Tamiya 1/48 Bf-109 E-3

[aur0ra145]

Howdy all!

Picked up a 109 to make. Went with the E-3 because it was available locally and that I've got a Spitfire Mk.II it'll look nice next to.

This is completely out of box with the exception of canopy masks (because I like sanity vice frustration which is canopy masking.)

Overall the kit is very crisp and detailed. I'm quite please with the level of detail compared to the price of this kit. I may get after market decals. I had an 'episode' trying to get the decal on the dash. Ended up just dry brushing like I usually do.

Fit is very nice as expected with Tamiya kits.

[aur0ra145]

Got the bits prepped and primed in Ultimate Black.

[xSCAR45]

A lot of German WWII air being built.

Looks like you have this one just about finished. I'm looking forward to the painting!

[Vindicare]

ho god you are way ahead then my build of the same kit

sooo how did you tackle the radiators on the engine and the ones below the wings (are those radiators?)?

instructions says to paint them aluminium, did you mask the wing ones in any way?

[aur0ra145]

ho god you are way ahead then my build of the same kit

sooo how did you tackle the radiators on the engine and the ones below the wings (are those radiators?)?

instructions says to paint them aluminium, did you mask the wing ones in any way?

I just sprayed the thing RLM 65. I'll get pictures up.

So for the radiators. I'm just going to leave them black and over spray with RLM 65. Then, use pigments to give a depth effect. But, if it turns out bad, I'll just not care. lol.

For the engine panel you were worrying about in your thread. I just white ticky tac'd the cowl on for painting. After its said and done I'll go back and paint engine and machine guns.

[Vindicare]

For the engine panel you were worrying about in your thread. I just white ticky tac'd the cowl on for painting. After its said and done I'll go back and paint engine and machine guns.

thats an awesome ideia!

sadly my panel is now glued already

[aur0ra145]

Lots of progress today. Got the painting finished. The only aside is that I may paint the wheel wells the proper color. However, I'm not convinced quite yet. Might be way more work than it needs to be for something no one will probably ever see.

First pictures are of the cowls and what not. As you can see, they're not very visible. So, I just didn't pay them too much attention.











First masking.



Second masking.



Results

[Vindicare]

hoooo the masking went very well! its looking splendid!

so you did hard edges ... i never know when to use hard or soft edges

anyone know a good luftwaffe reference about camouflage and painting in general?

so you painted the lighter green first, did new masks and painted the darker one over it right?

[aur0ra145]

hoooo the masking went very well! its looking splendid!

so you did hard edges ... i never know when to use hard or soft edges

anyone know a good luftwaffe reference about camouflage and painting in general?

so you painted the lighter green first, did new masks and painted the darker one over it right?

Thank you!

Usually my masking layers leak a bit, so I'm happy this one went well.

I used hard edges as that was what the instructions tended to look like. I've seen them painted all different ways. As a rule though, I usually default to soft edges except when it's very apparent they need to be hard.

As for references, I don't know if I can help you. I just went with how the instructions went. I didn't do much research on this subject, other to ensure it would have been a candidate for the Battle of Brittan. (I have a BoB-era Spitfire I wanted to display it with.)

Yes, I painted the lighter color first. Masked, then the darker color. I always spray lighter color first then build darker ones on top of them (if required.) I always feel its easier to darken something than to lighten it up.

Colors used was RLM 65 (MM Hellblau RLM65 (SG) 4778) for the blue parts, then the darker RLM 71 (MM Dunkelgrun RLM 71 4781) over the lighter RLM 02 (Vallejo Model Air 71.044 RLM02 Grau.)

[aur0ra145]

And it's done.

I'll get more pictures up tomorrow.

[SergioSolo]

Excellent paint job! Looking forward to seeing more pictures

[aur0ra145]

Decals went on pretty well. I did use a ton of setting solution for this one. I might have not quite sealed in the paint with Aquagloss as much as I thought. Some paint looks to have been eaten by the setting solution. Weird, I've never had it this pronounced before. However, after a ton of MM Semi-gloss lacquer, I think it looks good.

I used Vallejo pigments to give some mild weathering. This is from early war (circa 1940) so it couldn't have been that dirty? Right?

I will take a moment to complain. I think the Model Master RLM 71 is incorrect. I can't quantify it in any way; but, it just looks much more gray than green (which it's supposed to be.) Especially if I were to mottle the sides. It would look weird.

In the future I will try the Vallejo Model Air RLM 71. Additonally, the RLM 65 Blue color seemed a bit too blue. It pops out at you much more than I would have expected. Again, I'll give Vallejo Model Air RLM 65 a go next time.

Overall I'm very happy with it. Just about 2 weeks build time and very few fit issues if any.

[aur0ra145]

[Vindicare]

hey aur0ra145 what a fine Emil mate!

i'm using vallejo paints on mine so i hope you will be able to compare the colours.

i hope because i'm trying some new stuff on this build and disaster may strike at any moment

[aur0ra145]

hey aur0ra145 what a fine Emil mate!

i'm using vallejo paints on mine so i hope you will be able to compare the colours.

i hope because i'm trying some new stuff on this build and disaster may strike at any moment

I'm very interested to see how your paint comes out. I'm sure yours will come out excellent!