1/48 Revell Me-109 G10

by Christian Curec - Romania

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It is the old Monogram-Revell Me-109 G10 (with ERLA cockpit).

The kit is very simple (and cheap) and the only problem I discovered is that the kit has to many strait lines so I cut of slats, flaps, lower coolant flaps and the control surfaces of the rudder. It was a tricky work but it paid of and I am satisfied with the result. It looks like a Me-109 to me.

My idea was to relay on scratch build and not to buy any Detail Sets. Since it was a inexpensive kit I also tried a lot of new techniques: (for me) the use of Future for a gloss coat, post shading, oil washes, and smoke stains made with the airbrush.

I started out with the instrument panel witch was painted grey.  White spots where applied where the gauges should be, a layer of Future sealed them and finally a black chalk paint was applied over them. This paint was scratched with a needle to simulate the indicators.

The cockpit interior was painted gray, chalk wash and several dry brushings with light gray and silver where applied in order to give a realistic look. The entire cockpit cried out for detailing so I inserted some wires to simulate cables and scratch build a box from Plasticard.

I finished the cockpit interior with seat belts from paper scotch and thin wire (painted with a silver pen).

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The exhaust pipes where drilled out and painted (hard job) since there is a mix of rust, smoke stains, and bare metal – especially in the area exposed to the flow of air. The exhaust pipes where glued on their place and covered with Colour Stop (from Revell), to protect them from the body painting.

The slats and flaps where glued on the wing (white glue) in order to be painted. Everything was arranged in the appropriate position afterwards.

I chose a classic camo: RLM 76 with RLM 81 – RLM 82 and spots of RLM 02. The colours where toned down with aprox. 10% of white to simulate sun effect.

The rest of the build was pretty straightforward: I primed the model, painted the yellow cowling and then I applied the light blue (RLM 76) on the whole fuselage. The panel lines where airbrushed with a toned up colour (again 10%).

For the spots I made 3 paper masks, one for each colour and I used the airbrush to apply them one after another. Upper fuselage camo and the wings followed. Even here I used masks (soft method) as I wanted to obtain a smooth blending of colours.

Everything was followed by a gloss coat of Future (unfortunately not enough gloss). Decals where applied with Solva Set and Solva Sol and everything was sealed with another coat of Future.

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A diluted oil wash was applied on the entire surface, a little toned up for the upper side. The oil stains, typical for Me – 109, where made with a black oil wash and wiped out in the direction of the airflow.

Several dry brushes where applied with different colours, in order to raise up the details. Last one was with bare metal, to simulate some chipped paint. But I wanted an aircraft that looks worn, not a ruin (too much chipped paint)

Since the external fuel tank it newer and les used as the whole aircraft, it was painted in toned up colour and the weathering was done more subtle as the rest of the aircraft.

Finally a little glamour was added, through the installation of antenna and signalling lights. The lights were painted in silver then in clear red/green and finally coated with Future.                                                                                                                           

I did work for 5 months (I know - I am slow), but as I said before I am happy with the result.

Hope you did enjoy the photos.

 HAPPY MODELING ! 

Christian

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Photos and text © by Christian Curec