ICM Bf-109E-4 in 1/72nd scale.

I finally finished the ICM Bf-109E-4 of which I posted in progress pics earlier. I am not satisfied with the end result as there as several mistakes, but decided to finish it off as is, and hope to get better results on the Fine Molds kits I still have to build of this most popular plane in kit form.

Im not a fan of Bf109's so i cant rly judge Looks good esp the exhaust which was done with your AB. But you can see (on the fuselage) a little bump where the green was masked, prob because the green went on too thick. for next time all what you need to do is some soft sanding on these areas.

where did you get the turf from??

AdriaN wrote:Im not a fan of Bf109's so i cant rly judge Looks good esp the exhaust which was done with your AB. But you can see (on the fuselage) a little bump where the green was masked, prob because the green went on too thick. for next time all what you need to do is some soft sanding on these areas.

where did you get the turf from??

Adrain check Piscopo Gardens or Clamatta ...

Joking apart

All local leading modelshops, especially KHobbies and Forbiddon Power stock gaming and train material that is good for landscaping, though personally not that in love with certain items as they look like a football pitch so homogenouse. I prefer this German brand they have quite a range for artificial grass and groundwork ... http://www.fredericus-rex.de/shop2010/Green-Line-Laser/?XTCsid=e6a8eabb90edbbbdc7b982cbc3ba6632

Ivan

The 109 is nice and the basic paint job is very nice indeed. However, I can;t say I am crazy about the weathering. The exhaust stain is a bit overdone and looks a lot like overspray. Same for the blackening around the guns and cannon. I think that the weathering is too heavy and particular, too much black and too obvious. Also either the pressure or the mix were not right and you got too much overspray. I hope you don;t mind the criticism but you will not benefit if I just tell you that it is a great looking model and don;t point out these things.

bcauchi wrote:The 109 is nice and the basic paint job is very nice indeed. However, I can;t say I am crazy about the weathering. The exhaust stain is a bit overdone and looks a lot like overspray. Same for the blackening around the guns and cannon. I think that the weathering is too heavy and particular, too much black and too obvious. Also either the pressure or the mix were not right and you got too much overspray. I hope you don;t mind the criticism but you will not benefit if I just tell you that it is a great looking model and don;t point out these things.

Hi Brian,
Of course I don't mind criticism! I'm posting not to show off, as I'm far from that, but to take some of your excellent ideas. As I said, I am not satisfied with the paint job. The RLM MM colours I have seem to be quite troublesome to airbrush and that's one of the reasons I ended with such thick layers of paint. I used Revell color mix for thinning, do you think that cellulose thinner should have been better? I have had mixed result with thinner in the past, and prefer not to use it, but maybe I'm not getting the mixture/pressure correct.
As regards the turf, I think it was purchased from KHobbies, and I agree that I should airbrush a little hues in it to get a more natural look.

What exactly is color mix? a ''special'' formula for thinning?

ive often read that its supposed to slow down drying time, but instead speeds it up. I always use white spirit for thinning & cleaning. I always used it & always works well. most members use cellulose, but i prefer whitespirit. its more 'gentle'
+plus cellulose is supposed to be used for lacquer thinning & cleaning (hence Nitrocellulose lacquer)

I have been using cellulose thinner for as long as i can remember and it works well except for the odd time when it suddenly decides to lift off the layer of paint it has been sprayed on. But it really thins the paint down and dries instantly. However, sometimes, when i spray on the exhaust i use some white spirit for a longer drying time and it gives me the chance to blend in some colours into the exhaust. Lately i was not even spraying exhaust at all, i was using the MIG powder and some pastels. they are easier to control and you can really get a nice blended effect. there is a mig powder called exhaust and it is really great. don't forget that if you don;t get it right, you just wash it away and restart.

Nice model Gordon (hope I got your name right).

The colours look good - as the others have said, maybe the demarcation line shows a bit too much.. Like Brian, I too have used cellulose thinners on most paints although I must admit, I don't particularly like Revell paint. I think Model Master is much better and I have rarely had any trouble. Maybe your air pressure on the compressor was low or your airbrush needs a good service.

I agree that the weathering is the main culprit. I would have opted for pastels which are much more easy to control and you can always remove if you are not happy with the result. The canopy to fuselage join also appears a bit rough and being a 1:72 modeller like you, I know the feeling when things like that show on close-ups!

Try heating the paint lightly to get a creamy texture, and mix the paint and cellulose externally before applying to your airbrush. This might help you to get a thinner coat if you mix a wee bit more thinner than you normally do. Hope this helps. If not, you are free to come over to my place and we can try out your airbrush after an ultrasonic treatment.

Hi Aldo,

Thank you for your offer, very kind of you, but I should first come a few times to the club to meet you and the other members.
The model is painted in MM colours, I only use Revell for SM301 (semi-matt white) and matt varnish. I try to stick to MM and Humbrol. As to demarcation line I should have tried to wet sand it a little before continuing with the varnish.... I had to remove the canopy after I removed the masking to fix the seat in the cockpit, and that's why there is a rough edge now!! It was VERY much better when I removed the masking. And as you said, these are 1/72nd so on the monitor all the defects are amplified!