Global Scale Modeller

Tomcat64 wrote: Mon Aug 11, 2025 8:55 am Well that's come along really nicely since the last time I had chance to catch up on the thread.

The cockpit looks really tidy & great work on sorting out the various wing, panel & prop alignments.

The marbling you've produced looks stunning in its own right - it's almost a shame to cover it with the main colours!

Cracking airbrush work mate

Thanks mate. I'm sure there are aircraft out there that had marbling as their paint scheme, maybe some winterized schemes or I think I've seen some Italian or Japanese aircraft that used it. I have nothing in the stash though so it will have to wait.

That marbling effect looks really nice under the blue and yellow. I will have to try it sometime.

cor wrote: Fri Aug 15, 2025 1:09 pm That marbling effect looks really nice under the blue and yellow. I will have to try it sometime.

Thanks. Its well worth trying and you dont need any new kit or products to try it.

I got on with painting the upper surfaces today. After some careful masking I sprayed Tamiya XF59 Desert Yellow until I felt the levels matched the light blue.









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Next up are the white inserts (wingtips, nose and rear fuselage) then I can think about painting the markings!

The panel shadows are coming through subtly as is the marbling.

Somehow I've missed this

The beasting, preshading and top colour work is superb perfect finishes

Kevthemodeller wrote: Sat Aug 16, 2025 4:29 pm Somehow I've missed this

The beasting, preshading and top colour work is superb perfect finishes

Thanks Kev, good to see you on the forum

Got on with the white markings today. Masking seems to have worked well, good old Tamiya tape.

I'm still not convinced about the opacity of the desert yellow, particularly on the rear fuselage. Its an easy fix if I decide beef it up a bit.





The shadow is me, not camo!















To sum up, I'm happy with the white and the masking. A decision needs to be made about beefing up the desert yellow. This needs to be done next, if at all, becase after that I will be painting the markings.

Whatever you decide I'm sure it will continue to be outstanding.

Stokesy, I think it is looking sweet!... As for the desert tan, whatever you choose, I'm sure it will turn out great.. You may have to tone down or adjust the modulation of the white just a little to match the decay of the other painted areas. As I said, whatever you choose, your doing a fine job... it's a fun build to watch too....

Ben

DRUMS01 wrote: Mon Aug 18, 2025 12:51 am Stokesy, I think it is looking sweet!... As for the desert tan, whatever you choose, I'm sure it will turn out great.. You may have to tone down or adjust the modulation of the white just a little to match the decay of the other painted areas. As I said, whatever you choose, your doing a fine job... it's a fun build to watch too....

Ben

digger303 wrote: Mon Aug 18, 2025 12:21 am Whatever you decide I'm sure it will continue to be outstanding.

Thanks Gentlemen. The more I think about it the more I am convinced I need to deepen the desert yellow before I do anything else. I can use filters and modulations galore later on but once the markings are on, the option to adjust the base is gone.

I'm assuming this is depicting a desert variant of the 109? If so I think you've got the colour near perfect for it being sun bleached. Perhaps just a few areas being darkened to show areas where the sun wouldn't hit as hard.

Kevthemodeller wrote: Mon Aug 18, 2025 5:04 pm I'm assuming this is depicting a desert variant of the 109? If so I think you've got the colour near perfect for it being sun bleached. Perhaps just a few areas being darkened to show areas where the sun wouldn't hit as hard.

Thanks Kev.

Yes, its the desert scheme and I think you've hit the nail on the head. It doesn't need a full coat, just a bit of extra beef here and there

Kevthemodeller wrote: Mon Aug 18, 2025 5:04 pm I'm assuming this is depicting a desert variant of the 109? If so I think you've got the colour near perfect for it being sun bleached. Perhaps just a few areas being darkened to show areas where the sun wouldn't hit as hard.

I agree with Kev, I think the colour is spot on and as for darkening bits, well maybe, but remember any weathering is going to darken it too.

I'd be delighted to get it looking like this

Paul

Hey Stokesy,

That's a lovely weather look you have achieved through the mottling. This looks like it will be a great looking bird once you are finished.

Kevthemodeller wrote: Mon Aug 18, 2025 5:04 pm I'm assuming this is depicting a desert variant of the 109? If so I think you've got the colour near perfect for it being sun bleached. Perhaps just a few areas being darkened to show areas where the sun wouldn't hit as hard.

What Kev says. Generally for a sun bleached paint job its pretty spot on.

