SLOEGIN BUILDS - LUFTWAFFE ?

[sloegin57]

27th April 2009

Yep, afraid so. It is said that inspiration comes from many sources and this (proposed) build may well be a good illustration of that. In this case, Inspiration has indeed come from a multitude of sources. Firstly it has come from a desire to overcome a modelling block that I have had for at least a year in which many models have been started but none completed. Secondly it has come from the excellent builds put up by felllow Recce SIG members Colin Shipton-Knight (Canberra PR9) and Rolf Blattners (Popeye) superb Junkers. It has come from the fact that I gave my Debit card a hell of a good bending at the Scots Nats at Perth last weekend. It has also come from the sheer quantity of superb models from all disciplines on display at Perth, and not just in the Competition Hall. Having said that - the Best of Show was mind blowing. Lastly it has come from the fact that Alistair MacClean from A2Zee models came across to the Club Stand at the end of the show as we were packing away and had a close (too close!!) look at the two Hurricanes, Brisfit and Fe2B that I'd thrown together for display at the back of the Recce SIG's stand at Telford in 2007. I hope that my embarassment did not show too much!

This build will be a complete change for me and it will be many firsts. It will be the first time in decades that I will have built a Luftwaffe model and most certainly in 1/48th scale; it will be first use of my brand new compressor purchased at Perth; the first use of my brand new airbrush also purchased at Perth (but I needed one - honestly); first use of different paints to my more usual Pactra Acrylics which are now getting a bit long in the tooth but still useable and the first use of various bits of Luftwaffe reference material that I have picked up over the years but hardly looked at. The only thing which won't change will be the Recce theme - after all, I have to have something familiar to anchor myself to. It will also be the first time that I have built a model "in Public"!!!

The kit is the 1/48th Hasegawa Arado AR 234 C-3 (picked up at Perth) which I intend to convert to the C-4 variant with two cameras in the rear fuselage. Therefore it will not be straight from the box, almost but not quite, but with a bit of tinkering. I hope to open up the two rear hatches, scratch build and install a couple of cameras but apart from that I do not intend to venture any further - I'm pushing the boat out far enough as it is.

My references for this build that I have just dragged out from the dusty recesses of a little used part of the library will be:- "The Official Monogram Painting Guide to German Aircraft 1935 - 1945" by Merrick and Hithcock; "Aircraft of the Fighting Powers Volume VII" by Owen Thetford, the facsimile printed in 1979; "German Aircraft Interiors" by Merrick and the "Monogram Monarch Volume 1 Arado 234 Blitz" by Smith and Creek and published in 1992, purchased the same year and which should contain some useful information - once I have taken the cellophane wrapping off it!.

I'll be coming to this build completely cold, my sum total knowledge of Luftwaffe camouflage and markings that I can quote of the top of my head could be written on a British First Class stamp (Normal not Large!) but it will make a refreshing change from the now seemingly usual Brisfits, Fe2B's, Canberras, Lancasters, Spits, Hurricanes and the few esoteric PR types that I have been researching and trying to build in the past. I think that its going to be fun which is what modelling is all about. I hope that it is going to be fun and that it will re-ignite that little spark of interest that has sustained my modelling interests over that past fifty years as recently I seem to have spent far to much time researching what I am going to do instead of actually doing it !!!.

Right then. They say that the first step is the hardest so if I may be permitted to misquote a famously tragic Englishman:-,

"I am now going to do a bit of reading - I may well be away for quite some time".



I'll get around to opening the boxes later !

[popeye]

Well - if this isn't good news then what is?

- two's company, three is a crowd - and if after Ollie's nice little "Bachstelze" Paul finds his way back it might even be double company

And I am sure the preface is some prelude of even more interesting text and things to come ....

Dennis - now just don't crawl back between the covers of a book but get going on the proverbial first step - load the airbrush with some RLM 66 an make a start on the cockpit interior !

I am already biting my nails ........

