Brush painting a 1/48 Bf109E-4 (Helmut Wick)

[Guest]

Nice one as usual Ron keep it coming.

scott

[spanner570]

Pay attention Scott.......Don't do that, it's not nice!

The upper cammo. Dk. Green.

As straight lines are required, this was done with masking tape. Don't buy cheapo tape, the edges are far too rough and I can almost guarantee paint will seep under the stuff. get proper modelling tape.

As before pull it through your fingers first to remove a bit of 'sticky' ( You can get less sticky ready made!) lay it on and stick well down the edge to be painted. Don't bother with the other edge.

When applying the paint don't paint towards and over the tape, but go along the seam and then brush away from it, this lessens the chance of paint creeping under the masking tape. Remove the tape straight away and check your work. If required remove 'Runs' with your damp turps brush....

You will notice I have applied the cammo edge on the fuselage in a slight stipple. This is done to make the final Stipple finish easier to blend in.

The pictures are not quite the actual colours!

Don't worry if it looks a bit rough around the edges...That's the idea, particularily now, thanks to Steve (stona) I've seen pictures Of Major Wick's Bf109!!

That's it for this stage of the cammo.

Next the yellow engine cowl, rudder and spinner.

Thanks for looking in.

Ron

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[stona]

That is looking very good. Bring on the stipple!

Cheers

Steve

[spanner570]

Thanks Steve, that's the bit I'm trying to put off!

I have pushed on and done the yellow bits! Straight forward, free hand painting. The yellow was a bit too yellow, so I added a very small amount of red to tone it down a bit.

Something I should have mentioned at the start of this thread is the fact that the end result will hopefully be a well battered and 'Used' Bf109. So if anyone is expecting a pristine, factory fresh look, I'm afraid you will be disappointed. I have put this in because on these pictures you will notice the paintwork is not smooth and uniform. This is an intentional effect. (Honest!)

I want a chipped and streaked look. That is why I have done a sort of 'Hit and Miss' effect on the Dk. Green to start with, also the stipple will cover most of the Lt. blue on the fuselage sides anyway, so spot on flat painting was not required.

The yellow engine cowl has had only one coat as I am happy with the streaky look this has given. The jury is out as to whether it gets a second coat.

I will let it all dry overnight, check it over, then a coat of 'Klear'

Steve (stona) informed me that the stippling was done after all the markings were applied so I will do the decals first ....Then into the unknown we go with the stippling!!!!!!!!!

Thanks,

Ron

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[stona]

Worn is fine. Look at the cowling from this JG53 aircraft

Original camouflage is showing through as well as the overpainted red band the unit sported (controversially) for a period.

Cheers

Steve

[spanner570]

That is one well worn cowl, Steve!

This is also an interesting photo study for other reasons:

It gives a good example of exhaust staining and also note the demarkation between the RLM65 and 71 forward of the cockpit...I thought I had left it rough!! The more I see your great pictures the more I realise how diverse the paint schemes became after a time in service!

Here's a question: What's that on the tyres? If this is a base in N. France, I would guess at chalk as a lot of the ground there is composed of the stuff. It looks too light to be mud....

Any thoughts?

Ron

[stona]

Look at the sloppy application of the RLM 04 on the spinner! I'm not sure what that would do to the balance.

It's may be chalky mud on the tyres. The red bands were over painted at the end of September 1940 so this must be October/November time. Those "black men" are fairly well wrapped up too.

Honestly I've no idea,maybe they spilt some paint ! That would make some of my efforts more authentic. I don't know a thing about the construction of those tyres but I don't think they would scuff in that way. Maybe someone more familiar with aircraft tyres will enlighten us.

Exhaust staining was not symmetrical. It was affected mainly by the propwash which is assymmetrical (as the propeller rotates in one direction). Also anti glare shields or shields to divert exhaust away from air intakes have an effect. A small detail, but rarely shown on models.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Wow this is one awesome tutorial keep it coming!!!

[Guest]

like it Ron on to the next part matey.

scott

[spanner570]

Thanks for the comments boys....I needed a bit of a pick me up, and your words of encouragement were just the ticket. Thanks again.

O.K., here is the stippling. Being a complete unknown and never having attempted this finish before, it was with some trepidation I put brush to plastic!!

Steve (stona) sent me some great Bf109 stipple pictures and it's surprised me the different interpretations of this type of finish. Give two blokes some paint and ask them to stipple and it's a cert' their efforts will be completely different....So this is my go at it!

