a lot of time just trying to find parts with this kit it really detracts from the pleasure. We all know that the molds are a major part of the cost of a kit with all the associated research and CAD work. Would it actually cost much more to shoot a better quality plastic into the molds? My experience with the Revell/Dragon bf110 shows just what a huge difference plastic quality makes to a kit, it really does affect the fit and accuracy even from the same molds. When you look at the cost of 1/32 scale kits, Tamiya and Zoukei Mura at the high-end can charge over £100 for a Spitfire because people know they are worth the price and will buy them. Trumpeter/Hobby-Boss and Hasegawa can charge in the range of £50 to £70 and, again people will buy them and know that they are getting a decent kit for their money even if they may have issues. Then at the bottom we have Revell charging, what £25 for a Spitfire.... Some people might think value but it is not, it is cheap. Revell could up their game in just the two areas I mentioned, charge £30 and then it will be approaching what I would call value while still being cheap. But I would not expect it to cost an extra £5 to make those two small adjustments so there is plenty of room for Revell to still keep a significant price advantage but spend that bit more in improving quality...... But then is 1/32 scale the space where Revell should be worried about price over quality at all? It works in smaller scales for them but I am not so sure that it is a good strategy for 1/32 but that is a whole new debate, an interesting perhaps for another time.

Now MRP....

I realise that I have been doing it wrong.... I did not realise simply because MRP is such a great paint and is so forgiving. I tried something different with this build and it worked. When I swapped over from Vallejo Model Air to MRP I kept some of my old VMA habits that I should not have done. I did not change the pressure setting on my compressor and just adjusted it via the in-line fine pressure control (fpc) on my brush. So all this time I have had my compressor set at 30psi. MRP needs between 10 and 15psi and I thought my fpc did the job. It didn’t. For this build I decided for no particular reason to lower the pressure at the compressor. I reduce it to 20 psi and noticed when I did that the gauge fell to 15 psi in operation before the motor kicked back in. I made further adjustments via the fpc. Wow, what a difference it made, a great paint working even better..... I used less paint and got a better more even coverage. When I came to the mottle I decided, as well, to use the screw at the back of the airbrush to restrict paint flow and yes, that also made a massive difference. I really think that the paint job I achieved on this 109 is the best yet for these reasons. Finally I have just sprayed a light gloss coat. With the compressor setting lower the varnish is hitting the model with less pressure so the paint re-activation from the lacquer varnish is just not happening. Clearly the fpc, while it helps, does not, in itself, do enough. Interesting. I can see myself trying some rather more challenging camo schemes freehand in future... MRP, the best airbrush paint you can get is now even better for me as I am getting it right at last....

Just a few Saturday musings......

Now, this 109 will not finish itself and I have some decals to apply.... but that is for tomorrow....

[AlanG]

That extra fiver that you say wouldn't make a difference does if you are on minimum wage and that extra fiver can buy your paints. It's all relative. Some people can afford to splash whatever they like on kits. I can't so have to be very frugal and factor in costs of paints and other materials. Sometimes having to actually build a kit rather than "shake and bake" kits like Tamiya are more fun

[BarryW]

One thing....

in the pictures with the light hitting the model you can see various shapes, sworles etc on the painted surface. This is because the paint is so very thin and ’hot’ that it brings out the finest of detail and, in this case is affected by the underlying plastic and imperceptible imperfections in the plastic. This happens to be more pronounced with this cheap Revell plastic. It does happen even on Tamiya quality kits, but less so. However, it is not something to worry about. These disappear under varnish coats and weathering.

If you want a gloss finish, or don’t want to varnish at all, then the problem is sorted by using a thicker acrylic primer like Stynylrex.

[BarryW]

That extra fiver that you say wouldn't make a difference does if you are on minimum wage and that extra fiver can buy your paints. It's all relative. Some people can afford to splash whatever they like on kits. I can't so have to be very frugal and factor in costs of paints and other materials. Sometimes having to actually build a kit rather than "shake and bake" kits like Tamiya are more fun

I see your point but I was speaking in respect of Revell’s marketing and market position. As I said I really don‘t think it would add that much to the cost anyway to make just those small adjustments, which would just take a little thought and planning, while the raw materials are not the main cost of producing a kit.

[BarryW]

[ATTACH]400962[/ATTACH][ATTACH]400963[/ATTACH][ATTACH]400964[/ATTACH]Decals done, decal solution applied and now waiting for them to dry.

[BarryW]

Close to finishing....

I have been working on streaking, a bit more work to do here tomorrow but a good start...


I used MRP Exhaust Staining, sprayed at a very low psi it is a clear colour that looks very effective.


Gun smoke stains, smoke pigment (AKI) for that.


Also i used some Micro Krystal Clear to glaze that hole...

However, after I did it I realised an aerial wire needs to come out of that hole so I used a cocktail stick to remove the glazing. I will use c.a, to fix the aerial wire first then I will reglaze it. I have not done glazing this way before but it seems to work well.

Tomorrow I will do the finishing touches.

[BarryW]

I sneaked off to do the finishing touches....

So two quick pic here and I will pull together a Completed thread.

I thought a comparison with the 1/32 Dragon bf109E would be of interest. The Dragon E kit, from what I remember, was regarded as accurate, while the Revell G is said to have a few inaccuracies. The differences between the two are, of course, the expected ones but the Dragon seems a little ‘stouter’ than the Revell behind the cockpit and /that I did not expect. Never mind, they both look like 109’s and that is really what counts....

I recommend this Revell kit despite the initial frustrations. A good kit that comes together well with no major issues.