fightersweep

There's a 1/24 Mk XIV conversion for the Airfix Mk IX in the pipeline too. A 1/24 Mk XIVe is my bucket list kit. I'll be having two of those!

Mine are in my cart good to go. Maybe yours will be ready tomorrow hopefully?

Yep! My back orders are showing as being in stock now. Honouring the original £50 back order price too. Looking forward to getting started on them.

I'm speechless. No really! Your build is a masterpiece. A thing of beauty and what a great subject to showcase your skills on. This and your Mk XIV Spit are my two favourites, and considering the lineage, a photo of them side by side would be awesome. I think I hear Mr Mitchell applauding from above. Cheers! Steve

@Troy Smith Thanks for the info and photos. Interesting stuff, and it seems that the only evidence of the colour of the numerals is by photo interpretation as this was omitted from the report. Indeed the photos do show what would appear to be black and that of course matches 5th Staffel's change in colour. Every book I have states red, including the more recent Luftwaffe Crash Archive series, so it's still doing the rounds. I do find it interested these facts weren't mentioned on the written report. I've got one for a Bf 110 that came down locally to me. Albeit brief, it does clearly described the colours of all letters and numerals as well as tactical markings. Shame this one doesn't really. As a colour scheme for a model, I do prefer the idea of red, but black is more than likely accurate for August 1940. On the other hand, being that the aircraft was an E-1, it's possible it was on Staffel strength during the previous March/April, and therefore I suppose red would be accurate pre colour change. Either that, or I entertain the idea of another scheme! I didn't get any of the Superkits back in the day. It wasn't for not wanting them, but the pocket money wouldn't stretch and my Christmas/birthday pleas went unheard. So I've been making up for it over the last several years and bought a few original boxings too just so I can admire the artwork and satisfy the inner child. I've been enjoying the 109s so far and the Spitfire too which despite a lot of folk saying it's a dreadful kit, I quite liked. Just needs treated for what they are. 50+ year old kits. I hear you on the paint. One of the reasons I've amassed a big collection of old enamel paints. Humbrol Authentics, Gloys, Compuclour, DBI etc. They cover so well, and perfect for brush painting too. The yellows were certainly better then, although I've found the recent Revell yellows to be pretty very good indeed. Cheers! Steve

@Pete in Lincs Thanks for checking in and glad to have you aboard! I hope the flask of tea is one of those tartan Thermos jobbies? @silverfox63 Thanks! I think the V-14 is the one I'm most excited about finishing. Such a nice colour scheme. I can't resist red aeroplanes. I think that artwork was the second incarnation of the big Airfix 109E. It's more my era and it's a very dynamic image that fuelled my then 10 year old imagination. It's just taken over 40 years for me to get around to building it! In other news, I've been working on the cockpit of "Red 14". The kit's cockpit is ok, but lacking a lot of details for such a large scale. One thing that jumped out at me were the rudder pedals which looked very under scale so I decided to have a go at scratch building them using the Kagero Bf 109E "Top Shots" book as reference. I can't believe these took me nearly three days to build and I counted 28 components for the set of pedals. Still, I think they look ok. I just need to make the rudder bar linkages now. I also wanted to replicate that hump on the cockpit floor just in front of the joystick which is missing in the kit. This is all still "works in progress". Of course, I had got this far when I discovered that the awesome Peter from Airscale had produced some fantastic resin cockpit accessories for this kit which I duly bought. I've used the control column, but will use the seat etc in the V-14 build. I had already started scratch building this, so I might as well use it I guess. The brass etch parts are from an "Old Etcher Fred" set that I bought years ago. The work so far fitted in "Red 14". Looks ok and I'm already thinking about the side walls, but should get this finished first. Ignore the gaps! It's just loosely fitted in. That's it for now. Here's the two fuselages side by side. "Red 14" at the rear, the V-14 at the front. You'll notice that the V-14 has had it's nose surgically removed. There's a plan here and I'll explain that in the next instalment. Thanks for looking! Steve

