.

Peter Marshall's Amazing bf110.

Lt. Felix-Maria Brandis and friend go to inspect repairs on his Bf110 in September 1942 at Malmi in Finland. The port engine had suffered an oil leak from flak damage over Murmansk, and is currently being repaired.

He was also looking for his dog 'Lockheed', a squadron mascot, which also appears to have been interested in the repairs........

The Kit and the Resin


The Eduard Profipack 110E - the initial run with the Resin Dashund.
Quickboost Bf110E Exhausts
Quickboost Bf110E Starboard Engine
Aerocast Bf110E Treaded Wheels
Aerocast Bf110E Separate Tail Control Surfaces

Sprue Shots









Extras for the Diorama


The ICM Luftwaffe Ground / Aircrew set
Revell Airfield Ground Equipment set

In addition I have a load of flock / grass and balsa wood to build up the planing for the diorama.

Started work on the base - slicing up loads of balsa to make rough strips, then smothering the base with PVA and then making a rough equivalence to a Luftwaffe wooden planking hardstanding.



The PVA needs to dry overnight before I can start adding the 'earth' around the hardstanding, and some grass.

First up mixed some pollyfiller with pigments, then spread it on the base to cover the whole area. Deliberately worked some in between the planks of the hardstanding.



Then very carefully at first, sprayed water over the top. You have to go gradually at first as until it gets damp it will blow away. As it gets damp it will stick and you can spray closer.



Then I used some balsa to make a fence along the back of the board. To make the ridge at the back, I made up some thicker pollyfiller / pigment mix for mud, and spread it liberally around the back near the fence to make a ridge, and also a couple of little bumps on the rest of the board.



Allow all of the plaster mix to dry thoroughly before starting to add the flocking.

Started by staining the balsa with a thin oil wash of Burnt Umber oil paint, which darkened the wood and stained the grain.



Then started making a lean-to for the storage of some airfield equipment - first build up the frame



Then panelled the sides with some thin balsa


Then stained the lean-to with the same burnt umber mix


Finally, stared adding the flock to the base, a mixture of forest floor scatter, and moorland scatter.


I used some Magic Sculp rolled into a thin sheet to make a Tarpaulin cover for the leanto



Then started making up the Luftwaffe Oil and Water trailer from the Ground Equipment set.


Added the decals, then weathered the trailer with Tamiya weathering compounds and Mig Pigments.







Then placed the trailer in the Leanto



Amazingly enough construction starts with the cockpit. Painted with RLM02, and given a Raw umber oil wash to give some depth






If anyone spots that the throttle quadrant isn't quite the right shape, this is because when this part had it's trip to the floor, I managed to roll over it with my chair. Therefore I had to scratch a new quadrant out of thick CA and talc. I then gave it an oil wash with thinned raw umber, to dirty up the edges, and weathered the seat edges.

Made up the instrument panel from the PE parts, then added a drop of Klear to the dials.



Then fitted the instrument panel to the cockpit floor.



Started the rear cockpit, sprayed with RLM 02



Then made up the straps on the cannon ammo drums, horrible tiny PE belts.



Then gave the floor an oil wash, and added the hoses for the CO2 cylinders using lead wire.



Then made up an oil drum from stolen from the Tamiya Fieseler Storch, painted german grey, then added some rust and an oil stain.



Carried on building up the rear cockpit - added the cannons, and fitted the live ammo drums



Added the belts for the observer



Then fitted the forward bulkhead, dry brushed the radio gear, and fitted the rest of the ammo drums.



Finally, added the barbed wire to the fence, and painted the tarpaulin canvas.



Basically completed the cockpit, and then the fuselage sidewalls













A very minor fit issue on the bottom of the fuselage around the cannon ejection port - just added a little Mr Surfacer 500



Then rubbed it down with a cotton bud soaked in IPA.



Then for a change, I started work painting the little dog



First cut off the base from the dog.



Then gave him a base coat of brown



Then picked out the nose and eyes with some black, then some oil washes over the top.



Then drybrushed some black over the top to leave this:



First added the rear fairing on the cockpit, and sorted out the fuselage seams, and rescribed the panels.





Then made up the rear machine gun





Then started work on the nose, first made up the gun cover and weathered the inside.



And made the mounting for the front MG's - I have left off the MG's for the moment, as I plan on opening the panel once painting is done.



Then put the nose on with some blu-tak



Onto the fun bit - the nacelles - first the port nacelle which is getting the resin engine. Now the engine is designed for he starboard side, so I had to sand it a bit for it to fit.
To get the engine to fit you have to cut out the panels, and the back of the exhaust stacks.



Gave the engine a tidy up, and a quick blast of RLM02 as a primer.



Then fitted to the nacelle, a bit of filler at the edges then some grey primer.



Finally sanded the nacelle smooth - I will need to rescribe a couple of panel lines, but it's not too bad.



First up the Starboard Nacelle - which when fitted had about a 0.4mm gap at the back



So out with some thick CA and filling powder, and robert's your fathers brother !



Then fitted the wings, which seem to have been more of an issue. I had to sand the tabs a lot to get a good fit, then add loads of ambroid and press quite hard. I then taped them into position while the glue went off. This left a slight gap at the underside but that is the easier place to get at.





So out with a bit of Mr Surfacer 500, and the IPA soaked cotton bud, and voila, no more gap.