Remember - if you keep going you may beat Colin to his first Luftwaffe subject ;D

Rolf

[ollieholmes]

Good luck with this project. Im going to follow this with interest as i have thought of doing the same thing with the MDC AR234.

[COLIN SHIPTON-KNIGHT]

Dennis,

What can I say..... I salute you Sir.

Can but agree with many of your thoughts about Luftwaffe aircraft as inspiration..... Oh I look forward to seeing this one....... Have to say the kit appeals to me as well...

If it is anything like the rest of your work, well each episode should be worth waiting for........

I just hope that, unlike Robert Falcon Scott, you are not too long in returning.........

Rolf,

I told you your work was inspirational.... And what a subject... You must be happy that you are 'sowing seeds'.........

More to come, hopefully.

Colin

[COLIN SHIPTON-KNIGHT]

Bugger,

Got me thinking....

I need to think ahead and decide what I am going to do...

Must admit Ju 86 appeals.....

Rolf, I need guidance......

Colin

[sloegin57]

April 27th 2009 - Postscript - 22.05

Just spent most of the day trolling through "The Official Monogram Painting.....etc...etc."

The Publishers Preface was a bit of an eye opener. You Luftwaffe chappies didn't tell the rest of us mortals that the Luftwaffe painted its camo in reverse order - ie Light over dark !:-



As the 234 C-4 was very late in the war I had assumed that I would be entering the veritable minefield of "Late War Luftwaffe Colours".

It's worse than that. Continuing to wade through "The Official Monogram Painting.....etc...etc." I have just discovered, between Pages 33 and 37 no less that Five - yes Five !!! authenticated shades for RLM 82 Dark Green. yeah Gods, there are three just on one page !

Time for bed. Tomorrow I'll start on the other references and then Wednesday - I'll Open A Box.

[popeye]

Dennis,

at the risk of disgruntling some experts - if you want to realise THE authentic camo scheme you will never finish that project but get lost in conflicting information.

Take a look at the example at Silver Hill and make your decisions....


Colin,

I have to admit I even don't know if there is a quarter scale kit of the 86 available ......

Show you what I have on the weekend !


Rolf

[sloegin57]

Apr 28, 2009 7:51:36 GMT popeye said:

Dennis,

at the risk of disgruntling some experts - if you want to realise THE authentic camo scheme you will never finish that project but get lost in conflicting information.

Take a look at the example at Silver Hill and make your decisions....


Colin,

I have to admit I even don't know if there is a quarter scale kit of the 86 available ......

Show you what I have on the weekend !


Rolf

28th April 2009 12.50

Rolf,
Great Minds think alike! After going through that lot last night, I had already decided to finish the model in a similar fashion to the beautifully restored example well illustrated in the Monogram Monarch book even down to the polished finish which should get a few"experten" incensed!.

Both,
Check your emails - I've opened the box and had a very pleasant surprise!

Dennis

[Paul Senter]

Dennis

Best of luck with the 234. I have an aspiration to model the early 234 which carried out the first jet recce mission. It will mean scratch building the tri-cycle undercarriage which is jettisonable. Scratchbuilding is not my forte!

In a bit of a slump at the moment - credit crunch has hit hard so nothing planned for the time being. I did complete a Ju 88 A4/D1 in the recce version which kepy me occupied for a week or so whilt recovering from surgery - nothing to compare with Rolfs masterpieces especially as it was 1/72 - not my preferred scale. It was useful for practising a winter scheme using salt as a mask - worked pretty well, ill post some pics one day!

I did finally manage to finish the Bf110. It is designed to represent the 110 that crashlanded in the UK and was rebuilt and tested by Farnborough. Resisted the urge to paint in British colours but remained faithful to the RLM colours which were fairly unusual as they were 'greens' as opposed to the normal 'greys'.

Anyhoo - best of luck with the 234.

Paul

[popeye]

Paul - welcome back,

best wishes for recovery whatever the reason,

and let's have some pics for the Luftwaffe section ....

