JeroenPeters

Hi Rog, to be brutally honest i don't wash my resin and when i prime its usually a deep dark tamiya grey. But maybe I'm not the best person to take modeling advice from

Jesus! This is insane! Very very cool...

I bought it at a model show. The arrow shape looked fitting!

Hehehehe! The delivery time from Shapeways is a few days. Their dutch office is in Eindhoven, so pretty local. The costs will be around 20 euro's. Depends on the material and level of detail I choose. Is it cheating? Yes. Hihihihi

Well... 3D modeling is! Almost done and then to upload it to Shapeways!

Profimodeller He-111 Rear Wheel bay & Rear turret Sn# 32270 Available here directly from Profimodeller The Revell He-111P-1 kit was soon followed by the much more popular H-6 kit. With the P1 version offering a far smaller scope for versions and theatres and DB601 power plants that defined the shape of the engine nacelles to and extend that later versions would need a massive conversion, the H-6 kit was welcomed with open arms by modellers. An impressive and ever growing list of upgrades is available today, with Eduard and CMK in the lead. With a subject that is huge and can be quite un-interesting to the eye in terms of detail on the surface, opening up some panels here and there prove useful. Eduard released a full set of PE showing the internal bomb-bay, but that will only be properly visible if you place the model on a mirror. The cockpit detail can be upgraded to the max, but once this is closed up, you need pretty good eyes to enjoy it. The same goes for the wheelbays… So, what can we open up? The whole enchilada! With HPH internal details, covering the entire fuselage. But this means leaving the whole thing open, missing wings etc… Review here: http://www.scaleplasticandrail.com/kaboom/index.php/all-things-aviation/132-135-scale/132-aftermarket-items/1973-1-32-heinkel-he-111p-cutaway-kit-from-hph CMK brings us the wing fuel tanks, but again, these are only visible from the underside. If you want to add some drama to your He-111 I suggest you get the CMK fuel filler necks and Life Raft set. This is located in the fuselage spine and will be very visible. And if you’re going for a later H-version of the He-111 (H-3 and upwards) I suggest you get this little gem I’m reviewing here as well. Here’s why.. Some (not all) later model He-111H’s were equipped with an extra sting in the tail. An MG17 could be installed behind the tailwheel and was fired by one of the crew-members situated halfway or in front of the aircraft. I have not been able to figure out who actually pulled the trigger on this extra gun, but I can imagine it was the top turret gunner, since he would look to the rear, from a good position. It also have been fired by the gunner from the gondala, but I just can’t find a source that confirms my suspicions. The photo of the tail gun with panels off, as used on the packaging of this set: Here's another shot. This one is from the Squadron book: And another one. Slightly different: The AeroDetail book I have states that the extra tail gun was installed on the H-3 up to H-16 versions, but I’ve seen many H-3 examples without the gun. Another thing I noticed, is that the gun IS present on the HPH internal detail kit, which in fact is an earlier P-version. I did find two photographs of two different crashed He-111P’s (during the Battle of Britain, 1940) that both have the tail gun, installed to fire in a downward angle in one, and rear firing angle in the other. The AeroDetail book shows a drawing of the tail gun firing straight back, with an additional drawing of the gun firing in this downward angle (as in the photograph). The way the text is written in the AeroDetail book I can’t make up whether they mean 2 MG17’s in the tail or just one, but with two different angle options. So be sure to check your references. I will however install this baby in my He-111P. A photo of a crashed He-111P with tail sting: Here's a look at the AeroDetail book drawing, showing the two stances: There are sources that claim the gun wasn’t there to effectively shoot down enemy fighters, but more as a repellent. A way to keep enemy fighters at bay. Perhaps this is the reason you don’t see a whole lot of this set-up being used. The upgrade What we get is the typical sturdy white cardboard box we are accustomed to by Profimodeller. Inside we find a single sheet of photo etch, instructions and a smaller box, containing the resin parts, Master MG17 brass barrel and cooling jacket. The rear bulkhead is done in conventional yellow resin, but all the other parts are done in a stronger, black kind of resin. I can imagine this was done to add strength. Bare in mind that these parts are connected to the tail wheel installation, which carrier the entire rear weight of the model. The photo etch sheet has the panel framing with fastener eye-lets and the tailwheel bay interior with delicate stringers. I managed to find an original Heinkel drawing in my Ersatzteilliste book (Thnx Cees!) which show all the parts offered in this upgrade. Here's the drawing from the Ersatzteilliste book (albeit without the gun): The instructions are clear and tell you to bend and use the two panels as a template to mark where to cut the Revell plastic. I’d suggest to thin the plastic at the edges too in order the achieve proper scale thickness. At first I thought it strange that no stringer detail was offered for the tailcone, but looking at the drawings in my library, I can see that the tail cone is just that. A non-reinforced cone that was placed over the gun mounting frame. So the only thing you need to do is to thin out the edges. Especially when displaying the tail with the panels next to it, as in the box top photo. Bulkheads: Gun mounting frame: MG17: All in all this conversion / upgrade will take a good look at your references. First to check whether the version you’re building had this set-up, and secondly to see how it looked. For example: if you look at the photo’s, you’ll see the panels overlapped the cone, meaning there was no paint on the overlapping parts. ​The photo etc sheet: Master brass: The instructions: A look at the original Revell part, in need of some TLC: Verdict As said in the introduction, I myself welcome any upgrade for the He-111 making it more interesting to look at. This here is a well researched, complete and good executed upgrade / conversion that does just that. The He-111’s size doesn’t allow a lot of modellers to build a whole range of them, so when you’re having a crack at it, you might as well go to town on it. I know I am! With the detail of the He-111 being somewhat of a disappointment (over the previous Ju88 kit) the tail gun could sire use a little love. Of course you could fix that with just the Master barrels brass gun, but then you’ll miss out on the opportunity I prompted earlier: opening up some panels! A special thanks to Profimodeller for the review sample. To order directly from Profimodeller, click here. Kind regards, Jeroen Peters