Another Rule: Never get hold of a model when you have just had a bacon butty and forget to wash your hands. I got away with it....just!

To achieve the finish I used a well worn 000 size brush and painted it with Vallejo Acrylic Model Colour 888. Which is spot on for RLM71. I spent ages practicing on a bit of plastic using enamel paint but I couldn't get a satisfactory stipple, more like blobs. So I tried the acrylic paint and this gave the finish I wanted. More practice until I was happy enough to start on the model...

I only slightly watered the acrylic because too much and it would blob and also lighten the colour too much.

After dipping the brush I removed excess paint and started stippling......

I started on the rudder to get my eye in and then gently 'Stabbing' went along the fuselage to the engine cowl. Try and keep the same amount of paint on your brush with each loading or you might get too much blotching or not enough on to stipple! I let it dry then applied a second coat to lessen the blue a bit more.

That's it really, except to add that in 'Real life' the stippling would have been done after the National and personal markings were applied. I just didn't fancy working around all those transfers in 1/48...

Sorry Steve, I just couldn't face it, I was twitchy enough as it was!

At the latter stages of the painting I will re-introduce a bit of Lt. Blue around markings to simulate an after stipple...if you follow! lol

When I weather and rough up model, I'm hoping the stipple will tone in a bit more.

Next, the bits and bobs and, as I'm not skilled enough to use masking tape, the small matter of freehand painting the canopy frame.

Thanks for looking in.

Ron

It really is a Dk. Green stipple, the picture is a bit blueish, sorry.

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[Guest]

Great tutorial,i picked up a few good tips there and the finished model looks excellent,thanks cliff.

[Guest]

That's very good and incredibly convincing, must have taken a while and a steady hand.

[Guest]

Ron mate lovely as always dude can't wait to see the finished kit.

scott

[spanner570]

Thanks for taking the time to post fellas. I appreciate it.

The finishing line is in sight now....

I have painted and fixed the canopy frame. There was an option to hinge it but I decided on this occasion to keep it shut.

To paint the frame I used my 000 fine brush and the same Vallejo Dk. Green acrylic as the cammo. I am not good enough to mask the glass with tape, so freehand is my only option. My method is to do the first coat quite thin. This way the paint is allowed to run into the frame/ glass recess moulding. It also makes it easier to do the final coat because the first coat has outlined the frame making it easier to see! It goes without saying that a magnifying glass is a must!

Don't worry if you go over onto the glass a bit, just allow the paint to dry then very carefully remove the excess with a cocktail stick or similar.

It seems pointless showing how I do the detail work such as u/c legs, spinner ect., as I reckon we are all happy with that aspect! Just one point, you will probably notice a slight difference in the yellows of the spinner and engine cowl. I did this on purpose. I reasoned that the cowl would have stains/ streaks and dirty finger marks on it, whereas the spinner would be in pristine

condition. Could be wrong, but that's my interpretation anyway.

When you are happy with the painting of the model give it a coat of 'Klear'. Use a flat headed brush, but be aware the liquid is very runny and easy to overload the brush (Try it out on a flat surface first if you're not sure) so with just a small amount on the brush cover the whole of the model, lay the stuff off just like we did with the paint. Be very careful none has gathered under the wings or fuselage.

In case you you're not sure why 'Klear' is used, it is to give a good, mirror flat surface for the decals to sit on and hopefully avoids any silvering to the surface of the transfers.

When the 'Klear is dry fix the decals, then when these are dry give the model a second coat to seal in the decals...Again, check for runs.

Clean the brush straight away in warm water.

I have included a picture of a bottle of Klear so folks know what to look for...I bought mine in Tesco for £3.50 odd.

That is almost it.

Here is a picture of the model with it's decals and a second coat of Klear. All squeeky clean and looking a bit 'Too nice' lol

For the final stage we will fix the radio cable, also weather and generally muck the 109 up. It could be left as it is paintwise, but that is not the object of this exercise. I am trying to end up with an aircraft much used and abused and as close to the pictures supplied by Steve as I can.

Thanks for following this little exercise, nearly done now....

Cheers,

Ron

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[stona]

That looks tremendous. I can honestly say I don't think I've seen the stipple done as convincingly as that before. A great tutorial,maybe I'll have another go at a similar paint scheme in the future. I'll leave it long enough for everyone to have forgotten this one though!

Looking forward to the finished item now.

Cheers

Steve