mywifehatesmodels

Here's my very first completed "LSM", for your approval (or you may tell me to "get my coat" LOL). The WIP thread can be found in the Luftwaffe In Progress sub-forum, here: http://forum.largescalemodeller.com/topic/4102-bf-110d-of-iinjg3-132-dragon/ I'll spare the prolonged history of the Bf 110 and even all the details of this particular aircraft, other than to say that it was a regular day fighter, which was put into service as a nightfighter, when the "Nachtjagd" was still in it's infancy, in 1941. Other than some black paint, it had none of the apparently obvious night flying equipment that would be found on many 110s, later on. The kit was Dragon's 110C-7 kit, because that was what I had in the stash. However, I was able to trade some parts with a fellow who had the D kit, once I figured out that this particular aircraft (of which there is only one known photo) was a D. In addition to the kit, here's a list of some of the other things I added/changed: *Eduard "Zoom" set for the cockpit *HGW seatbelts *Quickboost exhaust pipes *Eagle Cals decals (only used some of the stencils) *The "Nachtjager" squadron shields were kindly donated by another fellow modeller and, aside from the few maintenance stencils, were the only decals used. All other markings were painted *Montex Masks (used for most of the primary markings, as well as the inside and outside canopy masks) and a few of my own masks to cover what was not included, or wouldn't work, from the Montex set. *Aber machined brass barrel set for the Bf 110 *Added the pneumatic lines to the belly MG/FF cannon tray from wire *Various wiring/plumbing in the pilot's area of the cockpit *Details from the Zoom set and some wire on the Revi reflector sight *Grab handles and release lever added to the canopy from wire/plastic scrap *Cut the leading edge slats from the wing (not separate in the kit) and modified them to the deployed position *Removed canvas shroud form the rear gun and made a new shroud frame from scratch with wire/plastic *Made the release cable along the fuselage for the life raft from fishing line and the eyelets that it runs through from wire *Brake lines added from wire *Antenna from E-Z Line *Modified the prop blades slightly and added aluminum tubing to the center of the prop hub The kit is great, but the instructions are beyond horrible. Thankfully, there were a few guys around who had built this kit before me and, not only had they outlined a lot of these shortcomings in their own build threads, long before I started mine, but they were also willing to hang out and help coach me through it, which was invaluable. Without people like this, I may have had a lot less enjoyable experience with this build and/or it would have taken me much longer. As it stands, I spent about 21 solid days working on this. I think I only took one day off in 22, where I didn't touch anything! So, I hope you all enjoy it even half as much as I did building it. Thanks again for the warm welcome and for being a great community of very generous and talented people. I greatly appreciate it. Sincerely, John First, the photo of the real thing:

Well, here we go. My first, completed, large scale build on LSM! The WIP thread can be found, here: http://forum.largescalemodeller.com/topic/4102-bf-110d-of-iinjg3-132-dragon/ I want to thank all of those who stopped in to look at the WIP, as well as those who helped out with information and experience, or just cheered me on. It was a great first build experience and I would like to think that I've made some real friends from it. Thank you all! Thanks for looking! John

Thanks for your support and encouragement, everyone! Wouter, Funny you mention the "sheen" of the finish, as this was something that I hoped would come across as realistically as possible. However, it was a part of the build that had it's "ups and downs", so to speak. When I first completed the basic painting, I added a semi gloss coat over the already semi-gloss paint. Normally, I wouldn't have done that, but I wanted to create a barrier for the oil weathering that came immediately afterwards. That turned out to not work quite as well as I had hoped, or rather TOO well, as the oils wouldn't penetrate the semi-gloss as well as I had hoped for, so it took a lot longer to build up the oils for the effect I was after (and still wish they would have "cut back" the paint a lot more than I was able to achieve). So, I ended up shooting a flat coat, to which the oils seemed to stick to, much better, but then had to shoot yet another flat coat to seal them in. This plane appears to have a fairly worn top surface, so the original semi-gloss finish isn't so shiny as a more factory-fresh plane would have been, but I didn't want to lose that sheen, entirely. It worked out in the end, though, as the original semi-gloss coat seems to help it retain a little bit of that shine and I like the way it turned out, in that regard. Thanks again, everyone! I am going to attempt to shoot some outdoor photos, today (the only day for possibly the next few months that I may be able to do so!) and will post them in the completed builds section(s) when I'm finished. Cheers, John

