Hi there,

That's the cockpit just about finished. I have added washes and finished with a matt coat. I tried to keep the weathering subtle. I used dark, brown and neutral washes from mig productions.

I decided to add the mysterious bomb/dimmer panel. I think it looks good even if not strictly accurate. I also added the levers with the yellow handles after seeing them in the picture Eetu so kindly posted.

Anyway, I hope you like it.

Cheers,

Jim.

Your cockpit looks really good Jim- the washes are subtle and realistic- something I've not achieved yet.

Hi there,

Many thanks Ben. I am glad you like the weathering. I find the mig productions washes to be very easy to work with. They are enamel based so dry a lot faster than oil washes but can still be manipulated in the same way.

Time to close up the fuselage halves and continue the build. I have found some quite bad sink marks on the wings, mirroring where the flap locating lugs are. Unusual for a tamiya kit I think. Nothing some mr surfacer 500 and careful sanding wont fix though.

Onwards and upwards!

Cheers,

Jim.

Very nice work there,very nice indeed.
Steve

Hi Jim

very nice indeed! But why did you paint the cockpit floor 66?

all the best

Steffen

Hello again,

Thanks for the comments Steven and Steffen, much appreciated.

I decided to paint the floor in RLM 66 after reading the very helpful earlier post from Steven stating that some downed 109 E's had dark floor panels. The Tamiya instructions also say to paint the floor this colour(actually XF-63). I think it adds a nice contrast to the interior.

Cheers,

Jim.

Why not Steffen? We know several Es downed over England had dark floors, maybe even black. I reckon it looks good in Jim's cockpit, it gives a nice contrast. I did one with an 02 floor but the area behind the seat and cockpit sills in 66 for a bit of variation. Both can be justified.
Cheers
Steve
Edit :Oops ,we must have made an almost simultaneous post!

Hello

Well, I have never heard of dark painted floor (which does not mean anything of course) . Do you have any proof(source) of your statement, Steven? I heave read of dark (66?) repainted upper cockpit areas but not the floor ..

all the best

Steffen

Hi again Steffen, I can only refer you back to Dave's quote.
I'm going to have a rummage to see if I've got any pictures myself!
It has to be said pictures of cockpit floors would not be high on my agenda lol.
Cheers
Steve

Hi there,

Well, the seams are filled, the primer is on and the preshading is done. I will be painting the RLM 65 first. Sorry it has been a while since last post but that pesky thing called life keeps getting in the way!

I will post pictures once the colours are on. Still haven't decided whether to use vallejo or lifecolor for the RLM 65. Toss a coin time I think.

Cheers and happy modelling,

Jim.

Hi again,

Here is a quick test shoot I did to decide on which RLM 65.

Top is vallejo 71015-RLM 71

Middle left is lifecolor UA061-RLM 65

Middle right is vallejo 71008-RLM 65

Bottom is vallejo 71044-RLM 02 with vallejo 71025-RLM 71 again below it.

I think it will be the lifecolor as it will be better suited for the weathering to follow. Plus I just think it looks better!

Anyway, I thought you all might like to see the comparison. Any thoughts, opinions are more than welcome.

Cheers, Jim

They all look pretty good on my laptop monitor! Maybe the Vallejo 71 looks a bit dark but that's nit picking.
Steve

Hello again,

Hi Steven, I agree about the vallejo but went with it anyway, I think it came out allright.

The three main colours are on now. There has been some marking from over zelous burnishing of the masking tape and some stains from the humbrol maskol. The weathering stages will hopefully take care of most of these minor problems.

Gloss coat next then the decals, which I'm really looking forward to. Then the fun really begins!

Cheers, Jim.

Nice Job!!!!!
Steve

Great job on the masking, Jim. I plan to spray my next camouflage in a similar way- masking for both colours so that the pre-shading is still there for the second colour.

Looking forward to seeing it with the transfers on!

Hi there,

Thanks very much Steve and Ben. The extra effort with the masking pays off in the end I think.

Well, that's all the decals on. Including the tiny little numbers on the fuselage sections which were a real pain to do. I used future before the decals and will be applying another coat once they are all nice and dry. I used micro set and sol to help them sit down nicely. These are the kit decals and were fairly nice to use. Next up will be the panel line washes.

I hope you like it so far.

Cheers, Jim.

Man, thats looking really nice

Hi there,

Thanks a lot Patrick, much appreciated. The wash is on. I used mig productions dark wash. Maybe a bit too dark for some tastes but I like it. Just the prop to paint then a coat of vallejo matt varnish on just about everything and it's done!

Cheers, Jim.

The wash- and the rest of the thing- look great to me, Jim! Really skilly work, all the way. She's looking crisp!

Cheers-
chuk

Hi Jim,

That's an excellent paint job indeed!

Jean-Luc

Brilliant job Jim !!

I've got a 1/32 Hasegawa G10 to do next year for a campaign, and it will be my first 109 ever !!
I will be looking back over this thread quite a lot no doubt.

Cheers, D

How not to like Messerschmitts if you can build such a great looking model?

Outstanding!

Hello again everyone,

Many many thanks Chuck, Jean-Luc, Damian and Michal. Your kind words are a great motivation and really are appreciated. Damian, good luck with the G10 in the campaign.

Well, I think it is just about finished. Maybe some light exhaust staining but other than that I think I will leave it alone now. I have really enjoyed this build. My Spitfire mk1 now has a suitable counterpart on the shelf!

I hope you like it.

Cheers and happy modelling,

Jim.

WOW!
Jim, the 109 makes the Spitfire look dull and boreing sitting side by side.
Nothing against Spitfires, or your Spitfire, but the 109 is beautiful. You've done an outstanding job on the build and painting. That's one to be proud of for sure.


Hermon

Jim

That's a fantastic build and paint job! I only hope I can finish my 109 to a similar standard...just cementing on the wings now, so I'm quite a way behind you. Congrats again, it looks awesome.

cheers Brad