FM 1/72 Bf109K-4,9JG 77 White 1, Düsseldorf, Germany, 1945.

[mustang1989]

Really liking the progress here Bruce!! I have to admit that I haven't tried the mask off idea for the crosses yet but may try that one in the future.

[speedgraflex]

Thanks, Joseph! One thing that worries me about shaving off or even reducing the flange or flap above the exhausts to make it more to scale is me potentially damaging the delicate details above the raised piece. The plastic which was formed in the Hasegawa plant by FM is of the hard and smooth variety. I noticed that special attention including micro fiber polishing has to be used on all the sprue clipping points. Here’s one of the photos I kept from last night as it shows the way the flap looks:

[mustang1989]

Looks like a pretty dicey move in shaving those off. I see the benefits of it and all but also know the risks involved.

[jkim]

Sorry... it looks like Eduard has got you covered on those exhaust deflectors...

[speedgraflex]

Apologies! I am adding those to the exhausts, yes! Apologies for my misunderstanding you, John. Many thanks for reposting that image. Yes, that is definitely part of the exterior corrections on my list of things to do. Thank you so much and thank you, Joseph, for your advice as well.

[jkim]

My apologies for not paying attention to your photos!

[speedgraflex]

Reduced the amount of Silly Putty in the nose, masked off the back section of the engine cowling to give this a blast of lightened RLM Blue. The sidewall masks I made were not as crispy clean as my first set due to the curvilinear structure. Close enough perhaps since most of the sidewall in this area has a green overspray (see collage). I was also writing a bit to Loki a moment ago about creative compression but a lot of what I’m attempting here is to simplify the layering to keep the thickness down; in this scale it’s easy to overdo it, so this really teaches discipline with each color move.

[Stikpusher]

[speedgraflex]

Thank you so much for your well timed images and videos! I made my first spiral mask tonight out of Tamiya tape. I sliced it with a pair of nail scissors. Crazy make ‘em ups mixed with slow thinking through all of this in the hopes to finish by December 31st. Nuts!

[Duke Maddog]

I know how you feel Bruce! Your work is exquisite already and I think you mastered the thinness of the paint to keep the details. Exceptionally well done.

At least you're only trying to finish one model by December 31. I'm trying to finish eight models before then!