1/32 Hasegawa Bf 109 G-6 JG 52 "Gerhard Barkhorn" (Finished)

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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I figured I’d share my next project. I’m still completely addicted to 1/32 scale, particularly the Luftwaffe stuff right now. I just wrapped up Eduard’s Emil, now I’m taking a crack at Hasegawa’s Gustav in the “Experten” boxing. This kit is a fairly new tooled kit and the reviews I’ve read have been favorable. I’m going with the JG 52 plane of Gerhard Barhorn, which is one of the kit options (and the box art subject). Barkhorn was a 301 kill Uber ace and sits right under Erich Hartmann, the ace of aces. I’m leaning towards mostly out of the box, but I may add exhausts, guns and tires. Montex masks are a definite. Ehh…so much for out of the box…lol.

I started with the cockpit. I think it looks great as is, even nicely depicting that prominent yellow fuel line on the starboard side wall. All it needs are seatbelts.

On a side note, I’ve been becoming increasingly dissatisfied with Gunze Aqueous. It’s hard to get, takes alot of paint to get the mixture “right”, and it’s semi-gloss which I find hard to weather and annoying. The only reason I’ve preferred it was because I thought their RLM shades were dead on. The last straw was me discovering I have used all the RLM 02 and forgot to order more before starting the Emil. Needless to say I’ve been searching for a suitable replacement. Recently I read about Mr. Paint (MRP), which all the gurus have been raving about it. It’s apparently a lacquer/acrylic hybrid that performs beautifully right from the bottle. I ended up buying all their RLM colors to try out, specifically for this build. So here I go…

I sprayed the pit my usual XF-1 Flat Black then threw down the MRP RLM 66. It sprayed beautiful. It reminds me of Tamiya paint when used with their lacquer thnner. Like satin silk. Dare I say it’s a little dark for my liking. I gave it my usual weathering and wash. I remembered I had a left over FW 190 “fabric” seatbelt set from Eduard in the stash that I didn’t use on my F-8. I decided to use it here. You have to thread the buckles, which is a pain, but its worth it. These lay much more naturally. There’s even numbers on the belts…weird but cool. I may try to find these from now on.

Almost ready to close it up…

I can’t wait to try the MRP on the rest of it.

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All I can say is “please may I have more”…

Your work with plastic for me is like looking at a Van Gogh or Rembrandt, keep up the brilliant work.

MRP is the way to go for sure, I have a new build coming up which will hopefully look pretty good dressed in their paint.

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O, nice, will be following this one. I’ve got the slightly earlier boxing with Hartmann’s aircraft on the box so i am keen to see how this builds.

Great start as usual.

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[:D[[:D[

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Looks awesome so far!!.. may I ask where did you get your MRP paints from? Only place I have been able to find it so far is on Ebay and it’s close to $11 with shipping which seems a bit steep to me.

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Thanks guys. I appeciate your kind words.

I got them from hobbyworld-usa.com. They are $7.00 a piece. He’s in the US and the service is fantastic. I will definitely be getting more stuff from him.

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As always, Fantastic work! Great start, I’ll be following!

Toshi

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On the heels of Photobucket’s newfound greed, I set up a Flickr account (Edit: I went with Shutterfly) and am slowly trying to get used to it. It’s definitely different. I figured I’d ty to share where I’m at with this turkey. I closed it up without issue. Hasegawa provides two different top cowl pieces, but according to my reference, they don’t fall on a panel lines at the bottom edge (See G cowl below).

The airframe went together beautifully. I prefer to add the radiator doors and flaps first to get a strong Tenax weld. Since I would be using MRP, I decided to dust it with primer as I wasn’t sure how it would react to bare plastic.

I procured Montex masks for this and probably all future projects. After a preshade, I painted the necessary areas XF-1 Flat Black. The appropriate masks were then used.

I then Sprayed XF-2 Flat White cut with a touch of XF-19 Sky Grey to tone it down. The white was then masked off with the appropriate stencil. Note my spanking new Iwata. Holy Cow! Airbrushing Bliss!

I normally add red to my version of RLM 04 to make it pop, but I recently came across a photo of it in color and it seemed more lemon-like, almost bland. This time I add a bit of white to the XF-3. It’s ok but I still prefer my vibrant version.

Next I added the MRP RLM 76. It seems a tad blue to my eye, but I went with it. The key with these are light coats. It sprays like a dream.

Next I added MRP RLM 75. I thought this color was dead on. I discovered I could mix Tamiya paints with these and have no issues. Here I added a touch of XF-2 Flat White for fading and weathering.

I taped off the splinter pattern and added MRP RLM 74. This color seemed a tad too green to my eye. I don’t know, maybe its correct. I know, it’s not pretty but it works. No need for expensive masking tape to fill in.

I added some XF-57 Buff and faded it bit. I didn’y go crazy with it.

Stencils removed. Decals! We dont need no stinkin’ decals!

Then I spent about two hours griming it up with a post shade of diluted XF-64 Red Brown and XF-69 NATO Black. I focused primarily along centerline around the engine and radiators.

I finished up all the little decals and thats were I left off. I used the prop hub decal from the kit. It turned out ok.

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Honestly lawdog I can’t say I have seen such brilliant work for some time. I really, and I mean really like your paint finish. I gave MRP another go and like you, I have excellent results.

I’m tempted to buy a small vinyl cutter and produce my own masks, as l feel they are better than decals for larger graphic elements.

BTW what Iwata AB did you get?

Any way, please keep posting your future builds, please!

Damian

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Great looking build again lawdog. I have been thinking about Montex masks for larger subjects, might have to givce them a go.

When dowloading onto Flickr, i just have the folder open with the pics i want and move the ones i want on there across one at a time.

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Any time I see a WIP post by you, I eagerly click on the thread. Consistently fantastic work. Thanks for letting us in on your techniques. I have to have a look at Montex. The results speak for themselves.

D

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Simply incredible!

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Jaw dropping gorgeous, Joe! I’m lost for words. More, please.

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Each and every time I view your work I have a dicotomy of emotions. " Wow that’s fabulous [:O]" and “GEEZ, why don’t mine come out like that ?” [:S]

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Thanks guys. The kind words are appreciated.

Damian, it’s the Revolution HP-CR model. It was given to me to try out and I’m very happy with it. Precise fine detail. Easy to clean. Perhaps my old Omni 4000 is getting long in the tooth, which is somewhat clunky compared to the Iwata. Its almost 20 years old though. I have relegated it to the back up role now, mostly clear and dull coating.

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I purchased the Revolution CR a month or so back for using when painting larger areas and clear coats. My go to AB is the Eclipse CS, just really impressed by both to be honest, neither have missed a beat to date.

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I always enjoy watching your WIP. Your talent/artistry for the finish of aircraft is so excellent that I am sure I’ll absorb some of your techniques via my eyeballs [;)] - I only wish that were possible!

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Dang Joe! That is one breathtaking model you produced!

I tried Montex masks on a Tamiya 1/48 FW-190 and I am working on now and I was very happy with the results to say the least but nowhere near what you did.

Thanks for posting your WIPs, they are an inspiration.

Steve

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Nice work on the preshading! Excellent work overall.

Toshi

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Oh man, that mottling looks superb!!