Calling this one done. I'm going to try to get some outdoor shots this week and, if I can do that, I'll post them in the Completed Builds forum. I want to thank you guys again for a very warm welcome on this forum, as well as all the input and encouragement along the way for this build. It's been very fun. Now, I just have to decide on what will be next (although, I will probably have to knock out another commissioned 1/48 build in the meantime). Thanks again! John

Thank you for being my cheering section, gentlemen! Probably not going to make it over the weekend, but it could be close. I know I have at least one more solid day of work to do and it will depend on how that goes. We've been having horrible weather lately, also and I always prefer to take photos outdoors and would especially prefer to do so with this model, given the black undersurface, which seems to be a bit of a bitch to photograph in all but the perfect lighting/angles. IF the weather is good enough where the plane won't fly away on me and IF I can get it done within that window, then I'll try my hardest to do it. But, I've completely lost my confidence in weather men, too! Today, I was able to accomplish a few things, but mainly the gun sight and the rear gun/mount. For the sight, I used the Eduard Zoom parts and also added a power cable made from wire and drilled out the light and replaced with with polished, clear sprue. It's hard to see in the photos. For the rear gun, I added the Aber barrel parts, but I also modified the mount, removing the shroud and building the frame that was underneath from scrap plastic and wire. I didn't like the looks of the kit's gun shroud, so I decided to go without one, as many 110s often didn't have them and I found a decent picture showing what it looked like without the shroud in place. So, I only have to finish the gear, add the gear doors, slats, rest of the canopy, antennas/pitot tube, lights, possibly "weight" the wheels and some more touch-ups, and I'll be done. Actually, that's still quite a bit. LOL Thanks again, John

Thanks, George. I'm glad you like it! Today I started working on some of the smaller details so I can get this finished. First off were the props. I was able to get one completely done, but I lost one of the little collars for the prop boss of the other unit, so I'll have to make another one before I can finish it. I also added an aluminum tube to the center of each. I realize that the paint chipping is on the trailing edge of one blade here. Need to fix that! Next up was the nose guns. The hardest part was getting them all set up so that they would easily (HA!) move through the holes while putting the nose section on...for good! I did each gun, one at a time, checking the fit with every one and making adjustments. Once I got the barrel of each gun in place, I would hit the receiver of the weapon (where it's glued in) with accelerator to freeze it in place. I also discovered that the flash hiders on the Aber barrels are so sharply machined that they will easily slide into the end of you thumb if you try to push on one! I was also able to get the landing gear installed, but they're not painted yet. That was probably a good decision, as it took a couple test runs to get them angled in right, since I chose not to install them earlier on, as per the instructions. I would recommend that anyone building this kit in the future at least do dry run with the parts and get them sorted out, left and right, before you glue together the wheel bay in the wing. It's not insanely difficult to get them into place later, but knowing how it's supposed to go together and having all left/right parts separated and figured out is a big plus. Also, if you were to build the gear legs with all of the struts in place before putting it into the wheel well, later on, you would probably not be able to fit it in without breaking something. So, tomorrow I hope to finish the wheels and landing gear and I also want to add brake lines. Then, it's on to finishing off the cockpit/canopy, then the final, small bits. It's getting close to being done, though! Cheers! John

Now, for today's work, I got the decals applied, chipped the paint and shot a coat of semi-gloss to seal it. After that, I started working with the oils, more enamel, flat coat and pastels (in every possible combination, backwards and forward!), then finished it off with a flat coat when I thought it looked ready. Finally, starting to come to life, a little bit! John

