Looking very sporty, @airbum!
Waiting for the decals...and your wing mottling verdict, of course!

Thank you gents
@jmillan
@fiveten
@blackadder57
Well - I decided to. . . . - update coming up in a minute 🙂

Yellow is such a pain to paint, my friend @airbum!
Yours looks great, though!
Nice masking!

Short update

Masks off, decals on, decal will have to be removed again

The Xtracolor really is my favorite paint – it is easy to use, and it dries relatively fast, even though it will need a bit of time to cure fully. And so, here it is with the masks off

A bit different from the European 109’s with those yellow markings.

As for markings, I have a few decal sheets.

The one for the Buffalo has been mentioned earlier, but there are two here that might just be useful. The one to the left is from Techmod, and for a 108, the one on the right is from Maestro, and for Saab Safir.

The Techmod might just be OK in size for wings, and the ones for a Saab Safir’s wings will be just right for the fuselage. The Buffalo decals are too large for a 109 wing.

Alas – the fuselage is the right size, but the ones for the wings are just too small (and some of the most fragile I’ve yet encountered, plus they are really opaque) Plan B will see the one on the wing replaced by painted Hinomarus, but that will take a moment or three – I have to make masks, and get the right color mixed

Stay tuned for next round – comments welcome

Painted Sun

With the decals failing masking and paint comes to the rescue

Having found the decalstash to be lacking the right size, 4 masks were created, then some white paint as a “base” to even out the camo, and finally some red – Humbrol red mixed with a little burgundy.

Well, the white - as could be expected – made a small white border, but a few layers of gloss clear and some light sanding took care of the worst. The number “1” was fashioned from a decal-sheet. And with that it is time for a bit of details.

There should have been a red/white band around the aft fuselage, but sadly my shills with homemade decals were not up to the job, and cutting masks for a curved surface was in no way successful. It simply has to do as it is, and then I will re-visit the theme at a later date on another build.

Next some details and the cockpit unmasked – exciting!

Whew - finally caught up with this build - what a fantastic project! That 109 with yellow wing leading edges, hinomarus, and that tight mottling job just make this a "what was that?!" project! Looking great.

It’s a wrap!

The Japanese 109 is ready to take to the skies!

Got the last details added and touch-ups finished

She does look somewhat out of place in Japanese markings.

However, after I started this one up, FineMolds announced they would launch the exact same kit with Japanese markings!

One last change was a decision not to use QB AM Resin exhausts, but to drill out the kit-ones.

Not bad, but the last one should have had some surgery to the plastic to remove the “bulkhead” below the exhaust.

The office is assembled with the kit-decals for instruments and seatbelts.

I think they work just fine, though the seatbelts will have to be PE or the like next time I open the window on a hood

And with that this topic will have a FINISHED added to the text. Thank you all for constructive comments, ideas and not least for joining the ride. It has been a fun build of a relatively cheap kit!