Scalemates Messerschmitt Bf 109 Group Build 2020

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October 18, 2020
I was intrigued by the propellor swirl decal, so wanted to try that one right away.
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October 18, 2020
For the other decal option Tamiya provides a one third white spinner decal. Look at how the decal even has a faded outline.
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October 18, 2020
Internal parts ready!
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October 18, 2020
And the fuselage buttoned up.
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October 18, 2020
I tried some Gunze Super Chrome Silver 2 for the oleos.
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October 18, 2020
Even though the wing radiators are closed, it's possible to see their interiors, so I painted those as well.
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October 18, 2020
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October 18, 2020
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October 18, 2020
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October 18, 2020
By mistake I misaligned the area just in front of the windscreen.
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October 18, 2020
I primed the yellow areas (subassemblies) with a mixture of Mr. Surfacer 1500 White and lacquer yellow.
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October 18, 2020
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October 18, 2020
That way the RLM Gelb covered really well.
14
October 18, 2020
Research time! ..... Shouldn't that be at the start of a project? Either way, the more I fell down the rabbit hole, the more convinced I was that this bird was an Erla produced machine.
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October 18, 2020
Glancing over at some Eduard instructions and comparing those to the previous picture; it seems Tamiya's instructions are not completely on par.
16
October 18, 2020
Erla machines have an additional bulge on the starboard side directly under the already present 'Beule'. I tried sprue goo and Micro Kristal Klear to determine the material to build up the bulge from.
17
October 18, 2020
In the meantime I cut out the shape of the flange out of my thinnest plastic card.
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October 18, 2020
After coating my bulges with some paint, the Kristal Klear ones were the most promising candidates.
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October 18, 2020
And here it is: an extra bulge flange waiting for the actual bulge.
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October 23, 2020
The original top cowling tacked in place...
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October 23, 2020
....some references...
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October 23, 2020
... and with the help of some tape: rescribed Erla gun throughs! 🙂
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October 23, 2020
Even bigger news! My ordered MRP RLM paints arrived!
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October 27, 2020
Oh yeah, note to myself: buy a decent camera, because an iPhone can’t pick up these small things...
Anyway, small update on small parts: the tube for the high altitude pressurization is added.
25
October 27, 2020
And I sprayed the Quickboost exhausts NATO brown.
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October 27, 2020
And dusted them with various shades of brown ranging to pure orange.
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October 27, 2020
I also misused my paint mule to get an idea how the Erla zigzag camouflage would work. I feel the contrast between the MRP RLM74 and 75 is too stark straight from the bottle.
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October 29, 2020
The anticipation!.....
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October 29, 2020
A lot of tiny tape slivers...
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October 29, 2020
Tadaaah!!!
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October 31, 2020
And finally after a bath in Dawn yesterday, today it was time for primer! 🙂
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October 31, 2020
I went for a couple of light coats with diluted Mr. Surfacer (grey & black) and the surface is nice and smooth with only some minor blemishes to buff out.
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October 31, 2020
Tail got a treatment as well...
34
October 31, 2020
... as did the fuel tank/lower wing insert unit.
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November 1, 2020
Fancy! 😄
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November 1, 2020