Thanks, guys! Well, I did add some stencil decals today, as well as the squadron crest. So, there are some decals, but not many. I forgot to post last night's update, also. So, I'll throw those photos up in this post, first. Release cable, painted to match the other markings where it crosses over them: Finished the base painting of the underside: Started adding some subtle shading/fading: That was last night's update.....tonight. John

Thanks, guys! I'm not technically "snowed in", but my wife has my vehicle while her's is in the shop, so I'm stranded, anyway. Not that I'm complaining! I did some more work last night and this morning. The nose is still not glued, but I have it painted to the point that I'll be able to install it over the guns and possibly touch it up a little, but the fit is outstanding, so I don't see any issues (I just have it pressed in place right now and it stayed put while I was handling it to take the photos.). The only part left of the main painting phase is about half a wing on the underside, then touching up where the black wraps up and around the wing leading edges and the nacelles. The most tedious part was all the masking for the markings. So far, I have not used a single decal and the only thing I've touched up is the "O" on the nose. This is easily the best masking experience I've ever had. Not that it didn't test my paitience (the masks for the upper wings, swastikas and fuselage crosses all suffered from shrinkage, so it took a little more stretching than normal), but I made it through with very few issues. Sorry for the crappy pics. I'm finding that, because of the black and the insufficient lighting in my shop, this model is very hard to photograph. If it wasn't cold, windy and snowy outside, I would rather be out there. Thanks again, John

Thanks, Wouter! When I'm on a roll, I don't like to slow down! Taking a lesson from George, by watching is fantastic Felixstowe build, I made eyelets for the raft release cable and the cable, itself from fishing line: A mask for the letter on the nose: Once everything was masked, it was time for some camo. I went with a base splinter scheme of 02/71, but with some random sections of RLM 70 to break/darken things up. Of course, there's still a ton to do and I can't paint any further until I get the nose guns in place and the nose glued on. But, the base scheme is pretty much done. I'll let this cure, build the guns, install the nose and finish up the main paint, then I can start the transformation process to get this to (hopefully) look more like the plane in the photo. Thanks for following along, everyone! John

Thanks, everyone! I had plenty of time to work today, so I got quite a bit done. The masking, while tedious, should be worth it in the end. The canopy parts.... I was also able to get most of the masking done, at least what can be done at this point. I'm still not sure if I'll run with "OP" (6. Staffel) as being the aircraft and staffel letters, but was just testing the idea. I still have a little bit of the light gray for the lettering to shoot, as I didn't get it close enough to the fuselage cross to the rear. From here, I started applying more RLM 65 to various spots where it will peek through. Not just on the bottom, but on the fuselage sides, also (However, most, if not all of it will be sprayed over with a heavy mottle). I also painted the bomb rack's exterior fairing in 65, then Aircraft Interior Black (same color as the canopy, but it appears greenish in certain light, in the pics). Thanks again, John

I've spent more time getting the pre-painting done for the markings which will be masked/painted off. I'll post more pictures of that once it's ready for paint. First, however, is the canopy, which I completely masked, inside and out. I started by masking the outside, first. Then, I used the exterior masks as a guide to line up for the interior. The Montex masks made it pretty easy, actually. I was expecting a lot more trouble than this! The masks seem to fit perfectly, so anything that's not properly lined up is my own fault, for sure, but it looks pretty good to me. I also added wire grab handles to the windscreen. There are just a few, small things left to do for the rest of the airframe before I can start painting. Right now, I'm enduring a snow storm. Kids are coming home early from school and I have to go get my wife from work. On the bright side, I might get snowed in and have nothing to do but work on this plane. John

