As everyone knows, a Messerschmitt without at least twelve “zu”-decals isn’t a real Messerschmitt. Now go ahead and add them @BlackWidow 
Bad jokes aside: I like the look of “gelbe 14”, I haven’t made many North Africa machines but for the few I’ve done I’ve always been struggling to find the right colour. Mine tend to end up either far too yellow alternatively to reddish. I’ll make a mental note of your colour choice for future builds!
Magnus
Oh! Must I? Really? 
No, I don’t! 
As I mentioned earlier, I have used Vallejo 71278 Sand Yellow for “Yellow 14” and I also think, it hits the real tone quite well, though we usually have only b/w photos or 75 years old Agfa Color photos or even post coloured photos. So there’s always room for speculations, just like on RLM 76. I know you’re not fond of Vallejo, but you might give it a try next time …
I came pretty far with the decals on “Black 7” today, only a few stencils on the wings are still missing 
Not far from the finish line now! All decals are on and sealed now, with the exception of a few stencils 
The decals went on like a dream, a lot easier than in “Yellow 14” which were a bit sticky sometimes. Everything should be done by this weekend …
Done! Finished yesterday evening I call “Black 7” ready to join “Yellow 14” and all the others on my shelf of pride …
Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2
5./JG 3
Germany, April 1941
Pilot: Leutnant Horst Buddenhagen
Kit: Eduard ProfiPack 1/48
This is the only original photo of “Black 7” 3. Schluck-Specht that I know of. I’ve got the permission by the publisher of Luftfahrtverlag Start Axel Urbanke to show the photo here in my thread. We had contact in November. Thanks a lot! 
Horst Buddenhagen flew already “Emils” with 5./JG 3 during the Battle of Britain (named Schluck-Specht and 2. Schluck-Specht). He achieved 4 victories between 3. June and 27. September 1940. Back in Germany the unit transfered to F-2 and so this aircraft got the new name. Early in June 1941 the squadron flew to Poland for the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. It’s most likely, that “Black 7” had this beautiful yellow nose only up to that date. Buddenhagen flew up to 6 missions per day and achieved another 4 victories between the 23. and 25. June 1941. In the evening of that day the squadron flew one last low level mission with bombs and attacked russian targets. Buddenhagen flew very low and was probably hit by AA fire. “Black7” touched the ground, crashed and exploded. Buddenhagen was instantly killed.
Used paints:
Vallejo 71044 Light Grey Green RLM 02
Vallejo 71055 Black Grey RLM 66
Vallejo 71057 Black
Vallejo 71062 Aluminium
Vallejo 71078 Yellow RLM 04
Vallejo 71257 Light Blue RLM 76
Vallejo 71258 Dark Grey RLM 74
Vallejo 71259 Grey Violet RLM 75
Revell 09 Anthracite
Revell 40 Black Green RLM 70
Gunze H68 Dark Grey RLM 74
Gunze H69 Grey Violet RLM 75
Tamiya X-25 Clear Green
Tamiya X-27 Clear Red
… a look in the cockpit …
… and both Friedrich side by side. Buddenhagen and Marseille surely never met, but both flew Emils during the BoB …
Again, thanks for all your support for me during this dual build. 
There will be more One-O-Nines coming from my bench in the future. I have at least 3 more Friedrich, a bunch of Gustav and a couple of Emils - and tons of decals for them … 
Have all a nice Sunday!
Torsten
…and the last one did not disappoint. Fantastic work Torsten. Loved watching every bit of these builds come together.
Thanks for your kind feedback, Peter! Great to hear that you like watching it. I also really enjoy getting these Eduard kits together, no matter if it’s a 109, a Spitfire, Mustang, Hellcat … Eduard kits are just great to build, even with PE parts. I have plans for the next aicraft kit, but not so soon and not Eduard. Just started some armor with tracks …
Dear fellow glue sniffers! 
