Hasegawa 1/48 Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4/7 Trop.
The model depicts the mount of Ofw. Hermann Förster serving in 2/JG27, Ain-el-Gazala, June 1941. Förster served mostly in the single-engine night fighter squadron NJG 1 before transferring to Africa with 2/JG27. He scored a total of 13 victories, but he met his fate soon after the above photo was taken. "He was killed In Action (KIA) 14 December, 1941 during aerial combat with British fighters near Tmimi. He was able to bail out, but was hit while in his chute. 7 victories in the Desert. He is credited with downing the 1st UK-based Bomber Command AC (a Wellington) by a Luftwaffe Night Fighter AC." Taken from the Kracker Luftwaffe Archive:
The famous color albeit blurred photograph is an open invitation to capture realism in a model. However, Hasegawa's decals yellowed in no time and I had to repaint white areas.
Nice work , Rafi @blackmopane !
It looks just like the photograph !
Thank you, Jay!
Excellent result and equally excellent interpretation from the photo, Rafi!
Thank you, Spiros!
This is done beautifully, Rafi @blackmopane
You did a nice job on capturing the realism.
Well done.
Thank you, John.
Very beautiful job. I love the camo paint job! I have always wanted to try a "tiger striped" motif like that on the side of the fuselage but have been scared of messing it up. With my new H&S Infinity 2024 airbrush, I think I may give it a try.
Thank you, Tom!
Masking can help.
Very nice job, Rafi, and as the others have said, you did an amazing job on that tricky camouflage. It's good to see the Hasegawa kit built. Even with the kit's few flaws, it still looks quite good coming from the hands of a master. A few details on Ofw. Hermann Förster from the Kracker Luftwaffe Archive: he served mostly in the single-engine night fighter squadron NJG 1 before serving in Africa with 2/JG27. He scored a total of 13 victories, but he met his fate soon after the above photo was taken: "Killed In Action (KIA) 14 December, 1941 during aerial combat with British fighters near Tmimi. He was able to bail out, but was hit while in his chute. 7 victories in the Desert. He is credited with downing the 1st UK-based Bomber Command AC (a Wellington) by a Luftwaffe Night Fighter AC."
Thank you, Christopher.
Interesting information that I thought would adorn my post.
Another very nice 109! And you seem to have a knack for selecting interesting schemes, and then pulling them off really well!
Thank you, Greg!
Awesome paintwork, as usual, Rafi. You're an artist whose canvas is styrene!
Thank you, Chas!
I connect better to model painting than oils on canvas because I have no message to convey😉