Hand Painting 1/24th Scale: Airfix Messerschmitt 109E-4
The model depicts an aircraft flown by Oberleutnant Helmut Wick, 1/Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" in France and Belgium, October 1940. By that time, the light blue camouflage on the sides of the fuselage was pained over in the field using brushes in an attempt to disguise aircraft in airfields subjected to RAF strafing attacks.
Airfix' big Messerschmitt 109E kit is a difficult build due to the crude and sometimes twisted mold and the lack of necessary details in places. Nonetheless, it can be build into a good representation of the 109.
I purchased the kit some 50 years ago in a London hobby shop close to the Science Museum in South Kensington. The model was built shortly afterwards using brushes and the magnificent Humbrol's Authentic Colors. Over the years, I revamped the model several times, largely attending missing details, such as wheel bay walls and eroding decals. The original painting was left intact. Authentic colors, right?
Absolutely wonderful, Rafi @blackmopane
This is a really great brush painting result. Must have taken you quite some time to get it done this realistic.
Thank you, John.
Nice work, Rafi. So much to talk about in this post. I’m always impressed when I see any of those 1/24 kits completed. Brush painting is a lost art for most of us. I do know several excellent modelers who do nothing but brush paint enamels to this day. And finally, Humbrol Authentics! That paint made me a life long modeler.
Thank you, John.
Best paints for brushing are oils, but they do not fit the dynamics of a plastic model build. My favorite were by far Model Master paints. Unfortunately, Humbrol-Revell paints from their early issue dry in the cans quickly and I stopped using them.
Fantastic job on an old difficult kit. So glad you built it and posted this.
Thank you, Bob!
Another superb build, Rafi! This time tackling an elderly kit, brush painted and revisited! Humbrol Authentics are the icing on the cake! What more to ask?
Congratulations!
Thank you, Spiros!
Very nice! I built that same kit (and their Spitfire) back in 1972 when I was going through F-111A flight training. It was a beast back then. I remember that the white plastic was very hard and brittle, but it did build into a fairly nice model. Your brush painting is beautiful. I remember using a short, stiff brush to "stipple" the green on the sides of the fuselage.
Thank you, Tom!
It seems that back in those days, big was beautiful no matter what.
Nice build of that big beast. The overpainting of the 65 blue on the fuselage is very convincing.
Thank you, Chas.
Beautiful build Rafi!
Thank you, Butch!
Looks very good. Brush painting so large a model is quite and undertaking. The results look authentic …
Thank you, Jay.
Very nice - I think that's the most unique finish I have seen on a 109! Well done.
Thank you, Greg!