Hmm,,not quite a phoney war,,but I have been "thinking" about my 109,,even if I havent seen it for a couple of weeks.
I will try and get some futureover the decals before I get to Telford but then Im away for another week,,,gawd blimey Im a busy lampie!
Fear not Jean Luc,,i'll get it finished in time to blast you from the skies in a true blitzkrieg!!
Nige

Jean Luc, that is looking really slick! We don't see many Azur kits here in Western New York and I think they have an unfair rep as "bad" kits simply because of the unfamiliarity and the extra elbow grease required.

I can't wait to see these builds upon completion, guys. Both are coming along very well.

naughty jean-luc!
how on earth did you do the two other colours over the grey with nice feathered edges, yet you kept your pre-shading looking so sharp? i've only managed this once by painting one colour at a time -

and fear not! i ordered my hawk today, i'll pick it up at telford and should be starting it next week!

Hi guys!

Jan and Justen, the Potez 631 is a nice looking aircraft, unfortunately for the French pilots it wasn't really a combat airplane!
As for the quality of the Azur kit, I must say this one is pretty good... for short run. Justen, you probably know that most of the Czech multimedia kits (except from Eduard) are made by MPM. Azur is a teamwork between a French magazine and them. So it's pretty much the same quality as Special Hobby and Classic Airframes for example. 10 years ago their kits were real dogs (but still buildable with lots of efforts) but know they are really not that bad.




Phil, if I would be Hercule Poirot, I would say: "it's talent mon ami!"
But since I'm only me, I must confess that I managed to do that mainly thanks to my new compressor. Now I have a regular air flow and the airbrush don't spits water after 10mn of use. I can also work with lower pressure and thinner paint. These are things I wasn't able to do before. In fact I sprayed the Green and the brown colors and post-shaded them until I managed to have an even result on the camouflage.




Nigel, I didn't wanted to do it because I wanted you to have a small chance against Phil's Hawk and my Potez, but I installed the underwing gondolas for the additional four machine guns on my plane. This makes 7 guns in total (with the rear gunner)... you have no chances to escape us! :-)

Jean-Luc

ok here i am, ready to start. since i picked up my kit at telford nigel has seen what he's in for, but the next time i'll be screaming uot of the sun on his six o'clock and he won't know what hit him! this is a nice looking kit with p/e, resin and a vacform canopy. hopefully i can get this done for the deadline

Hi guys.
I knew I had nothing to fear!
By the time my 109 is in the skies over Northern France, Phil will still be searching the carpet for tiny bits of PE and Jean Luc will be bleary eyed with young Vincent keeping him awake all night
Slow progress as work and Telford have got in the way recently. Nothing worth posting pics of yet but the airframe is now kleared and ready for washes and the undercarriage and prop are slowly going together.
Watch the skies boys!
Nige

Hi guys.
Made the most of a day off today,,(totally wasted the one yesterday :-))
The prop and undercarriage are painted and ready to fit,and Ive managed to get the washes done on the underside.
Not much to go now but time is against me.Im off working tonight for another week and then Ive only got a couple of days free to get it done before my next tour starts.
Wish me luck


Sorry for the rubbish photos,,just had time to snap them before I have to get ready to go away!
Nige

Hi Nigel!

Don't be so sure!




I made some progess and I hope to get the Potez finished this week-end... if Vincent lets me some building time of course!

By the way Nigel, your Bf 109 looks good. To bad I have to shoot it down soon!

Phil, I'm looking forward to see some progress on your Hawk!

Jean-Luc

Thanks Jean Luc.
Im quite pleased with how the 109 is turning out.
finally I think Im starting to get the hang of washing the panel lines
Nige

nigel, you know i'm the king of the insane, fiddly, teensy modellers
i'm getting stuck into this kit with a vengence and there should be a finished interior by the weekend (famous last words!)

Hi all!

I made some progress on my Duel Potez...









I brush painted the panel lines, sprayed a satin coat on the model (Klir + Tamiya Flat Base), glued the engines and cowlings in place, as well as the undercarriage and the rudders. One thing to note about the (rather complex) undercarriage, is that you must not glue it on the kit's locators but slightly behind them. Otherwise the landing gear will have an odd angle.

Nigel and Phil, I hope to get finished this week-end... if Vincent allows it to me!

Jean-Luc

I'm impressed Jean-Luc. Your pre and post shading is exceptional, please, please write a feature on your technique.
Vincent, go to sleep please, so your Dad can finish this :-).
Andy

Hi Andy!

Thanks for your kind words. I only used common pre and post-shading techniques and I don't know if another feature is really necessary. I think the most important is to have a good compressor, a good airbrush and good paint.

Anyway, my Potez 631 is finished!







