discussion It's a 109 but I don't know which!

[stona]

Underside is now done. Usual inept photography doesn't show the shading very well! It's going to be a Hartmann plane.

Upper surface camouflage tomorrow. It's a not quite standard 75/76 scheme and I'm not at all sure about the starboard wing,it may be an educated guess.

It's amazing how few photos were taken from the starboard side,nearly as amazing as how often some oik stands infront of some vital identifying feature or number

Cheers

Steve

 

[Guest]

Another great looking build going Steve ,'Bubi' would be proud! I'm looking forward to the non standard cammo on the wing ,you do know your stuff Sir!

 

[stona]

Hi Trey,I've become convinced that there were far more variations in camouflage schemes than is generally accepted. On the picture I posted earlier the demarcation between the 74 and 75 on the (visible) port wing passes the back of the wing on the trailing edge on the flap whereas it 'should' be about 60cm inboard of that on the line between the landing flap and radiator flap. In my quest to match this I've looked through various later schemes to see if this was an early version but to no avail. The closest I've found is a still from a piece of gun camera footage which is like no other scheme I've seen!

I've decided to do the port wing as visible in the photo and adjust that demarcation and to do the starboard wing in a standard (for 1943) pattern. The fuselage is pretty standard anyway. Here I debated whether to do the mottle in 02 and 70,as per factory instructions for early G-6s or use the upper camo colours (74 and 75) which seems to have been a simplification introduced fairly quickly. In the absence of any hard evidence I'm going for 74/75 mottle simply because everyone else does!!

I've sprayed the basic RLM 75 this morning whilst the light is good. I remember one of the reasons that I like doing the Luftwaffe......no masking needed you can freehand these schemes.

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

Camouflage is on. I may tone it down a bit a the shading is a bit too stark. The varnish will also blend it in.

I'll be glad to finish this one !

Cheers

Steve

 

[Guest]

Looks great to me Steve,intresting info on the cammo schemes. Thats cool that there is some gun camera footage thats useable for reference. Looking forward to more,I've got an Emil in the stash but not sure were I'm headed with it yet. Keep up the inspiring work always a joy to watch !

 

[stona]

I've put the decals on today. A big hats off to Trumpeter,the decals are superb. Here's a shot of this aircraft's most famous marking. This is applied over a gloss coat and given one splosh of Microset. No other varnishes or weathering on top yet.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Vaughan]

Very nice Steve the decal has conformed to the fuselage panel lines and rivets very well.

Vaughan

 

[stona]

I'm on the home straight! I've done a wash and got the matt (well,as matt as I want) varnish on. Once that's dryI'll do a bit of staining etc and stick on the dangly bits.

Hopefully I'll post some completed shots before the end of the weekend.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Dave W]

Looks good steve.I've got a 1/48 decal sheet for one of Hartmans G6's.I intend building one when i can find a suitable kit.Do you know if he flew the 109K ?.

 

[stona]

I intend building one when i can find a suitable kit.Do you know if he flew the 109K ?.

Hi Dave,a question which comes up frequently. It is not helped by various manufacturers producing Bf109K kits with Hartmann decals,often based on an old profile by Karl Ries which showed a tulip nosed K complete with 352 kills on the rudder. It looks nice but is without foundation.

The last Hartmann aircraft known is an Erla built Bf109G-10. There is a well known picture of him in a camouflage jacket standing in front of it,sadly not much is visible. The picture was supposedly taken on the occasion of his 350th victory. Here is a recently discovered version of that image.

And this one showing a bit more,also 'discovered' in the last few weeks.

These were posted over on LEMB and it is only fair to say that they have generated a heated debate,some experts even feel that they may be faked. My hunch is that they are genuine. Original photographs of Hartmann or his aircraft have a significant value so foul play is often suspected!

I could go on about various possibilities,for example his unit losses (I./JG52) show two Bf109K-4 losses in March 1945. Between February and war's end the other losses were seven Bf109G-10s,thirty Bf109G-14s along with a couple of old Bf109G-6s. There were obviously a few Ks available but there is no evidence that Hartmann flew one.

The K-4 with tulip nose and 352 abschuss marked on the rudder is definitely pure fantasy.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Dave W]

The decal sheet i have is for a tulip nosed aircraft with 352 kills.The kit its in is an old Fujimi 1/48 which is sold as a Hartmann G6.However,the kit fuselage around the engine cowling area is definately not a G6.Research leads me to believe its a G10.The kit instructions tell you to fit the gun blisters/covers supplied to it to make a G6!.From what you've just told me i reckon i can build it as Hartmanns G10 with the Erla Haub canopy supplied in the kit..Looks like Fujimi got their wires crossed somewhere!.

 

[stona]

Yep,the G-10 would have the streamlined bulges you can see in the second photo. There were different types of these cowlings depending largely on where the aircraft was built. I don't know the kit so I can't say whether it will make the 'right' G-10. There was a bewildering variety of cowlings, oil cooler intakes,tails and other bits being bolted on at this time.

Cheers

Steve