"White 12", Hans Langer.
Tamiya 1/72 Messerschmitt Bf-109G-6
Bf 109 G-6, “White 12” of II./JG 51, Central Italy.
Flown by Hans Langer, this interesting G-6 had “NOT YOU” painted across the tailplane. This addition was not authorized by the pilot who promptly got shot down by P-38s on his next mission. Langer survived and naturally directed his crew chief to never paint any such inscriptions on his machine again. Opposed the 17 August Schweinfurt Raid. Shot down two B-17s on this raid. Shot down at least six times, first time by a P-38 in N. Africa.. His first victory, a Spitfire over Malta on 31 March, 1942. Another Spitfire, his 4th, downed at Map Quadrant 47441 (N.Africa) on 1 December, 1942. Another Spitfire on 19 May, 1943. During the Sicilian campaign, he was known to have downed a Boston II 20 km southwest of Marralle on 11 July, 1943. He was credited with a B-17 15 km southwest of Udine, in northern Italy, 19 December, 1943, and another 70 km SSE of Ferrara on 12/28/43. Bowers/Lednicer, 58 victories.
Improvements include:
Added rivets to entire airframe.
Masked and painted all markings except data stencils and unit markings .
Quinta Studios #72037 interior decals.
Ceramic wire antenna aerial.
Anti-vibration cones molded from plasticard.
Kannonenboots from AZ Models kit #AZM7819.
Cannon barrels drilled open.
MRP acrylic lacquers airbrushed through Iwata HP-C and Custom Micron-C.
I just realized the rudder should be white, so back in the paintshop she goes this weekend.
That's quite a paint job and interesting story. Well done! Did Langer survive the war or did his luck run out after no.6? @jkellycrna
I don't know, and I can't seem to find anything definitive.
Fantastic job and great writeup, James!
Very nice looking Gustav, James @jkelleycrna
The extras really did pay off.
That looks really good, James, could easily pass for a 1/48 model.
Super finish James. Very neat. Again could easily pass as 1/48. 👍
What a great effort. You should be very proud of your work. It is excellent.
Nice work on your Gustav, James.
Your mods take that Tamiya kit from 'Great' to 'Fantastic'.
A beauty, especially for 1/72. I'd love to know how you create the anti-vib cones for this scale.
1.Light candle.
2.Hold a thin sheet of plasticard over flame.
Thank you Gentlemen one and all, for your kind words!