I made a lot of progress today. I started off by getting the cowl instruments in order. I used the Eduard Zoom parts and the kit's "glass", which I had dipped in Future. I carefully glued them into place, but also put a strip of tape behind each one, just to be sure they would stay in place. After that, I attached the wings to the fuselage. The fit on the top was very good, overall. The bottom had gaps to fill and I had to shim and putty them. I'm still working on the belly..... But the top got a preliminary coat of aluminum, to check the seams, but this will also serve as an undercoat for weathering, later on. Oh, and I almost forgot...I found a small data plate to fit "the tapper". (can be seen at about 3 o'clock in this photo) I haven't masked the instruments yet, nor have I glued the cowl tops in position. I want to give the Future on the lenses a full 24 hours to dry before masking them. So, I'm going to call it a night and let things cure. Regards, John

Thanks for everything, guys! George, I think there's a time and a place for rusty exhausts. This just isn't it! I used a slight bit of rust in the painting of these pipes, but the intent is just to add a bit more subtle tone, rather than trying to make them look rusty. Today I finished up the port side engine/cowl. I started by just building the main components of the engine that would be required to hold the prop, exhausts and oil cooler. After that, I attached the inserts around the exhaust to the lower cowl panel and attached that, as well. The engines both slope downward, slightly and this one even more than the first. So, a bit of pressure and a little more glue was required on this side to get it to settle in and then I hit it with CA accelerator. Still a bit of cleanup required, but it's taking shape. Thanks again! John

I managed to get a few things done, today. I started with the props. The collars on the prop blades, even though fairly small, aren't supposed to be there. So I decided to remove them, since it looked simple enough. I think it took about 20 minutes to do all six blades, just by starting with a sanding stick, then moving to sand paper, followed up by a 7 stage nail polishing stick. I thought about thinning the blades a little, but decided against it, thinking that there was two propellers, so twice the chance of chipping a blade. In short, I chickened out. However, the kit's blades aren't really thick to begin with. After this, I installed the landing light. The yellow tinted cover was done by mixing a drop of yellow food coloring into a few drops of future, then mixing it up and brushing it on, being sure to dab away the excess run-off. After that, I finished the seams on the wings, restored some panel lines and rivets, then started working on the port side engine and cowling. I only used the stripped down engine block and the piping behind the oil cooler. Just enough to hold everything in place and the few parts that would be visible (I didn't take pictures of the process on this one, because I wanted to do a test run on the sequence, first. I'll get photos and explain what I did, in more detail, when I do the starboard engine.) . I did have to clean up a little glue on some of the seams and square up a couple of corners, but I was thrilled with how everything went together, overall. In the following photo, the upper cowl is only snapped in place. I haven't glued it, yet. With some slight pressure in the glue phase, it should be a near perfect fit. I haven't done the instruments on the inboard side of the cowl, yet. I still have to figure out exactly how I want to handle that. The kit's clear parts, with some Future, should show off the Eduard PE gauges, as best as is possible. The holes are just so tiny, it's hard to see what's in there to begin with. The last thing I worked on was the Quickboost exhausts. I wanted to do a test fit, to be sure I could paint them separate and still be able to install them after the plane is painted. . They look absolutely fantastic and are somewhat flexible. However, the connection points between each pipe are very small and extremely fragile. I ended up breaking all but one of them. The worst part, is that CA glue doesn't work very well in repairing them. So, I'll be installing them in chunks, by the looks of things. For paint, I started with Raw Umber, followed by a dry-brushing of rust, then a dry-brushing of magnesium (for a dark, burned metal look), followed up by a light rub with black pastel. Then I shot them with flat lacquer. I may add a few more highlights (and some much needed touch-ups, from looking at the photo) once they're installed and when I do the exhaust streaks on the wings, but these will do for now. Thanks for stopping by! John

Nice looking Spit. The engine looks fantastic and I wouldn't regret not using a wash on the plane as a whole. The panel lines are very visible and the other, subtle weathering features set it off nicely. I think it looks very realistic and sometimes "less is more". John

