I humbly present my 1/32 debut, a Bf 109G-14 flown by Maggiore Mario Bellagambi the commander of 5a Squadriglia, 2° Gruppo Caccia, “Diavoli Rossi”, from Osoppo, Italy in March '45. Bellagambi claimed 10 kills during his career. He is generally acknowledged to be one of the most aggressive and dynamic Italian fighter pilots.
I picked up this kit on sale at Wal-Mart for the princely sum of $4. Since a lot of people complain about the high price of modeling these days, (in large part due to the “Axis of Evil”: Hasegawa, Tamiya and Trumpeter [:P]) this was a budget build to prove a point, you don’t have to spend a butt load of money to have fun and produce a reasonable looking model, that is to say somebody can produce a reasonable looking model I don’t want you guys to get your hopes up on any of my efforts. I didn’t use any aftermarket except for markings (Sky Decals) and any mods were restricted to materials I had on hand.
Anyway, fit was good, shape is pretty accurate, not too much to complain about but I will anyway. The wheels wells are devoid of any detail, I did some scratch building to address this issue. Second, no aileron mass balances, still working on that one, not so easy to scratch build. I dropped the landing and radiator flaps, scribed some missing detail and lots of little things that I’m not inclined to type all out at this point. This was entered in the ANR and Bf 109 Reich Defender GB’s, had a lot of fun with both.
Finished in Aeromaster Acrylics and Sky Decals “Bf 109 in Italian Service”.
With the combination of beautiful lines and a menacing look, not much compares to a late model 109!
That’s a helluva price for a kit in that scale… any scale! If I could buy one, slap it together and get it to look half as good as yours I would pay $10 all day long! [:D]
Absolutely gorgeous! Once again, you have proven your skill with these late war Axis builds. Stunning work on this one Mike, can’t wait to see what is up your sleeve for your next build. [bow]
stunning! Like others have said mid/late Messers are always interesting to look at, sleek lines and add ons of necessity in perfect harmony. Hard to believe it’s a “cheap” model.
The only criticism I have is that the fuel/oil leak on the drop tank looks a little too much like a blotch of paint to me, still a solid build.
Thanks for the comments! The base is made from a combination of model railroad static grass and fine turf. It’s glued on to a 1/4" thick piece of foam board.
The background is a pre-printed poster on heavy stock that I found at Staples. It’s the only thing I have large enough to accomodate a 1/32 plane.
Thanks for the info. I’ve been considering a similar setup. I’ve seen grass/turf pre-cut boards or heavy card stock in the railroad section at my LHS. I was going to look for poster board with a cloud pattern but your idea may be more practical.
I’m not sure there are many of us Yes fans left and I suspect we will not see the classic line up ever again.[sigh]
Yeah, had tickets to the show in Hollywood last year and then Jon had to take time off for health reasons. Didn’t bother trying to see them this year with the replacement singer, just didn’t seem right (although I did like Trevor Horn on Drama) with some guy they found on YouTube, too much like the Journey deal. What I wouldn’t give for a Close to the Edge line up reunion!