I can only echo the comments above - the paintwork looks properly beaten up under the harsh desert sun & sand.

Cracking work mate

Quax wrote: Tue Aug 19, 2025 11:02 am

Kevthemodeller wrote: Mon Aug 18, 2025 5:04 pm I'm assuming this is depicting a desert variant of the 109? If so I think you've got the colour near perfect for it being sun bleached. Perhaps just a few areas being darkened to show areas where the sun wouldn't hit as hard.

I agree with Kev, I think the colour is spot on and as for darkening bits, well maybe, but remember any weathering is going to darken it too.

I'd be delighted to get it looking like this

Paul

Steve64 wrote: Tue Aug 19, 2025 11:08 am Hey Stokesy,

That's a lovely weather look you have achieved through the mottling. This looks like it will be a great looking bird once you are finished.

RangerNeil wrote: Tue Aug 19, 2025 8:32 pm

Kevthemodeller wrote: Mon Aug 18, 2025 5:04 pm I'm assuming this is depicting a desert variant of the 109? If so I think you've got the colour near perfect for it being sun bleached. Perhaps just a few areas being darkened to show areas where the sun wouldn't hit as hard.

What Kev says. Generally for a sun bleached paint job its pretty spot on.

Tomcat64 wrote: Wed Aug 20, 2025 2:40 pm I can only echo the comments above - the paintwork looks properly beaten up under the harsh desert sun & sand.

Cracking work mate

Thanks Guys, its certainly food for thought. With the bank holiday coming up I plan to have some solid bench time so the decision will be made on Saturday before I start on the markings.

In the end I decided the beef up the desert yellow. I wanted to reduce the effects and also make the white less stark.









Next up is painting the insignias using the Montex mask set.

Still looks good.

It's turning into a work of art. Really nice job Stokesy.

As for more weathering I'll offer the obvious and say have a look at some references. I may even have some if I root around in my books and mags. Let me see.

Steve64 wrote: Sun Aug 24, 2025 1:35 pm It's turning into a work of art. Really nice job Stokesy.

As for more weathering I'll offer the obvious and say have a look at some references. I may even have some if I root around in my books and mags. Let me see.

When it comes to the weathering, the main items are the engine exhaust stains. On the 109 they are real dirty and extend all the way back down the wing root. I'll do some staining around the undercarriage area and gun smoke for the machine guns mounted on the cowling. Then I'll finish with a dirt wash which will pick out all the panel line and rivet detail. The wash will also stain the kit depending on how I clean it off, the drier the wipe, the dirtier the kit will remain. Great fun

Nice subtle work with the airbrush mate - the desert yellow definitely has more depth to it but the underlying pre-shade is still nicely visible.

Cracking work mate

Today was insignia day, time to apply the Montex masks and paint the insignias. Bricking it to be fair!

First up was applying the outlying mask so I could lay down the white. Getting the masks aligned and square was a real faff because as soon as they touch the model they want to lay down, regardless of how wonky they are!

This was the result of a fair amount of work.









Then I sprayed the white base, I then waited about 6 hours then decided it was time to apply the inserts and spray the black. The inserts were fairly easy to apply. The key was to make sure they were square to the main masks and the edges abutted to the masks without overlapping or leaving any gaps for bleed.

Now ready for the black paint.







Then the black was laid down and as soon as practical afterwards I removed the tape and the main masks

The result is no external bleed which is an absolute win, virtually no touchups required for the external mask edges.





Then it was time for the moment of truth, peeling off the inserts to reveal the white and black edges....

And here we go................

I am so pleased. All that effort was well worth it.









Now I need to think about what's next. To be honest I hadn't really thought beyond the insignis

I love the insignia masks, especially when they work out, and yours look great!

When you got those, did you get the stencil masks too?

Now just detail the air to air missiles and afterburner.... Oh! wait, wrong period. Seriously, look seriously good..... seriously

DRUMS01 wrote: Sat Aug 30, 2025 9:31 pm I love the insignia masks, especially when they work out, and yours look great!

When you got those, did you get the stencil masks too?

Now just detail the air to air missiles and afterburner.... Oh! wait, wrong period. Seriously, look seriously good..... seriously

Thanks Ben. I've used Montex a few times and each time I've really liked the result. For larger aircraft they're a must because they look so much better on the aircraft skin than decals.

There are no stencil masks but the mask set does come with unit markings and badges along with the swas**kas for the tail fin.

