A 1/72 scale Luftwaffe "dio"

[stona]

I've recently got my paws on four (that's right four!) 1/72 scale Luftwaffe kits.

I've got an Me 262,a Fw 190 A-8,a Bf 109 G-10 and a He 177.

My plan is to do a Luftwaffe boneyard as found by the allies at Wunsdorf,Fassberg and other airfields at the end of the war. It will not be a literal representation of a photo,as is my wont,neither will the markings be authentic although the aircraft types are entirely feasible.

Here's the kits.

The He 177 looks like a very nice model so that one will not be hacked about but built as is. It is obviously the biggest model and will be the centrepiece or backdrop to the display.

I might make some of the others a little more "distressed" with collapsed undercarriages or missing bits etc.

I rarely build in this small scale but when I do I always enjoy it and am looking forward to this project

Cheers

Steve

 

[CDW]

1/72nd and a full diorama ...... oooooohhhh

Does it feel a little out of the "comfort zone" Steve ?

I suppose a few bent props and collapsed undercarriage would give a good idea what it's all about without totally wrecking four models.

Really looking forward to see what you make of this lot.....

 

[yak face]

Sounds intriguing steve , looking forward to seeing the builds , cheers tony

 

[stona]

I'm going to base the models on some real and interesting schemes and gloss over the fact that they were all found hundreds of miles apart

For the Bf 109 I'm looking at an unusual scheme from a Diana built example.

I've got a good Fw 190 from Rodeicke's book

The Me 262 may even be the box scheme (Kommando Novotny).

The He 177 I'm unsure about. I've got some partial piccies of some wrecks but I might keep this one complete,as per kit. We'll see.

Kick off next week!

Steve

 

[flyjoe180]

Looking forward to this one Steve.

 

[mossiepilot]

Great idea Steve. it''ll show what happened to these airplanes after battle was over. My Dad took some photos at Gatow? of an airplane boneyard during his national service. was quite a sad sight.

Looking forward to seeing it mate.

Tony.

 

[Vajled]

Looking this build with interest

Great idea

Roman

 

[stona]

Great idea Steve. it''ll show what happened to these airplanes after battle was over. My Dad took some photos at Gatow? of an airplane boneyard during his national service. was quite a sad sight.Tony.

That's great. Gatow is on the western edge of Berlin and is the airfield on which Hanna Reitsch landed to bring Generaloberst Robert Ritter von Greim to Hitler in the completely besieged city of Berlin after her famous flight of April 25th (1945 obviously).

Later it was developed as the British airfield in Berlin. I've been there several times to visit the Luftwaffe museum.

Here is the airfield in its hayday,1953,after development by the British.

And rather more sad recently (2007)

Cheers

Steve

 

[Polux]

A little dio.....sounds a great idea!

Looking forward to this one.

Cheers. Polux

 

[stona]

I've made a start.

The He177 is a very nice kit as I suspected. I'm going to build it as is. So far I've made up the very nice crew compartment and fitted to the fuselage which is currently taped together.

I've also started the Bf 109 G-10. I figure that the two kits are so different that even I won't get confused! I'm basing this on a well known picture of a Bf 109 K taken at the end of the war. This aircraft only has one wing. I thought this would be a fairly simple thing to do but it is actually quite difficult. I've remounted an attachment for the undercarriage and have fitted a basic plastic card fillet to blank off where the wing should be. Once I've got the wing fitted I'll try and smooth everything out and add a bit of plumbing etc.

I've also opened up the radio hatch as nearly all these abandoned aircraft seem to have had their radios removed or vandalised.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Vajled]

:tongueout2:

 

[colin m]

I don't know what to say, 1:72 - times must be hard...................

 

[stona]

I've finished hacking the Bf 109 G-10 about. It's a bit of a mess but it'll scrub up nicely......I hope.

I'm basing the look,though not the camouflage and markings on this Bf 109 K found at the end of the war.

Meanwhile I've joined the two halves of the big Heinkel. I'm eyeing up the turrets a bit suspiciously. I knew there was a reason I don't often build bombers

This should scrub up okay too.

Cheers

Steve

 

[AJay]

Excellent build - I look forward to seeing this one progress

 

[Polux]

:laughing::laughing:

Ahhh....my friend!! Are you looking!!! The abandoned and weathering planes exist!!

:laughing::laughing:

I will follow this one with many interest, it's similar at my Spitfire project.

All the best Steve, I know will be a craker diorama.

Regards

Polux

 

[treyzx10r]

Steve this is going to be a treat I'm sure. Especially fond of the He177,really do'nt know why by all accounts it was a horrible design . If Iwhat I've read about them is factual they lost more to in flight fires than enemy action? The Gustav missing a wing is a nice touch! Looking forward to the next update and all I can say about the turrets is liquid mask Mate! Cheers Trey

 

[stona]

Well Trey I've masked them in the traditional tape and new scalpel blade way. I think liquid mask might have been better in this scale! There was much effing and jeffing involved and SWMBO was scared to come into my little "studio".

I've primed the little 109 and got some RLM 02 in the wheel wells and on the wing root.The rear portion of the canopy,the Galland hood,is stuck on with Blu-Tac and is serving as a mask. It won't be there on the finished model.

That's the Fw 190 cockpit in the background so I now have three on the go at the same time. It's a good job the two lttle'uns are molded in different coloured plastic

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

Final bit for today (and maybe tomorrow depending when I get back home!).

I've stuck the office in the Fw 190.

There's a lot of nice detail considering the scale. Shame you won't see any of it when I join the two halves of the fuselage

Steve

 

[flyjoe180]

Great work Steve. It takes me longer to complete my 1/72 kits than it does you and many others here to complete your 1/48 (and larger) monsters. Welcome to the tiny league again!

 

[stona]

Great work Steve. It takes me longer to complete my 1/72 kits than it does you and many others here to complete your 1/48 (and larger) monsters. Welcome to the tiny league again!

I'm not surprised Joe!

To be honest the construction is not what takes most of my time,assuming the kit has a reasonable fit.

Painting takes much longer,particularly as I use mostly enamel paints. There's not really a shortcut for them.

The He 177 has a parts count similar to many 1/32 scale kits I have built and more than some. The parts are self evidently smaller,some remind me of the little photo-etch hinges and things I battle with at a larger scale. It is a very nice kit and certainly not easier to build than something in a larger scale.

The fighters are an easier proposition to build but no easier to paint than their larger counterparts.

I've never gone along with the idea that smaller scale kits are somehow less of a challenge to finish to a reasonable standard,the techniques and methods are exactly the same,you just tend to use smaller tweezers

Cheers

Steve