Man I really like watching your work.
Joe you have an amazing talent of enhancing the details of a kit without being too heavy handed. Any your consistency of quality is absolutely fantastic. You sir are truly a master [:D[.
I got this decaled the other night. I was able to piece together decals for Steinhoff’s G-6. It’s a combination of a little bit of everything I had in my stash (Sky, Aeromaster, Superscale). I even found the JG 77 heart badge on a K sheet. I even used some of Tamiya’s kit decals and they worked great, possibly because I used their Mark Fit decal solution which I suspect is designed for these.
The spinner spiral was from the kit and it worked great. Maybe Tamiya improved their decals.
Almost time for some weathering.
Beautiful work lawdog
its looking realy, really nice. And I just got the Eduard kit, making me regret it.
Really looking good there, Joe!
Thanks guys…
It was time for some weathering. I used the AK Interactive Dark Brown for a panel line pin wash. This stuff flows very nice. I know it looks ugly right now, but a little of the AK odorless thinner on a Q-tip cleans it right up. If you wipe in the wind flow direction it leaves a nice weathered streaked effect. This product has to be done over an ACRYLIC clear coat. I used Alclad Aqua Gloss.
Next I used AK streaking fluid in some random spots. Apply it with a thin brush then let it dry for a few minutes. The only one I have so far is Panzer Grey. Agin, it looks horrible but this is only the first stage.
After I let it set up, I used a flat brush with a touch of thinner and pulled the streaks down. Go easy on the thinner or you’ll wipe it all off. Think dry brushing here. I concentrated mostly around the engine area for simulated grime and oil (well…real oil I suppose). This looked about right to me.
The overall effect…subtle…
I should be wrapping this one up soon…
Looks like your starting to think like a armor modeler now lol. The end result looks very good I love following your builds.
Thanks Clint. I do have to get more colors though. I’m not sure I can use these two on everything…lol.
Thanks guys…
I’m going with done. Other than a few little nit-picks, this is certainly the best Gustav in 1/48. I loved it and will be building another very soon. There’s a good chance my Hasegawa Gustavs will end up on ebay. Tamiya thought of everything.
Reference the subject, it’s in the markings of one of my favorite pilots, Johannes “Mackey” Steinhoff when he was the CO of JG 77 in Italy. It was this particular story that inspired this build:
“Around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, August 25, 1943, Steinhoff took off from Foggia airbase in southern Italy to test a new engine that had been installed in his Me-109. Oberleutnant Theo Lindemann flew as his wingman. Only a few miles from Foggia, Steinhoff and Lindemann encountered 140 P-38 Lightnings (75 from 82nd Fighter Group, 65 from the 1st Fighter Group) inbound from their bases in North Africa for an early morning surprise attack on the German airfields in the area. The P-38s had flown over 1,000 miles and were now were flying at low level to avoid detection en route the target area. In a head-on pass, Steinhoff fired into the Lightnings, downing two. One of the P-38 pilots bailed out and landed on the runway at Foggia. He was immediately captured by the Germans. That evening, the American pilot was invited to dine with Steinhoff at his tent quarters. The two men enjoyed friendly conversation late into the night and got very drunk on the local wine.”
Fantastic!
Another fantastic finish. You might not be able to fly a plane and land it but you Shirley know how to build em
Outstanding work and very interesting backstory
Hi Joe,
a splendid job on this, and a fine example of Steinhoff’s mount. [Y]
regards,
Jack
Thanks guys…and thanks for following along. I’m going to be doing Steinhoff’s Emil from the Battle of Britain soon too. It’s a matter of deciding on the Eduard or Tamiya kit, which are both awesome.
…and don’t call me Shirley [:)]
Awesome work, Joe. You never fail to inspire.
BK
Thanks Brandon…
That is one heck of s story when two adversaries get together and dine and indulge in the local Italian wine!
Great looking model! [Y]
Indeed PJ and thanks. There was great respect amongst these pilots.