The last bit of work for today was fitting the Aerocast replacement control surfaces. As I need to deflect them for the dio (for reasons that may become apparent at the end), I used these resin parts. Direct replacements for the kit parts and a joy to use.



First fitting the air intakes to the nacelles. The Starboard side went in with no problems



But the port side there was a bit of a gap, probably caused by the engine.



So on with a bit of filler, smooth down roughly with some cellulose



Then a quick sand, and everything is sorted nicely.



Fitted the radiators, with the lovely PE grilles - painted brass then given a black oil wash, then rubbed randomly with a cotton bud.



Finished the wheel wells, and weathered them before they get masked up.



Then painted the engine, combination of Semi gloss black, flat black and silver with a yellow fuel pump. then sprayed a mist of Tensocrom Oil paint over the top to flatten it.





A warning to anyone else planning on using the Quickboost engine, the panels to fit over the top are significantly too small to fit ! So I have had to mask the engine with tape and parafilm. The panels will look fine open, but they do not fit well enough over the engine to work as a mask.

I have dipped all of the canopy parts in klear, and put them under a cover to dry before building up the canopy. Finally I have masked off the wheel wells with blu-tak, and fitted the bomb carrier.



First up the canopy - starting with the pilots windshield. This has an additional armoured glass plate, held in place with a frame made from PE, which falls apart when you bend it.



But it looks good once on, and the masks work really well



Then the pilot's side panels, which have a PE backing plate, painted RLM 02



Then simply a case of adding all the rest of the masking, and gluing the centre part of the canopy on. The pilot and gunner sections are blu-taked in place, as I will need to reposition them once everything is painted.



Then a quick blast of RLM02 over the canopy, to ensure the inside of the framing is the correct colour.



As this has had quite a lot of work done, and a mix of materials, a primer coat was called for - out with the Respirator and the Alclad II grey primer. I took the opportunity to prime the remaining resin bits at the same time (the wheels and exhausts).





As you can see the primer shows up a couple of niggles around the nacelles





So out with the filler





While waiting for the filler to set it was time to start the figures. I haven't painted any figures for ages, and even then only for wargame standard. First I assembled the collection of ground crew and a couple of officers.



Then proceeded to block out the areas of colour, to have highlights / lowlights added later. There are still a few details to add later as well (piping on the hats, badges, iron crosses etc).



By which time the filler had dried, so I sanded the nacelles off again, which once again looked right.





Then a spray of primer to prove it





I didn't bother photographing the pre-shading but it is there.

First up the underside, sprayed RLM 76 with the yellow wing tips, then a coat of Klear.



Once the klear had dried, started masking off ready for the RLM 74.



Sprayed the RLM 74, then masked of the splinters for the RLM 75



Sprayed the RLM 75, and unmasked, giving the nice splinter cammo.





Then a quick spray of Klear over the top, then once that's dry, the mottling.

No real problems just take it carefully, and remember when you go wrong, just spray the lighter colour over the edges to correct it.



Then I gave the figures oil washes and picked out the details - I still can't paint fleshtones, but they look ok.











Then assembled the undercarriage, which is fiddly but not difficult.



Then sprayed the wheels, then painted the hubs, and added the brake lines to the main wheels.

Then placed decals which have gone on with no troubles.







Then sprayed with a quick coat of Klear to seal everything.

n the final stages now - all the little bits to do.

First on with the wash:



While that was drying, sprayed the exhausts 'rust' colour as a base.


Then started work on the spinners - why the Luftwaffe insists on 3 colour spinners i'll never know. First sprayed white.



Then masked off a 1/3rd of the spinner, and sprayed the RLM70
 

Then cut a hole in some masking tape, so I could spray the yellow ring.


By which time the wash had dried, so after some rubbing with damp cloth / cotton buds.





Painted the props - flat black blades with silver hubs and an oil wash over the top.


Then gave the exhausts a black oil wash


Attached the cockpit glazing, and unmasked it all. I used 5 min epoxy to glue the cockpit both for strength and because it has no chance of clouding the clear parts.



Then attached the props to the engines:


Finally weathered down the barbed wire a bit, and put the pieces in place. Only a couple more hours work before it's done - the front MG's, some oil streaks from the port engine, and some exhaust / cordite staining.



Needed to make some turnbuckles for the radio antennae, so using 0.2mm copper wire (silver coated as it's designed for Jewellery making), I hold a length in some tweezers using a vice.



Then taking some lockwire pliers


you lock the pliers onto the end of the wires and spin the pliers. If you are gentle enough to stop the wire breaking you get this:



Then about 15mins later



Always make more than you need (I needed 3 for the 110), as you WILL lose some.

Then using 5 min epoxy again, trim and fit to the aircraft:





Finally for this update, I sprayed the exhaust staining and some oil streaks.



It's all been matted down, the nose guns added and the radio wires added.

So Finally what I ended up with is this:


Eduard 1/48th 110E Profipack, with Quickboost Engine and Exhausts, and Aerocast Wheels and Control Surfaces. Revell Luftwaffe Equipment set for the oil / water trolley, and ICM Luftwaffe figures.An oil drum was stolen from a Tamiya Storch kit.

Base is scratch built with plaster, balsa wood and some magic-sculp for the tarp and some 'barbed' wire from http://www.snmstuff.co.uk. Painted with Vallejo Model Air throughout, with weathering using oils, pastels and Promodeller Washes.

Build thread is available here for those interested.