Erich Hartmann's Bf 109s: G14 and K4 (Academy and Fine Molds, 1/72)

[jrlx]

EDIT:

 

I started this thread full of energy back in August 2016, as my entry to the Great Patriotic War GB. However, I interrupted the builds for my summer holidays (this was my last update) and when I got back home in late September I had completely lost my drive... Since then I managed to finish masking the canopies and the oleos of the main gear legs but I still have to post that progress.

 

So, here is my new attempt at finishing these builds. Hope you like it and I'll do my best to finish them

 

----------------------

 

 

 

 

Dear Fellow Modellers,

 

These are my entries for the GPW GB: two Bf 109s flown by Erich Hartmann. As they're very similar, I'll build them under the same build thread.

As most know, Hartmann is the greatest fighter pilot in aviation history, with 352 confirmed victories. He's never been injured or shot down in combat but he's lost a few aircraft to accidents or mechanical failures. However, he's always managed to come out of it uninjured.

 

He spent the War in the Eastern Front where, initially, the Luftwaffe ruled the skies. Hence, the great number of victories Hartmann and other German pilots achieved there.As the War unfolded, the Soviets managed to regain air superiority through a combination of better machines and more experienced pilots but Hartmann's head-start was considerable and he kept highly lethal.

 

His tactics were based on surprise and close range shooting, to make sure every shot hit the enemy.

 

When the war ended he surrendered to the Americans. However, under the terms of the agreements between the Western Allies and the Soviets, all German POWs who fought in the Eastern Front were handed over to the Soviets. So, Hartmann spent 10 and a half years in prison in the USSR, falsely charged with war crimes. Only posthumously, in 1997, have the Russian government dismissed the charges as unlawful.

 

After release, Hartmann returned to the Federal Republic of Germany and joined the new Bundesluftwaffe. In his honour, aircraft of one of the squadrons were painted on the nose with the stylised tulip petals he used to have painted on his Bf 109s.

 

Here is his last interview, given shortly before he died in 1993:

http://www.migflug.com/jetflights/final-interview-with-erich-hartmann.html
 

I'll build Academy's 1/72 Messerschmitt Bf 109 G14, in winter camouflage, piloted by Hartmann in 1944, and Fine Molds' 1/72 Bf 109 K4, supposedly piloted by him in the last day of the War, in which he had his last combat and achieved his last victory.

 

It's not certain he has flown these specific aircraft. I've seen references to his winter camouflaged aircraft as being a G6 and some people say he has never piloted a K4 and that his last aircraft was a G10.

 

Anyway, I'll build the aircraft as proposed by the kit makers, adding Eduard's PE sets and Quickboost's resin exhausts. So, onto the kits.

 

This is the Fine Molds Bf 109 K4:

IMAG4303

 

The Eduard PE set for this kit has two frets:

IMAG4304

 

IMAG4305

 

The Academy Bf 109 G14:

IMAG4307

 

The Eduard PE set has only one fret:

IMAG4308

 

There aren't resin exhausts for these specific models but I bought exhausts that are similar and, hopefully, can be used directly on these kits:

IMAG4306

I started building the Fine Molds K4, which has the reputation of being one of the best 1/72 Bf 109s around. Here are the main parts for the fuselage, wings and cockpit:

IMAG4309

 

A dry fit confirmed the fit should be excellent. Let's see if the PE bits introduce any fit problems...

IMAG4312

 

IMAG4313

 

Next, I cut off all the small parts from the sprues and cleaned them in preparation for painting. A few examples below.

 

These are the main gear legs, which will have their scissor links replaced by PE parts. So, I cut the links off:

IMAG4314

 

These are the parts that make up the air intake for the engine:

IMAG4315

 

They were glued together and put aside:

IMAG4319

 

These are the smaller main gear well doors. The larger ones will be replaced by PE parts:

IMAG4320

 

Here are all the smaller parts that have to be painted separately, grouped by colours to paint. The main wheels and propeller will need putty on ejector pin marks before being ready for painting:

IMAG4341

 

The cockpit base will be replaced by a PE part. However, the top of the plastic part must be cut off to be used on the PE part:

IMAG4321

 

IMAG4322

 

