1/72 Hobbyboss Bf-109G

Gallery Article by Greg Kerry on Mar 31 2014

 

 

Main focal point of this little diorama is the Hobbyboss Bf-109G Easy Build. Like others in the series, it's beautifully packaged with well-printed decals (German & Hungarian). The main parts certainly go together very neatly though smaller bits like the cannon bulges on the fuselage sides have rather indefinite mounting points.

I used the Hungarian scheme before I got the idea for the dio which came initially from a desire to combine planes, vehicles and figures. More direct inspiration came from photos of German airfields at the end of the War: abandoned equipment and ruined buildings looking like scrapyard scenes.

Originally, I'd started sanding down the finish on the Bf-109 prior to re-painting, but the model began to look tatty enough to be convincing. Isn't it possible that a Hungarian 109G was left on a Luftwaffe base in early 1945?

 

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The halftrack is Dragon's SdKfz 251/1 - one of their finicky new smaller scale armor kits - and a degree too finely detailed for my taste: a three-part Notek light in this scale is two parts too many (and it got broken off and lost in the painting). Also, reg plates with individual numbers in this tiny scale are just frustratingly unnecessary. Good little model otherwise though - especially after I opened one of the side bins, and fabricated one of the jerrycan frames from scrap photo-etch for the left rear door.

Figures are from Caesar Miniature with little modification bar addition of foil weapons slings. The various scrap is . . . spares box scrap.

Tamiya acrylics were used for main painting, tube acrylics for washes and final dry-brushing.

The base is a cheap plastic picture frame with a block of expanded polystyrene on top and squares of scrap card for the main surface. If the dio does succeed, I think it's due to the variety of scrap and the dirty washes which make it all come together and look convincing.

Greg Kerry

      

Photos and text © by Greg Kerry