Hi,

Just put the finishing touches on this, this afternoon. Aircraft depicts "Black Eight", the mount of Uffz. Willi Maximowitz, 11/IV./JG3. The 74/75/76 daylight scheme is Gunze-Sangyo. I replaced the inboard cannon with small-diameter brass tubing, and drilled out the outboard barrels. A thin bit of solder makes up the ventral static wick, and the antennae wire is stretched sprue (Thanks Barry!). Kit instrument decals were punched out individually and applied.
I used the kit-provided "Up-Armored" fuselage panels as templates to cut, scribe, and rivet a pair from styrene. The stock ones are a bit light on the RLM 75, and I wasn't confident they'd stick for long (self-adhesive).I'm waiting for a parcel of resin seat harnesses to arrive via post, then I'll toss those in too.Tamiya even providesmasks for the canopie(s)and windscreen, on Tamiya Tape-like material. Not die cut, but very sweet all the same...saved a lot of time with a great end result!

Hi James!

Great model!

I like the way it came out and the subtle weathering. I would make only one critique though... I think the background picture is not appropriate for that kind of late war German plane. I would use a more "winterish" one, with a cold atmosphere and heavy clouds. It would be more dramatical. The one you used is to buccolic in my opinion...

Jean-Luc

Yeah, I know.....the grass is always greener (pun intended!). I was going to use the winter bakground I did for the Freidrich I finished a few weeks back, but didn't want to mess with the powdered suger again.....! Thanks for the compliments on the model, everyone should order 2 or 3 (I don't work for Tamiya, honest!)

Cheers,

JK

Hi James

Nice model!! As Jean-Luc I like the weathering, but I do not think it must fit in a winter dio. The famous pics of Maximowitz' Sturmbock were from the missions against the invasion troops (June 1944) so the green is ok ...

one small nitpic though ... the side armour was 5mm steel plating but yours look more like 50 mm .... would be safer for the pilot, but almost inflyable

I will try the eduard etched armour plates, hope they are thin enough or I try the vinyl .... but will it stay on

cheers

Steffen

Thanks Steffan,

I appreciate it! Actually, it would work out to around 24 mm!! (I was hoping noone would notice!)

Where in Germany do you live? I spent 4 months in Wurzburg from OCT last year to FEB this year....absolutely wunderbar!

JK

Hello James

I live in Schwerin about 600 km north of Würzburg.

This is one of Schwerins landmarks: "Schweriner Schloss". Picture is of Geoff Nutkins ( Combat over Lake Schwerin )



I was once in Würzburg ... a really beautiful town ... how might it have looked before the severe bombing in WW2

regarding the armor: 50mm was just approximation :-) had a look at the Maximowitz photos and the armor is barely visible from some angles but modelling is a kind of art and some exaggeration is necassary or at least tolerable...

cheers

Steffen