Now that my M48 tank comes close to the finish line, it’s time to make plans for my next sin. And it was a quick decision because this kit arrived at my door just in January. Since the F-80 I haven’t built a jet plane so I think it’s time for the next one and I have decided to go for the De Havilland DH 100 “Vamipre” FB 9 from Airfix, of course in 1/48 …
… let’s have a look at the sprues. Sprue A holds the underside and the twin booms …
… Sprue B comes with the upper side and some engine parts …
… Sprue C looks very much like parts for the landing gear and cockpit. I sure won’t use the pilot figure.
… more cockpit and various other parts on Sprue D …
… all clear parts are on Sprue E …
… the instruction is in the usual Airfix quality …
The kit offers 3 options (2 x RAF, 1 x Armée de l’Air) from the 1950’s with decals made by Cartograph. They look just perfectly printed …
… and I have decided to build this colourful RAF bird from 1954 …
Furthermore I have got the Eduard mask EX 981 with my latest order from Bohemia. Just have to check if I have all needed colours on board. For the outside I will mainly use Aluminium, Black and Yellow from Revell, I think.
I hope that some of you will again accompany me through this build. As always, it would be a pleasure for me to have at my side. Will start this kit asap. The M48 should be finished by next weekend or soon afterwards.
Happy modelling!
Torsten
As always, following along for the ride, Torsten 
Thanks Russ! Glad to know you aboard!
First small update. Started on Wednesday with my Vamipre and the first 13 steps (of 87) are done now. One of the few aircraft which doesn’t start with assembling the cockpit first.
Intakes for the engine and main landing gear wells are assembled …
… the impeller of the engine will not be seen later, only here …
… and glued into position …
So far no problems with the build. Next steps will be de-greasing this part and painting with Revell 99 Aluminium. Followed by assembling the cockpit.
Have all a nice weekend!
Torsten
Didn’t see this one coming, it does feel a bit un-Torsten ! Will of course follow along, I recognise the design of the kit from the Airfix 1/72 Vampire T.11!
Magnus
un-Torsten, that’s funny!
Well, as you know, from time to time I get a jet plane together and I have more in my stash than one would think. Starting from a Me 262 and various early jets like Gloster Meteor or F9F Panther to quite a bunch of Phantoms, Starfighters and others. The most modern is the “Eufi” Eurofighter. And you might remember my collection of SAAB aircraft in the old Aeroscale.
Beside further working at the Vampire I have finished something completely earthbound. My first started and finished kit in 2024 is this M 48 tank. So I go a bit off topic now. But we go that in this thread from time to time anyway, don’t we?
KPz M 48 A2
Bundeswehr
2./Panzerlehrbataillon 93
Munster/Germany, 1959
Kit: Revell Germany 1/35
There are no extras added to this kit, which means I have also used the vinyl tracks which came a bit warped out of the box. The tank is completely painted with Revell paints, mainly No. 42 RAL 6014 Gelboliv. I will add some “street dust” to it later this week, so the M 48 doesn’t look so factory fresh afterwards. This kit has a total of 8 (yes eight!) decals! 
Don’t tell that to Eduard!
That’s it for tracks for the moment. Back to the Vampire! Hope you show you another update soon.
Hai noroc!
Torsten
It doesn’t have wings but I like it anyway! I think it’s the mix of new and old: the hull (and size) is still rather WWII while the running gear looks modern. Also, that engine deck with the massive grille at the rear is cool!
Good work Torsten!