Rolf

[kitspackman]

Paul,

I've had the very same thought about the Ar-234A, the one without any wheels.

Apparently there's a Mistel version which uses a similar trolley, but with dual wheels, available in kit form. (Just looked it up, it's a Mistel V with an He-162 as the top half) I have the 1/72 Dragon Ar-234B kit,m which comes with the cameras, but I'm not sure what I'd do with the left-over Mistel bits.

Do you know what markings the 'first jet recce' aircraft carried perhaps?

[COLIN SHIPTON-KNIGHT]

I'm following this with interest...........

Like Kit, like the idea of the 'first jet Recce', but like Dennis like the later C4.....

Hummmm

Colin

[Paul Senter]

Kit

I do have the markings, although my poor memory is now about to be exposed! I recently picked a book up from the library all about Luftwaffe Secret Projects called ON SPECIAL MISSIONS: THE LUFTWAFFE'S RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTAL SQUADRONS 1923-1945 with recce being fairly high up the 'Secret Project' scale particularly before the war. Anyway there are some interesting photos in the book covering some very diverse aircraft including a Do 335 Pfeil that had cameras inserted but never used operationally as the rear engine kept over heating, anyway one of the sections deals with the first trials of the Ar 234 as a recce ac. Just after the Normandy landings it was pretty much certain death if you wanted to send a recce mission over the beachhead or indeed southern england until they had a go in the 234. Nothing the allies had could touch it so a few missions took place over the beachhead and later southern england.

From memory the aircraft is painted in the standard RLM 'Greens' although I cant remember the codes off the top of my head. Ill dig it out over the weekend and put as much detail as possible up. The book is also useful as it describes the Zirkus Rosarius, a staffeln that tested captured allied aircraft. Two of particular note is a Spitfire PRIX and the F5E (P-38 recce version) which used to tour the operational staffeln. The aircraft were sometimes left in their allied colour scheme although most, because of repair I guess were painted in German colours. They all had yellow undersides though - very striking. Others that piqued my interest was a Mossie and a couple of P-51's not recce but looked very interesting.

Nice idea about the trolley but my fat sausage fingers have real dramas with 1/72 so its 1/48 for me. Looking to convert one of the 234B on the market, remove the wheel bays and try and slim the fuselage down a bit (may ignore that bit though) and scratch build the trolley. I have some detailed plans of the trolley, PM me if you want a copy.

Operation wasn't too serious, just had a tumourous growth on my ankle which needed to be cut out, ended up being a lump of gristle generated by 20+ years of marching, boot runs and weighted marches - great excuse for spending two weeks on my backside throwing plastic together.

Also gave me a chance to try out a technique I have read about but never tried. Using grains of salt to mask an over spray of white for a winter scheme. Had a go on the old Revell 1/72 Ju 88 A-4/D-1, nightmare kit but pretty simple to bung together anyway I only really wanted to try out this technique. When I can ill put up a few pics to see what you think. I ahve to admit, its not brilliant but I learnt a lot from it so expect to see lots of winter cam in the future. Works well on armour too to show wear and tear.

Paul

[sloegin57]

29th April 2009 – THE BOX IS OPENED AND A BUILD BEGINS


"Das Dilemma zwischen Realität, Authentizität und Interpretation"


“Reality, perception and interpretation - a modeller’s dilemma”. So wrote Popeye in an article for the Austrian IPMS a few years ago whilst discussing the dilemma he had regarding the colour scheme for a Junkers Ju 88 C-6 (Hasegawa, 1:72) he was building. The sentiments contained within the article, which he emailed over to me, were exactly to my thinking, especially after finding the various shades of "authenticated" RLM 80 and wondering what to do about them and which one to use!