Maybe hard to distinguish, but I used Gunze C115 lightened with white for the fuselage part, but added some MRP RLM76 on the tank to differentiate the two items.
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November 1, 2020
Slowly, but steady RLM76 is finding it’s way onto the fuselage.
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November 1, 2020
And onto the lower wing.
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November 5, 2020
The hardest part is done! Getting the dots to look like on the one known picture of this aircraft. The dots are RLM74 and 75 supplemented with a couple in RLM70.
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November 5, 2020
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November 5, 2020
On the starboard side however, it was fire at will as both Eduard and Tamiya came up with their own fantasy version of the dark side of the moon for this aircraft.
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November 5, 2020
Tried to get to some middle ground and keep the spots in the same style as the port side.
43
November 8, 2020
Today my Erla wing masks arrived in the mail: paint time again!
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November 8, 2020
As the camouflage lines lined up with edges of flaps and slats, positioning the masks was quite easy.
45
November 8, 2020
Panels inside the different sections were lightened with RLM74 with added beige.
46
November 8, 2020
Weirdly enough the masks lifted some paint. Never happened to me while using MRP.
47
November 8, 2020
After some touch ups this is how it turned out. Initially I wanted to soften the hard edges, but frankly I like it this way.
48
November 8, 2020
I found the Tamiya fuselage band decal to be too dark and I didn’t want to stack multiple thick Tamiya decals on top of each other.
49
November 8, 2020
That’s why I mixed some Mr. Color C34 and C65 and sprayed the fuselage band.
50
November 8, 2020
Unmasked! I used MXpression Intelligent Panzer Putty to fill in the landing gear wells, but the stuff flowed into all nooks and crannies in the wheel wells and is hard to get out again. It kinda strings out whenever I get my tweezers in there to grab it. 🙁 Not that intelligent...
51
November 8, 2020
And the first decals are on! Little by little this build is getting it’s momentum back.
52
November 9, 2020
First decal session is finished!
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November 9, 2020
I found out that the blue fuselage band needs to be widened towards the front. So, I’ll wait for those first decals to settle in before protecting them with a clear coat before respraying the blue.
54
November 12, 2020
At last all decals are on!
55
November 12, 2020
Sadly, these are true Tamiya decals. Vibrant, opaque and well researched! But...... thick and uncooperative as wooden planks....
56
November 12, 2020
I tried to nudge them into place (and into nooks and crannies) with copious amounts of Mr. Mark Softer, only to find out that when left puddled on, the stuff eats into paint. 🙁 Even into lacquer.
57
November 12, 2020
So, I leave it as it is for now and apply a gloss coat later, hopefully this will even out any blemishes. Fingers crossed!
58
November 17, 2020
I skipped a couple of updates... This is after I applied two coats of Aqua gloss, sanded down the protruding decals, applied another coat of Aqua gloss and washed everything with Flory Models Dark Dirt.
59
November 17, 2020
Contrast in the panel lines and rivets is present, but not distracting.
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November 17, 2020
After a satin lacquer coat, it’s always nice to find some wash in the wheel wells...
61
November 17, 2020
The cockpit survived the spraying and sanding massacre.
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November 17, 2020
Final assembly is in progress!
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November 17, 2020
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November 17, 2020
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November 18, 2020
Apart from the antenna wires and maybe some oil or fuel stains, I call it done! When I take some better pictures, I’ll put them in another album.
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November 18, 2020
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November 18, 2020
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November 18, 2020
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November 18, 2020
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November 18, 2020
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November 18, 2020
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November 18, 2020
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November 20, 2020
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November 20, 2020
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November 20, 2020

