A small update of my Escuadrilla Azul 109. Have done the main painting of RLM 74/75/76. In the next days I'll do the mottling with 74 and 75 ....


.... hmm ... guess I have to re-do this one ....

.... that's better ....

This kit has some fitting issues but I hope in the end most of them are not seen.

Torsten

This weekend my 109 made a big step towards the finish line. Have done the mottling with RLM 74/75 and demasked the bird ....


.... the mottling is done with hightly thinned Vallejo paints (ratio 1:4). After demasking I noticed that I have to do some small paint corrections, done in a few minutes ....


.... ta-da! ....


.... the propeller will be glued to the fuselage later, it easily fells off. Only the antenna and the pitot tube are still missing. If I have enough time tomorrow evening I'll give the bird some layers of Bodenglänzer (german equivalent to Future). Hope to have finished everything by next weekend. I'll keep you updated, so stay tuned.

Horrido!
Torsten

Both Gladiators progressing:

Good progress, Pasi!

My build is very close to the finish line! All decals are on. Please note the signs and markings which I have marked with red arrows that make this Bf 109 so different to others. It's german but it's also clearly not german .... In my book about the Blue Squadrons (there were 5 over the years) I have 2 good photos of this "Black 7". Everything should be done by the Easter Weekend ....



Torsten

I love your 109 Torsten!!!!
Excellent work!!!

Thanks Jose! Glad you like my effort!

Well folks, I call this bird clear for action. Finished yesterday evening. Unfortunatly one of the underwing balance weights got lost and was eaten by the carpet monster ....

Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2, 2. Escuadrilla Azul (15./JG 51), Orel/Russia, August 1942







In the next days I will take some better photos and add them to my Assembly Line Thread and of course to the campaign gallery. And now - on to the Eastern Front Campaign with a Hs 129!

Happy modelling and good luck for all your builds!
Torsten

here is my entry for the campaign:

Yak-3 piloted by the free french pilots of normandie niemen squadron

Hi Chris,

I asked for a similar conversion kit, but for the Revell one......
I still waiting.......

Hi mates,
after finishing my model for "Learning to Fly" I'm reporting for duty here!

Here's my entry:



Will be built OOB, only with resin entry flap for the pilot, as it is already much detailed and has quite enough PE-parts.

@Torsten - Deine 109 ist einfach klasse geworden!

...and here some progress with my "Spit"

Danke Peter! Gibt's Ende Mai in Mannheim live zu sehen ....

Somehow managed to get this bird painted during exams, and I don't think either one suffered for it!
Torsten, that's a beautiful build...gut gemacht!!
Peter, looking forward to another Spitfire! And an Eduard kit, should be a fun and detailed model

Primed, preshaded the lines, then laid down RAF green. Sorry no pictures of those. Printed a 1:1 camo pattern and laid it down with putty to give a slight fuzz to the borders.


Preshading lines are kinda visible in this shot. They look much more defined in person.


I like the look of the "desertified" Israeli Spits, which were largely done ad hoc using whatever paint was available. As a result, there's very little uniformity when it comes to early IAF aircraft. Combine that with the general paucity of color pictures, and modelers get significant leeway as a result!
Also, my model will be in the style of 105 Fighter Squadron, famous for its tail stripes and red spinners. I bought a Fündekals decal set which came with a red tail stripe decal, but it didn't fit too well so I instead took some time to mask and paint it myself. Port looks pretty good...


...Starboard needed some fixing


Somehow I ended up splattering white all over the fuselage+wings. Truly no idea how, my open paints were nowhere near the model!


So after some choice words and a few cleanup attempts that only ruined the paintjob further, I decided to take some creative license and practice paint chipping with a torn sponge. Again, the early IAF planes were all about function over form; you can't be too concerned about your vehicle's paintjob when you're being attacked from every border! Now I'm in the balancing act of "too much weathering" vs " too clean."


I also thought the sand color was too yellow, so I dabbled a little brown atop. I'm much happier with this color, and I really love the haphazard and uneven look of the sand now.


Next are the finishing touches: decals, flats, oil washes, and fiddlybits.

@Robby - I definitely like the look of your "Desert-Spit" Great paint job including the weathering!

I made some good progress over the weekend with mine, starting the painting this week...

So far the quality of this kit is excellent for 1/72 scale.

