Revell 1/48 BF-109G 10

[Hillbilly]

Hello all After finishing my 3rd AFV I think it's time to have a go at a wingy-thing.Since I have never built an aircraft before I decided on this cheap $11.99 BF-109 that has been languishing away in my local hobby shop.It is not the most detailed aircraft around so it should be a nice quick first build for me.

Anyway,here are the kit contents.

Fairly nice box art.



Simple instructions.





Like I said before,not very detailed but at least it has recessed panel lines.








I have gotten a little bit done tonight.

I don't have a very much in the way of Luftwaffe paint so I had to make do for the cockpit.I have been testing some cheap acrylic craft paint($0.59) for airbrushing and happened to have a color that matches RLM 66 close enough for my very limited aircraft knowledge It's a grey-black color called Pavement and mixed 50/50 with some windscreen washer fluid it sprayed as well as any modelling specific paint.I still have to decal the instrument panel and give the cockpit a wash and drybrush.




I built the wings and I have to say for a cheap Revell kit the fit was superb.No filler was needed,just a little sanding and small re-scribe.

[SyntaxModels]

Looks like it's coming along! I'll follow this and see how you go for a first wingy thingy

[Thumboy]

Nice start Steve, i think you will enjoy building an aircraft.
I am just about to start my first tank. Bit scary doing something different

Good luck with the build

[AchtungPanzer]

Nice kit. Good luck

[UKguyInUSA]

Looks like a cheap and cheerful kit....great for a quick fill in and to help the mojo from dropping at the prospect of a huge build.

[Hillbilly]

Thanks for the kind words guys

Nice start Steve, i think you will enjoy building an aircraft.
I am just about to start my first tank. Bit scary doing something different

Good luck with the build

I know what you are talking about,I have been a car modeller for years so the whole military modelling thing has been a little overwhelming at times.The two disciplines are pretty much the same until it comes to painting and then a whole new skill-set comes into play.

[Hillbilly]

Another small update.I have the cockpit drybrushed and assembled and the exhausts painted and weathered.All of this was done with the cheap acrylic craft paint as before.After working with the cheap paint I have to say it acts alot like Vallejo Model Color except without as much tip-drying and they are a helluva lot cheaper .They are a little soft and need a clear coat if you are going to handle the parts alot,but I think I will try to do the rest of this build with them just to see if I can













Now it's time to get the fuselage together and start filling the seams.

[SyntaxModels]

Looking forward to it!

[Hillbilly]

So,a little update.I have the fuselage halves together and wings installed,but not without a fight As nice as the wing halves fit together I can't say the same for the fuselage halves.The fit was horrible,the top wasn't too bad but the bottom looks like there was some mold-shift or something as there was a huge seam/depression to fill.




With that big of a seam to fill I really didn't want to use putty as I felt re-scribing through that much putty might be a problem.So I remembered an old method of making filler out of styrene.The stuff is pretty simple to make actually,just take some plastic cement(extra thin,Testors,Plast-I-Weld) and cut some scrap pieces of styrene(I used some Evergreen styrene I had laying around) and add them to the bottle of cement.You can vary the thickness of the filler by how much styrene you add.I let it set overnight and this is what I had.




I got a little bit carried away with the filler,but when it dried I had a nice all styrene surface for re-scribing.



Then after some sanding and a piss-poor re-scribing job this bird is now ready for paint.

[galileo1]

Great build so far, Steve. I too made a batch of the liquid plastic for filling. I use Tamiya thin cement though as, for some odd reason, the Testors' cement never seems to work for me. I do use it to wipe pars clean after sanding, etc.

Keep up the good work.

[trekfanj]

Great looking plane so far, Hillbilly!
I've been using those inexpensive craft paints for years; they are just as good as any other paint out there (and cost a lot less!)
They brush paint very well; there's no visible brush strokes once they're dry and they dry in 2-3 minutes.
They work well for airbrushing, too, but you've probably figured that out by now!
I also like them because they're non-toxic and can be thinned and cleaned up with water.
If you think you're going to switch over to just using craft paints, I recommend the Folk Art or Americana brands; they seem to give the best coverage.

Sorry if it sounds like a sales pitch, but I'm just excited that someone else has decided to try them out!

[Hillbilly]

Yep,the cheap craft paints now have a permanent spot on my paint rack.They will never fully replace modelling specific paints for me,but I will defiantly be using them more in future builds

[mincemeat]

Nice work so far! I liked your idea for the liquid plastic, when I saw it I thought: "You just made Mr. Surfacer".