High in the skies of Northern Europe - Spring 1945. Finished Models

[NARSES2]

Cheers Lee. I do have the Revell kit in the stash

[NARSES2]

The MB 5 has had another coat of putty applied to the one wing/fuselage joint that's giving me a little problem. In all honesty part of this might be down to the fact that the first round of PSR used Green Stuff (which I like) but you can see a shadow even under grey primer and this seems to accentuates any actual problem ?

The 109 is now a complete airframe. Fit of parts so far is excellent with one exception, indeed many just click into place with no glue. The separate panels that are included so that they can cover different marks of 109 from the same basic toolings fit very well and bode well for the other numerous boxings of 109's they do. So far I've used a small amount of PPP on one joint and that was down to me.

The one exception is the wing fuselage joint. Again some of this is probably down to me not fixing the upper wings to the lower accurately enough but I still think one side would need some trimming. After a little bit of scrapping of the port side wing root the fit is now fine and a little PPP will sort out the tiny gap/seam line.

[NARSES2]

Both of these are now ready for paint and as both have fairly simple schemes they should progress quite quickly, dependent on if the yellow wants to play nicely or not 

[NARSES2]

Started to lay some paint down. Suppose I'd better check I've actually got the markings I want to use on the MB5 in the transfer stash ?

[NARSES2]

Suppose I'd better check I've actually got the markings I want to use on the MB5 in the transfer stash ?

Flippin haven't  My fault for not looking earlier. I could have cobbled something together but don't have the squadron code letters in the correct colours. Again I could of got away with something similar, but decided to look at the Big H. For once I managed to use their search engine so that it gave me a sensible answer rather than pages of stuff to work through or "sorry we didn't find anything to.....". So an Xtradecal sheet has been ordered, which has what I need plus a couple of other nice options for future use on it.

[NARSES2]

As mentioned elsewhere the transfers have arrived for the MB5 so I can get on with it.

Hit a bit of a problem with the 109 after I'd got the RLM 76 undersides done. Completely forgot the RLM 82/83 cockup's of oh so many years ago 

My pots of Xtracrylic are as they were originally issued and thus the colours are transposed. It wasn't Hannant's fault as there was a lot of confusion over  late war RLM colours at the time. Even my copy of "Luftwaffe Colours" by Michael Ullman has an amendment sheet included with the colour paint chart that came with the book. I'd already done the canopy frames so have had to change my original plans. No great problem but a tad annoying. Still I've stuck a big note on the containers with my Luftwaffe paints to remind me in future.

[NARSES2]

Oh, if an 76/82/83 scheme seems odd for a high flyer the German's were far more concerned about concealment whilst on the ground even in my extended war scenario.

The second one will have a more suitable high flying scheme.

[NARSES2]

The MB 5 has had her transfers added and has now come to life. Quite minimalist as the real aircraft she is based only had the basics. The Xtradecals behaved impeccably as expected but the only one of the kit's I used, the serials, curled up and then broke up as I tried to unravel it. So the serials came from the spares. I'm sorry if it offends but I don't tend to worry about the accuracy of serials as long as they are not ridiculously out of period. Strangely the real aircraft wasn't carrying any but it didn't look right without them somehow. Needs the pitot, aerial and a few other bits and shes done 

The 109 has had her second camouflage colour added and is now ready for her transfers. Now RS included "full" stencils so the dilemma is, how many to use ? Probably just use the main ones to give it some life.

[zenrat]

...I'm sorry if it offends but I don't tend to worry about the accuracy of serials as long as they are not ridiculously out of period...

I don't even worry about that.  I just chuck some numbers on.

[PR19_Kit]

I actually relish the search for an appropriate serial  but it's a  good thing we're all different.

[NARSES2]

I actually relish the search for an appropriate serial  but it's a  good thing we're all different.

Same as Mike M. He sometimes looks at me in horror when I tell him what I've done  My excuse is that if my wif had gone into production then the aircraft which actually used the serial I'm using might not have 

[PR19_Kit]

I actually relish the search for an appropriate serial  but it's a  good thing we're all different.

Same as Mike M. He sometimes looks at me in horror when I tell him what I've done  My excuse is that if my wif had gone into production then the aircraft which actually used the serial I'm using might not have 

Mike and I email each other when each of us finds a juicy blank space in the lists. 

[NARSES2]

Well the MB.5 is finished  Photos when the 109 is finished.

Talking of the 109, she has started to come to life as her transfers are going on. I'm using the kit supplied ones and they come off the backing paper quite quickly but are very thin which is both good and bad. Good in that they settle on the surface very nicely, bad in that they will fold up on themselves. The first one I used did exactly that so I put it back in the water and it unraveled. After that I slid them off their backing sheet onto the model from as close as I could get them and they worked well. They give you plenty of time to slide them into position and go where you want them to quite readily, so another positive.

I thought the swastikas's were in a single piece which is unusual for a European kit. However they are split in two but in an unusual way. They are split down one of the long arms and look as though they will be quite easy to position. Indeed by the way the sheet is printed I think you could slide both halves off at the same time ? I couldn't be..., so used aftermarket ones.

[NARSES2]

Started on the stencils and they behaved very well. I'll probably use about 2/3rds of them and take a couple of 30/45 min sessions to get them on.

They are very well printed and even the small ones are perfectly legible  One of the stencils on the drop tank is "Keine Bombe !" which I think roughly translates to "not a bomb !" (Keine is no ?). Gave me a little smile anyway 

[NARSES2]

Well the stencils are on. Used about 80% of them in the end. Done over three sessions of between 20/40 mins each. Went well as they behaved impeccably 

She is now getting very close to the finishing line.