Love the way the markings have turned out.
Will have to look into them.
How are you going to do the other markings?

RangerNeil wrote: Sun Aug 31, 2025 9:56 pm Love the way the markings have turned out.
Will have to look into them.
How are you going to do the other markings?

Thanks Neil

The Montex set comes with swas**kas and unit markings. The unit markings are not the same as the kit options so I have a decision to make. I will have to use the kit stencils as the Montex set does not include them. Something I may try though is replicating the kit unit markings as the Montex set comes with blanks for that very purpose.

Hey Stokesy,

Your 109 is looking really great. By the way, I checked my references (a French magazine called 'Batailles Aériennes', issue 61, summer 2012), and the pics aren't as good as I remembered. You're right about the dirty great exhausts streaks, and from what I can tell the main weather is dust, dust and more dust with some light scratching where you'd expect it to be. Anyhow, your model your way, but maybe that helps a bit. Keep up the good work!

Steve64 wrote: Mon Sep 01, 2025 8:21 pm Hey Stokesy,

Your 109 is looking really great. By the way, I checked my references (a French magazine called 'Batailles Aériennes', issue 61, summer 2012), and the pics aren't as good as I remembered. You're right about the dirty great exhausts streaks, and from what I can tell the main weather is dust, dust and more dust with some light scratching where you'd expect it to be. Anyhow, your model your way, but maybe that helps a bit. Keep up the good work!

Thanks mate.

My weathering intentions are pretty much word for word as you have described. Engine exhausts, some paint chipping round the cockpit and canopy and a dirty / dusty look in general.

Really nice job so far. The markings look proper good.

The adjustments to the shading are top draw as is the insignia work

The Montex masks look like a right faff but well worth it as you say and the more you do it the easier it will get. Really top draw stuff here mate, hope I can get somewhere close with my FW190 I don't think so.

Really enjoying this one mate

cor wrote: Wed Sep 03, 2025 6:27 am Really nice job so far. The markings look proper good.

Kevthemodeller wrote: Wed Sep 03, 2025 10:10 am The adjustments to the shading are top draw as is the insignia work

The Montex masks look like a right faff but well worth it as you say and the more you do it the easier it will get. Really top draw stuff here mate, hope I can get somewhere close with my FW190 I don't think so.

Really enjoying this one mate

Thanks Gents

Only a small update today. Working on the remaining sub assemblies so I can prime them later.

My little 109 is up on her legs now. Test fitted and also with the fuel tank test fitted too.





That classic 'OMG, its about to collapse' look of the 109's wheels



Now with the external tank test fitted





Next up is priming the tank, the undercarriage and the prop. Then I'll paint those, then everything gets a gloss for decals.

Looks great and the shading comes through nicely without over whelming it even after making a colour adjustment.
The wheels must be brand new.

digger303 wrote: Sun Sep 07, 2025 1:57 pm Looks great and the shading comes through nicely without over whelming it even after making a colour adjustment.
The wheels must be brand new.

Thanks

Re the wheels, that's the problem with rubber tires. I cant sand them and I dont want to buy an after market set.

the colour scheme does show off the insane rivet detail on this kit! the rubber wheels aren't too distracting from the rest of the kit, it looks terrific so far

Paul

Stokesy44 wrote: Sun Sep 07, 2025 8:24 pm

digger303 wrote: Sun Sep 07, 2025 1:57 pm Looks great and the shading comes through nicely without over whelming it even after making a colour adjustment.
The wheels must be brand new.

Thanks

Re the wheels, that's the problem with rubber tires. I cant sand them and I don’t want to buy an after market set.

Yes it's another thing I hate about rubber/vinyl wheels especially the mould line down the middle. People say oh yeah it's not a problem just sand it off, but I've not achieved a finish I was happy with.

Great work on the paint job Stokesy! the effort you put into it really paid off.

digger303 wrote: Mon Sep 08, 2025 10:19 am Yes it's another thing I hate about rubber/vinyl wheels especially the mould line down the middle. People say oh yeah it's not a problem just sand it off, but I've not achieved a finish I was happy with.

Often in life these tyres and tank rubber wheel hoops had mould lines right down the middle

The beauty of 1/32, 35 scale aircraft is the levels of detail, trouble is it can really expose one's lack of skill too. No such thing here though, it just keeps getting better

Sorry mate I thought I'd responded earlier but that is some awesome work on those painted insignia - you should be so pleased those results

And nice to see it up on its legs too - even if they do look as flimsy as the real thing! It might be worth putting a coat or two of ultramatte directly onto the tyres to see if that takes away some of the rubbery look?

