1/48 Academy Messerschmitt Bf-109 G6

by Ardi Indratmo

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Hello Everyone, my name is Ardi, I’ve been a regular visitor of ARC for quite sometime now, and I must say that it is the most resourceful and informative site I’ve ever been in. It’s the best, second to none. I’m a novice modeler and also this is my first submission to ARC so bear with me .

The kit was made straight from the box, no cockpit resins nor photo etched items. This is the first Academy kit I’ve ever bought, so far the kit’s quality is quite satisfactory except for the decals, it was a bit thick (at least for my taste) and prone to fogging. Paints used were: Tamiya’s XF-23 (Light Blue), XF-54 (Dark Sea Gray), XF-58 (Olive Green), X-8 (Lemon Yellow) and RLM02 Graugrün.

Cockpit detailing was done using the usual overall black wash with silver drybrushing topped off with individual detailing of each flight instrument. The fuselage halves went together well, with little amount of putty and sanding required.  Same can also be said in wing–fuselage joining. Only a small gap visible in the wing root, easily rectified with the cotton bud-acetone gap-filling method.

Painting: After masking the canopy, painting the wheel well with RLM02 Graugrün and masking it with the ever-useful Maskol (that gooey pinkish substance), I painted the whole thing Light Blue while checking for any surface defects.  

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The Messerschmitt Bf-109 is a remarkable piece of German machinery. Unlike its counterpart, the British Spitfire, the 109 has an advanced fuel injection system which allows it to perform negative G pushover (That’s when you push your stick forward to put your plane into a dive) without failing its engine. Where in the Spitfire you must perform a half roll (i.e. inverted flight) before pulling it into a dive. (Unless you’d like to lose your opponent behind you in a spiral dive and performing it deadstick in order to conserve fuel )

These are the photos of the plane as it went through the process of camo painting and decal application. Note the distinct yellow identification markings common to most Luftwaffe aircraft (Tamiya’s X-8 Lemon Yellow). This is probably why British WW2 Fighter Pilots refer to these 109’s as “Yellownose Bastards”.

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Then the model was given a generous amount of Gloss Lacquer overcoat. Also the panel lines were highlighted with a wash of thinned Burnt Sienna. And this may sound odd but I’ve never been able to successfully create wires from heated & stretched sprue, so I used hair for the antenna wire instead. I always like my models clean so I held the weathering to a minimum. (In fact, as you may notice there’s no weathering at all).

So dear friends, I hope you enjoy this article as much as I do writing it. I’m a novice modeler and still learning so critics and suggestions are highly appreciated. My special Thanks to Mr. Steve Bamford and his staff at ARC, William-Daniel-Tri-Kiki and also my fellow First Officers in Garuda. Fly Safe. And thank you Dian for the long, black hair .

Ardi

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Photos and text © by Ardi Indratmo