Within the pages of the Monogram Monarch book on the type are some superb photographs of the example displayed at Silver Hill. Reading through, it appears that the staff there carefully documented each paint shade as the aircraft was rubbed down during the restoration. As this is the only fully documented and authenticated Arado 234 colour scheme in existence, I will be following that. As Popeye said in an email to me, “Those crates were "Versuchsmuster" and still very much built piece meal by hand and not series production a/c - so variations would have been the order of the day I think.". That together with "Das Dilemma zwischen Realität, Authentizität und Interpretation" has jolted me out of the Research stage in which I was possibly getting bogged down, and prompted me to put the books away, within easy reach but unopened, and finally "Open The Box".


THE KIT – GENERAL COMMENTS


The kit consists of nine medium grey sprues labelled A,B,J,K,L,R,S and T and two transparent ones, labelled M and V, the usual detailed, but sometimes confusing Instruction Sheet, and a sheet of decals. Markings are provided for 9./KG76, ?./KG76?, 7./KG76 and a wasp emblem for Stab III./KG76. The biggest surprise upon opening the box is that Sprue K contains parts to make two cameras - so my comments about scratch building now go out of the window although I still intend to open up the camera hatches on the top of the rear fuselage. On the transparent Sprue M are two lens for the cameras quaintly marked "Parts not for use" and in Part 3 of the Instruction Sheet, the part that covers assembly of the cameras, it states "A reconnaissance camera is not fundamentally used by marking of this product. Please assemble by liking". Well Hasegawa, I am "by liking" and I am sure going to use them. Oddly enough the kit is advertised as the C-3 variant and no mention is made of the parts for the C-4 on the box lid but is on the Instruction Sheet. I am not complaining - I like pleasant surprises. There are no markings on the decal sheet for the C-4 which is not really surprising as the Monogram Monarch book on the type states that only a few, possibly nineteen, C-3's were produced before the war’s end and even fewer C-4's. The odds are, therefore, that applying Unit markings to the latter was the last thing on the crew’s minds although the same book does relate that there was "a report" of a C-4 from 1.(F)/123 being shot down near Boblingem on April 4th 1945. Although academic to this build, the question arises, "How did the report’s author know that it was from that Unit ?" Most C-3's and those few C-4's built ended up in Soviet hands it appears.


A PROBLEM WHICH DIDN’T EXIST – SOLVED IN SWITZERLAND !

A matter which I felt that I had to look into even before I had started on the kit was the recess under the fuselage for the 2000kg bomb. The question I asked myself was, "Did the Recce versions of the 234 have the self same recess as the bomber variants?". This was further compounded by the fact that one of the few references to the C-4 in the Monogram book was a drawing that showed the aircraft with a belly mounted rearward firing gun pack. "Was this standard ?". Both matters were solved quite convincingly by the ever helpful Popeye who sent over a drawing by B.Ratius of the Ar 234 showing the distinctive elongated teardrop shape of the recess and labelled, "entfernbares Abdeckblech für Rumpfstation" which Popeye translated for me as "Removable Cover For Fuselage (shackle) Station". It all made perfect sense and I am now 99% sure that all variants had the shackle and that all had the removable cover. After all, if the Luftwaffe could hang a 2000kg bomb from the shackle then why not hang a rear firing gun pack from the same shackle. Correctly crutched, the pack would not wobble about and the fairings fore and aft would only need a few attachment points to the pack and not to the fuselage - in other words it was something that I was familiar with - the Harrier Gun Pack !!. In another part of the Monogram book, the problem was solved a second time. Despite being proposed and designed, the gun packs were, in fact, never built and therefore never installed.
Thanks anyway Rolf - How many pints is that I owe you next November ?.


FINALLY – I START BUILDING.

The parts that go to make up the cockpit tub range from fairly large hunks of plastic with a small fiddley and fragile bit already moulded in place to tiny, easily lost pieces less than a millimetre square. They are also scattered across most of the Sprues. Therefore may I recommend that, that in addition to your normal toolkit, you will need for this build, the following:-
1) A plentiful supply of coffee
2) Pink Floyds "Momentary Lapse of Reason". It seems so apt
3) A plentiful supply of sticking plasters.
4) A large 5X magnifying glass and if you are of my vintage and also BA (Before Airfix), a pair of reading glasses helps a lot !.
5) Valium.
And for those of you familiar with “Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters:-
T-H-E L-I-T-T-L-E P-I-N-K P-I-L-L-S!!


