Back again with my
second build after a twenty year layoff, and I promise to be less grumpy this
time... After my offputting experiences with the Airfix P-51D I was looking
forward to this one from Tamiya. How things have changed since the old Airfix
days! Many people rave about this kit, and with perfect justification...the
thing just falls together. No cement was needed for the upper and lower
cowlings, propelIer, gun barrels, slats, flaps and tailwheel - they were so
well engineered that they just pressed into place! I decided to enhance
things further with a photo etched set from Eduard and try a resin cockpit from
Hi Tech. First time I've used one of those, and apart from some initial problems
getting things to fit, a lot of elbow grease and sanding of cockpit walls did
the trick in the end. The PE set was ridiculously well detailed...even the
chain for the elevator trim wheel was included, which looked thinner than a
human hair to me! I also ordered a Squadron Crystal Canopy, but decided that the
original Tamiya article looked better. The lids on 109s were built like
something off a tank, and I thought the Squadron offering looked too delicate,
somehow. Personal taste...
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As a kid, I was
bought a book containing views of WW2 planes, and the 109E was depicted with the
desert camouflage scheme of the Tamiya kit. I was looking forward to finally
building a plane with that same camouflage scheme after all these years, and it
really needs an airbrush to carry it off properly. My old Humbrol model just
about did the job in the end, but I've bought a decent one to replace it with
now, as the poor old thing kept spitting blobs of paint at inopportune moments.
The left wing of this model has been repainted three times to cover cockups when
applying the olive green blotches, and the right wing and tailplane re-done
twice! Paints used were Tamiya acrylics throughout.
After the camouflage
was finally complete, I sprayed the model all over with Johnson's Klear, as we
call it in Britain. First time I've tried that too, and I must say it's worth
doing! Not only does it let the decals settle well with no silvering, and allow
the chalk pastel/water/washing up liquid weathering mixture to flow, but it also
means you can handle the model indefinitely without leaving greasy fingermarks
all over it. Great stuff. As mentioned, panel lines were highlighted with pastel
chalks, and although the effect might be a little stark for some, I rather like
it. Not bad for a first attempt, anyway. I chipped the paint on the cowling,
hatches, prop and wing leading edges with Humbrol Metalcote polished
aluminium, and went for a restrained approach...some of these tropical 109s
ended up looking like they'd been sandblasted. Mine is obviously relatively new
on the Staffel, and is still being kept clean by the ground crews, explaining
the absence of exhaust residue. The real reason is that with all the hassel I
had getting the paint job right, I just couldn't bring myself to disfigure it
too much! MicroSol and MicroSet were used on the decals (in the right order this
time!), and with several applications and careful work with a toothpick, I got
the Balkenkreutz on the fuselage to conform to the radio hatch. (I spent ages
using the chalk pastel mixture to highlight the lines and fasteners on that
hatch before realising that the national insignia covers it almost completely...D'Oh!)
Final coat to seal the decals was Aircraft Colors flat clear, which comes in
disconcertingly small bottles, considering the price. It's worth it though, as
it goes on well, and tones down the underlying colours just the right amount.
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Finishing touches were the
bulged/flattened wheels included in the High Tech resin set, stretched sprue
radio antenna and canopy retaining strap, and a thin acetate replacement for the
gunsight glass. I dropped the elevators and even positioned the joystick
slightly forward to correspond with this, although you'd
never notice it. (I know from experience that when you climb out of cockpit with
a central stick, you push it forwards to give you more room to move, so many
planes are parked with the elevators in this position.) In the end, I
was reasonably pleased with the overall result, and although a couple of people
on this website have submitted the same aircraft in the same colour
scheme...this one's MINE!
Dean
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