1/72 Airfix Bf109G-6 coverted to G-2 Trop

[flyjoe180]

Hi all. After my cable car build, I wanted to get going with plastic in 2021. I got this kit cheaply a few years ago, and rather than let it languish I grabbed it as a relatively quick build to try some new techniques (for me) and paints that I've acquired. It's Airfix's Bf109 G-6, a pretty awful kit, but one which can be built to a nice result if you don't mind the horrid cowl gun bulge(s) error, nasty looking pilot in a bare cockpit and a landing gear that resembles something from a time long gone. Therefore it didn't matter to me if I screwed it up. Perfect!


You can, of course, alter your kit to correct the bulges and pose it in flight and you have a sort of G-6. Or you can convert it. The tail wheel is the thinner type seen in early Bf109 G models, and it has some of the correct lumps for a G-2. I decided to go for a G-2 Tropical conversion.

I got carried away and forgot to start a thread, so excuse the build coverage here. I thought this conversion might be useful to someone else considering what to do with their crude G-6 kit. Also, any advice or critique you have, please feel free to let rip. This was all experimental.

First I removed the crude upper wing bulges that on the G-6 house the larger wheels. An easy sanding job if you are careful. The plastic, typical of early new-tool Airfix, is rather soft.


The upper cowl gun bulge is represented by one piece when it should have been two individual bulges. Anyway our G-2 doesn't have it. So off it came, sanding carefully and re-scribing. I cleaned the panel lines up after this.


The under wing cannon gun slots were filled, and the awful belly tank connection (two sticks) was sanded off and replaced by a scrap part that I sanded to shape for a new pannier. Before:

After:

[flyjoe180]

The cockpit is devoid of anything except a seat that is chunky and crude, and a pilot that looks like an orc. The rear bulkhead does not exist.


Stuck for ideas I grabbed the Airfix 1/72 Bf109E-4 kit cockpit, which gave me an approximation. It fitted quite well into the G kit, except for the rounded rear bulkhead. Using that E-4 cockpit, I created a template from cardboard. Using the card pieces to create styrene components, I glued them together to create the cockpit tub and reshaped the rear section to fit.

The nice E-4 kit cockpit tub beside the G kit fuselage:


A comparison of the early new tool G and later E-4 fuselages, just to show how far apart these kits are:


The new tub cockpit from styrene and card templates:



The kit seat reshaped and a crude control stick added. The IP may not be seen but just in case, I created one using a generic IP decal on styrene:


It looks better than this when it's not zoomed all the way in, but it's miles better than what was on offer, and under that thick one-piece canopy I doubt anyone would notice. Straps are plain old Tamiya tape.

[flyjoe180]

These are the wheels I sourced from my spares box, the spoke, thinner type which are correct for the G-2. I think thay came of an old E build. The axles on the crude landing gear doors need to be trimmed to accept these wheels. Compared to the terrible kit 'discs':


Drilled out the nose cannon (dry fit shown):


The tropical filter is provided in the G kit but like the other items, it's pants: The replacement part on the right is a spare Hobbyboss filter and just looks a little better when comparing them to reference photos and to a Hasegawa kit:


The tropical filter attached. I noticed on references that there are two supports at the front end of the filter. I used 0.3mm brass tube to create these supports:



Then I turned attention to the belly tank. Having created the new pannier, I drilled four holes into it, through the lower wing surface, and fixed four 0.3 brass tube lengths:


Four holes were drilled into the top half of the belly tank, and the trimmed extended lengths of brass tube were cemented inside. I think this looks better than the kit version would have:



Did I say this was a simple quick build?

[flyjoe180]

Canopy masked using Tamiya tape and new No.11 blade. Realised afterwards the framing at the rear is wrong, but a minor correction. It may look a little funny at the end, we shall see. I still have yet to unmask it.


Canopy fitted, and rather than use the crappy aerial mast that was basically a tube of plastic, I crafted a new one based on the Hasegawa G-6 kit piece.