I must say... thats pretty cool!

And a merry christmas to you too Ralph! Wishing you a healthy 2016! From Geeske too!

Funny thing... I seam to have two different drawings of this jig. See if you can spot the difference:

Thnx guys! Christmas time, which in my book means modeling time! Working on the engine gondola transport frame. Pretty easy since i have the measurements.

Some great pics in here! Thnx for sharing!

What a great idea and challenge! Can't wait to see the first installment. Good luck!

I seriously LOVE that pit. Very convincing!

Dang nice! Missed this WIP.

Welcome! Good show on the Thud!

Dry fitting the pit components.

Oh wow... Don't make it better than the kit-to-be! Or it will be a disappointment

The Eagle Has Landed Armour & Aircraft Dioramas by Aitor Akzue Diorama Series Publisher: AK Interactive Author: Aitor Akzue Available here from AK Interactive for € 39,95 Today I’m taking a look at a book that covers some of the works by one of my favourite modellers: Aitor Akzue. But first, let me take you back to the days we all remember as a modeller. The time when we got our first inspiration from catalogues, magazines and books by modellers like Shep Paine and Francois Verlinden. I remember them vividly. Scanning the photo’s and marvelling at how they got their shades, details and compositions just right. Like works of art I would probably never be able to match (let alone re-create). It’s modellers and their publications like these that pulled me (and probably you reading this) into the hobby. I remember seeing Aitor’s work in person for the first time at a modelshow some years ago. SMC in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) if I’m not mistaken. It stopped me right in my tracks and I gazed at the resin children playing around the aircraft graveyard. Trying to identify which kits and what After Market sets were used. To be honest Aitor’s name was at that time not known to me. Much later I saw another diorama by his hand and immediately identified it to be from his hands. This was the crashed He111 diorama, which probably still is my favourite dio to this day. As mentioned by Aitor himself in the intro of his book, a good (no great) diorama needs at least 3 different skill sets: a sense of composition, good modelling / painting skills and the ability to work with a wide variety of materials. Kind of like an artist with the skills of an architect, mad scientist and McGyver. The book: Let me review Aitor’s book and provide you with the information I would want before purchasing. First of all this book mainly offers diorama’s featuring (late war) ww2 Luftwaffe aircraft in often derelict or crashed situations, with the inclusion of a german submarine or panzer here and there. This happens to be Aitor’s favourite subjects, but a little birdy told me to expect some ww1 subjects in the near future too. What I love about this book are the huge atmospheric photo’s, the clear ‘how to’ steps, the inclusion of the colour profiles used on the vehicles and aircraft and the detail shots. But also the small charts at the beginning of every diorama that tells us exactly what kits and after market was used. Contents: The book contains 10 chapters on 10 diorama’s, a superbly built Ho229 and some extra gallery shots from the author. Diorama 1: Germany 1945 This diorama features a german street in Berlin. A very interesting and staggering display of buildings, bridge, quay and vehicles. Lots of scratchbuilding going on and a mix of Tamiya, Italeri and Tristar vehicles, adorned with Alpine, Verlinden and Pegaso figures. Aitor shows us how to build up the base for this diorama, the groundwork, the scratched facades of the houses, totally scratched bridge, water effects, etc.. etc.. This diorama covers a wide array of techniques. Colour profiles: Diorama 2: Autobahn (Stuttgart-Munchen 1945) We’ve all (well is you are somewhat of a history buff) seen the photographs of Luftwaffe planes hidden between the trees, using the german Autobahn as a runway. And Aitor has managed to capture this event vividly well. A rushed out of the factory, puttied up Me262 being inspected by US soldiers. The foliage, bushes and trees in this diorama are the show stoppers. Another thing I love about this book is the inlusion of ww2 photographs that show what Aitor based his diorama and composition on. ww2 era photo's: Diorama 3: Booby Trapped When I saw this diorama pop up on Facebook not too long ago I had to look for my lower jaw. A converted Ju88G6 and a derelict Bf110 carefully searched by US soldiers for anti-looting devices. The high rising corner of the hangar in the background place the two broken planes in their element. The amount of attention to detail that went into the two planes is amazing. As is the scratchbuilding that went into the hangar. The opened up engine bay of the Ju88, the added detail to both cockpits. The only thing I could possibly find to comment on is the very recognizable stance of the Alpine figures that give away their brand and kind of put them out of context (for me). It’s the moss growing between the concrete slabs and left behind accessories of the Luftwaffe ground crews that really add the finishing touch. Diorama 4: Hamburg 1945 When I saw this diorama, I though: Ah! That must be the 1/35 Bronco U-boat XXIII! But it was not. This thing is entirely scratched! All putty and greencard. This waterside diorama shows british troops inspecting what’s left after the battle. Defeated german soldiers licking their wounds. Again, here it’s the details that set this diorama off. Offcourse the huge scratched cargo cranes and warehouse façade are impressive to say the least, but the seagulls, spent cartridges, debrie in the water and rubble bring this scene to life. Diorama 5: Neverending History This is the diorama I was talking about in the introduction and the first diorama I ever saw of Aitor’s hand. The Luftwaffe graveyard, used as a playground by little children. A FW190D and Stuka are taken apart and opened up all over the place. Resin engines, loose cables, broken props and wings an amazing paintjob. There’s just something to see from every angle. What I like about this chapter is the step by step altering of a white metal figure from Pegaso to a small boy wielding a make believe sword and wearing a fighterpilot skullcap. This marks a new chapter where several figures from different diorama’s are altered to different stances or sometimes complete make-overs. Extra figure alteration chapter: Diorama 6: Norway 1943 And here’s my all time favourite. It doesn’t have an impressive backdrop and it doesn’t even have a whole lot going on. But it does tell a story. A He111 that crashed into a rocky rover. Ice cold water. Injured crew mates, trying to make it to the shore while hailing a german staff car. The water and rocks look too real. Pay attention to the white washes paint chipping from the He111’s wings. This chapter also includes a special how-to in how to make snow and ice. Diorama 7: Tempelhof 1945 Quite in line with the ‘Autobahn’ and ‘Booby Trap’ diorama’s, this one is set in the end of the war at the Berlin Tempelhof airport. The hangar doors that serve as a backdrop and are humongous. Of course the author explains how he made these from scratch. The same goes for the evenly impressive roof of the hangar, with metal lighting fixtures. As far as the Fw190A is concerned, I’m surprised to see what can be achieved with the old Verlinden detail set! What can I say more? It’s all just mindblowing stuff. Diorama 8: The Fallen of the Eagles This is another diorama I’ve had the privilege of eye balling up close and personal. It’s as if the whole spares box was masterfully painted and spread across the hangar floor. A 2 seat Me262. A crippled He219 and yet another He219 wing for good measure. The detail is scary. Right down to the nails of the dog that the pilot in his beach chair is playing with. I can remember not getting enough of this diorama when seeing it in real life, but looking at these detailed photographs reveals even more detail. And I guess that would be the main reason for me to buy this book. Diorama 9: Tirstrup 1945 And yes, another end of war, derelict plane situation. A Ju88 / Fw190A Mistel combination with Luftwaffe ground crew and allied forces paying them a visit. I’m running out of superlatives here, but man, the detail! The Opel Blitz with open hood and superdetailed engine. The detailed Dingo scout car. And again, what I just can’t get over, is the high level of detail Aitor accomplishes with the Verlinden update sets for the Fw190A. Diorama 10: Winners and Losers Very much like the ‘Autobahn’ diorama, this Ju188 stands hidden in the forest. Let’s forget the fact that this again is a great diorama and focus on the plane alone. The AIMS Ju188 conversion is actually a pretty tricky one. It takes skills to pull it off. A vac form canopy and chunks of resin. I love Aitor’s way of working. It may seam a little bit messy when he’s on the go, but the result is as convincing as it is stunning! This resembles the way I work. Except my outcome isn’t always that stunning… An extra chapter here is added to show us how to make a Birch and Pine tree. A nice little and useful demo, since you just can’t buy these things ready and looking convincing in a store. Zoukei Mura Ho229 Built straight from the box. Instead of using Uschi’s wonderful wood decals, Aitor takes the high road and uses Photo etch templates. The result is equally pleasant to the eye. It’s a matter of preference. Last but not least An extra gallery, revealing huge spread photo-graphs of more amazing diorama’s. Check out the last one in the book… Oh… I forgot to include it in my review? Well… I guess you’ll have to buy the book! Verdict Alas I have run out of superlatives to try to convince you. I’m giving it a 10 out of 10 and will do so every time I take it from the shelf to fumble it’s pages, looking for inspiration. A big thank you to AK Interactive for the review sample and to Aitor Akzue for documenting his work and steps. To purchase directly, click here. Jeroen Peters

