I had some time to paint today. There are a lot of small bits I have left off the kit till now in an effort to keep them from getting knocked off in the painting and decal process. I try to leave these things off the model as long as I can. The 209 had a very long pitot on the right wing tip that would just be begging to get knocked off, but it would need some putty to fit correctly. Against my better judgement, I added the pitot tube, faired it in with putty, and then refined the fit with some sanding. I am happy to report I have only knocked it off twice during painting.

The painting diagram with the kit doesn't show any position lights on the plane. I turned to the grainy photos that I have found, and couldn't find any evidence of wingtip lights there, either. So, no lights to paint and mask off. In addition, I can find no photo evidence of any radio masts or antenna wires, so apparently this plane had no radios. Obviously these items weren't important in a prototype.

Since this plane was never used in combat, I wanted to go for some subtle effects in the painting process. I started out with a base coat of AK Real Colors RLM 02. Once that was on, I realized the putty work I had done on the forward canopy wasn't nearly as subtle as I thought. So back to the workbench to rework the putty.

With that done, I put another coat of RLM 02 on the plane.

Real Colors dry quickly, so I waited about 15 minutes and applied a very thin coat of RLM 02 darkened with some black to the centers of the panels.

After another 15 minutes, I applied another thin coat lightened with white to the panel lines and high spots.

The contrast looks pretty stark at this point. The last coat is very thin RLM 02 sprayed over the whole plane to unify the darks and lights. This is the subtle part. I apply this final, very thin coat of RLM 02 very slowly, checking the progress every couple of minutes. When I get to the point that I think one more overall pass will be perfect, I stop without adding the last pass. I always want to go one pass of the airbrush too many, so I stop before I think I should. It usually works out perfectly. The important thing is not to go too far, if you do, it will take away all of your contrast, and the only way to fix it is to start over with the dark and light colors. You also need to be aware that any weathering you do will change the contrast.

Done for now. Time to go watch some of the Olympics. Everyone stay safe.

Love your paintwork too, my friend @gblair!

Great going! Very cool subject 🙂

I got the painting and decals done. Once the AK Real Colors RLM02 was dry, I airbrushed some Tamiya Clear Gloss as a base for the decals. I let the gloss dry for 24 hours, then added the decals. The decals worked well, except for one of the long snakes on the front of the fuselage. I managed to break one apart while I was massaging it into place, but the two pieces fit back together nicely. The kit swastikas are broken into several parts to comply with the rules in European countries. I really hate dealing with these multipart decals and I never quite seem to get things lined up. I went into my spares and pulled out some old decals from a 1/48 Me-109 and borrowed 2 swastikas to replace the kit decals. Sadly, these were so old that they broke apart into a dozen pieces. This problem is easy to fix by simply spraying some Tamiya clear over the decals. Following the treatment, they went on the plane without problems. I let the decals dry for 24 hours, then sprayed on some Tamiya Clear Flat. After the clear flat dries for 24 hours, it will be time for some light weathering. Everyone stay safe. Cheers.

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

George, this little fakefighter has turned out great! I have to agree on your thoughts on swastikas. Even though they relate to something not at all nice, they are a historical fact, and should be treated as such. Good to have spare decals to save the day! (the rule is actually only for Germany as far as I know, and manufacturers like eduard include them on their sheets in a corner so they can be cut off, and the puzzle ones are then on the major part of the sheet).

Looking forward to the weathering and last bits!

Even with some minor quibbles, your powerhouse plane is already looking the part.
The snake decal looks great!
About mono colour painted aircraft, they pose an challenging but creative approach in painting IMO. It’s very easy to get it plain but looking a bit toy-like.
Your O2 Grau variations gets it much more interesting to look at George 😉

I managed to "mostly" finish the plane today. I wanted to depict the 209 near the end of its unsuccessful trials period. The finish would be in pretty good shape, but there might be some paint fading, dirt, and leaks. I used artist oils and odorless Turpenoid to individually work the panels. Once the weathering was done, I added some exhaust staining using chalk pastels. When all of this was done and dry, I added all of the small parts, such as the gear doors, the center canopy, and the prop. Actually that isn't quite true, I managed to launch the two aileron balances into the carpet. If you look closely at the pictures, you will see they are missing. I will replace them at some point, but I think I have run out of steam on this build for now. I also think the center canopy, which hinged open on the right side, probably had some sort of wire or line to keep it from opening too far. I can't find any photos of this, but I will probably add something to suggest this wire in the future.

That's it for now. This was a fun and fairly simple kit of an unusual plane. I also have the C-141A that is made by A and A Models, so my experience on this kit may move the 141 farther up the build list. Everyone stay safe. Cheers.

7 attached images. Click to enlarge.