The plastic parts of the instrument panel and front bulkhead have moulded detail that will be replaced by PE parts:

IMAG4323

 

So, I removed the moulded detail and filled in the slot on the top of the instrument panel with a piece of plastic:

IMAG4324

 

The inner walls of the cockpit also have moulded detail that will be replaced by a full complement of PE bits:

IMAG4325

 

This detail was removed with a nº 10 (curved) blade:

IMAG4326

 

This is one of the PE parts that makes up the inside of the radiator:

IMAG4327

 

It has to be bent:

IMAG4328

 

and the grill was masked to be kept as natural metal, while the rest will be painted RLM 02:

IMAG4329

 

This is the gun sight. Apart from the reflector panels, it will be painted RLM 66 but I'm considering replacing the reflector panels by acetate.

IMAG4330

 

These are the parts for the external fuel tank:

IMAG4331

 

It was assembled but I still need to take care of the join:

IMAG4332

 

Next, I started building the cockpit. Here are the PE parts:

IMAG4333

 

They were bent and readied for assembly. The plastic part is shown for comparison:

IMAG4334

 

The parts were glued in place:

IMAG4335

 

Next, I glued in place the trim wheels and chain, the control column and the bases for the pedals:

IMAG4336

 

IMAG4337

 

The seat is also a PE part that must be bent to shape:

IMAG4338

 

It was bent:

IMAG4339

 

and put in place:

IMAG4340

 

That's all for now. Thanks for looking.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

[banzaiduke]

Some very nice and tidy work there,on what looks to be ,very small parts.Watching with interest!!

[jrlx]

Thank you for the kind comments and interest, banzaiduke! The parts are really small. The grid in the cutting mat that can be seen in some pictures is 1 cm x 1 cm.

Cheers

Jaime

[PlaStix]

Excellent start Jaime! Really looking forward to seeing these in progress!

Kind regards,

Stix

[Ozzy]

Nice etch work Jamie, is there no end to your talents?

[jrlx]

Stix, Ozzy,

Thanks a lot for your kind comments and interest! You're always very welcome on board!

Cheers

Jaime

[Fatboydim]

Hi Jaime, what a great start. Nice history to go with your build. The detail looks very fine for a 1/72nd model. Very well done. Joe

[jrlx]

Hi Joe!

Thanks a lot for your kind comments! It's great having you back in BM!

Cheers

Jaime

[TonyTiger66]

Hi Jaime,

It's good to see you starting something(s) fresh

This is very good timing for me, a couple of months ago I bought this very K-4 kit. I also bought Marseille's F-4 by Fine Molds. I'm eager to start both so very interested to see how this goes together.

Also, the paint scheme looks quite difficult, so it will be good to see how it can be done!

Great work, the photo etch looks good.

I don't know if your interested but Master make some nice gun barrels and pitot for this kit; I used them on a Heller K-4 and they looked great

http://www.master-model.pl/sklep.html?page=shop.browse&category_id=9

Best regards

Tony

[jrlx]

Hi again,

 

This Sunday I continued working on the K4.

 

I started by installing the PE instrument panel, which is made of three layer of pre-painted parts. Here's the kit's instrument panel, with detail removed, and the first PE layer:

IMAG4342

 

The first PE layer was glued to the kit's part:

IMAG4343

 

The second and third PE layers, forming the central area of the panel, followed:

IMAG4344

 

There are some more PE parts to add to the panel:

IMAG4345

 

And here they are in place: the support for the gun sight, on the top of the panel, and a central lower command panel:

IMAG4346

 

Next, I installed the inner starboard cockpit PE wall:

IMAG4347

 

The non-painted PE parts were installed:

IMAG4348

 

The inner port cockpit PE wall was installed next. Here it is, with a trim tab chain already in place:

IMAG4349

 

In this case I assembled the vertical rib with handles aside:

IMAG4350

 

This and the remaining non-painted parts were, then, installed on the port wall:

IMAG4351

 

There was also a console with a quadrant to install on the cockpit's base. Here we have the console, already bent to shape, and the quadrant, awaiting to be bent:

IMAG4352

 

The quadrant was bent to shape but I only managed to install it on the corresponding slot in the console after removing one of the four layers of the quadrant:

IMAG4353

 

Next, the console and quadrant were glued to the cockpit's base:

IMAG4354

 

IMAG4355

 

To finish with, I removed from the fret and bent to shape the PE part that will be installed on the cockpit's edges and back:

IMAG4356

 

I'm a bit worried about the fit of all these metal parts when the time to close the fuselage comes...

