This is a fun beast to watch taking shape! And I too thank you for all the "primers" on proper Luftwaffe colors - my 109 project will benefit from your expertise!

To all those discussing RLM02, it is probably my favorite all around color. I am by far NOT an expert on Luftwaffe colors and have seen many furious discussions in forums over them, especially concerning camouflage colors. What I do know is that in general, RLM02 was used as the protective coating for internal components and cockpits pre-war and during the early years. RLM02 continued to be used as a protective coating for interior components through out most of the war, but was discontinued in the cockpits I believe in late 1941 or early 1942, I will let the experts tell you exactly when. After which point RLM66 was used in the cockpits. So if you are building an aircraft from Luftwaffe during WWII you are pretty safe in using RLM02 for wheel housings, engine nacelles, landing gear, and so on. The cockpit will be determined on when the aircraft was made.

*Disclaimer again I am not an expert! Also, it is also true late in the war, for expediency some aircraft were made leaving some or all interior structure bare.

finally picking up this one again @uscusn, @gkittinger, @fiveten, @johnb, @luftwaffe-birdman, @mvtb and @lgardner.

Clearly

Sad story, but all the messing around proved too high a strain on the canopy

Now, this was already reported over a year ago, so really been looking for a solution ever since. Lets just check the status by the end of last year first.

As I have a huge supply of extra Eduard clear parts, I started slaughtering these.

I finally got hold of a few extra vac-formed canopies – namely two Falcon kits. The first is the full kit in cooperation with Jay’s model kits.

It is very “Short Run” and would take a massive effort to build, justifying my first decision to use Eduard kits as a base for my own conversion.

The other kit is a conversion kit, and contains vac-formed parts for two 109’s and a 190

The 109 was the reason I bought this one – it is the same as I already had taken one canopy from.


Fortunately the first kit contains two canopies, keeping the kit intact should I ever venture there (or another one to mess up for this build). Just to round things off, the vac-formed canopies are actually a bit short for my conversion, so something needs to be done.

Not really sure when progress will take place as it is something I need to plan a bit more carefully, but hopefully not an entire year to the next update

Me looking forward too, my friend @airbum! And yes! It's great that you picked that up!

Thank you gentlemen. @johnb, most likely the short-run kit would have been OK with the same amount of hours put into it as in this conversion?

Closed!

Finally I got the canopy closed

I decided to use the vac-form for the complex aft section and eduard parts for the forward section

That way I could get around the issue of the length-difference as the middle portion could be adjusted in length. It is simply a standard hood cut to fit.

The intention is to leave the front one open for a better view of the IP and stuff, the excuse for the closed aft section being the fuelcap is open, and it would make sense to close the aft hatch for that to take place, minimizing the risk of fuel entering the cockpit.

I had been given the advice to use PVA by @kalamazoo, but it was a bit too late as I had already used Humbrol clear gloss to install the glass. It turned out fine though, with a bit of support while it cured.

tune in again for the next update – comments are welcome as usual

Nice attachment of the canopy, my friend @airbum! Love the front opened/rear closed scenario!