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STATIC CAPITAL Chris Wauchop Scale Models and Photography About Hasegawa 1/32 Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 THE BLOND KNIGHT Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 as flown by Lt. Erich Hartmann, Staffelkapitän of 9./JG 52, Russia, October 1943. I completed this model about 20 years ago and thought it was about time for a revamp. This was achieved mainly by tidying up and redoing the main weathering. The wing roots were first to receive attention. A thin, patchy spray of my red-brown mix was applied to replicate exhaust staining and general grime. When this had dried completely the scratches and rivet details were added using a very sharp PRISMACOLOR silver pencil. The starboard side didn’t receive as much scratching but I did add a bit more exhaust staining and a scratch-built starter crank handle. Also visible in this shot is the open canopy restraining wire which is part of the original build. High shot showing cammo and weathering. Not sure why the faint, skinny crosses were sprayed in the centre of the upper wing national markings. Perhaps they were applied as an aid for the original painters to align the stencils when they sprayed the main markings. As I said, I’m not really sure but this feature is quite visible in the famous picture of Hartmann leaning against the port side of this plane. Some extra grime was added to the under surfaces as part of my refurbishment. GALLERY Tags: 9./JG 52 , Chris Wauchop models , Erich Hartmann , Hasegawa 1/32 Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 , starter crank handle , weathering August 23, 2020 Aircraft 11 Comments Hasegawa 1/32 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A8 R2 RAMMJAEGER Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8/R2 as flown by Leutnant Klaus Bretschneider, 5./JG 300, Erfurt, Germany, October 1944. I made this model 18 years ago, and since it has only appeared on Brett’s web site (in relatively small format photos) I thought it was time to re-photograph it and post some much larger, more detailed images here. I have done a bit of a clean up of the model, and since more pics have come to my attention, I corrected some of the paint work and weathering. This includes a more accurate spinner spiral, paint chipping and dirt on the wing roots and under surfaces. Also in one photo of this plane I think it shows that the radio antenna wire retraction mechanism was disconnected and so, with the canopy open, the wire is just hanging slack. But as I had fixed the canopy so well, and I’m not 100% sure about this detail, I decided to leave it as is. More dirt and chipping on the starboard wing root. Extra soot around the shell ejection chutes and along selected panel lines on the belly. GALLERY ORIGINAL ADDITIONS AND ENHANCEMENTS Before construction commenced rivets were added to the exterior surfaces. The kit-supplied belly tank was replaced with the more correct part from Hasegawa’s Me 109 G6 kit. Plumbing, stability pins and braces were added to the tank and the mounting rack using brass wire, plastic rod and stretched sprue. The 30mm shell ejector chutes on the lower wing were cut open and the outer 20mm chutes were closed off. Brass tube was added to the wing leading edges to represent the 30mm cannon barrels. The tips of the kit’s plastic 20mm cannon barrels were hollowed out using the point of a new scalpel blade. All tyres were flat spotted and the tail wheel structure was modified so it would sit in a slightly more retracted position. Plumbing and wiring was added to the main undercarriage legs and actuator arms using lead wire and fine copper wire. The tailwheel retraction wire seen attached to the starboard undercarriage retraction arm was made from stretched sprue. Flaps were modified so they would sit in a more realistic 2/3rd closed position. The kit’s thick plastic D/F loop was replaced with a metal staple that was straightened and then bent to shape. The plastic FuG antenna mast was replaced with a piece of finer diameter brass wire cut to the appropriate length. The whip antenna wire at the end of the Morane mast was replaced with much finer brass wire. The pitot tube was replaced with Albion Alloys telescoping brass tube. Landing gear retraction indicators were added to the top of the wings using fine brass wire. Armour plates were added to the fuselage sides below the windshield and the cockpit. These were cut from .020″ plastic sheet and had all their edges bevelled as per my reference pics. The cowl gun troughs were filled with pieces of shaped plastic rod. Bracing wires were added to the back of the armoured headrest using black nylon mono filament (invisible mending thread). Finally the radio antenna wire was added. Before the rear canopy section was attached a small hole was drilled in front of the aerial pulley wheel housing and a longer than needed length of nylon mono filament was threaded through. The end was then fed through a hole that had been drilled in the centre of the bracket plate at the rear of the canopy combing and glued in place. A tiny hole was drilled down into the top of the aerial attachment spigot on the vertical tail fin and a small loop fashioned from very fine wire was super glued into it. After the rear canopy was firmly fixed in place the thread was pulled tight through this loop, tied off and permanently fixed with a drop of super glue. Tags: 5./JG 300 , Chris Wauchop models , FW 190 A-8/R2 , Klaus Bretschneider , Rammjaeger July 3, 2020 Aircraft 21 Comments Revell 1/32 Me262 A-1a Me262 A-1a SCHWALBE Messerschmitt 262 A-1a flown by Unteroffizier Eduard Schallmoser, JV 44, München-Riem, Germany, April 20, 1945. Schallmoser was flying this aircraft when he accidentally rammed a P-38 Lightning, slicing its complete tail assembly off with the jet’s starboard wing. Sustaining only light damage, Schallmoser was able to return to base and land safely but I’m not sure whether this aircraft ever flew again. The seat’s leather cushion was first sprayed matt orange and then carefully shaded with a thin mix of red brown. The deeper creases were then shaded with my black/brown mix. Cracks and scratches were brush painted using straight black and a lighter shade of the original orange. Once dry the cushion was rubbed with my greasy fingertip to give it the leathery sheen. Small wire loops were added to the top of the seat back as attachment points for the safety harness. Cockpit interior waiting for the addition of instrument panel and safety harness. Toe straps were added to the rudder pedals. These were made using thin strips of lead foil. Lots of wiring was added to the back of the instrument panel using various gauges of lead wire. As I was not sure how much of the wiring was going to be visible it only received a rough coat of yellow. Each separate instrument dial was cut from various decal sheets and added to the individual bezels after the complete panel had been painted. HGW’s Micro fabric seatbelts and P/E buckles assembled and weathered. Cockpit tub ready for instillation. Underneath the cockpit tub with lots of wiring detail added. This area will be visible through the landing gear openings. The kit’s ring pull handles in the tip of the bullet-shaped Riedel starter engine fairings were removed and replaced with finer scratch-built items. A push rod was added to the rudder’s offset trim tab using fine brass wire. If you do not want to build your model with open gun bay and engine cowlings then a fair bit of filling and sanding will be necessary because of the rather poor fit of these parts. Also I was not happy with the uneven contours around the front end of the nose and, again, a lot of filling and sanding was required to make this area look right. The tips of the cannons’ blast tubes were also added. The emergency canopy release handle was added. This was made from Evergreen plastic strip that was cut and bent to shape. Initial application of camouflage complete. The colours look very bright in these shots but once matted down and weathered the vibrance was reduced considerably. Also visible in this and the next couple of shots...