Messerschmitts X 3

[matrixone]

Thanks guys!

Ian,
Its hard to figure out why Revell designed the three part landing gear legs, perhaps the kits design team was under pressure from management to make sure the kit had a high parts count to use as a selling point.

If Revell or Eduard want a kit that is a REALLY good seller they should try and make more accurate kits...that is the best selling point of all.

As bad as the landing gear legs are the spinner design is worse! :frantic More on this later.


Matrixone

 

[Skinny_Mike]

Camo on the 262 looks great Les. Taking notes for my Revell -109G6.

Mike

 

[lupanzer]

Great camo on the 262...a terrific look

Luiz

 

[Swordsman]

Nice job on camo Les ..... and thanks for the CA clinic ... ... I might not hate it as much .... ldguy

 

[matrixone]

Thanks guys!

Swordsman,
Superglue has its uses as a filler but for hard to reach places or areas on the model where there is a lot of molded on detail you want to preserve I like to use Bondo red spot putty, the spot putty dries quick and is easy to sand off.
For example, on most models of the Fw 190 there are some tricky seam lines to fill on the wing roots right next to important details that need to be saved and what I do is use thin strips of tape to cover the molded in detail and leave only the seam exposed so that when I smoosh the red putty into the seam none of the molded in detail is ever touched by the putty which makes sanding the putty off the seam line easy later on. If you use the tape method to protect the areas of the model that you don't want to get putty on be sure to remove the tape right after the putty is smeared into the seam or the putty might tear when the tape is removed.


Matrixone

 

[phantom II]

Thanks guys!

Ian,
Its hard to figure out why Revell designed the three part landing gear legs, perhaps the kits design team was under pressure from management to make sure the kit had a high parts count to use as a selling point.

If Revell or Eduard want a kit that is a REALLY good seller they should try and make more accurate kits...that is the best selling point of all.

As bad as the landing gear legs are the spinner design is worse! :frantic More on this later.


Matrixone

I completely agree with that . I had never heard of parts count until recent times . Not gonna start counting at any time.
Seems like that would be more advantageous to armor modelers anyway :idonno

Accurate is the mark to meet and a reasonable price would also a plus .

Cheers, Christian B)


Oh, here's a thought . Have you tried MR Surfacer ? Can't think of anything easier than whipping it off with an ear bud

 

[phantom II]

Unusual for RoG to over-engineer such a 'basic' part... Wonder why would they go in that direction ?? :hmmm

Ian.

You know, all the graduates don't make it out of school with high grades . Some of them are glad to get out with their lives.
They most likely get employed as well

Same as people practicing medicine

Cheers, Christian B)

 

[Piet]

TOP!!

 

[matrixone]

Thanks for the comments.

Christian,
Yes I use Mr. Surfacer quite often and like how it can be removed with a cotton bud dipped in Mr. Thinner.


More progress on the G-10 and Me 262...

The G-10 now has the tail fin glued on, at first I had my doubts this type of assembly would work out very well but with a little sanding and blending in with Mr. Sufacer it looks okay. The rudder is also glued on now. About the only advantage I can see with Revell's choice to make all the control surfaces moveable is it makes it easier to pose the finished model in a diorama with the control surfaces displaced for a more candid appearance.

The ridiculous multi part assembly of the main landing gear legs has been done and the seam lines were filled and sanded...but after all that effort there is not much to show for it as they look rather bland, one really nice thing is the tail wheel strut and tail wheel are separate and thus represents the setup on the full size machine better than the old Hasegawa kit does. The main wheels in the Revell kit are nicely done with just about the right amount of molded in detail.

Here is a close up of the landing gear legs of both the Revell and Hasegawa G-10 kits, the red arrows here point to the Hasegawa gear legs and the molded in detail with the brake line, after having built a couple large scale Hasegawa Bf 109s before the brake line detail looks fantastic after painting.
The wheels in the darker gray plastic are those from the Hasegawa kit and are the narrow tire versions needed for the aircraft I am modeling. The flat spots on the tires have been added with some carving and sanding.

Below is the Me 262, most painting is done now since I painted the tip of the nose white and the wheel wells metall...since these pictures were taken the model has been given a coat of Future so I can start putting on its markings on Monday morning.