Update! Almost ready to put the pit together. Jim just sent me the Profi Modeller oxygen apparatus, so still a bit moe work to do before closing her up.

This should be good! No wait... it's already good!

aaahhhh i was wondering what you would do with the cockpit! Are you going all out on it?

A.M.U.R. Reaver Bf 109 G and K Airscrew RC3206 & RC3212 Bf109 G Airscrew available here from A.M.U.R. Reaver Bf109 K Airscrew available here from A.M.U.R. Reaver I for one had not heard of this brand a month ago. Still, upon doing some research, I found some reviews of A.M.U.R. Reaver products dating back to 2013. A mix of modern and ww2 subjects, mostly done in resin and photo etch and either in 48th scale or 32nd scale. Airbrakes, Flare / Chaff dispensers, meshes, etc. But the thing that triggered me was an extensive range of correction sets for the 32nd scale Bf109E, G and K series, offered by both Revell and Hasegawa. LSM Mikester already beat me to the punch by doing a nice review on their Bf109G-10 Erla correction set for the Revell kit, which replaces the entire nose: http://forum.largescalemodeller.com/topic/4201-amur-reaver-132-bf109g-10-erla-correction-sets-for-revell/ Bf109 G and K Spinner corrections The spinner and prop type fitted on the Bf109 G versions was officially registered as 12087 A-type prop (or also VDM 9-12087), whilst the Bf109 K series carried the 9-12159 A-type prop (or also called VDM 9-12159). Here you have the G and K version alongside each other: Bf109G prop: Bf109K prop: You often see the scratch made correction of the spinners on both the Hasegawa and Revell kit, where the modeller will correct the openings for the prop blades by making them more tear shaped instead of U-shaped. This is often done with some greencard and will keep you busy for an hour. But there is more work to be done on these spinners to make them more accurate. As you can see in these photo’s, the A.M.U.R. Reaver ones’ are slightly more pointed and offer far more refined detail on the surface. Also the protruding barrel is delicately replicated and hollow. Correct shape of prop opening: This photo that Mikester posted in his Revell Bf109G10 review shows the slightly pointed shape of the Bf109G spinner: And here you can see the shape difference between the Hasegawa (right) and A.M.U.R Reaver spinners: And this photo (also posted by Mikester earlier) shows the nozzle and prop openings: Note the detail on the business end of the resin upgrade: Another thing A.M.U.R. Reaver correction is the chord and shape of the blades. You can clearly see the difference at the base of the prop blades and along the leading edge, which appears more rounded in the resin versions. The prop blades slide snuggly in the resin spinner. You can even adjust the pitch and you don’t actually need to use any glue. The Hasegawa prop blades have locating pins at the base that glue in the spinner base-plate, whilst the Revell offering have some sort of cross-beam that also force the angle of attack. Not that there’s anything wrong with this per se, but they just do J Check out the blade shapes (Hasegawa Bf109G, resin Bf109G and resin Bf109K): Here's a shot of the resin Bf109G, Hasegawa Bf109G and resin Bf109K props on a row: The resin allows you to instantly replace the Revell spinners and only need a little modification to mount to the Hasegawa plastic. Here's a shot from the A.M.U.R. Reaver website, showing some contrast in the rivets on the Bf109G: Verdict With so many knowledge openly available, so many Bf109 purists around and so many upgrade and corrections available for the Bf109 kits, these spinners are just icing on the cake. Yes, they correct the spinner and prop blade shape slightly and add some delicate rivet and fastener detail at the same time. Also the hollow and delicate gun nozzle adds to the realism. The fit of the prop blades in the spinners is soothing to the OCD’s around and shows craftsmanship on A.M.U.R. Reavers part. At US$ 9,50 these upgrade / corrections are reasonable priced. Do you need them? Well, if you trip over wrong canopy and oil cooler shapes you do! A special thanks to A.M.U.R. Reaver for the review samples. Kind regards, Jeroen Peters

Friggin amazing! Your Luftwaffe skills are improving post by post!

Stellar (pun intented) work Danny! Love the gearbay..

I love your soft purple skin.