dai phan Posted February 18 Author Share Posted February 18 Hello all, Painted the leading slats and added the antenna mast. The demarcation between RLM 74/75 and 76 should be soft. I find it very hard to get uniform feathered edge due to so many curves and steps of the camo pattern. Hopefully after weathering the edges won't be too sharp. I did go over with 3000 grit sponge to soften everything. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 18 Author Share Posted February 18 (edited) Hi all, Gloss coat applied. I will run over with Tamiya 3000 grit sponge and that will knock the shine off but still enough for decaling. You must be careful as you do not want to go through the clear and affect the color coat. That is why I have a good coat of clear and use 3000 grit sponge. If you make too flat, buffing with soft cloth will restore the shine. If you look at 109s, you see the paint has a sheen to it as the wing reflected the person standing on it. Will look for that image and post here. Dai Edited February 19 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 (edited) Howdy all, Started the decaling process. The Eagle Cals decals are affected by Solvaset as it destroys the carrier film. To solve the silvering issue, I have to use lots of Micro Sol and that still affects the film but not as severely as the Solvaset. I have to use 2000 grit to sand off any defects on the film. This decals are printed by Microscale and I never had issues with them. Next time I will leave the shine as is rather than make them satin. If you use Eagle Cals, make sure the surface is as smooth and shinny as you do not have the luxury of using Micro Sol or Solvaset. Dai Edited February 21 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 Hello, I use the Eduard’s emblem as it is the correct size. EC’s offering is too small. The yellow on Eduard’s offering has a strange lime yellow background. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RichB63 Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Dai, Looks great with the markings applied! And your paintwork is very smooth and precise. Rich Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cool Hand Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Looking real nice. Shame that the EagleCals are not reacting well with the decal solutions. Also not very good that the Eduard color is so far off. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 21 hours ago, RichB63 said: Dai, Looks great with the markings applied! And your paintwork is very smooth and precise. Rich Thank you but all the edges need to be feathered soft. I find it impossible in my hands with so many twists and turns of the masking tape. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 17 hours ago, Cool Hand said: Looking real nice. Shame that the EagleCals are not reacting well with the decal solutions. Also not very good that the Eduard color is so far off. Quite a shame. Solvaset will leave nasty circles on the carrier film and as you try to sand them off you ruined the decals. Micro Sol is not so bad but still leave marks. I had to do lots of mild sanding to get the defects off. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 18 hours ago, Cool Hand said: Looking real nice. Shame that the EagleCals are not reacting well with the decal solutions. Also not very good that the Eduard color is so far off. Yes the yellow on the Eduard's has a very strange lime yellow. I ruined the number 8 of the Eagle Cals decals so I have to wait for replacement. Too bad I could not use the Eduard's numbers as they have this horrible lime yellow which is totally not correct. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 (edited) Hi all, When I look at the kit, it appeared that Tamiya planned for future versions from the panels that you have to fill to make accurate G-6 as well as separate vertical tail assembly that may account for future releases? However it has been 6 years from the original release (2017) that no future versions are in sight. I wonder of Tamiya has abandoned the later version releases? On the assembly note, the wing tip lights are molded rather than providing clear lenses. That rules out the use of clear red and green transparent paint. Quite odd here. Also the vertical tail is not symmetrical in the airfoil shape. The left side has a curve while the right is rather flat. The engineering and fit is outstanding but there are few features that out of the expected Tamiya's norm. Dai Edited February 22 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 Ok gang, VERY frustrating here. I spent hours and hours burning the midnight oil trying to get the wings crosses laid down as best as I could with Micro Sol. Finally got them done. Now I realized the instruction on the Eduard is wrong on the placement ! The cross should end on the panel line rather than 5 mm away. Now I have to remove the crosses, repaint, re-gloss and re apply the crosses. Come on Eduard, do better and more careful research will you? Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cool Hand Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, dai phan said: Hi all, When I look at the kit, it appeared that Tamiya planned for future versions from the panels that you have to fill to make accurate G-6 as well as separate vertical tail assembly that may account for future releases? However it has been 6 years from the original release (2017) that no future versions are in sight. I wonder of Tamiya has abandoned the later version releases? On the assembly note, the wing tip lights are molded rather than providing clear lenses. That rules out the use of clear red and green transparent paint. Quite odd here. Also the vertical tail is not symmetrical in the airfoil shape. The left side has a curve while the right is rather flat. The engineering and fit is outstanding but there are few features that out of the expected Tamiya's norm. Dai The shape of the vertical fin is accurate. It was designed as an airfoil to counteract the effect of engine torque while in flight. The fuselage wants to twist to the left at the nose and right at the tail, so a an airfoil that pulls the tail to the left will keep things stable. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cool Hand Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, dai phan said: Ok gang, VERY frustrating here. I spent hours and hours burning the midnight oil trying to get the wings crosses laid down as best as I could with Micro Sol. Finally got them done. Now I realized the instruction on the Eduard is wrong on the placement ! The cross should end on the panel line rather than 5 mm away. Now I have to remove the crosses, repaint, re-gloss and re apply the crosses. Come on Eduard, do better and more careful research will you? Dai If you look closely at the image I sent earlier about the Erla wing pattern, you'll see that the cross does not meet the panel line it's positioned slightly outboard. Your decals are close to what I see in references. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 12 minutes ago, Cool Hand said: If you look closely at the image I sent earlier about the Erla wing pattern, you'll see that the cross does not meet the panel line it's positioned slightly outboard. Your decals are close to what I see in references. You are right. The cross does not end at the panel line but slightly away from it. I think mine is placed a bit too far so I am going to correct it. Here is the actual photo. I think majority of builds on the Net is wrong in the cross placement. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 19 hours ago, Cool Hand said: The shape of the vertical fin is accurate. It was designed as an airfoil to counteract the effect of engine torque while in flight. The fuselage wants to twist to the left at the nose and right at the tail, so a an airfoil that pulls the tail to the left will keep things stable. Thank you! Now I know it is not a mistake. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 (edited) Greetings, Did some additional work last night. I repositioned the wings crosses to more accurate positions. Like Cool Hand says, the crosses do not end on the panel line but slightly outboard. Majority of the builds on the Net do not have the crosses placed correctly. I am rather disappointed in Eagle Cals decals. I have to go through 5 wing crosses before I could find a set to use. The discarded ones are poorly printed with jagged edges. Also many of the stencils are out of register or plain wrong. These are printed by Microscale. It is too bad as Eagle Cals has the most prolific collection of the 109s. If you use Solvaset, apply very thin layer so it dries quickly. If not, you will have nasty circular marks on the film that is impossible to remove. Also painted the wing tips light. Too bad these are molded in. Clear parts would be appropriate here. Dai Edited February 24 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 22 hours ago, dai phan said: Ok gang, VERY frustrating here. I spent hours and hours burning the midnight oil trying to get the wings crosses laid down as best as I could with Micro Sol. Finally got them done. Now I realized the instruction on the Eduard is wrong on the placement ! The cross should end on the panel line rather than 5 mm away. Now I have to remove the crosses, repaint, re-gloss and re apply the crosses. Come on Eduard, do better and more careful research will you? Dai Actually Eduard's illustration is correct. The crosses should be placed slightly away from the panel line like Cool Hand pointed out. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 (edited) Hello all, Clear coat applied and started the weathering process. I find out the oil can be easily rub off after drying so a final coat to seal is needed? This is first time I use oil and I think it is the best medium for streaking. Dai Edited February 26 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 (edited) Howdy friends... The project is done. Will need to tone a bit down more with 3000 grit sponge before heading into the display case. Dai PROS: 1. Very nice model of the 109 G-6 variant. 2. Exceptional engineering and fit. 3. Interchangable closed or open cowling. 4. Detailed engine (if enter in the contest will need to add some small details). 5. Posable flaps with different settings. CONS: 1. Molded in wing tip lights. 2. Canopy mounting mechanism is crude and unscale. The 2 tabs need to be removed and the canopy is carefully glued in with CA. 3. Comical use of decal seat belts. 4. The fuselage joint does not meet on panel line that required extra work to clean up. 5. Thick decal. I am surprised to find out there are other companies that put out 109s with exposed engine in 1/48 (ICM, Eduard, Zvezda) so maybe Tamiya wanted to keep up with the crowd? I used the Tamiya's decals for the red wing walk way. Being thick you can keep them in straight line. Also used Eduard's for the emblems as Eagle Cals decals are too small. Edited February 27 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 (edited) Once you remove the 2 mounting tabs on the canopy, it will be free standing. These photos show the correct angulation of the open canopy. Dai Edited February 27 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cool Hand Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Beautiful job, Dai. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Memphis Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Congratulations! Great work. Your experience will be very useful for me in future. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 (edited) Howdy all, Instead of using CA to place the canopy, do this. Apply a tiny pin head, VERY tiny thick CA on the corner of the canopy where it touches the back canopy and let it dry. With the canopy has such tight tolerance to the fuselage, this will allow frictional fit of the canopy to the airframe. No cement, no CA to deal with. Dai Edited February 28 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 1 Author Share Posted March 1 (edited) Hello fellow modelers, Now the plane is in the display case. The other 109 is Revell 109 G-10 built 30 years ago. I really do not care much for Revell kits (in their old days) but this one took the icing on the cake. Even now, it is still highly regarded as one of the most accurate G kits available (40 year old kit). Yes, it has recessed panel lines too! And the price tag cannot be beaten (can get on EB for less than 10 bucks). I must say this is the best effort from Revell in the 80's. Dai Edited March 1 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 (edited) Just something different to add to this thread… FW-190 A8 reiics… Dai Edited March 12 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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