GazzaS

That looks fantastic!

Rob, While I was building the Eduard 109E, I had this feeling that something wasn't right. Like it was trying to draw my eye, but I couldn't focus on it. That all changed when I added the early BoB vintage camo scheme to it. The following two photos are my build and show an early aircraft of 10. NJG 1. You'll notice some red lines along the curved, bloated area of the dorsal spine. This is a huge area, and once you see it... you can't un-see it. Instead of a relatively straight taper from the cockpit to the empennage, you have a shape that is quite whale-like. It is truly the Quasimodo of bf 109 models.

Thank you, Kevin!

Thank you, Martin!

Thank you!

I don't mind a little effort. Making improvements make me feel better than just slapping a kit together. But I do resent having to buy shitloads of GM. I built the Eduard 109 a few years ago, and was appalled by the shape of the thing. Immediately after taking my RFI pics, I threw it in the bin. I recently bought the HGW kit. It has the Dragon plastic and is quite drool worthy. The 109 is my favorite machine full stop. But most of the available kits are trash. Revell and Trumpeter... more trouble than they are worth. Hasegawa isn't bad.... but it ain't perfect, either. So... what is your favorite plane?

I'm coming down with a cold. Pretty sure I got it from the grand kid. No matter. It slows me down some, but I'll still keep plodding. It's update time. One of the things that kills me about this kit is the surface detail on the control surfaces: Last time I tried to overcome bad detail on the control surfaces, I used decals to portray rib tapes. This time I went for an even finer option. After sanding away the offending surfaces, I painted very thin lines to portray the faint details you can see on close up photos of 109's. Once concern I see voiced often is whether the resin cockpit fits or not. Dry fitting showed a perfect fit. I also started preparing other AM. These Brassin brass landing gear replace the kit gear which are prone to breaking. The come with resin landing gear covers. Now... there is another option from a newish company called Scale Ordnance works. They make landing gear with guitar wire molded into ABS plastic with a shiny real metal oleo... I used a set for my FW190A1. I cleaned up the Eduard Brassin weighted wheels and exhaust a little. Then I dry-fitted some parts to check the 109's stance. I've probably spent four times what the kit is worth just on aftermarket. Which is a shame. Some people say we don't need another 1/32 scale 109. But the fact is... all of the 1/32 scale 109's out there excluding the Dragon 109E's... are pretty screwed up. Happy modelling!

Ugh! Paint lift! I've gotten to the point where if I know I'm using masking... I lightly sand the area and then use Tamiya paint as primer. The technique rarely ever fails.

Thank you, Kai!

Bravo! Well done!

Thank you, Kai! It's an area where you definitely would benefit from a third hand. Thank you, Rob!

Nice!

Thank you Kai. I assumed they were field grey, and was quite happy the way they looked. But I think the orange ones don;t go so well with the skin tones, making him look like a redhead.

Had to come back and admire the work some more. I'm not much into decals when I think I can get away with using a paint brush. But your tubing looks so sharp between the linen and wood decals that I might have to change that stance.

Excellent work, Rob! Perhaps too flawless. Might pay dividends to put some spilled Cheetohs and a few cigarette butts and ashes to make it look lived-in.

Shocking shocks! Well done!

Very nice results from your hairspray chipping. Thank you for the tutorial. It is very useful to know that MRP will continue to chip days later.

Very sharp work, Wolf! I have a feeling that your build is going to become a reference for a lot of modellers.

Peter, That is good progress despite the nature of the kit. It's really a shame. I'm sure you'll make a gem of it.

Rob, The Color, shine, and stripes look awesome! I too like to use buffing compounds to polish paint. The stuff I use is from a car shop, though. I'm sad for your shipping troubles. Is there a car parts store there? Sometimes you can find stuff in auto supplies that can be used nicely for modelling. Paints, solvents, and primers come to mind.

Thank you gents, very much!

More... Special thanks to all of you who shared the journey with me with your helpful support.

Hello Friends! They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

You know... I haven't even pulled anything from the bags, yet.

In my club... we had this guy who passed in his early seventies of a massive heart attack. He had a shipping container beside his house packed with models. He was a member of more than one club, so they put everything on pallets and set to liquidating it to save his unfortunate missus the problem. However... there was more... Because this guy... if he had two kits that were very similar... he would chop them into pieces and squeeze them into one box. Really... it was a mess. But I got a Dragon Puma for half of retail from it. There were kits without boxes... it boggled the mid to imagine how much time he must have put into stashing.