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

[Guest]

looking fantastic ron.

[Ian M]

Well I have been sitting quietly in the back ground just watching and reading this Hairy Brush tutorial.

Not a lot to say that has not been said before. The overall work is as usual for you Ron top notch. but that stipple is a true testimony of a dedicated bristle man. The finished result is truly amazing and as you said somewhere along the line; cant be done with an air brush. Well done Ron.

Ian M

[Centurion3RTR]

Now that Ron is bob on, and the stipple is very convincing. Great tutorial too matey, five stars just for the brush work.

Have fun, John

[spanner570]

Thanks fellas for your fantastic comments.

Cheers for the Big 5 John, I'm well chuffed you think it merits it, thanks.

If someone can pick just one bit of advise from this exercise then it makes it all worth while...

Thanks again,

Ron

[Ian M]

What ever, some one said it.

Ian M

[Guest]

I have to agree Ron it's the dogs as always mate 5 stars for the excellent tutorial even i might give it a try and the 109 looks good too.

scott

[spanner570]

Here is the final stage of the painting.

For the weathering I first gave the whole model a very, very well thinned coat of Vallejo Dk. grey matt paint. This dulls the model down nicely and gets the 'used' look off to a good start.

Then I used a soft lead pencil and went over the model where I wanted the panel lines to show also the scuffing and staining. For the staining carefully rub on the pencil marks, then with a damp little finger, smudge the marks in the direction of the airflow.

For the chipping on the prop and where the stones ect. would catch the paintwork, I use a safety pin slightly dipped in aluminium enamel paint and applied to the edges of the prop, the rivets on the cockpit frame and anywhere else that I think the bare metal would show through (Don't overdo this bit, particularily on the prop blades and make sure you put the chips on the right edge of it too!!)

I added a bit of mud to the tyres with some Dk. brown paint, also a bit of matt black for the exhaust smoke staining and the staining around the gun ports.

The radio aerial is thin grey sewing cotton.

When the job was finished I gave the whole model a coat of Vallejo matt varnish. I watered it down a bit (If it's not dull enough just give it another coat)...

That's it, job done!

I hope someone has managed to pick up some useful tips as this exercise has progressed. It's been fun to do particularily the stipple, which I had not even heard of a few weeks ago!

Which brings me nicely to thanking Steve (stona) for his patience and good humour whilst answering my constant stream of questions regarding Major Helmut Wick and his aircraft... Thanks Steve.

Finally, thank you to those who contributed to this thread, it made great reading and kept my enthusiasm going through a bit of a bad patch half way through.

Here are a few pictures of the finished model:-

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[stona]

Great stuff Ron,and good to see the aircraft of such a remarkable young man. JG2 "Richthofen" was also a seminal unit of the early Luftwaffe. In January 1931 the first three Jagdstaffeln were created,subordinate to army command. It took until 1934 ( a year after the nazis were voted in) before Goering announced the formation of the Luftwaffe. As of June 1st that year 1.,2. and 3./JG132 were established forming I/JG132. Three staffeln make one Gruppe. Because of restrictions imposed in the Versailles treaty the unit was disguised as "Reklamesstaffel Mitteldeutschland Des Deutschen Luftsport Verbandes" which is,roughly,"Central German Advertising Squadron Of The German Air Sports Association". Very cunning!

Very quickly.

26/2/35 Luftwaffe becomes a seperate arm of the forces.

1/3/35 Officially now JG 132 the unit is declared combat ready

14/3/35 Named Richthofen

To cut a long story short many famous Luftwaffe units have their origins in this unit. For example in early 1936 the permanent personnel of I and II/JG132 formed a new III Gruppe. This was redesignated as II/JG134 and later became the famous JG 26 "Schlageter".

There was a period of intensive,complicated and sometimes baffling reorganisation of the Luftwaffe before JG2,retaining the name "Richthofen" emerged in January 1938.

Ron has modelled a Bf109E-4 ,Werk Nummer 5344, Which was Wick's personal aircraft as he shot up through the ranks of the Luftwaffe. A google of his name will reveal plenty of information.

He was born in 1915,joined the forces in 1936 and started pilot training in 1938. He was sent to 1./JG133 (later JG 53) where he learnt his trade under the tutelage of the great Werner Moelders. He transferred to JG 2 on 31/8/39. He was a very able pilot and quickly achieved a significant tally of victories. He was promoted Major on 19/10/40. He was the youngest Major and Kommodore in the Luftwaffe. His responsibilities equate roughly to an RAF wing commander,he was 25 years old.

The aircraft,as Ron has done it,sports the "Horrido" pennant of his unit on the cowling as well as his personal Kingfisher emblem. The chevrons indicate that he is the Kommodore. The stippling was applied by the unit in an effort to help camouflage the aircraft on the ground. It is often forgotten that the RAF's bomber command,in their virtually obsolete aircraft,did harass german airfields at this time. Why the stipple when everyone else was spraying some form of mottle or stripes? Who knows. Maybe the unit's compressor or spray gun was broken.