Matrixone

 

[Hippy Ed]

B)

 

[moon puppy]

Looks great Less, going to be another showcase build.

 

[lupanzer]

Excelent 109 buid...the 262 painting looks great!

Luiz

 

[ij001]

I agree with Luiz, that 262 just looks superb right now - not to take anything away from the G-10..

Ian.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Coming along nicely Les! It seems rare these days for a kit to really cover all the bases. Even the expensive ones miss details and get things just out and out wrong. The nice thing about the new Revell kits is that they are basically correct and inexpensive enough that it doesn't break the bank if you want to add some after market to them.

Again, looking quite nice and I appreciate the level of detail you are adding and going to in order to get "the plane".

 

[Swordsman]

Thanks guys!

Swordsman,
Superglue has its uses as a filler but for hard to reach places or areas on the model where there is a lot of molded on detail you want to preserve I like to use Bondo red spot putty, the spot putty dries quick and is easy to sand off.
For example, on most models of the Fw 190 there are some tricky seam lines to fill on the wing roots right next to important details that need to be saved and what I do is use thin strips of tape to cover the molded in detail and leave only the seam exposed so that when I smoosh the red putty into the seam none of the molded in detail is ever touched by the putty which makes sanding the putty off the seam line easy later on. If you use the tape method to protect the areas of the model that you don't want to get putty on be sure to remove the tape right after the putty is smeared into the seam or the putty might tear when the tape is removed.


Matrixone

Thanks ........ Les ...... I also use the spot putty ......... On one of my builds ..... It got a little warm while curing ........ But I had put a lot on it was a very big void ......... ldguy

 

[matrixone]

The comments are appreciated!

Paul,
Even though I may sound like it at times I am not a rivet counter type, I enjoy building models from older to the newer kits of today but this Revell 109 is a bit of a let down, its been at least ten years since the Hasegawa line of large scale 109's have been on the market and I thought this new Revell kit would be an improvement over the Hasegawa offering but its not, and in some random areas its actually a step back.

When developing and producing a new kit it probably costs about the same to get it right as it does getting it wrong so I can't understand why Revell chose to half-ass things on this Erla 109 kit. With a number of examples of the full size machines still in existence and who knows how many thousands of photographs of late war 109's available why can't anybody produce a reasonably accurate kit of this aircraft? :idonno

Matrixone

 

[moon puppy]

Les I know someone on this website who sends in suggestions and corrections to a lot of the manufacturers to the point, I think, he's on first name bases with all of them. Ever thought of sending in your suggestions and research to them to help make a better model?

 

[Swordsman]

Hey ....... Let's face it We either build the model accurate or close to that ..... It would be nice if model companies ..... Did a little more research into the kit ....... But research eats into the bottom line then the kit sets on the shelf until it is not saleable ....... Next thing you know it's on clearance ....... In the model RR game a SD-40 looks just like any other ....... Just some railroads have different options ....... Same with aircraft ..... I have seen rivet counters in my life ........ Accuracy is not that ........ Rivet counters just can't appreciate anything not made by their hands ......... ldguy

 

[matrixone]

Thanks for the reply Bob and Swordsman.

Bob,
My concerns about the Bf 109G-10 Erla is not so much about accuracy as it is about the odd parts break down, the landing gear legs are a good example of this, they are made of three parts with a seam line that would be in a very visible area on the finished model, yes the small seam lines can be filled and smoothed out but is clearly not a fun job for the modeler. The much older Hasegawa 109 kit does the very same part as a single molded item with only a very light mold line to be dealt with. Sadly Revell's gear legs have no more detail on them than the older Hasegawa kit has.
Revell of Germany makes a really nice 1/32 scale He 162 kit and as you know the He 162 used Bf 109 landing gear legs and Revell's He 162 kit has landing gear legs that are similar in the level of detail to those of the Hasegawa Bf 109 kits, what is hard to understand is why Revell chose to go with the more complicated multi part assembly of each gear leg as used on the 109 Erla kit when they already proved that they could mold a better looking part made from a single piece of plastic? To my eyes that's going backwards and not forward.

Matrixone

 

[Skinny_Mike]

Great looking builds Les, as usual - a please to watch you work your magic!
Mike