Wim van der Luijt wow....that is a lot of extra work, good to see you made it through and got it looking like a plane again....hang in there!

Steffen Arndt Cheers Wim, well it is actually not that much more work (it is done in a few minutes, all in all maybe an hour) but it is a stupid mistake. Still the IP is not fully correct, maybe I need to rework that again....

Steffen Arndt Yesterday I have added the lower air intake. Sadly HB only provides the long version with dust filter (?), so I have cut the part in two and sharpened the edges to make them look thinner. Now it became obvious that I would need to make a cover as of course only the rectangular box is the intake. I have added a thin (0.25mm) piece of plasticard cut to shape and melted in form with some (just a little) Tamiya Extra Thin Quick. Looks better than the picture indicates.

Steffen Arndt This darn clock change always cost me a lot of my daily spare time as I need to get my bio rhythm back to normal (usually takes about 3-4 weeks). Still I did a few things but not as much as I wanted. I have completed the dash which is not perfect but still o.k.. I also ordered a Master set for the P-40B/C with British .303 Brownings and a ring and bead gun sight. not sure where to install the bead as I cannot see it on the picturs but the ring ist definitely aft of the air intake.

Speaking of which I build uzup a new one from the lower intakes leftovers. Looks o.k. and is a bit hollow. I also installed the wind shield which needs some filler due to my surgery but I will first mask the thing. I still need to install the control column before closing the hood. ...

Next will be a test of bravery ... as per instructions the antenna mast shall be installed on the canopy --- in reality it is going through the canopy so I need to drill a hole and to make things easier install a mast before applying the hood (probably from brass as it is prone to be broken )

Juergen Klinglhuber Hi Steffen - I know what you mean, I feel the same,...as soon as summertime starts, there is a reduction of turnaround times and the progress on the work bench. But - ok.., I try to accept - it will be winter again

Juergen Klinglhuber Anyhow - nice progress on your IAR!

Steffen Arndt Cheers Juergen! (for me it is almost the same when we change back to normal time in October)

Drilling the hole into the windscreen worked out much better than I had expected. I used a 0,5mm drill bit and glued in a 0,45mm steel rod from Albion Alloys. I used Tamiya X-22 to "glue" it. This will not persist against every abuse, but I fills the hole avoiding light breaking at it making it less visible.

I also airbrushed the orange yellow sections of the fuselage and wings. This is a custom mix as I wanted the colour to be light and with an oragne hue. I started with Gunze H3 adding a tiny bit of red and adding more yellow until I was satisfied. It is about as dark as RLM04 but more orange. Personally I would have liked it a bit lighter, but I also needed to approximately match the tone of RB Productions Romanian crosses.

Steffen Arndt After some masking and painting sessions it is starting to look the part. I have used AK Real Colours as I had some good experiences on my Bf 109D-1 and the RLM 65 (1938) is a nice light blue shade for the underside. I used RLM 71 for the top side but it looks a tad dark at the moment. I hope (and think) the final flat coat will make it look a little brighter.

Next will be a glossy clear coat either Klear (Future) or Tamiya X-22. Tamiya is a bit easier to handle while Klear supports my decal application better. But I will wait at least until today evening or until tomorrow to avoid unpleasant reactions between the paints.

Juergen Klinglhuber I am in,...looks quite interessing

Dave Flitton I am "in" as well.

Steffen Arndt Hi David, thanks for watching! Build comments are attached to the project...

Brian Eberle Happy day. The Dragoon Stryker is here. Yaaaaahhhh!!

Chris Greathouse Super cool camo!

Clifford Keesler Nice.

Steffen Arndt Thank you Guys! The camo transfers are applied. Still need to remove the carrier foil on the lhs. I screwed the wet transfers for the lower right engine covers so I had to paint these. On a closer look it is visible but from a feet away that should be no problem. Sadly I am running out of time and this will not make it to Lingen ... still a lot of work to do on the undercarriage (Eduard PE + Brassin)

Agustin Prellezo I really like this plane! Good job!

Steffen Arndt Well, after a year of building other stuff it is probably time to resume this project. It was not shelved but just put aside as about 5 other projects that I consider rather as ongoing than stopped. I have just copied the picture from the book I have and took a closer look at the supercharger intake. This one is definitely not red but silver with camo dots. So I painted some green dots on it (roughly as on the pic).

Steffen Arndt The wheel bay color is kind of a challenge. I have posted my question on Hyperscale and there is not that definitive answer. To stick with my XF-59 interior I have used the same paint with two drops of XF-5 added and a tiny bit of black. I got a nice khaki tone that is (in my book) a weathered sandy interior paint and fits nicely the explanations in the Lifelike instructions ... even though it might be totally wrong.

Steffen Arndt In my lunchbreak today I airbrushed the whole model Tamiya X-22. Then this evening I gave the model a nice wash with water colours. This time I kept it on the black side because it improves the metal look but still there is some umber added

Steffen Arndt After the excess paint was removed it is starting to look the part... even though the camo hides a lot of it

Steffen Arndt After I had masked and painted the exhaust panels I gave the whole kit a gloss coat with Tamiyas X-22. This evening I started apllying the decals .. luckily there are not many of them but sadly I broke the tail wheel again. For teh next kit I will replace the whole strut with brass or steel tubing and maybe even make the fork from sheet metal soldering the two together...

Steffen Arndt after the decals were dry I have added another gloss coat yesterday (X-22) and this morning I put on a wash with water colours (mix of uber and black). in my lunch break I have wiped down the excess and this is what it looked like afterwards

Steffen Arndt Slowly getting there. After a flat coat I started to add some more details, like gun barrel tips, undercarriage doors... there are still a few parts missing. I also demasked the canopy and glued it open. I will add a short bit of wire to simulate the real one that holds the canopy

Roberto Rocat It looks really great!

Steffen Arndt Thanks Roberto! I am pretty happy with the model and considering this is kind of a short run kit it was a pleasant build.

Steffen Arndt SOO, with the final bits and pieces added I call this one done. I am not happy with the tail wheel but else it turned out pretty good for an Ukrainian short run kit. Having started a Yak-9D conversion recently i must say that the Bf 109D is much better designed (fit) and with the PE and Masks also better equipped. Furthermore to finish a project in under a month is speed of light for me, especially compare to my normal glacial speed.

Wim van der Luijt Final result looks really nice! I have the academy (ex hobbycraft) in my stash with the same markings, wonder how it compares to this one

Steffen Arndt Thanks Wim! I do not think you can compare the two. One is a 30+ year old mainstream kit and the other a new shortrun "multimedia" kit. If you are more after accuracy and details I would go with the Modelsvit if you prefer ease of construction stick with Academy/Hobbycraft.

Thomas Bischoff I'm in - want do do a decent Dora myself one day.
Nice start by the way

Steffen Arndt Cheers Thomas! The kit is not bad but it is definitely not Tamiya or Eduard...

Munkyslut Excellent work, looks really impressive

Wim van der Luijt Count me in, I am curious about this kit

Steffen Arndt Cheers Wim, me too. That is why I started it right away after writing the inbox review...

Stefan Schacht nice start, I take a seat

Steffen Arndt Thanks Stefan! BTW the comments are attached to the project...