Magnus
Thanks Magnus! Glad you like my efforts. I want to build some more armor this year, haven’t done any last year, so the M 48 is quite a good re-start. Have about 40 non-wings kits in my stash but only post WW2 stuff from 1955 onwards, mainly Bundeswehr but also some from our NATO partners plus 2 exotics from Japan and South Africa … 
Okay, back to the Vampire and I came a bit further with the build. The cockpit looks quite simple and because I will keep the canopy closed I haven’t done more detail painting than necessary …
… the IP looks good enough with this decal. There won’t be much visible of it later …
… and glued into place …
… the twin booms are carefully glued together with ethylacetate. Some slight sanding and that’s it …
… after several dry fit tests glue joint the party. I have used Revell Contacta but also ethylacetate in some areas. Will leave the build this way now but I already found seams to sand (see yellow arrows) …
I have noticed that this kit is a bit greasy. Some parts have already got a good wash with methylated spirit. That’s all for now. Next update soon. Stay tuned!
Have all a great weekend!
Torsten
I made quite a step in assembling the Vampire in the past few days. The seams at the front fuselage were the expected problem zones. Though it doesn’t look like, but I made some careful sanding with sanding paper of grain 1000 here plus polishing. A small gap was still left on the right fuselage side …
… while the left side looked a lot better after the same treatment …
… with a tooth pick I added some more Revell Contacta to the gap, let it dry over night and gave it another soft sanding with a sanding/polishing stick from the drug store. I’m quite happy with this result now …
… we remember this advice from the Airacobra builds a few years ago, don’t we?
Airfix recommends 17 grams for the balance weight. Although there’s not much space in the nose, I hope this amount is sufficient. It’s 2 small fishing leads and 13 steel balls from a package which I bought from a fellow modeller at last years show in Thionville … Used Ponal furniture glue here …
… some more slight sanding but everything fits fine here …
… the Vampire looks already like an aircraft, doesn’t it?
Next step is adding the flaps in the down position. That will take a while.
Torsten
Torsten, I’ve been a long time lurker on the site and have recently been catching up on old threads and discovered yours. It has entertained me so much over the past few days as I’ve caught up from late 2022:to the present.
Amazing painting and detailing and really interesting kit selections. I haven’t made an aircraft in many years but I’m tempted now. I’ve always liked the ME 109 and Corsair. Keep up the great work on your virtual model show.
Thanks for your kind words, Keef! Glad to hear, that you like my work and collection. Me too … In fact, this thread goes back to the early days of the new Kitmaker Aeroscale. Never thought I could keep it up for so long. But all the feedback from the great guys here is a strong motivation to carry on.
If you like the Bf 109, I can recommend the Eduard kit, as they have quite a range of nearly all its types. Tamiya 109’s are also a joy to build. Still have a few of their Emils in my stash. So you can’t go wrong with both. Concerning the Corsair Hasegawa and Tamiya are still decent kits. I have also a few of both in my stash. Of course I can onyl speak for 1/48 kits.
Thanks again for your feedback and you’re always welcome to “lurk” or give a comment here.
Torsten
Looking good as usual my friend !
Thanks, Quint!
Today only a small update. Had to work on many small parts in the last days to prepare them for painting and adding to the build.
I don’t know the reasons for Airfix to mould the external tanks in 3 parts. Usually they are made of 2 parts. But they will have their reasons … 
Unfortuantely that leaves an annoying seam on both sides. I checked several photos in the internet but none showed this seam on the original tank.
So I had to tinker again with my self made putty over the weekend and this is the result after sanding, starting with grain 600 and polishing. I know it still looks ugly but I can promise that it’s smooth and shiny. Quite happy with my work but the primer will show the truth …
Of course I ordered my clamps to work for the sub assemblies …
Next step will be masking the canopy and then I hope I can start painting.
Have a great week!
Torsten
Ooops! I completely forgot to show you the work on the flaps! Should already have come with my last post a few days ago. Nearly all pins of the flaps were too thick for the pins holes, so I had to thin them a bit. But other than that the fitting is okay …
Masking the canopy was no big deal using EX981 and some Gold Tape for the sliding part …
I think the Vampire is ready for painting now …
The exhaust is also covered until the very end of the build now …
Hope to start with primer and first paint this weekend. Stay tuned for the next update!
Torsten
