JackG Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 (edited) So going to attempt a backdate of the Zvezda 72nd kit, taking their F-2 to an F-1. Being an aircraft flown during late 1940, the pilot needs a little fixing with the jacket in the form of a larger fur collar: ------------------------------ Air Master brass set 72-010 will be the only after market set used on this build. It includes a pair of MG 17 in the cowl, and the pitot tube (will show this later when working on the wings). I've read in reviews a number of unnecessary seams are created because of the way the kit parts are broken down. Above, the gun troughs are separate pieces, but a couple layers of Mr.Dissolved Putty and light sanding take care of that. The air intake was cast solid, so that was drilled out. A couple other holes are added for improved detail. As can be seen, the machine guns were pushed into a couple wads of Tamiya epoxy putty. Same deal with the brass tube representing the aerial wire insulation atop the fuselage.contact. The strengthening strips on the tail need to be removed, as these were added after crash investigations, sometime near the end of February, 1941. regards, Jack Edited January 8, 2017 by JackG 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Watching this, keen to do similarly one day. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) Up next is some extensive work on the wing surfaces: The kit has a central raised line on the wing underside, which I believe should be a seam. It isn't that dominant, somewhat similar to the seam that runs lengthwise along the top and bottom fuselage halves. There is also some raised detail, that either didn't cast well or was just skipped. You also get a double seam created when you mate the lower wing section to the main upper one. Next to these are the actual engraved detail, so you have to be really careful not to lose surrounding detail when filling and sanding. The F-1 has a prominent cover over the wing spar anchor, similar to the Emil. I fashioned a pair of these out of plastic rod, cutting and sanding to size/shape. The riveted strips were made by masking off the required areas, and then brushing on dissolved putty. Once dry, added some rivets with a needle. I put two questions marks on the panel lines above. I engraved these based on drawings found in a Kagero book, but maybe these are outdated? When Zvezda came out with the Friedrich, some did question the lack of these, but a well known forum threw out a couple names that researched this, and it was accepted as is. There are few photos, but this one particularly looks to have at least the inner one: There is also a line (outer edge of wheel well) forming on the leading edge that looks it continues on the tops surfaces: It is possible these photos were not properly grouped, and is actually the F-4?? Many photos here: http://scalemodels.ru/modules/forum/viewtopic_t_50216_start_0.html ------------------------------------------------ Navigation lights are pretty straight forward fix. Will use clear parts cement at the end of painting stage to create the coloured lights. ----------------------------------------------- Couple shots of finished pilot and cockpit before joining with fuselage. regards, Jack Edited January 15, 2017 by JackG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) Jack with regard to the fuselage seams, they are there but barely visible, see some photos here, so less is more if you're scribing. Also, that centre line between the radiators seems to a raised ridge rather than a seam. Steve. Edited January 15, 2017 by stevehnz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) Hi Steve, thanks for those links. That is a good reminder to keep those particular seams very light. I believe that second link is an Emil, so not much help in the way for this F-1 build. Drawings seem to confirm it should be a seam, from 109Lair: Also Britmodeller's own review of Eduard's 109 F-4 also shows the same: .. and although not a decent quality photo, it too indicates it's a seam that is nigh visible, or at the very least is not a raised ridge. Should mention too, that the central seam underneath the wing being discussed here is actually off center - something that I will have to re-address on my build. I also took a look at Zveda's 1/48 F-4. Interesting what they did on this one. It is off center, but they made it look like one side is over lapping the other - weird. regards, Jack Edited January 15, 2017 by JackG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 (edited) Construction is pretty much complete. The exhaust on the port side has a shield over the pipes, and this needs to be removed to match period photos. The kit has no gun sight , so here is my scratch built one. It will be attached to the canopy, as that piece has a tab that hooks into the instrument panel, exactly where this should sit. Also added a hollow brass rod to represent tube for signal flares on the starboard side. Along with the exhausts, the landing gear will be left separate for painting purposes, along with the prop nose. This will be my first try at imitating an aircraft in flight without blades. Another detail missing from the kit are the aileron balances located on the wing undersides. The brass rod is 0.3mm, while the end piece is 0.5mm plastic rod tapered at both ends, and filled out with glue to give some shape. Up next will be masking of the canopy, followed with a spray of RLM 66 to represent the dark grey interior framing. regards, Jack Edited January 20, 2017 by JackG 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 Primer is on, now can check for blemishes ... The wing root strip pointed out above was made from plastic strip, unlike the other areas where I had masked and laid down liquid putty. It really is prominent, and though I did sand it beforehand, it looks to need a bit more. Test fitting the exhausts, noticed there is some further clean up required on both. A sharp knife was used to cut out sections between each exhaust, and a little sanding afterwards, Careful attention to rearmost one, as it becomes quite frail at it's attached end. regards, Jack 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Main colours blocked in: The pattern on the top surfaces is bit of a guess, with only certain areas following the shapes that were standard for the 109F, while in a few areas they looked to have been repainted in soft edge. Kill markings and fuselage codes are home made decals - the latter is basically the silhouette of the letters, with the RLM 65 paint showing through. To tie in the decals with the fuselage, I taped over the crosses and swastikas to airbrush the subtle variations around them. Big no no that, pulling off the tape with disastrous results. I had four markings to fix as the decals tore even though utilized narrow strips of tape, but the above was the worst of the bunch. I've had the torn pieces soaking in water all night as they are stuck onto tape. The undersides also had codes, but in photos they appear to have been painted over with a darker paint - these too were made with decals. If you look closely, you might be able to see some semblance of the individual lettering - SGGW. regards, Jack 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted February 14, 2017 Author Share Posted February 14, 2017 Bit more detail refinement, this time with the nose cannon: Added a hollow brass rod which should sit a bit more prominent of the opening of the prop hub. It is .9mm outer diameter and about .54mm inner - my calculations say it should be half this to be in scale, but it was all I had so went with it. This posted update is late in coming, mainly due to not being satisfied withe fuselage decal work. So took another stab at them, but this time I kept it simple by only printing out a fine outline of the code letters: 1.) - new decals on 2.) - code letters and outlines painted over with RLM 65 with a bit of white 3.) - some further touch ups, including outside the letters, and satin coat on regards, Jack 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonbraun Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 Exceptional workmanship and photography skills.... Looking forward to the next posting! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted February 15, 2017 Author Share Posted February 15, 2017 Thank you Vonbraun. This one is a wrap, and photo shoot can be found here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235017009-werner-mölders-109-f-1/ regards, Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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