Hi all,

First I want to appologize: I know we have a swap and sell section on kitmaker but as I never went there I suppose i get the broader "audience" here.

I am looking for decals of Wolfgang Redlich's Bf 109E-7 trop white 1 of JG 27. I know it is in the above mentioned Kagero booklet "Jagdwaffe over Africa" but maybe it is in another decal set too? Any idea?

I tried to get that booklet, but it costs an arm and a leg and I am not willing to spend 100+ Euro for one decal I need. So if someone is willing to part with the decals for this camo scheme shoot me a PM or post here. If you know another decal set that includes these let me know.

Thanks!

all the best

Steffen

O.k. as I could not find the proper decals I browsed again through my books and found a beautiful E-7 trop from I./JG 27. Again no decals (except an old Cutting Edge set)



But almost everything I need is/was in the box and "our own" Mal "Miracle Mask" Mayfield was kind enough to cut me a set of masks for the numbers (which have an unusual fat style). The set is in the post but I proceeded with the build as far as I could.



It is Eduards Bf 109E-7 trop kit (1/48, of course). Their Trop filter ist much too long (several mm). Only noticed it when I had attached it, so I had to break it off and cut it twice with a motortool (PE + plastic for symmetry).



Will be a model of the plane of Günther Steinhausen, RK holder with 40 victories over Africa.

all the best

Steffen

That camo scheme is nicely done Steffen, it is not an easy scheme to do well and you have nailed it, the painted white 10 will be the icing on the cake
I have a Trumpeter Bf109 E-4 Trop that will have a similar scheme, probably black 8

Hi Steffen

Nice work on the camouflage and really good clean fix on the filter - I'd have been none the wiser if you hadn't pointed out that you'd had to chop it off.

All the best

Rowan

Thanks Mal and Rowan!

Mal: the masks came today, many thanks again! .. still half a day of work ahead of me and on the weekend I'll visit two shows so it may take a while before the next pix .. plus I still hope the Bf 109G sprues will arrive somewhere next week which will mean an immediate start on that kit. I am still undecided which of the numbers to take. I'll probably have to check them on the model...

Rowan, well it just looked wrong and I had to do something. It is probably not perfect but i like it better this way

as for the camo: I used Jens Popp (JPS) RLM 79 and Tamiya olive green to represent a scheme that was applied at the Frontschleuse somewhere in Italy with the RLM 79 being more reddish. The blotches were done freehand in which I am very bad. But I used Eduards Franzisket machine as a guide for the wings and a profile of Steinhausens machine (that matches the photo I know well) for the lhs the rhs is a guesstimate.

all the best

Steffen

o.k. som more progress.

I just had to try the masks.

This is the first try, but I slightly damaged the insert in the 0. As Mal kindly provided 4 numbers I gave it a 2nd try which worked out very well (@ Mal the 11.5mm numbers look better!)



So here is the 2nd try sorrounded with some more masking tape. I sprayed the lhs a littly too wet so I got minimal leakage which was easy to cope with. Washes and topcoates will do the rest.






all the best

Steffen

Hi Steffen,
So you didn't read the instructions about how to apply paint! White is an issue with many, if not most modellers and they tend to apply too much to get the opacity when actually it will cover well if applied in light misted coats, even over black. If you do feel the need to apply a wet coat use a misted on coat first, this acts to stop the paint running; believe me , I'm a doctor You are also correct that washes etc will hide any runs, which occur, as they will be in the panel lines, but it does mean that the paint was too wet.
Anyway I'm glad that the masks worked for you

Cheers Mal,

well, I am particularily good in ignoring instructions, but in this case it was just a good bit of heavy handiness. I started with a slow buildup of layers (several already on), but when the paint started to build up on the nozzle I tried to compensate with a "little" bit more pressure on the trigger...

all the best

Steffen

Steffen,
A rock solid build to date. Your camo paint scheme looks really good. I've done a few similar type of schemes where it's real easy to get a wet spot that runs, or some spidering. Yours is consistent throughout.

As Rowan said, nice modification to the air filter.

Looking forward to seeing how your stencils come out once the masks are removed.

Joel

Looks real good Steffen,I finished that kit earlier this year,a real nice build that I thoroughly enjoyed.Looking forward to see yours done.

Many Thanks Anthony and Joel! It is much appreciated!

Visiting two modelshows on the weekend did not allow me to proceed with the build, but I can show you the model without the masks. As I write, i have some minimal runs that will be covered with the wash.





all the best

Steffen

This is something Jean-Luc likes a lot .... he is working hours and hours to get each panel cloured the way he wants ... I throw on the dirt and wipe away some of it



cheers

Steffen

Steffen,
It's looking good.

RE the instructions remember us men don't need no **** instructions.

regards


Chris

Hi Steffen

What are you using for the dirty wash?

All the best

Rowan

Cheers Rowan,

well in this case it is a mixture of oils (a warm grey and a very dark greenish grey) with white spirit. In other cases I use just water color umbra and black mixed on the model to avoid uniform panel lines.

Washes with white spirit (almost) always do damage to my models. Mostly breaking u/c legs at the base, this time it ate through a flap joint. But I use them anyway...

all the best

Steffen

Hi Steffen

That sounds like you're using too much white spirit and leaving it there too long. You only need a dampened cotton-bud, so it should never have a chance to eat styrene.

All the best

Rowan

Cheers Mate,

I know it is totally my fault. That's why I left off the legs this time. I just glued them to the model. No pic as I want to let them dry overnight.

Chris, thanks for the comment, missed it when I looked yesterday! Of course we don't NEED no instructions .. still they come in handy sometimes

all the best

Steffen

Meanwhile back at the ranch:

I had some Master barrels lying around and thought it might be a good idea to try UvdR blackening agent for Brass on them...



all the best

Steffen

Hi Steffen

I'll be very interested to see the results, because painting items like that always seems to risk obscuring the very detail one's forked out for.

All the best

Rowan

Steffen,I like to use Flory Washes,they are non toxic,easy to use,and safe for models.They go a long way also

http://www.florymodels.co.uk/washes/

Thanks Anthony! I will have a look at the videos.

I like oils and water colors because I can mix shades on the model to avoid things looking to uniform,

There is little progress on this model as I focus on the new G-6 still there is some progress, which I will photograph tomorrow. Besides I've got a flu starting...

all the best

Steffen

As promised the picture.

I have added some maintenance stencils, but I kept it to a minimum as the plane (in "my book") was repainted at the Frontschleuse in Italy.



Rowan, the stuff worked but I am not sure if i should use these or stick with the plastic, which is not bad in Eduards kit.

all the best

Steffen

Cheers Steffen

I'm keen to find the "ultimate" answer for blackening brass parts.

(Has your Emil fallen foul of an aspect-ratio problem? - it suddenly looks fat and stubby compared with earlier photos.)

All the best

Rowan

Hi Rowan,

well, this stuff from UvdR works as it is designed for brass barrels.



I am just notsure if I should waste it for a kit with good barrels or keep it for a Hasegawa E.

As for short and stubby: have you put your G-goggles on?

cheers

Steffen

Hi Steffen

Just the latest photo - it looks stumpy somehow compared with the earlier ones.

All the best

Rowan