Messerschmitt Bf 109E-1, 1/48, Legion Condor, Spain FINISHED

Started by Erik Gjørup · 85 · 3 years ago · 1/48, airbum, Bf109, Bf109E-1, Eduard, Emil, halfworks, Legion Condor, Messerschmitt, quarterscale
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    George R Blair Jr said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    You can never have enough tools. :o)

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    Louis Gardner said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    Erik, @airbum
    I am saddened to see what happened when you sprayed the black on top of the primer... I have had a similar experience a while back when I used some VERY old spray paint from a rattle can. This stuff was given to me and I should have known better... Sometimes it is best to look a gift horse in the mouth as they say.

    The paint spattered and every bit of it had to be stripped off, including the filler work that was unintentionally lifted at the same time. Then the adhesive I used (also given to me at the same time), used to secure the nose weight started oozing... out as I found out it had never completely dried... Since the fuselage was buttoned up, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and dig into a major refinishing job.

    All of this drama happened on my "Brubaker" Panther jet from the Imodeler at the Movies GB.

    Speaking of circle cutters, I like the one that George posted a while back. It is an expensive tool, but quite often you get what you pay for... and by the time you have purchased several inferior models that are less expensive, you could have purchased the better option once, and saved yourself a ton of headaches. Ask me how I know this... You can never have too many tools, just get good ones if you can.

    Please keep on keeping on. I'm excited to see you using those fabulous looking French decals...and did you mention something about a 262 ?

    Great minds "must" think alike. LOL



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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    @lgardner, thank you for the encouraging words my friend. I have managed to squeeze a 109 into your Korean war GB. More on the Legion Condor shortly.

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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    Blue as the skies over Spain

    With the masked markings in place it is time for some more paint

    The humbrol gloss paint is rather brittle – it chips easily, and that has turned into the next issue.


    It is in an area that will be painted over here, but later on. . .

    While placing the circle-masks I cut with the cheap version, the black paint peeled off in places as I tried to move the circle.



    The top will have to wait till I get the right shade sourced!

    The lover part got RLM65 by Xtracolor – absolutely nice to work with




    The black will have to be re-visited with a brush.

    next post will probably be some weeks away as I get the right shade ordered

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    Louis Gardner said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    You "Condor legion" 109 is really starting to take shape and it is looking good...

    I have several of the 1/48 Tamiya Bf-109E-3 and several more of the Tamiya E-4/ 7 kits in the stash. I happen to like the older Tamiya 109's and their new tool 109G-6 looks very good to me too, despite what some of the so called "Experten" have claimed. Some of these people are getting free stuff to review, so naturally they are not going to bite the hand that feeds them, are they ? The new Eduard 109's also look very VERY good, but I think they are a lot more fiddly to build than the Tamiya kits are.

    A while ago I had full intentions on starting a Legion Condor build, using one of the Tamiya E3's, and I even posted the initial part of the build here on Imodeler. They look so cool in that color scheme in my opinion...I just never have had the time to squeeze it in I guess... James Robinson was so kind as to send me a book on building and painting the various Emil versions. It has really helped with some good ideas and the book also offered up some different techniques.

    After seeing how nice your "Emil" is turning out, I might be tempted to get mine out again... You just never know what will happen at the "Iron Werks", and your work has been very inspirational.

    Right now I am ramping up the "Iron Werks" production line for some Corsairs, a Dragon / DML Ju-188 with possibly a few Ju-88's for company too... with one of them being a Mistel. Time will tell how these turn out, but the research part has been the most fun. All of these slated projects are in 1/48.

    I really do need to finish some of the ones I have started though. You know how that goes.

    Nice update with your E-3... I'm sure you can fix the small blemishes with a brush as you mentioned.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    That's a great progress @airbum!
    ...and nice addressing of those small blemishes that arose.
    Xtracolor RLM65 looks great and your Emil shines!
    Have the same peeling problem with my Humbrol gloss black...and it's an enamel...

