Photo by Albert Labrador
This is my battle-damaged Me-109G in North African camouflage colors. It was
originally handpainted (when I was still beginning in this hobby). When I read
David Mondey's book (Axis Aircraft of World War 2), I was amazed to see a color
photo of a low-flying Me-109E that was so well-camouflaged that it literally
blended with the ground (like a chameleon). This became my inspiration and
I decided to add a twist.
I
wanted to build a diorama of a crashed 109. That's when I began to
look at my old collection for a suitable model; and since I just bought a
new airbrush I decided to practice on it.
Work began with stripping the old paint & detaching as many parts as I can
from the model. The starboard wings were sanded from the inside until they are
paper-thin. Using a sewing needle, I poked the wing halves to simulate flak
damage. The landing gear was retracted to indicate a belly landing. The control
surfaces were carefully cut using a sewing needle and were repositioned. The
propeller blades were then bent using boiling water.
The model was then repainted using Gunze acrylics. Decals are spares from
Academy and Tamiya kits. It was weathered using oil paint & pastels while
enamel paint was used for the paint chipping effect. The model was then
given a nice flat coat to seal the finish.
Now, all that needs to be done is to get some damaged to the tail wheel &
gun barrels... and of course I need the diorama base.
Happy modeling!