Kommentit

48 18 October 2020, 19:42

Erik Leijdens
Great start Patrick! And welcome to the group build! Which all started in a Whatsapp groupchat 😄

18 October 2020, 21:13

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks Erik! I keep postponing my Tomcat Group Build entry, but hey, I joined this one. 😄

18 October 2020, 21:22

Erik Leijdens
A 109 is ideal for a "quickie" 🙂

18 October 2020, 21:24

Patrick Hagelstein
Especially this Tamiya kit! It literally falls together! Subassemblies can be painted separate and induced into the final build with no witness marks whatsoever. 👍

18 October 2020, 21:26

Erik Leijdens
Yes that is a nice extra, Patrick! Good luck with the build mate 👍

18 October 2020, 21:30

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks! More to follow!

18 October 2020, 21:35

Sergej I
Could easily fool me for a 48th scale... what a nice clean build 👍. Following!

18 October 2020, 21:42

Jos Jansen
Welcome aboard Patrick...👍!

18 October 2020, 23:07

Michael Hickey
That spinner spiral sure looks clean, did you have any trouble getting it on?

19 October 2020, 03:40

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks Sergej, Jos and Michael! Yes Sergej, the cleanliness of this build is all on Tamiya; parts can be painted separately and be joined later on, the parts fit dead on; only a hint of Extra Thin in an inconspicuous spot and it's all constructed. Michael, the spinner/propellor is divided in a spinner back plate, a three bladed pro and the spinner itself. After painting each part independently, I glued everything together with a tiny amount of CA. After that I applied all three sections of the decal at once to align them together. The main spiral left me with two tiny folds, but copious amounts of Solvaset got them snuggled in eventually.

19 October 2020, 17:02

Stefan Schacht
very nice so far, count me in.

20 October 2020, 17:02

Patrick Hagelstein
Welcome Stefan! 🙂

20 October 2020, 17:07

Björn Svedberg
I'm definitely following this! 🙂 Great start! 👍

23 October 2020, 08:04

Guillaume Blanchet
Great start! following

23 October 2020, 10:41

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks guys and welcome on board!

23 October 2020, 13:28

Michael Phillips
Count me in too! Lookin' very nice so far!

23 October 2020, 14:14

Patrick Hagelstein
Welcome on board Michael! Always honored to have you come in for a closer look.

23 October 2020, 15:53

Daniel Klink
Ah the Tamiya shake and bake.. Great Progress Patrick
Following 👍

23 October 2020, 15:56

Patrick Hagelstein
It truly is a shake n' bake! 😄 If I hadn't f-ed up the research beforehand. 😉

23 October 2020, 15:57

Sergej I
Picture #5, Gunze Super Chrome is also my no1 discovery for everything silver-like. 👍

25 October 2020, 22:01

Patrick Hagelstein
👍

25 October 2020, 23:59

Jos Jansen
Nice progress Patrick...great to see your dedication to your build!

1 November 2020, 16:41

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks Jos and Roland! typically I'm not into WWII German aircraft, because their development lines are so overly complicated and shrouded in wartime chaos and that makes it hard to find the right (color)schemes for a chosen build. Researching a German aircraft would bring me into a completely different realm. I chose this build as a quick OOB "Follow the Tamiya instructions" build, but found out they are actually interpreting an older source. New findings led me to alter some of the kit's details to correspond with those new findings. And then.....this group build happened: It's on!!! 😄 Just ticked off the RLM 76 marble coat and I'm now progressing to the top colors. More to follow for sure! 😉

1 November 2020, 20:54

Clifford Keesler
Looking very good Patrick.

5 November 2020, 03:46

Erik Leijdens
Nice polka dot camouflage!

5 November 2020, 06:39

Björn Svedberg
A very nice and comprehensive build log! 👍 I like it! Looking great!

12 November 2020, 10:59

Erik Leijdens
Looks fantastic with the decals Patrick 👍

12 November 2020, 11:21

Martin von Schreckenstein
I completely missed this build! Looking great!

12 November 2020, 11:52

Eelco Gregoire
Nice progress Patrick!

12 November 2020, 11:54

Patrick Hagelstein
Welcome Martin and thank you all for your comments guys! 👍 Hopefully this afternoon I'm able to apply an overall gloss coat and hopefully that evens out any blemishes from the decal solution. More to follow! 🙂

12 November 2020, 17:20

Guillaume Blanchet
I now apply a coat of clear before & after the decals. I apply it before to prevent the blemishes from the decal solution. Some time I even apply it after installing the smallest decals to make sure I don't remove them while manipulating the aircraft.

12 November 2020, 17:36

Daniel Klink
Very nice paintwork Patrick... Colors and Camo are on spot sir 👍

12 November 2020, 18:03

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks Guillaume and Daniel! 👍 @ Guillaume, I figure you would use an acrylic as a clear coat? As the decal solution ate through what I consider a really durable lacquer coat.

12 November 2020, 18:46

Guillaume Blanchet
I always use the Tamiya XF-80. I don't what type of clearcoagt it is tough.

BTW I really like the sharpness of the wings camo.

12 November 2020, 21:03

Clifford Keesler
Looking very nice Patrick.