THE COCKPIT TUB – PART T13

Part T13 is a fairly hefty chunk of plastic containing part of the cockpit tub and the nose wheel bay but it does have some fragile pieces sticking out of the front. I found it best to remove it from the Sprue by cutting the sprues around Part 13 first, then trimming the rest away very carefully - very carefully indeed.
Once Part T13, is removed from the Sprue and cleaned up - mount it somehow and avoid touching it during assembly. The tiny parts that go to make it up can so easily be knocked off without noticing especially when reaching for a different Sprue as the Parts that go to make up the cockpit tub are scattered all through the different sprues. As you find them, remove and install them - check them off on the Instruction Sheet.


PERISCOPE AND VIEW FINDER
Before you install the completed parts comprising J27 and J28, the periscope and viewfinder - INSTALL the damned control column, Part J19 first, as its mounted on the side of the right instrument panel - the location pip and corresponding hole being not conveniently on top - but at the bottom. With the periscope and viewfinder in place you will struggle - honest. The cockpit components should be candidates for the "drop of superglue" treatment - the problem there is that they can then be so easily knocked off. Once parts J27 and J28 are glued together and installed in the tub It would be best if the whole tub were then mounted on some form of support as if rested on the work bench, as I did, the protruding periscope causes the whole periscope assembly to tip forward and if left could cure in that position.


THE RUDDER PEDAL BARS – PARTS J11 AND J16 AND THE DRATTED SEAT!

The rudder pedal bars, Parts J11 and J16 are HANDED Left and right. When looked at from below, J16 fits on the right side and J11 on the left. The small tabs at the rear of the bars go inboard and butt up against small pips moulded on the underside of the cockpit floor.
The seat consists of four parts including two tiny arm rests. I found that there are no positive locating points for the back of the seat when gluing it to the seat pan and great care must be taken otherwise when installed in the cockpit tub, the back could so easily look and be lop sided and with that vast area of clear transparency - it will show. There are no straps for the seat provided in the kit so I adapted some from an old Airwaves set and super glued them in place. To simulate the simple housings from which these appeared to come, looking at photos of the rebuilt example at Silver Hill, I attached small strips of Tamyia tape to the ends. This also served the purpose of hiding a rather untidy glue joint. Just prior to installing the seat in the cockpit tub, I managed to break of one of the fragile arm rests. Using a mixture of superglue and a very thin strip of Tamyia tape to re-enforce the joint, I managed to get it all back together again - a coat of RLM 66 should cover up any repairs made. - I hope! Just to be on the safe side I put a similar strip reinforced with superglue on the opposite side and to be doubly sure that if any of the tiny bits were to break off again they would have something to hang on to; I put a very thin layer of superglue over all the taped joints - (Thinks!!) - must remember not install the glazing until the superglue is totally cured! As a dry run and after very carefully fiddling it around the all too fragile control yoke, I finally got the seat into position. Even though it was not glued in - that damned seat aint coming out. I'll either try and find a spot to apply the MEK, or - spray the whole tub with a light spray of MEK, or - let the RLM 66 paint do its bit and act as a glue, but there is no way that that seat is coming out.- No Sir !.


AN AWKWARD BIT – PART T7
Part T7, a vertical Instrument panel mounted on the left console, is very small and has no proper locating tab as we know it. Further, once in place, it is apparent that the instrument/switch decal for that console will have to be cut to get it to fit. During the course of building the cockpit I knocked Part T17 off several times, as I had suspected that I may do. Each time I carefully glued it back on with MEK then ran a fillet of superglue around the joint using a well sharpened toothpick.