Wick was lost in one of the confused air battles that typified the BoB.On 28/11/40 he led elements of JG 2 on the second mission of the day,taking off at 15.30 hrs bound for the Solent. They were detected and 609 Sqn from Warmwel were launched to intercept. They were followed a little later by 152 Sqn. Wick and his wingman (Oblt.Leie) attacked 609 Sqn. Wick shot down the Spitfire of Plt.Off. Paul Balliol. He bailed out but it seems his parachute malfunctioned. His body washed ashore at Ste Martin De Varonville on 5/1/41. He was a married man,a sollicitor from Northhamptonshire. This was a serious business and we should not forget that these were real people with lives,wives and children who were being lost this way.

Wick lost contact with his wingman during the attack but shortly afterwards Oblt. Pflanz,part of another "Rotte" saw a Bf109 with a Spitfire on its tail and turned to help. He saw the Pilot of the 109 bail out,this was Wick,and opened fire on the Spitfire,killing the pilot. This was Flt.Lt.John Dundas. His last radio transmission was "I've finished a 109...Whoopee". His body was never found. Dundas is usually credited with Wick's demise but he "finished" the 109. It is probable that another pilot Plt.Off. Marrs had also engaged Wick's aircraft.

Wick parachuted into the sea off the Isle of Wight. Despite an intensive search by JG2 themselves no trace of him was ever found. He was initially listed as M.I.A. but was presumed dead on 4/12/40. He too was married and had a son. A daughter who he never saw was born after his loss.

At the time of his death he was credited with 56 aerial victories.

The whole sorry episode is typical of the air war of the time. It was a terrible waste of young and talented men on both sides. Who knows what Wick,Balliol or Dundas may have gone on to achieve had their lives not been so violently cut short.

Look at Ron's lovely model and remember,everyone else seems to forget!

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Brilliant!! Absolutely brilliant! Great guide, thank you.

Steve

[Guest]

Hi Ron, that's one beat up old 109; glad you chose a 1/48 scale as this was a real tester for demonstrating painting skills. Just had a quiet hour and read through the entire posting. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, and if there is any space left on your chest, you can add another 5 Stars from me too - superb tutorial, must have taken many hours of dedication to do it in such detail. Cheers Derek

[spanner570]

Thanks fellas for the great posts on this, it makes for excellent reading....

A special thanks to Steve for taking the time to post the history of Major Wick and his unique Bf109. I appreciate it and it finishes the tutorial off nicely.

Derek, it has been a pleasure to try and help anyone who still uses the brush or for that matter anyone else. As I wrote earlier, if this exercise has helped just one person improve his painting

skills, then I consider the whole thing has been worth while.

Don't forget I learnt something on the way too: The stippling!lol

It would be great to see other 'Brush 'ands' on here having a go at a similar project, then we could all compare notes and exchange ideas and methods for everyone to learn from......

Thanks again to everyone who read or contributed to this.

Ron

[Guest]

Lots of helpful advice in there for me, i really enjoyed reading through that thread.:terrific: By the way, you guys have way too many smilies to choose from!

I have a BF109E in my Airfix airfield set that has the mottled paint effect, i was terrified of attempting it but now after reading through the above i'm just scared...I can't tell you how much i've picked up the last two days from just reading through some of the threads.

I'm also learning loads as i go, which i believe is crucial in developing your own skills, in any form of hobby or job in life, i'm a panel beater and it's a job that takes a long time to perfect, something like ten years to be anything like good at it, i've done twenty seven years and i'm still learning stuff even now, i digress again, sorry...so, yes i'm learning as i go. With the other airfield kit for example i've learned that the fine sctatches in the plastic where i've had to fill and then sand weren't sanded out enough before applying the paint, and the paint could have done with being thinned, and regular car bodyrepair masking tape isn't good enough, and i would be better off priming them before painting next time..and...

You get the idea...of course you've all been here before haven't you?

I suppose the biggest thing i'm going to have to learn is patience if i'm ever going to be able to achieve the same results as you guys. But it's not all about developing your skills to make and paint the kits either, i've also learned that just like with certain cars in my job jobs have to be undertaken in a different way compared to others. For example, in the Battlefront kit there's a Sherman tank and the instructions tell you to fit the three wheel assemblies each side before then assembling the rest of the tank body, but done this way i couldn't then get in to fill the gaps between the floor and two side parts, if i had put the tank body together first i could have filled the gaps and then fitted the wheel assemblies, such is life, i'll know next time.:biggthumpup:

[Guest]

Wicked paint job Ron. Turned out fantastic, keep up the good work mate.

Andy

[Guest]

Just pretty much echoing what others have said, thanks for the tutorial, it's gives us newbies something to think about and is truly awe inspiring.

Cheers!

[spanner570]

Nice to see Major Wick's aircraft popping up again.

Thanks for the comments boys. I'm well chuffed you have found the thread useful, so don't despair brush 'ands, there is life in the old dog yet (Brushing, not me!)

But this tutorial is only a small part of what makes this such a great forum to be a part of. Folks are willing to share their triumphs, and yes, mistakes in order that we can all learn and hopefully improve our skills......

Thanks again,

Ron