This is the
excellent Hasegawa 1/32 scale kit. The model was built with the additions
of True Details resin weighted wheels, Eduard's pre painted P.E. Seat
Belts, antennae wire made from invisible mending thread, and Micro Scale
Crystal Clear for the navigation lights. The kit goes together
beautifully with only minor filing along the seam lines with a polishing stick.
Once the cockpit was painted and detailed, it was inserted and the rest of the
kit was built according to the instructions. After installing the canopy
which had been masked, the aircraft was ready for painting.
Painting and
decals: I chose to paint this one in the RLM 74/75/76 scheme since
I had already done the winter white washed version. I started by
preshading all the panel lines with RLM 66 dark grey. Once the panel lines
were dry, I applied the RLM 76 in light coats to the under surface as well as
the sides of the airframe. The camouflage was painted free hand, so I used
RLM 75 first, followed by fading it, and then RLM 74 in the same manner.
Once the camouflage was dry, I masked the under wings as well as the
fuselage theatre band and under cowl and painted these RLM 04 yellow.
The last part of the painting process was painting the RLM 02 within the landing
gear bays. I allowed the paint to dry over night and I then applied
the clear coats using Johnson's Shine Magic. This provided a very nice
glossy surface so I could apply my decals. The decals are from the kit, ad
with the use of Micro set and and Micro Sol went on with little problems.
Minor weathering was done with the use of Citadel inks heavily diluted with
Liquitex. This mixture works well with a thin brush along the panel lines,
and if you make a mistake washes off with a moistened Q-tip. I also added
exhaust streaks with the same mixture. The final step in the finish
is the matte coat which I used the combination of Tamiya Flat Base mixed with
the Shine Magic. This allows me to control the amount of dullness I am
trying to achieve.
Final Steps: The
final steps were gluing on the canopy, the antennas, gun barrels, landing gear
and propeller. I really like the way the kit turned out and always
look forward to building and painting more of Hasegawa's large scale 109's.
Erich
Hartmann - top
ace of all time
German
Luftwaffe Bf 109 pilot shot down 352 planes on Russian Front
Flew
with JG 52 from late 1942 to end of war, Soviet POW for 10 years
|
|
|
Top Fighter Pilot
Who was the most successful
fighter pilot? Who was the number 1, number one ace? The ace of aces?
The highest scoring ace of
all time was the great German Luftwaffe experte Erich Hartmann
with 352 aerial kills. Flying Bf 109s (Me-109s) against the overmatched
Soviet MiGs and Yaks for almost three years, he accumulated his unrivalled
score. Hartmann claimed, that of all his accomplishments, he was proudest
of the fact that he never lost a wingman. He is also reputed to have said.
"Get close .. when he fills the entire windscreen ... then you can't
possibly miss."
Hartmann was born in 1922,
in Weissach, Wurttemberg. At age 19 (1941), he joined the Luftwaffe and
was posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) on the Eastern Front in
October, 1942. He scored his first kill in November, and only achieved his
second three months later. In the first half of 1943, he worked out some
of the tactics which would prove so successful later on. If he was
attacked from behind, he would send his wingman down low and out in front.
Then he would get behind the enemy and fire a short, quick accurate burst,
waiting "until the enemy aircraft filled the windscreen." He
would normally content himself with one victory; he was willing to wait
for another day. His natural talents began to tell: excellent eyesight,
lightning reflexes, an aggressive spirit, and an ability to stay cool
while in combat.
|
|
|