Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik

To wrap up this set of builds, the Sturmovik has been finished and put on the shelf for display. I was certainly not cheated on this build. Academy went above and beyond with this affable kit. Lots of detail and many parts highlight the attributes of the Sturmovik. I did, however, have some fit issues with the wings. Some surgery and strategic maneuvering were essential to achieve the proper fit. Aside from that, there were zero issues to report. The decals were great from Cartograf, but there were few to apply.

Overall, this was a great build. I really can’t complain when things go this smooth. The Sturmovik was my eighth completed build of the month. I don’t see myself keeping that pace all year but I will take it while I can.

Messerschmitt Bf-109E Trop

Building the Trop fulfilled a void in the realm of my WWII builds. This was my introduction into the war in North Africa. I have been wanting to get a build like this in for a while but other kits barged their way to the front. I enjoyed this build very much. Constructing it along side the Bf-109G proved to an interesting challenge. When I began the build, I stuck a piece of masking tape with the label of “Trop” on the work board that I was using for this build. Thinking that would be enough to deter me from mixing up the similar parts was very naive of me. The instructions served a far more valuable purpose with the two builds. I was constantly checking to see if I had the right parts and for the most part I did.
My usual blunders aside, this was a fine quality build. Very easy to work with. There were minor gaps along the spine and the wing roots were just about perfect. Overall a great build. The paint scheme vastly stands out compared to all of my other builds on the shelf. I want to spend some more time with this element of WWII in the future. Maybe a B-24 or Typhoon?

Messerschmitt Bf-109G

When Romania surrendered in August of 1944, they left a vast quantity of Allied POWs in their wake. To expedite repatriation, Lt.-Col. James Gunn rode as Captain Constantine Cantacuzino’s passenger to the US 15th Air Force headquarters in Italy. Captain Cantacuzino’s Bf-109G was quickly painted with American markings as not to be mistaken for the enemy. Within twelve hours of Lt.-Col Gunn’s trek to freedom, relief aircraft were arriving in Romania to provide assistance to the remaining Allied POWs.
When I saw this scheme, I was instantly on board. Upon hearing the provenance of the aircraft, I was forever hooked.
It was nice to build a Bf-109 again. They are deceivingly small airplanes. The build was your typical Academy kit. No major issues to be bothered with. Obviously, I used a set of aftermarket decals from Blue Rider. There were a total of eight decals to apply so this wasn’t a project. They were, however, quite scary to work with. The few decals needed seemed fragile and had trouble releasing from the backing. Needless to say, I took my time. I did not want to repaint this one due to bad decals. As you can see, it worked out.
I’m not sure which is more out of place, a Bf-109 in US markings or a P-51 in German markings? Either way, it’s odd to see.

New Builds Revealed

With the Saetta finished, I am currently finishing up the two Bf-109’s and the IL-2. All the decals and weathering have been completed and I am beginning to wrap up final assembly. The canopies are the last pieces to go on all three kits. I was able to get the windscreens attached on the Bf-109’s today. I want to let the glue set up before I attach the rest of the pieces. I will finish them off tomorrow and work on getting the IL-2 canopy installed. I have a miniscule amount of work to address in the cockpit before I can get that step done. The trio is for the most part considered finished.
So while the canopies hold me up, I will reveal the next three builds. All of them were picked to continue my goal of diversity within the workbench. So first up is Hobby Crafts 1/72 CF-100 Canuck. This airplane will be in Canadian markings, of course. The kit doesn’t look bad at all. There are a few lack of detail issues but I can make do. I am excited to get this one going. So far, various parts have been clipped from the sprues and are awaiting one of my work-boards to hang out on.
Next is also from Hobby Craft. This one will be their 1/72 Su-25 Frogfoot. This kit also looks pretty good. It has the same detail issue as the Canuck but not to worry. A plus is the included ordinance. By that, I mean lots of it. So needless to say, I am going to put as much as I can on it. As with the Canuck, it awaits a work-board as well.
Finally, I will be building Hasegawa’s 1/72 Kfir C2. The Israeli camouflage scheme has always been a favorite of mine so when I saw this kit a few months back, I had to pick it up. The kit is not your typical Hasegawa model. I was quite shocked to see more than enough flashing on the fuselage and ordinance. Not what I was expecting, but not a tough task to remedy. Aside from that, I think this will be a great build. I still have a Skunk Models Israeli Weapons set from when I built my F-16I that I might add to it. I still need to do some research on the Kfir to see what it normally carries before I get too far. My progress on the Kfir is the same as the other two. When the Bf-109’s and the IL-2 are completed, I can free up the work-boards and start to pick up some steam.

