Bf-109 with Swiss Flare
It seems likely at this point I will build scale models for the foreseeable future. My intent is to have this hobby simmer in the background, always available but not necessarily driven by a timeline for completion. It relaxes me, though I confess I am already quite relaxed. Perhaps it would be better to say that building scale models serves as a form of meditation. In any event, it won’t replace my desire to pursue “fine art” projects, the inspiration and duration for which is unpredictable and less structured once under way.
For my next scale model I intend to revisit the WWII period, this time with a German-built aircraft, the Messerschmitt Bf-109, specifically a variant called the G-14. Instead of a Nazi Luftwaffe version, I will build a Swiss version. My mother was born in Switzerland immediately after the conclusion of WWII (September 25), so this is part of the inspiration. I also confess I am not terribly keen to build a representation of a Nazi machine, despite admiring the Reich’s impressive technical achievements. The photo after the diagram is a closeup of the engine of a Bf-109 in our NASM collection as it undergoes restoration at the Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles.
I selected Zoukei-Mura’s 1/32 Bf 109G-14/U4 kit, which is magnificent in detail and quality, and will use Georg Hoch’s book “Messerschmitt Me 109 in Swiss Air Force Service” as a reference. First up, as one might imagine, is the engine block, which is photographed here in an early stage of construction.
One of the reasons I seem to prefer old warplanes is because they are filthy and banged up. Used. They tell a story. While I have zero desire to fly in such contraptions, preferring the actual things to be properly maintained, inspected, and cleaned, my artistic sensibilities lean toward showing a used and abused machine. These are so much more fun to render, covered as they are with oil, grease, and exhaust stains with paint worn away and chipped.
