greif8 Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) Hi guys, I just finished a simple diorama featuring Eduard's Bf 109E-4. The scene is set sometime in early to mid-November 1940 and depicts Major Helmut Wick describing an aerial combat to another pilot right after landing. The figures come from two separate sources; Wick is sold by Model Design Construction and the other pilot is an Ultracast figure that can be purchased from several sources. Both figures are resin. Construction went fairly smoothly, the only real problem area being the fit of the cowling which was not surprising considering the kit is designed to showoff the engine with the cowling and other panels removed. I painted the kit using a combination of JPS Colors, Tamiya and Lifecolor acrylics. All painting was done with an airbrush, with the exception of some detail painting and the RLM71 mottling, which was done with the blunt end of a paint brush. According to my sources, the mottling was applied the same way on the actual plane. I painted the model to resemble Wick's aircraft as it appeared after he was promoted to Geschwader Kommodore of JG2. Weathering was done with a combination of Tamiya weathering pastels, different AK Interactive weathering media and a graphite and silver pencil/pen. My goal was to make the aircraft appear a bit battle worn without making it appear ready for the scrape yard. I did chicken out on mottling the rudder as the original photos showed what appeared to be a bad reaction to the yellow paint; and I did not want to chance a disaster. The only aftermarket item is the seatbelt by HGW; these are very nice and look great. I stuck with a simple base as, again, all the photos I saw showed the aircraft on an open field - not surprising considering where JG2 operated out of during The Battle of Britain. Overall, I am pretty satisfied with the build; though, as always, there is room for improvement. Enjoy the photos, Ernest Edited January 12, 2014 by greif8 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fly-n-hi Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Impressive! Nice work with the pilots! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Hot damn nice work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Parabat Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Fantastic work, the pilots are particularly good. Very nice stipple effect on the fuselage sides. One to be proud of! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crazy Snap Captain Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 That looks great! Love the mottling work on the bird and the pilots look awesome. Any tips on how you got them to look so convincing? The shading on the faces is top notch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
greif8 Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 Guys, thank you very much for the kind words. To answer the question about the figures following is how I painted them. The uniforms were painted with Lifecolor paints - the trousers and tunics being airbrushed - the rest hand painted. The faces, and what little can be seen of the hands on the Wick figure, were painted Vallejo Flat Flesh as a undercoat. I used two different techniques to lay in highlights and shadows on the uniforms. On the Wick figure I used washes for the shadows and oils for the highlights, frankly the contrast turned out to be a bit stark but functional. I used oil paints for the highlights and shadows for the other figure. The contrast turned out to be much more subtle and, at least to my eyes, a bit more pleasing - especially the life vest. I use a combination of the techniques used by Shep Paine and Mark Bannerman to paint faces. I used oils for face painting, I have never gotten the hang of the "layering technique" using acrylics. The basic flesh tone is Burnt Sienna mixed with a bit of Raw Umber and Titanium White, and a tiny bit of green to kill the "reddish hue" for the basic flesh tone; I mixed two slightly different tones so that the figures flesh tones would not be identical. From these base tones I made a deep and medium shadow using Raw Umber and medium and light highlights using Titanium White. I painted the eyes first using a very very pale flesh tone for the "whites" of the eyes, I find this avoids the "pop eyed" look that can happen using pure white. The pupils are blue, and I put them there using the point of a broken toothpick. After the eyes I painted the base flesh color followed by deep and medium shadows which I blended. Medium highlights followed and they were blended with the shadows where they met on the face. The light highlights were added to the highest points of the face such as the bridge of the nose and tip of the chin. I then added a tiny bit of a warm rose colored tone to the cheek area and bottom lip to give the faces some warmth. Finally, I painter the eyebrows on each figure. After letting them dry overnight a used a tiny amount of Future to give the highest points of the faces a little sheen. If anyone would like a more indepth description of the above just PM me and I will be glad to explain the techniques I use in depth, though I am no absolute expert like the two modellers I mentioned above. Sincerely, Ernest Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Twig Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Looks great! Not a dig at you but more at the model itself, is it just me or does the Eduard 109 landing gear look really tall? It always seems to be the same with this particular kit. It's probably correct but it just looks off. Anyone else ever noticed this? Once again, lovely model and first rate figures! Craig Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisRRR Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Funky mottling, would have never thought to use the blunt end of a brush. Nice idea :) But I have to say, the pilots are a real showstealer !! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
greif8 Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 Hi Craig and Chris, thanks for the kind words. Craig, I thought the undercarrage was too long also when I was building the kit, but it measured out nearly exactly when I overlaid it on the scale drawings I have. It looks like the pilots have struck a chord with people. Ernest Looks great! Not a dig at you but more at the model itself, is it just me or does the Eduard 109 landing gear look really tall? It always seems to be the same with this particular kit. It's probably correct but it just looks off. Anyone else ever noticed this? Once again, lovely model and first rate figures! Craig Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Twig Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I thought that might be the case! Still, great job nonetheless :) Craig Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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