CONTROL COLUMN AND YOKE
The control column and yoke comprise some three parts, J19, R3 and J20 - four if you include the decal (30) which goes on the centre boss. The smallest part is J20 which I mounted onto a cocktail stick with a tiny piece of white blue-tack prior to superglueing it to the centre of the control yoke.


THE LOWER FORWARD FUSELAGE SHELLS
Instructions for installing the cockpit tub into the lower forward fuselage half shells, Parts T2 and T3, leave a lot to be desired. From what I can gather, looking at the instructions, each half is glued to the cockpit tub individually and then, once attached, glued together. The problem is, on the surfaces to be joined there is a) only one pip and corresponding hole and b) the area to be joined is quite small about 1cm in length. I decided on a different approach. I deduced that if the two halves were turned upside down and laid on something flat then they could be brought together and with a very fine brush loaded with MEK wicked into the joint - glued. What I needed was a perfectly flat surface. A kitchen tile would be ideal. Going through to the kitchen I got one that looked perfectly flat (I'll put it back on the kitchen wall later) and tried it. Perfect. Carefully lining it all up I loaded up the brush and the MEK wicked in place as planned. Leaving the two halves to set for about 10 mins, I tried the tub - a perfect fit. One thing that I noticed about the completed tub is that on the upper edges where the glazing will sit there is a very small moulding lip. As I intend to use "Glue 'n Glaze to attach the canopy's this could cause a fit problem. Dragging out my trusty sanding block, a piece of wood with 600 Grade glued one side and 320 Grade glued the other, I gave the surfaces a gentle couple of swipes and all was well. Now at least I can glue the tub into the forward lower fuselage as at least it will give me something to hold the tub with without actually touching it and accidentally removing more fragile tiny bits.

INSTALLATION OF THE COCKPIT TUB

The last thing that I did tonight was to glue the cockpit tub into the lower fuselage shell. To achieve a good fit, I mounted the tub upside down in the vice and carefully fitted the shell to it. So that I would have some “flexibility” when fitting the completed nose to the rest of the model in the future, I applied glue to the nose wheel bay ONLY. NO glue was applied to the interface between the shell and the side consoles.

CREAM CRACKERED!
That’s it. That's as far as I've got today. Once the completed cockpit tub/lower fuselage assembly have fully cured, I'll mask the lower fuselage assembly and spray the tub with RLM 66.

But that can wait until tomorrow.




30th April 2009 PAINTING DAY – PERHAPS.
It is now tomorrow, the completed tub/shell has cured quite nicely. It is also new airbrush and new compressor day. My old airbrush/compressor system has, I feel, seen much better days although they have both served me well. The old airbrush is a Pasche Type H purchased in Saudi Arabia just after the first Gulf War. The hose from the compressor to the oil and water trap that I have used over the years is about twenty feet of blue flexible armoured hose normally found in 1:1 scale aircraft workshops powering riveting guns, shears, nibblers and the like. Perfectly OK for the tasks I needed it for and it was never fully tested up to its 3000psi limit. The compressor is a good old tub-thumper obtained many years ago from Argos and which, when switched, on can be heard throughout the rarefied halls of the local University and surrounding areas and, when on full chat, gave the old airbrush a kick like a Mule. The oil and water trap came from the F-15 paint shop at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and has now developed a slight but persistent leak. Spares are somewhat hard to come by in the UK and So:-

At Perth this year, I decided that it was time to upgrade slightly.

“Young Airbrush”, as it will be known, is the Iwata HP – CH. This will be coupled to the new compressor which is the “Iwata Studio Series Model C-IW-SMARTP”. I have already had it switched on and it purrs away quite nicely but I am not all that impressed by the “girlie” hose that connects it to the airbrush. We shall see.

I shall now go away and have a little practice - later - after lunch. And if anyone says “Chicken” - Yup!

[popeye]

serious acclamation - makes fascinating reading -

most certainly Colin will be hard to drag away from the screen after his imminent arrival here .....

Rolf