BF 109G14 / Hasegawa 1/48 scale
I think it goes with out saying that most of us airplane model guys, at one time or another had a strong admiration for the "Ace's". So no collection could be complete without at least one Erich Hartmann entry. I have two.
His records are amazing, I realize the 352 kills, plus or minus a few can be disputed, but as Hartmann said after the war, "the war was on top of us every day". So no wonder the scores for the German pilots were so high, if they survived, and lot didn't. What amazes me most about Hartmann was some of his other marks. 1400 combat missions, 800 dogfights, and to me one the most amazing things, he was shot down himself 18 times, twice being captured, only to escape."Why is this not a movie !
This particular model is of a Bf 109G14 flown by Hartmann in 1945.
The Hasegawa kit is a blast to build, the only problem I found was trying to fix the canopy in the open position. I solved this by sanding the edge at the desired angle to help it bite to the flat edge. I didn't put too much effort into the base camo/mollting scheme as the over- spray winter white was going to cover almost all of it. Once the base color was painted on I applied the decals except for the >> makings, as these were applied after the white winter camo.
It took me a while to come around to the 109, but I have to admit its now on my list of favorite airplanes. If you've never heard one fly by, your missing out. They had a unique sound unlike anything else, kind of like a well tuned race car.
Hartmann's exploits are legendary. Awesome 109. I like the weathering and winter camo! The simple reason why it's not a movie is because Hartmann was the enemy. A movie about him would not be politically correct in today's world. Check out the escape story of the German soldier Clemens Forell that has been made into a movie in Germany. Again a great looking 109 Terry!
Ya, we certainly wouldn't want to insult anyone, like paying good money to sit through the English Patient. ( I'm sorry I just couldn't help myself).
Thanks Morne for the kind comments on the model, glad you like it.
Well done Terry, your Gustav looks great and the winter camo plus the black tulip is a great combination.
And Morne is right with his thoughts about Hartmann and the Wehrmacht in general. There were lots of persons or actions, worth for a movie.
Nice little build, Terry...I like it.
I read Hartmann's bio and agree it would make a great movie. Very nice 109. I've been considering how to do a winter camo overpaint for a while since I don't airbrush - would probably need to be some way to mask properly and use a rattle can for the white, but I don't know that I'd find the right shade of white without being able to custom mix.
Greg, I don't think I could have done this without an airbrush, as I had to paint free-hand around the decals, and actually sprayed a light dusting over the entire finish. With that said, I've seen some very nice winter schemes using hair spray over your base paint scheme, Apply the hairspray, then your white camo. You can then brush away the white in the desired area's. Once you get what you like. give a good clear coat. Good luck, and keep me posted if you try it.
Very well done!
Why is this not a movie?
Wrong side.
No video game potential.
No sequel potential.
Intended audience of teenage boys doesn't know what World War 2 is.
Can he be re-cast as a superhero?
🙂
Why not! TinTin goes East! Cast of thousands! Lots of explosions! Gratuitous nekkid wimmin, and give the protagonist a winged helmet!
Some 19 year old in Hollywierd could pitch it. Don't say "german", and I see box office gold!
Glad to hear your eye surgery went well!