Great progress tho

Elve1984 wrote: Mon Sep 08, 2025 3:31 pm Great work on the paint job Stokesy! the effort you put into it really paid off.

Kevthemodeller wrote: Wed Sep 10, 2025 1:34 pm

digger303 wrote: Mon Sep 08, 2025 10:19 am Yes it's another thing I hate about rubber/vinyl wheels especially the mould line down the middle. People say oh yeah it's not a problem just sand it off, but I've not achieved a finish I was happy with.

Often in life these tyres and tank rubber wheel hoops had mould lines right down the middle

Kevthemodeller wrote: Wed Sep 10, 2025 1:36 pm The beauty of 1/32, 35 scale aircraft is the levels of detail, trouble is it can really expose one's lack of skill too. No such thing here though, it just keeps getting better

Tomcat64 wrote: Fri Sep 12, 2025 2:05 pm Sorry mate I thought I'd responded earlier but that is some awesome work on those painted insignia - you should be so pleased those results

And nice to see it up on its legs too - even if they do look as flimsy as the real thing! It might be worth putting a coat or two of ultramatte directly onto the tyres to see if that takes away some of the rubbery look?

Great progress tho

Thanks Guys. Glad to see I'm not the only one who has hangups about rubber tyres.

After much head scratching and the considering of some after market wheels, I decided to see if I could sand the tires down to something a bit more realistic.

I went to my sanders box and pulled out the roughest, widest and most bad-ass sanding stick I've got in my arsenal, the King Tiger of sanders, and got to work. I reasoned the harsh desert ground would have destroyed the tread in no time leaving the rubber looking properly mauled.

Once I'd attacked the rubber I then painted the wheels, legs and tires. This is the result.

EDIT - the undercarriage legs are the wrong way round, when properly positioned the legs are canted much further forward!







Then it was on to the decals. My masking set does not have masks that match the unit markings of the version I'm doing so I went with the kit decals. Just the unit markings and tail mission tally so far.

The '14' came as 1 decal but I cut it up and removed as much unneeded film as possible. I then used decal solutions to lay them down and soften them into the panel lines and rivets. The result looks ok to me.







I also added the markings to the fuel tank. If my German is ok, one of the decals says, 'Not a bomb' which I think is just hilarious.







Next up are the airframe stencils then weathering

It continues to impress....

Thanks once again for sharing your progress

Lovely

I've used the heating method on my tyres before, that way you get a loading bugle. Basically you heat very slowly so they soften and then gently, push down.

Kevthemodeller wrote: Thu Sep 18, 2025 9:10 pm I've used the heating method on my tyres before, that way you get a loading bugle. Basically you heat very slowly so they soften and then gently, push down.

That's a good idea.
Did take me a while to work out what a loading bugle was though.

Stokesy44 wrote: Sat Sep 13, 2025 6:44 pm <snipped>
I also added the markings to the fuel tank. If my German is ok, one of the decals says, 'Not a bomb' which I think is just hilarious.







Next up are the airframe stencils then weathering

To divert a bit more than slightly - the "Not a bomb" is reminiscent of the German copy of the Bruce Barnsfather WW1 cartoon entitled "So obvious":


Being efficiently Tuetonic the German version followed the original text with "(It was not a mouse, it was a shell)".

RangerNeil wrote: Sat Sep 20, 2025 1:04 pm
To divert a bit more than slightly - the "Not a bomb" is reminiscent of the German copy of the Bruce Barnsfather WW1 cartoon entitled "So obvious":


Being efficiently Tuetonic the German version followed the original text with "(It was not a mouse, it was a shell)".

You should Google Henning Wenn and the German baby joke.

Decals done, then I moved on to adding the exhaust staining and gun smoke. The 109 had very pronounced exhaust stains if the aircraft survived long enough. With the inverted engine the exhausts blasted their way back along the fuselage wing root with a really heavy stain.

I used a 0.2 needle with the cap protector removed so I could get in really close. After the main stain was done in black I then switched to brown to add burnishing where the stain begins and on the individual exhaust pieces.

Once done, I glossed the entire kit ready for the dirt wash.













Next up is the dirt wash then finishing off bits and bobs.

It's a great looking finish all over apart from the air intake.