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    George R Blair Jr said 4 years, 5 months ago:

    The painted insignia look great, Erik (@airbum). That's something I want to try at some point in the future. You make it look easy, but I know there is a lot of work involved.

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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 4 months ago:

    @lgardner, thank you for the kind words. The Ju88 Mistel sounds like a great idea - is that for a Mistel 2 or 3 (109 or 190) - the Mistel 3 had a short spell in Denmark with some being at Tirstrup in the final months of WW II.

    @fiveten, the Humbrol may just be too gloss for double layers and masking on top of second layer? I have had no problems with xtracolor so far, but almost always with the Humbrol enamel.

    @gblair, It is looking easy by the use of masks. I bought some vinyl masks, but I have recently contacted a company to get a small batch made from yellow tape. Depending on the price it may be more economical to buy that circlecutter and a ruler 🙂

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    George R Blair Jr said 4 years, 4 months ago:

    Having someone make the masks sounds great, Erik (@airbum). Be sure to share the results of your adventure into pre-made masks.

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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 4 months ago:

    @gblair, I have pre-made vinyl masks, but I would like tape instead, as I feel I'v got better control over that. The vinyl I use comes with a choice for two different versions, but alas the decals will only let you make one. Well, I may have to make masks for the numbers too next time 🙂

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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 4 months ago:

    63

    The upper parts gets RLM63

    • and the masks comes off – in places taking paint with them.



      The left side went well.

    Then things got worse. . .




    Next time it will be another brand, matt, or light sanding between layers with Humbrol Gloss. Havent had trouble with xtracolor though, but with Brexit soon a reality, it will be more difficult to get hold of those I think.


    And the result in its full glory!

    and now I will have to brush-paint the damage, stay tuned!

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    George R Blair Jr said 4 years, 4 months ago:

    Looks awesome, Erik (@airbum). Do you think your paint peeled up because it was sprayed over gloss? If I have problems with peeling paint, it usually involves gloss in some way. Are you cutting your own vinyl masks in a home craft machine like Scan and Cut, etc?

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 4 months ago:

    Indeed looks fantastic @airbum! I can recall touching up the Humbrol gloss black is done unharmfully, blending nicely with the "old" paint.
    I am still puzzled about the peel-off of it. It happens to me lately as well. I can recall that Humbrol gloss black would adhere great at all surfaces, 20 or more years ago...maybe the formula has changed?

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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 4 months ago:

    Thanks gents, @gblair and @fiveten. The problem seems to be that the gloss white is VERY gloss and smooth, and was allowed to cure fully. On top I sprayed a layer of gloss black, and it seems like the two does not bond very well. Most likely, if I had painted "wet-in-wet" or at least not fully cured it might have helped. I have to admit to the white being some 30 years old, but it performs well on its own, and that means it is not a new formula Spiros 🙂

    Another issue is the adhesive being too strong, especially on the vinyl. George, the vinyl masks were bought and are from AML. I have thought about asking Arctic Decals to make me some tape-masks (he made the decals for my C172 and DHC6 and made me a few sets of masks for the DHC6 in both vinyl and tape) I like tape a lot more than vinyl, perhaps that is down to what I started with more than performance of the one over the other. I have started a touch-up session, and maybe I will be ready for a few pictures in the evening, before I go back on work for the next days.

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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 4 months ago:

    Touching

    - touching up that is

    Just a few pictures to show the progress with the touchups



    I should have masked and airbrushed the exhaust patterns, but being afraid to peel off more paint, I did freehand brush on one side – the other side got some tape, and that actually went well – apart from the fact that I used a far too thin paint (Tamiya acrylic) and it ran like a bat out of . . . .

    I did some cleanup with IPA, but the xtracolor hadn’t cured, and it now needs re-visiting.

    Always nice to have a relaxing hobby to keep calm. . . .