In honor of Yom Hazikaron (Israel's memorial day) which ends tonight, I was able to finish up my model of an Israeli Spitfire, 101 Squadron's White 26. One of its pilots was Mitchell Flint, an American who flew for Israel in the War of Independence. Flint flew this particular machine as part of a demonstration for Israel's first Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day) celebration, adding to his particularly interesting story (check out this site for a quick bio read!)

"Deciding" on heavy weathering (due to the aforementioned splatters...) meant a dark gray pin wash, extensive chipping using a ripped up packing peanut, and heavy oils for exhausts/gun smoke/fuel drips/general grime. Maybe a bit much, but it was fun to practice all these techniques. Oh and apologies for the canopy...I only realized halfway through the photoshoot that I forgot to attach the slide-back hood




Fündekals makes some great decals, but the star tore and a little spot in the middle actually stuck to the plastic bag that it came it. So that must mean the paint got chipped there!



And finally, here's the finished shot...complete with slide-back hood


Someday I hope to add a pilot (Mitchell himself!) And since I have so many IAF decals now, I'm thinking of doing a mini-dio of an early IAF airbase. All in time though...we're moving shortly and school isn't letting up anytime soon. Anyway. Thanks for a great campaign!!

Absolutely cool Spitfire, Robby! Well done, congrats!
The broken star blends in perfectly with your weathering.
I should really think about building an Israeli Spit, too

Nice spitfire

I've make some advance on my "Neu-Neu" YAK-3

Hi All,

Lot's of nice builds going on here! Robbie, nice job on the Spit!

So, for me it's time for an update. I cut the resin from the Medallion Models upgrade set. This is a nice set, including cockpit, wheel wells, and the spinner. Though the wheel wells aren't taking the paint to well.



For those of you that don't know the old Monogram P-40B kit, let me put my two cents out there. When Monogram Molded this kit in 1964, it was one of their first real serious model kits. If you can pick up an original it's well worth it. As is the 1967, and 1968 re-issues. They've been stamping this kit out for 54 years! A great investment in the molds, however, the molds now are pretty well worn, making a great model a lot of work.

The fit of the early molded kits is fabulous, as I'm building this one from 1967, there's no gaps yet!

The way to tell the difference between early moldings and later ones is the color of the plastic. The early one's are more of a dark RAF green, whereas the later ones are done in an olive drab.




As seen above the bottom fuselage half is from 1969 (I think) and that boxing is still very good.

Another thing to look for is the box itself. Monogram with the Mattel logo. Monogram was initially a subsidiary of Mattel.

Here's some boxes, 1970's, 1969, and 1968 (though could be 1964, not sure but close).



So, there it is! A walk down memory lane for some of us, and some interesting info for those that don't want to pay the price for the really nice Airfix kit. Also, it should be pointed out that the P-40B had lapped panels, and the rivets were raised. So, Monogram actually got that right. The instrument panel is for a E and later model though. So it definitely needs a decent cockpit. I got the Medallion Models for 15 USD, and True details has the correct cockpit for around 10 USD. Finding the kit takes some time, eBay (usually expensive ~20 USD). The best bet to find this older molding is at swap and model shows, and can be had for around 5 USD. I got mine for 6 USD.

Anyway, food for thought, I'll be plugging away on this while my Maggie is drying!

Have fun,

John

Paintjob going on, glossy coat applied for the decals later. Still need to do the black and white stripes on the fuselage underside and of course some fixing of paint creeping under the masking tape
But so far, so good. It's a recommendable kit, though.

Better hurry up and get started. Here's my effort, Pavla 1/72 Curtiss Hawk 81A:


Gonna be a challenge, resin details and vac canopy...

Here is my entry for the campaign, Flashback 1/48 Defiant night fighter, belonged to 307th Polish Squadron based at Colerne, october 1941.

Well, another Spitfire completed and waiting for the final matt finish.
Next one with bubbletop canopy is already on the bench...

Hi all, I've not done a GB on Aeroscale for awhile so I thought I'd share my Spitfire Mk XII

This is an RAF 41 Squadron aircraft, one of only two squadrons that flew the Mk XII but flown by an Australian, Flt Lt Donald Smith RAAF, something that happened quite a but in WW2.

The Mk XII was used mainly at lower altitudes to counter the FW190 and V1 flying bombs.

Very well done, Scott