Still a great looking Mustang! The finish and overall build look great. John

Kent, No doubt about it, I'm going to give it my best shot on the interior framing. Should be getting to that next week. I was able to sneak back to the bench for a couple hours, tonight. I painted the interiors of the gear doors and also finished working on the slats. For the gear doors, I weathered them a little bit further than the bays. I figured that they would be more exposed to dust/spray when rolling and, once they were closed, would be catching all the gunk that fell off the wheels and gear. So..... Once I attached the wingtips, I checked the fit of the slats, then aligned everything for the rails/tabs that will hold them to the wing and cut those out of a thicker sheet of styrene. It took a little trimming and sanding, but I think I have them where I want them. The pic shows the tabs and one slat just pressed into place. So, that's all for now. I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving! John

I keep telling myself, "you're getting close to painting it." (which is my favorite part), but then have to tell myself to slow down. I still need to plan/add a few more details, such as the release cable for the dinghy, the reflector sight and possibly a few more knobs/levers/handles on the canopy parts. Not to mention painting the interior canopy framing and working up the brass barrels for all the guns. If I rush it and skip a bunch of that stuff, I'll probably end up regretting it, later on! Thanks again, gents! John

Thank you and "Absolutely!", George!

Okay, you know how when you Google for something, like 10, or 100 times and can't find anything? Then, on the 11th (or 101st!) time, it's right in front of you? Well, that's what happened with the little canisters in the gear bay. I decided to have one last look around, this morning, before gluing everything in and putting the wings together. I found what appears to be a photo taken from a period Luftwaffe manual and it would suggest that the canisters are, in fact a metallic color, but on the darker side. It's hard to judge from the type of photos in those manuals (and those who have looked at a lot of period Luftwaffe manuals will know what I mean), but this is the impression that I got. So, I ran with it. I painted the canisters with Metalizer Magnesium, which I thought to likely be the closest, that I had on hand. I also touched the nozzles with brass. I can't say with 100% confidence that this is right, but was better than nothing. I was going to post the photo form the manual, as well, but for some reason it only shows up in the search page and I can't go to the link for the photo to save it and the forum on which it was posted also fails to have the pics come up. In any case, I got that finished and glued everything together, including the wing halves. So, here we go..... After this was done, I did a test fit of the wings to the fuselage. The supplied spars seem to set the dihedral quite well for the wings. However, there will certainly be some filling needed and possibly even a couple of shims on the belly, at the wing roots. Given that the rest has gone together so well, I think it's a small price to pay and since I'm used to this sort of thing on just about every seam, of every kit I normally do, it's no sweat. I'm hoping to tinker with the engines over the holiday. I won't be exposing either and will just mock them up enough to hold what needs to be held and make everything fit properly. I'll post another update, hopefully within the next couple days. John

Last night, I managed to get the radiators installed. I painted them with aluminum and added a black, oil wash. The intakes/housings were painted in RLM 65 on the outside and front halves of the interior and 02 on the rear halves of the interior. There will be black overspray on the underside when complete, but I figured that some of the original paint would still likely be visible inside the intakes and the exterior will have a little wear that reveals the original color, as well. I might try to assemble some other parts over the holiday, in the next couple days, but probably won't make any major progress. However, by next week I should be driving hard to finish this one, as soon as possible! John

Thanks, Ralph. I've looked at pretty much every build I can find of this kit and have seen several variations, but nothing that seems to be a "smoking gun" reference for it. I'll probably just leave them as they are and won't worry about it any longer. I should probably be focusing my energy on more important (read: visible) things, anyway! Thanks again, John

Thanks, guys! I believe Mastercasters makes a set of slats, but I didn't bother to get a set. I figured I could cut these out and revamp them just as easily (and cheaper, too!). A flap set would be a great addition, though. John

More progress on the wheel bays. I'm still unsure on the color of the little canisters, but they're 02 for now. This will sit over the next couple days, so if some info comes to light on what color they should actually be, I have a window to change them. If not, I can live with how they look, now. Thanks again! John