Well the finished results were less spectacular than anticipated. The decals I used were the thickest I have ever seen, the only thing thicker was the clear parts. As most of you know decals are one of those items that can make or break the looks of a model. The front wind screen is not only under sized but is actually molded wrong. I do not have the time now to fix all of these things as I have bigger fish to fry. On the postive side all the work I did do turned out great. The winter camo also came out pretty nice. I did try a few new tricks on this kit. Most worked very well like the nose cooler. Others like the wheel well detail not so good. Despite the defects I am posting pics anyway as grayllium will no doubt ask about it[:D].
The aircraft in question is a Bf109G-6 “mickey mouse” flown by Hptm. Carganico II/JG 5 autumn 1942. Mickey is carrying a extra pair of shoes to show the 2 times the pilot had to walk back to his unit from behind emeny lines. This 109 wears a badly worn distemper winter camo. I actually used a old nozzel on my airbrush to do the camo as this paint was usually very uneven and rough. The paint also did not stick well to the exhaust stains which left a speckled look to it. The landing gear doors are not installed due to mud build up and landing problems, even though this cut performance as well.
2 pics showing the overall look of the winter camo.
right side, you can see the thickness of the decal here.
Left side showing mickey
A closer view of the finished gun hood and reworked intake you can see the corrected shape, rivit detail and weild line. guns used from a hasegawa kit.
View showing the finished nose and wing coolers.
In the end I just wanted to get it done. Somethings were left a little rough and some could use more weathering. All in all it does look alot better than the OOB academy kit. let me know what you think.
I don’t feel qualified to criticize that model, it’s clearly better that anything I have ever done. I couldn’t see overthick decals, and I suspect you left the mold seam on that right side tire just to see if we were honest!
The winter distemper camouflage looks very well done on my monitor. I think you are just suffering from a little post-bench-partum depression. You’ll like that 109 a lot in a week or two. I prescribe two aspirin and a Tamiya Spitfire!
I know how you feel: very critical of you own work, which is a good thing. From an outsider’s view, that’s an outstanding 109. You really nailed the winer camo and turned the Academy kit into a real winner. Personally I like the green nose and the level of weathering: not overdone, but dirty enough to look used. As thick as the decals were, you did a great job blending them in.
I can’t see the issues you describe and I have to say well done! Are the decals the kit decals? If so, Academy is well known for having some of the worst kit decals around. I’m not surprised they gave you trouble.
I think that winter camo came out great. I looks very realistic. You are being to hard on yourself. Something I think most of us do. I know I start out building every model expecting it to be perfect. In the end it usally ends up being a compromise between my skills and how much time do I want to spend on one model. It is not easy to pull off a good winter camo job and you did a great job in my opinion. Keep em comin’.
Well you are all great modelers so If you guys can’t see the small errors I made it must be pretty good, Thanks guys. I not really disappointed with it, the construction and paint work are up to snuff but some of the interior detail work (cockpit/wheel wells) are not up to what I would like. The decals looked ok on the backing but wow were they thick and had alot of glue on them. I hit them with everything but the kitchen sink and still was not happy. In the right light you can see the film line even under the dull coat. i was going to paint on the marking, but because I had to use the rather large mickey I decided not to. I think painted on marking on this camo would have made a big difference. that was really my big dislike, alot of extra work, great paint/weathering work but the decals were a let down.
Mucker and soulcrusher I am a big nit picker of my own work, I tend to set lofty goals and strive to build a slightly better model each time. Sometimes my new ideas shoot this down, but hay that’s the learning curve right. I think most modelers are like this. thanks for the input guy’s.
Arki30 no not kit decals. I got them at a show several years ago. Not even sure who printed them.
Tire seam, in a hurry There not weathered either.
What’s next. i was thinking of joining tango’s spitfire group build and I have a 1/48 ta 152 I plane on building for a up comming model show.
Well…all I can say is that you are way too hard on yourself. That looks like a very fine model from where I am standing and way better than I could ever do.
I always waffle between depression and motivation when someone shows a model and says the results weren’t up to their standards, yet the end product is far better than anything I am capable of.
