discussion Airfix 1/24th Messerschmitt Bf109G-5/6 (A17003)

[BulldogModels]

Hello everyone,

I am posting my WIP from last winter up, transferring my posts from Instagram. So please stick with my while I type everything up and try get the old brain going and remember what I did.

To kick things off though I am starting with my Airfix 24th scale BF 109.



The project has been stalled since around March this year as me and the wife have been doing lots of work on our house and garden, which has left no time for models ... also the model room has been like a sauna this summer! But not things are cooling off and DIY projects are coming to a close, I am hoping to get back on the bench and crack along with this build.

I am waiting on some paints arriving now before I can progress any further though.

Part 1

The first step of this kit has you build up the beautiful Daimler-Benz DB 605 A engine. This is a work of art in itself I must say, it went together with absolutely no problems. I like to try keep my builds in mini sub-assemblies as I progress, this just aids in painting.

You can see that some parts of the engine are held in place using a little Mig Ammo liquid mask so that I could test the fitment, you can also use PVA for this, but cleanup is much easier with the latex.

Once the general construction was finished, I filled and sanded any visible seam lines and then painted the engine using Mr.Primer Surfacer 1000 and then finished up with Tamiya Semi-Gloss Black (X-18). I like to do this as it helps to highlight if anything still needs attention before cracking on with the main painting.

Nothing to exciting with the painting, The kit instructions call for Humbrol paints, but I am not a fan. So I kept it to Tamiya Paints. I am not addressing weathering or anything at this stage of the build, the engine will be left separate from the Airframe till all painting is complete. Then when I have decided on a weathering direction, I will adjust the engine to suit the final vision.







That's it for Part 1. Once I get my photos organized again, I will post up Part 2 of the build.

Hope you all enjoy

 

[Jim R]

An excellent start on this superb Airfix kit. This 2025 tooling is a million miles better than their geriatric 1970s kit. Looking forward to the next update.

 

[BulldogModels]

An excellent start on this superb Airfix kit. This 2025 tooling is a million miles better than their geriatric 1970s kit. Looking forward to the next update.

Thanks Jim, I have never seen the 1970's kit in person, but I can imagine how it was.

Technology has moved along with injection molding for sure!

 

[BulldogModels]

Part 2 - Cockpit Build

Just like the engine part of this construction, the Cockpit was very straight forward. There is lots of fantastic details here that can be picked out easy enough. I did toy with adding the fantastic Quinta Studios - 3D printed set here to upgrade the cockpit further, but I truly did not think it needed it.

I started off with the Tamiya German Grey (XF-63) for the base of the cockpit colour, I gradually added in a few drops of Tamiya Flat White (XF-02) to lighten this up, and create some variation in the paint to add a little visual interest.

I then started picking out the details in the cockpit, this was a very enjoyable few hours along with some lovely reference photos that I found on google. I added some very light chipping, and a slight grubby wash mixed from some Abteilung 502 Oils just to give it that lived in feel.

After this came the cockpit decals. The kit decals took a little while to bed down, and needed a few applications of Micro Sol & Set, but eventually I was able to coax them into position.

Once I was fully happy with everything, I sealed everything in place with some Vallejo Matt Varnish. To bring back the glass effect on the dials, I took some Vallejo Gloss Varnish and placed a nice blob on each dial. Once this dries up you are left with the glass finish we want.

To finish things off, I dry fitted the Fuselage halves together to make sure everything fit nicely, and to get a first look at how it all looks buttoned up.

Anyway, enough chatter ... lets get to the photos shall we:

 

[Stefee]

Not an aircraft afficianado but that cockpit is simply stunning.
Was very surprised to see there is no padding on the seat?

 

[pjgtech]

Wow, lots of detail there, looks good.... I've only ever done planes in 1:72, nothing that big....

 

[BulldogModels]

Not an aircraft afficianado but that cockpit is simply stunning.
Was very surprised to see there is no padding on the seat?

Thank you very much, as far as I know ( I'm not an expert myself ) the pilots sat on their parachute, which is why the seat is shaped the way it is.

 

[BulldogModels]

Wow, lots of detail there, looks good.... I've only ever done planes in 1:72, nothing that big....

I tend to build smaller, but could not pass on these 24th scale kits, I built the spitfire before this and it was a beautiful model.

Well worth picking on up if you have to space to display it, and can get it for a good price.

 

[pjgtech]

Are you a "pro" scale model builder, or just a hobbyist, IYSWIM? Eg: do you sell your models and/or do commissions? Just wondered about the name "Bulldog Models".... cheers

 

[BulldogModels]

Are you a "pro" scale model builder, or just a hobbyist, IYSWIM? Eg: do you sell your models and/or do commissions? Just wondered about the name "Bulldog Models".... cheers

No not a pro or anything.

The name and logo I just came up with around 8 years ago now, bulldog is just a kind of British/Churchill reference haha.

It was / used to be a business also. I used to make various 3D printed accessories for scale modelling such as Aircraft jigs, drawer units, paint holders and things like that.

But I closed the business earlier this year and now I have just come back to building models and enjoying the hobby.

Hope that answers your query

 

[Jim R]

That cockpit is a thing of beauty. 3D decals are excellent but definitely not needed here.

 

[BulldogModels]

That cockpit is a thing of beauty. 3D decals are excellent but definitely not needed here.

Thanks Jim.

Yeah the out of the box cockpit is lovely, I did actually use the Quinta decals on the 24th spitfire (will post that when I get around to it) but that was more just to have a play with them over needing them.