 

That's all for now. Thanks for looking.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

[vppelt68]

You´re making it all look remarkably easy. Trust me, I do believe it´s not! V-P

[whitestar12chris]

looking very nice Jaime, great job on the PE.

All the best Chris

[jrlx]

Hi Jaime,

It's good to see you starting something(s) fresh

This is very good timing for me, a couple of months ago I bought this very K-4 kit. I also bought Marseille's F-4 by Fine Molds. I'm eager to start both so very interested to see how this goes together.

Also, the paint scheme looks quite difficult, so it will be good to see how it can be done!

Great work, the photo etch looks good.

I don't know if your interested but Master make some nice gun barrels and pitot for this kit; I used them on a Heller K-4 and they looked great

http://www.master-model.pl/sklep.html?page=shop.browse&category_id=9

Best regards

Tony

Hi Tony,

Thank you for your interest and it's great my build can be useful to you. I don't think the scheme is too difficult, as there's a limited amount of mottling (just on the tail fin). The rest are well delimited areas between the colours, which can be achieved with rolls of blu-tack.

Thanks for the link to the Master accessories. They look superb. Unfortunately, I'll have to finish the builds until the end of next week, because I'll be away on holidays in the first half of September. So, if I order the barrels and pitot tubes they might not get here in time.

You´re making it all look remarkably easy. Trust me, I do believe it´s not! V-P

Thanks VP! It really isn't easy but quite fiddly in places. For example, installing the handles on the rib on the starboard wall was a test to my patience, as the CA glue didn't seem to want to dry at all... On the other hand, it should be noted that working with PE should be done with eye protection at all times.

looking very nice Jaime, great job on the PE.

All the best Chris

Thanks Chris! Much appreciated!

Cheers

Jaime

[PLC1966]

Good work chap. Thanks for the link to the interview. Really interesting.

[jrlx]

Thanks PLC! Much appreciated! Glad you like the interview.

Cheers

Jaime

[PlaStix]

Awesome progress as always. I really don't know how you achieve such fine results in such a small scale.

Kind regards,

Stix

[jrlx]

Thank you, Stix, very kind! I have to say this kind of work demands a lot of patience and careful execution. Otherwise it's very easy to loose parts or to make a big mess with the CA glue.

Cheers

Jaime

[banzaiduke]

Do you glue all PE parts or have soldered things like the pilots curved seat?

Edited August 22, 2016 by banzaiduke

[jrlx]

All PE parts are glued with CA.

Cheers

Jaime

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Wow that's busy.....I think all that etch would give me a case of the screemin' heebie jeebies!

PS - Now that they are available, does anyone know if Soviet records support Hartmann's claims.....TBH I've always been just a bit sceptical.

[jrlx]

Thanks for your interest, Sarge!

Regarding Hartmann's record, I read he stopped filing his claims around the 280th victory.

Cheers

Jaime

[Procopius]

Wow that's busy.....I think all that etch would give me a case of the screemin' heebie jeebies!

PS - Now that they are available, does anyone know if Soviet records support Hartmann's claims.....TBH I've always been just a bit sceptical.

Some highly contested Russian scholarship has claimed only about 80 or so victories can be confirmed. Our own FalkeEins on the subject: http://falkeeins.blogspot.com/2010/03/erich-hartman-352-victories-or-80.html

[Sgt.Squarehead]

So, not quite 'as advertised', the facts amended by individuals with agendas on both sides to some extent.....Pretty much as I expected TBH.

[jrlx]

Very interesting article, PC. Thanks for the link!

Cheers

Jaime

[Sgt.Squarehead]

This lies at the very fringes of what might be considered one of the great 'mistakes' or 'untruths' of recent history.....A number of postwar recruits to various western armed forces had a great deal to gain by characterising the Soviet Union in an adverserial fashion and everything to lose should a real entente occur between east & west.

This creature, more or less, invented the cold war (IMHO): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhard_Gehlen

Wonder why?