12 November 2020, 22:44

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks guys! @ Guillaume, Tamiya is a hybrid acrylic, meaning that the binder is an acrylic that can be thinned with either an acrylic thinner or a lacquer thinner. Tamiya then acts as either of those types of paints without being truly that type of paint if that makes sense. I spray Tamiya only when I need a specific color and then thin them with Mr. Leveling Thinner, thus using them as lacquers. I might however, follow your example and will use XF-80 as an acrylic to introduce a barrier between the paints and the decal setting solution.

14 November 2020, 00:59

Patrick Hagelstein
Remembered that I had some Alclad Aquagloss and used that instead. Not really comfy with the higher psi needed for the stuff and it sprayed quite thick. Either way, started sanding down those decals and for the most part they seem to blend in better. Only another gloss coat will tell for sure, but that's another weekend job. 😉 Whiskey first! 😄

14 November 2020, 04:38

Julian Herrero aka Yuri
Good work !

16 November 2020, 18:52

Christian Kohl
Patrick, this is an amazing work, so far...!

17 November 2020, 04:53

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks guys! On the final stretch for this one. 🙂

17 November 2020, 06:00

Pierre
Missed that build, looking great so far!

17 November 2020, 08:42

Laurens van Holland
"Just a quick in between project"? it's looking awesome, way to nice to call it an in between. Keep up the good work and would love to see the end result.

17 November 2020, 09:12

Eelco Gregoire
Succes met de laatste loodjes😉

17 November 2020, 09:17

Patrick Hagelstein
Dank jullie wel and welcome!

17 November 2020, 20:38

Daniel
top notch paint job patrick, really like the look!

17 November 2020, 21:03

Clifford Keesler
Looking awesome there sir.

17 November 2020, 21:52

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks Daniel and Clifford! Almost there! 😉

18 November 2020, 04:07

Sebastian Meyner
Fantastic result Patrick! 👍

18 November 2020, 05:32

Erik Leijdens
Excellent outcome Patrick! Looks great mate

18 November 2020, 06:21

Sergej I
Absolutely fabulous! 👍

18 November 2020, 06:48

Christian Kohl
Brillant!!

18 November 2020, 07:00

Spanjaard
"Just a quick in between project".... he says..... what a beautiful 109!

18 November 2020, 08:47

Neuling
Top result! Clean work all around!

18 November 2020, 09:27

Patrick Hagelstein
Well, as I mentioned earlier, I'm not particularly into WWII Luftwaffe, so I thought to just build it as Tamiya intended. I guess my AMS kicked in after all. 😉

18 November 2020, 17:06

Patrick Hagelstein
Apart from the exhausts and the gun barrels this is an OOB build. I only added those parts (and the masks) to be quicker than super detailing those parts by myself. 🙂

18 November 2020, 17:08

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks Roland! 👍

18 November 2020, 17:09

Rui S
Another Excellent model coming from this group build 👍

18 November 2020, 20:29

Patrick Hagelstein
Muito obrigado, Rui! 🙂

18 November 2020, 22:55

Clifford Keesler
Agree with everyone, beautiful result.

19 November 2020, 01:27

Patrick Hagelstein
Bf 109G-6 Erla 9./JG54 February 1944 Obslt Wilhelm Schilling | Album by Hagel (1:72)
Tried to take some better pictures of the finished bird. It shows I really need to invest in photography and the needed skills for that. 😉

20 November 2020, 23:21

Clifford Keesler
Can't be any worse than mine. LOL.

21 November 2020, 01:12

Patrick Hagelstein
😄

21 November 2020, 03:04

Finn
I'm not a fan of 109's but this one is just beautiful!

19 April 2022, 20:14

Daniel Klink
Superb job Patrick.. Really like the accurate mottling 👍

19 April 2022, 21:17

Sebastian Meyner
Still an absolutely stunnimg build 👍

20 April 2022, 10:40

Patrick Hagelstein
@Finn, I wasn't a fan of 109's either, but they are growing on me. Nontheless, thanks for your nice comment!
@Daniel, the Erla factory had a different mottling pattern which is harder to replicate as the patches are more pronounced. Thanks for noticing!
@Sebastian, thanks again! 😉

20 April 2022, 12:34