A dry fit revealed this was going to give me no end of trouble with wing root gaps. I've built enough of these older-style 1/72 kits to learn lessons. One of those lessons is to fix the upper wing halves to the fuselage first, creating a perfect wing root. Any filling can be hidden underneath. It also results in accurate dihedral:


See that gap on the port wing root? That was going to cause me major issues if I had followed the instructions. As it was, I could now easliy fill that.


Everything is attached. It builds up pretty nicely, maybe I'm being too harsh on this kit. The pitot tube is non-existent, so I crafted one from brass rod and drilled it into the wing. It won't snap, unlike the tail wheel which was re-fixed three times....

[flyjoe180]

RLM 02 Humbrol 240 for the wheel wells and landing gear inners:


Off to the priming stage, using Ammo Mig One Shot Primer Black:



First time using some of these products. I was very impressed with the One Shot Primer, in fact all of the Ammo Mig products I used.

Painted nose, lower cowl, wing tips, fuselage band, and spinner Mig Ammo white. Added shading inside black panels with white, and later some yellow. The lower cowl was later painted in yellow.


Painted propeller blades RLM 70 Schwartzgrun Humbrol 241. Note the basic gear doors.


Then I got carried away and applied the RLM 78 Himmelblau Humbrol 248 lower surfaces, fuselage sides, landing gear doors, followed by RLM 79 Sand Humbrol 249 upper surfaces:

[flyjoe180]

Exhaust stubs painted black, tyres dark grey, nose machine guns gunmetal with black mixed in. Gloss varnish applied using Humbrol Gloss Cote:


After 48 hours I applied the decals. The kit decals are very nice. I used the kit's stencils, crosses (except the upper wing crosses which needed to be thinner), and number 6. From the spares I used JG53 insignia for the nose, the upper wing crosses (thinned outer white and trimmed black inners). Swastikas come from an ancient Ventura sheet for Marseille's F. The decal on the radiator came from another ancient Revell sheet.

[Steven000]

That's looking very nice Joe! Quite a bit of work done already. Paint looks great :thumb2:

[flyjoe180]

After 24 hours I cleaned up any decal residue, and gave the model a Satin Cote varnish. Weathering time.

10% Ammo Mig Black with 90% thinners, low pressure, to create exhaust stains. I later 'heavied' the staining up a bit.


Panel line washes using Vallejo Acrylic Wash (my varnish was enamel). I used a combination of dark grey and dark brown, the latter used as a sort of filter and mild engine stains. All new to me, experiemental. I like it, I think these products are fantastic. I also used Ammi Mig's modelling pigments to create sandy looking tyres and dirty areas. I used a very tiny amount of chrome silver paint to create scratches in the paint work arounbd the entry side of the cockpit, around the cowls, and leading edges of the surfaces that might have got worn in the sand.

This is curently the look of the model. The aerial rigging is Uschi Super Fine Rigging thread, another superb product.



I feel I've probably rescued this mediocre kit and turned it into a respectable looking model. We'll see in the final reveal later in the completed section...

PS, I have created a base using sand from some outdoor candles, and old wooden round base (not sure where it's from) and a stone from the garden!

[flyjoe180]

That's looking very nice Joe! Quite a bit of work done already. Paint looks great :thumb2:

Thanks Steve :thumb2:

[colin m]

this mediocre kit and turned it into a respectable looking model

Respectable, I think you've done a lot more than that. Splendid work Joe. A base is a nice idea, even a bit of sand can bring a model to life.

[flyjoe180]

Respectable, I think you've done a lot more than that. Splendid work Joe. A base is a nice idea, even a bit of sand can bring a model to life.

Thanks Colin, glad you like it so far. :thumb2:

Final reveal coming up in next day or two when I can get some photos. Have added some more powder to the tyres and the propeller, and navigation lights have been painted. The canopy came out not too bad as you shall all see soon.

Thanks, hope you are all well and keeping safe.

[adt70hk]

Great work Joe. Very nicely done indeed!

ATB.

Andrew

[papa 695]

Cracking work so far Joe

[flyjoe180]

Thanks for looking in and commenting guys.

Completed build thread here https://www.scale-models.co.uk/threa...-2-trop.36745/