The Revell 1/32 Bf 110G-4 has hit the paint booth. 1974 is the magic number on the instructions - white plastic and a 70's fit . I decided on wheels up as room is at a premium (isn't it always) and it can hang from the ceiling of my study. Plenty of putty has been used and a close inspection shows a number of places where I could have done some extra sanding. BUT this is not going in any competition and will at its closest be a "2-3 footer".

Anyway my camera is working again so I took a couple of photos to show what I have been up to. Today I decided to paint the grauviolet hard edge topside colour - but after that was done the airbrush was flowing very smoothly and I decided to try the squiggle camo. First attempt at this sort of thing and I am pleased with the result. I don't have a screw to control the paint flow on my double action airbrush - so that explains why some of the lines are darker or wider than others. I might try a mist of the light blue to try and blend things together and hopefully that will narrow the tone range on the squiggles.

Still have the radar array to go -and that is going to be a b@@ch - I have already spent more than an hour playing around with the pieces trying to get them to fit where they should without having an obvious bend in the array supports.

The decals are of course 35 years old so I don't know how they will go. If they fail then I will use them as stencils.

Comments welcome.







Brian

Brian,

Great looking paint job on your 110, I will be very interested in seeing how yours comes out.
I have the same kit sitting in the stash. Please let me know if the decals actually do work out for you.
Ted

I agree with Ted. It is a very nice paint job, Brian.

Looking forward to see it with some decals on.

Finished g9+gv.

Masked the canopy with bmf. Man that takes the pain out on masking. Still managed to miss a bit of framing
but nothing is ever perfect esp with me. bit of grey powder into the panel lines.
Guns pitot, balances and gear glued in with pva just. And a coat of vallejo matt clear.

Great kit and a nice research exercise. Thanks to Robert for running the campaign.

Pic clickable for larger sizes

@ John: nice Pe 3, I am still not familiar with this aircraft, more research on my part.

@ Brian: impressive paint job on your Bf 110 G-4.

@ JP: g9+gv looks real to me, I have always had a difficult time weathering black. I will use your pics to guide me with my Spit. And you beat me to the finish line.

Robert

JP: The 109 turned out really nice. A very unusual version of a great aircraft.

Taylor

Very nice models, guys!!!

John, if possible maybe take a few pix outside like JP did ...

Brian: very nice camo! not sure about the squiggle scheme, but it sure looks cool!

JP: great job! no further comment necessary

all the best

Steffen

From you Steffen I take no comment that as the biggest compliment possible.
Although the aerial is not correct and I missed some framing. It is curre

Thanks Taylor and Robert also. Glad you enjoyed it.

@John Steffen is right photography is so much easier outside if you can
manage it esp if you dont have a tripod. It'll reduce shake no end with all
that extra light. Even in natural light from a window is better.
Gotta love those flying tanks. I've got an Il-2 I'm itching to start.

Hi All.

Spose I better think about getting started.. :-)

I just took my ancient 1/32 Beaufighter out of cupboard number 4 and did a trial fit as I know how bad some old Revell kits can be (Mosquito comes to mind!)

Well blow me down if the fit is great! Everything seems to line uop fine. Only problem is that the original owner decided to tape it together to get an idea of the size etc. He used masking and packing tape and there it has stayed for millenia. Needless to say the adhesive has been left behind on the plastic. Metho and WD40 haven't got it all of, but I have the secret weapon of Eucalyptus oil I have to try yet.

Will keep you all informed on the progress.

try isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol.

Thanks for that Vance.

I used the eucalyptus oil and it worked fine, but then when Ii tried to remove the oil it wasn't.. fine.. it seemed to leave a residue.. I think it was the adhesive.. anyway, I washed them in dishwashing detergent and they came up great!

Great news Warren, I need help with an old Monogram P-38. It is so beyond warped that it may end up in the parts box. Vance, or does any one have any words on how to make the wings lay flat or the fuselage or even the cockpit. The wings go in different directions on either the leading or trailing edges.

If it is THAT far gone I would try this method...

Tape the items to a sturdy, flat piece of wood so they lay flat in the way you want them to lay. Then you need to heat them, hot water or a hair dryer or steam, and when they have cooled take them off the board and see if that worked.

I am about to try the same thing with a Revell 1/32 Mosquito that sounds like it is the same as yours.. warped...

I am off to try it now!! :-)

OK. Here are some progress pics of my Beaufighter. 2 hours work so far. This is another OOB build for me. The sprues are dated 1974 so a lack of detail is to be expected. But most of it is where you will never see anyway..


Here is the cockpit in all its low detail glory.


All I can say is thank goodness for CA glue and accelerator. Even though the fuselage halves went together great with nothing in them, it was a slightly different story with the two offices and tailwheel in place.


Last but not least the first step was to build the two mighty radial engines. As I said OOB so all they get is a nice wash over the metallic grey. I am also using the Revell colour callouts where possible, but Gunze and Tamiya equivelents.

I thought at one stage that the two plates that go in the nacelles to hold the undercarriage were missing and I would have to build her wheels-up. But stoopid me was mistaking them for the floors of the two cockpits.. D'OH!

Anyway, more progress pics tomorrow.. Hopefully!

What Warren said is about right. You need to heat the plastic up and make it reset in non-warped mode as it cools.

Doing it by hand is possible if you have heat resistant fingers, but securing it to a flat surface and then immersing in hot water is safer.

Using tape may lead to lots of gummy residue though (ala Warren's problem). Perhaps you can pin down the parts or at least run string between pins to hold it flat.

either way, it needs to stay in the desired position until it cools, which you can speed up by running it under cool tap water.

Thanks for the tip Warren and Vance, I will have to try it and will let you know what happens to the P-38 (continue build or firecrackers)


Robert

Progress report...

All was going well until I got to the outer wing panels... The airfoil shape seemed to bear no resemblance at all to the inner wings.. They on as well as I could get them and now it is time to build them up with plastic card.

Hopefully there are no more little surprises in store...

Warren keep up the good fight and maintain your sanity. Looking forward to your build.


Robert

Hi All.

Here are some more progress shots of my Beaufighter.


Here it is after the undercarriage was installed


The canopies are on and it is sitting on its wheel-less undercarriage. You can see how it dwarfs the bottle of Gunze paint next to it.


The engines are on, and the scoops on the top of the nacelles. The props are only sitting loose.

More news soon!

Excellent builds!. I have the Bf109 6-G.- Defense of the Reich (Airfix 1/72), it is suitable for this campaign?. Sorry, I am a beginner in aicrafts and I will go for my second bird, (my specialization is armors), please let me know, thanks in advance

Regards,
Rodolfo

Hi guys, wanted to know when the campaign for nightfighters ended? I have a 1/72 scale DML Heinkel 219 Uhu (Owl) which I want to enter I am working on it now. Thanks, Russell.

I looked under campaigns which I should of done first before asking, it says this campaign will end at the end of September of this year. That should give me plenty of time to finish my owl. Whoo hoo. Thanks, Russell.

Hello: Russell

Glad to have you there is still time. The end of the campaign is 9/30/09, go here and sign up http://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Campaigns&file=index&req=showcontent&id=290

Welcome Rodolfo:
Go here to sign up and read the rules. http://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Campaigns&file=index&req=showcontent&id=290
Robert

Warren what mask are you using on the canopies?