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George Schembri
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Bf-109E-4/7 Trop - HobbyBoss 80261 - 1/72

October 18, 2021 · in Aviation · · 26 · 2.2K

As I haven't had too much time to build any kits lately, I was loosely following the Group and thought I'd add a quick little build using the Bf 109E-4 Trop in . I did not have the time to update the progress posts - but I do have a final product.

I'm pretty sure this is my first 109, and my first HobbyBoss 'Easy Assembly' bit which does have more detail then expected and used a little filler in a few spots. I had a very rough time with the mottling so I decided to use some camo decals from Tamiya Decals #12682 for the Ki-61 kit, the spot blending is there but the photos do not show it off very well - but at least there is no overspray 🙂

The colouring was pretty close, so I basically cut out the appropriate pieces which loosely matched the camo using a downloaded Tamiya paint guide for a JG 27 BF109 - the popular Red/Black #8 of 2/JG 27, flown by Werner Schröer. Articles indicate he flew this camo scheme on his E-7, and my books indicate the E-7 was similar to the E-4 but had provisions for a belly gas tank, so I added the belly tank provide with the kit.

I used AK Air series RLM78/79/80 for the camo paint and they went on very well, and used Vallejo Premium White for the tail band.

Testors Red for the nose spinner proved to be a bit too dark for my liking but it served the purpose all the same.

Reader reactions:
9  Awesome

5 additional images. Click to enlarge.


26 responses

  1. Looks great, George (@georgeswork). I like the desert camo on German machines. I have also built a couple of Hobby Boss Easy Assembly kits to serve as a pallet for some painting experiments. They were fun to build, looked good, and I still have them in the case. Hope you have some more time for builds. :o)

  2. That’s great, George! Remember when guys were saying that Italian smoke ring camo decals were the death of the hobby, LOL?

    • Thanks John (@j-healy), I think I have the smoke rings all figured out with these Print-Scale decals, ready for this 'motley crew`.

      1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

  3. Nice! I love 1/72 I can't build that small worth a darned, so I admire those who can!

  4. Awesome 109, George @georgeswork
    Especially your work on the camo is great, even more because of this scale.

  5. Looking really great, George! Love your mottling method.

  6. Looks great. Such a simply Kit and great result! Maybe some weathering will be good?

  7. A great-looking 109, and love the desert camo! Well done.

  8. Nicely done George.

  9. Nice George, this came out looking great!

  10. Actually, if you look at any close-up photo of a German airplane that has a mottled finish, you'll find a ton of overspray, George. They weren't painting for iModeler presentations. 🙂

    Nice work on this.

    • Thanks Tom (@tcinla), I was thinking I was being way too careful.
      But...I think I figured a way how to get properly scaled overspray - now I just need to find the correct colours 🙂

      1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

  11. What do you think about assembly the kit? Any problems?

    • Hey Lis (@lis), I was happy with the kit.
      It did have a decent cockpit with good detail with engraved lines but I cannot comment on the accuracy. I was surprised that I did need some fill at one wing root and the underwing rads.
      Decals were just a bit off register and seemed very stiff so I only used a few of the kit decals and used extra Tamiya decals.

  12. Very nice result George! ?

  13. Did you enjony AK Paints? Any problems with painting?

    • Hello Lis (@lis),
      I bought a few more AK Air kits as I do like them being acrylics and do spray very well once you have properly shaken then up.
      The AK Bottle tops do pop off, so I put glass beads in AK Air bottles for better mixing.
      That would be my only word of caution, you must fully shake/mix prior to use to achieve the same colour for late touchups.

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