Macchi C.200 Saetta

I took this kit on not knowing if I could handle a fourth build again. The first time that I attempted it, I failed miserably. That was a pretty detailed kit and the Saetta wasn’t nearly as difficult. There were very few parts to keep track of and they went together perfectly. The build kind of put itself together. There were a few gaps to handle but nothing to fuss over. Other than that, the flow was superb.
The safe route was taken when it came to painting. With my airbrush acting funky lately, I chose to hand paint the mottling. I went over each splotch twice with Italian Dark Brown and Sand. The airbrush would have been better but the thought of a ruined paint job was too dreadful. So the end result isn’t the nicest, but I am still happy with the turnout.

Sailing Through

The workbench has been a production line lately and it feels great! My lazy approach has been abolished this month and I am currently at four builds completed, four builds in process, and three builds started. A new set commenced last night while the Bf-109’s , Saetta, and IL-2 were drying. So that’s seven different kits the progressed yesterday. Times are good in the model airplane world.
Painting has been the focal point of the past few days. The Saetta has surpassed the other three and taken the lead. Both the upper and lower base colors have been applied all that is left is the two color mottling. I would expect a weekend finish but given that the NHL All Star Game is this weekend, I may be distracted.
The two Bf-109’s and the IL-2 have their respective bellies painted and are ready to mask off for the uppers to receive some color. I will do the masking tonight and hopefully get them painted tomorrow. It won’t be too much longer after that before I finish the trio.

F-82G Twin Mustang, P-51C Mustang, and Mustang MK.IV

From the beginning of the three builds, I was interested to see how they all looked together. While they certainly differ in design and paint, you can see the resemblances in them as well. The only one that is missing is a gleaming bare metal American P-51. If I wasn’t so lazy, I would have dug my one decent example out. I didn’t feel like risking any damage to any of my other builds to search through the many storage bins to find it. Regardless, I think the three together makes for some fun photos.

Mustang Mk.IV

I have to admit that I am a little uncomfortable seeing the P-51 in non U.S. markings. While different, it still looks good. I think this one came out great. I have always liked British colors and this is no exception. The camouflage looks great on it.

This P-51 was no different from its counterpart in this build. Academy knows how to produce models, plain and simple. Painting this kit proved to be a near challenge. All of the paint that I needed to use was either old or close to being all used up. Luckily, the paint held out with some rationed airbrushing. The older paint even mixed up enough to use. Other than that, there were no major issues throughout the build. I enjoyed every bit of this kit. The three different P-51 theme was an interesting twist to change it up a little. I didn’t have a hard time telling them apart like I am with the Bf109’s that I am currently building.

P-51C Mustang

Well it took me longer than originally expected but it’s done and looking quite odd in German markings. It’ll take some getting used to.
The build was great. This was a typical Academy build with no issues aside from my own mistakes. The yellow paint was my main problem. The first coat was sprayed way to thin. The second coat came out darker than it should have. I reuse eye droppers when I airbrush and I think I grabbed a not so clean one when I extracted the paint from the bottle. Third time is a charm. It came out like I wanted and I’m leaving it alone.
The rest of the build went as I hoped it would. The Germans are starting to overtake my shelf!

Calm Waters Make For Smooth Sailing

Eleven days of vacation down, nine more days to enjoy. This has been a fantastic vacation. I have had a prodigious amount of time to spend at the workbench and the return on my effort is showing. The P-51’s are being finalized and you could classify them as being finished. There are just the last bits of assembly and touch-ups to achieve.

The Saetta has moved right along and has now surpassed the other three builds. Two factors determined the quick status of the Saetta. The obvious one is that there are very few parts to this kit. The second is that the few parts fit very well. The only filler used was a little on the spine and nose. Certainly a pleasurable build. I will finish up the rest of construction today and get it prepped for paint.

The Bf-109’s are performing well also. The minor fuselage gaps have been filled and the wings and horizontal stabilizers were attached yesterday. I haven’t primed them yet, but it looks like I can get by with zero filler on the wing roots. If that’s the case then I can get them prepped for paint with the Saetta.

The IL-2 is lagging behind a little with the first snag of the build. Dry fitting the wings, I noticed a few fit issues. I’m not sure where I went wrong, but the wings are kind of important to the kit so it was time for surgery. I “trimmed” a few problem areas enough to get the wings to fit decently. There is still some work to be done. The horizontal stabilizers and the wheel bays went on great. The wheel bays will need a little filling around the leading edge of the wings. I think by the time I am finished with the other three builds, this one will have caught up and be ready to paint.