I've just discovered the superlative work of US modeler Jeff Groves on the 72nd Aircraft Forum and present here a small selection of his work. Thanks Jeff for allowing me to post your fantastic models here..Amazing!
Here's Jeff on his latest project; the aircraft of the 100+ Experten
" It's always fun to start a new build! The imagination sees nothing but perfection - fresh, unspoiled kits, full of potential. The reality of bad fit, rescribing lost seams, and sacrifices to the carpet monster are as yet unrealized. Modeling Nirvana!Half the fun is the planning, and this build has been long in the planning stage. I've had the kits and decals gathered for this one for quite awhile. Many times it has been "the next build", but has always managed to get bumped just one spot down the list when the time comes. Actually, there are a few "next builds", but this year I resolved to move several of these long-delayed projects from the stash to the bench.So here we are - a batch of Fine Molds Bf 109s. They will be part of a larger effort to model the mounts of the Luftwaffe Experten. Not all of them of course, only the few credited with one hundred or more victories. This is the collectors' scale, right? " Jeff Groves
Erich Leie's Bf 109 F-4, Stab / JG2, France 1941:
Wolf-Deitrich Wilcke's Bf 109F-2, III / JG53, Berck-sur-Mer, March 1941
Anton Hackl's Bf 109 F-4, 5. / JG77, Oktoberfeld, Crimea, Jun 1942
Walter Schuck's Bf 109 F-4, 9. / JG5, Petsamo, Finland, Winter 1942-43:
Erich Rudorffer's Bf 109F-4, 6. / JG2, France, September 1941:
It goes without saying that Jeff's Fw 190s are equally as stunning. Here is his take on the A-8 of Major Kurt Bühligen, Kommodore of JG 2. Bühligen survived the war with 112 victories.
"...The picture below appears in several publications including More Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile, and shows his aircraft wearing a non-standard camouflage. There are various interpretations of this scheme with most profiles showing the upper surfaces in 02 / 75, and several miss the darker tail color entirely. However, there is little contrast between 02 and 75 when photographed in black & white. After studying the aircraft in the background and the aft end of the droptank, I decided that the lighter color could be 76, and painted the model using 74 / 75 / 76... " Jeff Groves
See much more of Jeff's superlative modelling on Robert Rensch's 72nd Scale Aircraft forum