Leaderboard

Tamiya 1/48 Messerschmitt Bf-109G-6, as flown by Constantin “Bazu” Cantacuzino during the LCOL James Gunn rescue mission. You can read the whole crazy story at https://www.historynet.com/pilot-prince-rescue.htm Additions include: Eduard Seat Harness. Eduard LooK instrument panel. Bare Metal Foil to hydraulic oleo struts. “Invisible” thread aerial. Exito decals. Erla Haube canopy sourced from EDU82111X overtree kit. Radio Aerial cone fashioned from plasticard.

The kit had a few issues that needed some attention. EJECTOR PIN MARKS in some of the worst places.. Starting from the front, moving back, these are some of the modifications I made. 1.The propeller. I sanded both the leading, and trailing edges of each blade. They were so thick on the edges, it was funny. 2. The engine. I used Eduard photo etch to detail it. The Ignition wires took some time, but it was well worth the effort. 3. The cockpit. I used Eduard photo etch here to. 4.The landing gear. I used Bare Metal Foil on the Oleo's, and photo etch on the torque links. 5. The gun bay. I used scrap photo etch to detail the inside of each panel that was posed open. I cut open all the latched on each panel, and made new ones. I used plastic sheet, that I put rivet lines on, to line the inside of the bay. The .50 Cals were kit supplied. 6. The intakes on each wing root. I used photo etch screen to replace the kit version, and made new intake vanes. 7. The drop tanks. These were both void of any real detail. One of the big flaws, was no filler caps. I used online photos as a reference to scratch build what I needed.8. I used EZ line for the antennas. 9. The figures were Ultracast, and Blackdog models. 10. The cowl flaps. These bad boys took some engineering to make them work. I used Eduard photo etch for the Tamiya kit to dress them up. I also used EZ line to simulate cables for the pulley systems to open and close the flaps. All in all, an interesting build. Had a chance to try some new weathering techniques. The Model was painted with Testors Model Master Enamels (Insignia Blue FS35044). Any questions, comments, or critiques are welcome. Christopher