Now all I have to do is relax and wait for some Bf 109 to show up!

Jean-Luc

thats looking very smart, and its little buddy has a cockpit installed, but my camera has stopped working, and i can't figure out how to download pics from my other halfs camera phone! don't you just love technology! i'm now in two minds about closing up the fusalage, cos it has a really busy looking resin and etch set in there, including the back ends of the nose machine guns,etched/acetate dashboard and radio set that, although i will have the vac form canopy opened up to show all this, will still be hard to see.
decisions, decisions.........

Lovely job Jean-Luc!
Im sure many of us havent tried post shading and a small feature would be nice if you could manage it,,also Id like to hear more about the tinted Future/Klear techniques you use.
Just got back from a job and Ive got a couple of days off now.I MUST get the 109 finished in this time as I start work again on the 4th December and wont be home until the 2nd week of January,,so watch out for the finished pics very soon..
Right,,,,,,,,,,off to the bench to start washing the topside and to attack the canopy masking that I cant put off any longer
Nige

Almost there guys,,so look out!
All the panel line washes are done and Ive blended the decals in today.Im now in the middle of the labourious canopy masking and painting. Its doing my head in,,I tried parafilm and its not working for me,so Im slowly,,one line at a time,,masking,,painting and matt varnishing the canopy frames
Sometimes I wish I built 1:48,,this canopy is SO SMALL!
Pretty much finished though.Just the canopy to complete and attach,then its matt varnish,radio ariels and a bit of weathering.
Hopefully there will be a bit of sunshine later in the week and I can take some nice finished photos,,but Im not holding my breath just yet.
At least my 109 is finally sitting on its wheels and approaching take off!
Heres how the rooster stands right now.

Nige

Aaahh! That's a much better target!

At least you made some progress and I have something to shoot at! :-)
The model looks good except for two things;
- I think the reason why the circular logo is to big is because the gun openings on the cowlings are too much spread out on the academy kit! They should be nearer each other. This would have resulted in more space for your decal.



- I don't know if it's the angle of the picture but the tyres looks as if they are positionned vertically. They should have the same angle as the landing gear.



I'm looking forward to see you Bf 109 finished!

Jean-Luc

P.S. Did you found a house Nigel?

Hi Jean Luc!
That certainly explains why the decal didnt fit!,,,the gun cowlings are way to far apart!
Looks like I goofed with the angle of the wheels,,but on a closer inspection there doesnt seem to be anything I can do about it on this particular kit so Im just going to have to live with it I guess.
Yes I found a house and the sale is going through slowly.Hopefully I will be able to move in when my tour finishes the 2nd week of January next year. I will be working right through Christmas and New Year,,still,,,it will save me having to go to parties etc
When the 109 is finished I will be packing all my modelling gear away and wont see it again until I move house.
Yes,,there will be a dedicated modelling room!!! No more kitchen table for me
Ive already bought myself a nice magnifier/light and a dremel tool which are sitting waiting for me to unpack when I get the new place sorted out.
All I have to decide now is which kit to build first when I move in :-) :-)
Nige

Hi again Nigel!

I think this depends on the amount of work you must put in the house... but I think you won't build a kit until next summer! :-)

Good luck with the new house! And don't forget to post picture of your 1:1 scale house diorama project!!!| |)

Jean-Luc

Hi Jean-Luc

i disagree the wheels do not have the same angle as the u/c legs (they are not vertical eiter -- on the original)

If there is anything on Nige's model u/c I tend to believe it is the angle of the u/c legs which could be a tad more .. but I would not change it as it weakens the legs

The guns are very much off ... how could Academy manage to get it that wrong?

just my 2 ct

best wishes

Steffen

Damn!

I was caught by the Luftwaffe Polizei! :-)

Jean-Luc

I think we both were Jean Luc :-)
How about we settle on something in between
Like this.....


Whatever the angle of the undercarriage is,,,Academy sure did boob with the placing of the guns on the top cowling :-)

Nige

((((((((ducks and covers )))))))

ok guys i still am camera-less at the minute, i tried to put a pic from a mobile phone of my hawk into my computer, but according to the computer the phone does'nt exist! so heres a verbal report- i got the two fusalage halves together without too much trouble, but the resin engine was a struggle to get into the separate cowling, i had to dremel away the inside gradually until it fitted in, the same went for the cowl ring. i'm now getting the wings trimmed so they fit in place. hopefully i'll get my hands on a camera soon, cos its easier to take a couple of pics than to write all this

Hi Phil!

You can still do some drawings if you want... :-)

Jean-Luc

Amost finished!
I should have this done by the weekend as Im busy the next couple of days.
The canopy is just resting loose as I havent finished painting the frames yet.

Nige