Eric Hartmann’s Bf 109G-6, “Gelb Eine”, Rumania, June 1944
Another build from my 35+ year old attic stash. This time Fujimi's 1/48 Bf 109 kit that I think I bought in the late 70's or early 80's.
The decals are from EagleCals #132 and according to their documentation, this particular aircraft was Hartmann's backup to his regular “Yellow One”, hence the little red “2” in the middle of the yellow number one. It is believed to be the aircraft he flew when he scored his 250th kill on 4 June 1944. Also (for the rivet counters), the spinner is half white, not the standard 1/3 or spiral. This was taken from a film of the aircraft in a private collection that EagleCals did not have permission to publish. You gotta use whatever documentation you got.
Anyway, the kit went together with almost no filler or sanding needed. The kit offered many, many choices of extra parts. I used the optional “Galland Panzer” style headrest and the “Erla-Haube” canopy, as this was proper for this aircraft. Wheel wells, brake lines, and seat belts were scratch built. Vallejo Air and Tamiya paints were used. The kit decals offered quite a few nice options, but sadly they “died” due to age and heat in the attic after all these years. I really liked the EagleCal decal sheet and they were a dream to use.
I think I may have over done the mottling on the fuselage as it came out a bit darker than I wanted. I'm still new at this so hopefully I'll learn, haha. I did some light weathering and didn't “beat it up” very much. I think the “experten”, because of their status, would have had priority for parts and ground support to maintain their aircraft in as good a shape as possible during the war.
Nice little kit for its' time, Tom...you've done well to bring it to light, as it were.
Great 109!
Great build Tom!
Well done Tom, I still have my very first BF-109 and I used a q tip to do the mottling, not nearly as well done as your presentation, it took me a while to get it looking more accurate as I built more Luftwaffe aircraft over the years.
That's a beautiful 109 Tom. I think your plane came out great. I never knew about the second "back up" plane. Very cool ! I like it...
Well done, Tom. Great write-up, too!
Very nice