Well, I said I would be slow! I have spent the last several weeks re-riveting both kits with a Galaxy Tools riveting tool. A bit out of my comfort zone really, but the tool is pretty easy to use and only a few goofs occurred along the way. Done both fuselages, most of the wings and all the tail feathers. Disclaimer! I'm not sure why the photos have turned out this way, but the rivets look massive in these photos. Honestly, they look fine on the plastic in the flesh, and not at all like the massive divots that they appear to be in these pictures. Once liberally splattered with Mr Surfacer, they should look ok. First off, I tackled the wings and started filling in any panel lines and odd sink marks not needed for the V-14 with the trusty black super glue; Followed by hacking off the flaps and leading edge slats. Next up was the underwing cannon bulges which would have to go; Then a bit of plastic card to fill the gaping holes left over after some careful cutting; Final filling and sanding done and everything seems nice and smooth (I'm sure the primer will say otherwise) Both of the wing undersides of the V-14 done. The one on the left has been re-riveted using the plans from the MMP book. The wings for the E-1 are still in progress; Leading edge slats have been cut away. A bit of head scratching as to where I go from here with them, but looking the part so far; Another little thing I wanted to address was the lack of rudder trim tabs on the 1/24 Airfix kit. These have been added to both rudders; One final thing for the moment. I decided to start sorting out the cowling for the V-14 as it needs a bit of work to get it looking like it should starting with the kit part; Gun troughs need filled and the bulges removed and a fair bit of sanding required. There's also a bit of subtle re-shaping been done just in front of the openings at the front. Ready now for some scribing and starting work on the couple of hatches and the four latches plus the distinctive side intake; That's all for now. Thanks for looking and back soon with some more progress. Cheers! Steve

Last time I went to Hendon, the BOB hall was still in place. Dare I ask what's in it's place to ruin it? I was sad to hear that the BOB hall was going. After all, it's probably the RAF's most famous battle honour.

Thanks for all of the info, advice and replies. All duly noted. Seems that I shouldn't hold my breath on this one. @Dave Swindell Thanks. I did drop MFS a line asking if there would be a re-stock. They told me to keep an eye on the website, so hopefully the interest was logged. I can't be the only one that wants a Spitfire prototype in 1/48. Cheers! Steve

I think the 109 is a mock up. The biggest error on looking at that sequence from the film is that the canopy is hinged on the wrong side. Hardy Kruger exits the aircraft from the starboard side! There's also a lot of details missing that would exist on a real 109, and no sign of any panels or rivet patterns. The fuselage is completely smooth. The stowage door behind the pilot is also missing as well as the holes for the lifting point on the rear fuselage. The Revi gunsight looks very un Revi gunsight too. I think it's a replica, but I'm not knocking it as the studio did a great job.

Hi all! These two beasties have been kicking around in my stash for a few years now. It's one of those kits that I always wanted as a kid back in the late 1970s when I used to drool over that Roy Cross artwork of Helmut Wick's 109E high up out of reach on the shelf both physically and financially. I've had a nice 1970s classic boxing for years now, but the collector in me didn't want to touch it so it remained unbuilt. However, over the last few years, I managed to pick up a couple of the more recent releases at bargain prices and decided it was time to finally build these 1/24 classics. I actually have three on the go, but this WIP will concentrate on two of them. Just for nostalgia's sake, here is the wonderful artwork I drooled over as a ten year old; Cor! That's lovely! Makes me feel ten years old all over again, except with a bigger tummy, a Ford Mondeo and a tiny bit of disposable income. So these are the two kits that have been sitting in my stash staring at me for several years; Now be warned. I'm one of those types that can never seem to build a kit out of the box. I always feel obliged to mess around with it, hack it up and generally try to build it how the designer didn't envisage it being built. I just wish sometimes I could just throw the model together OOB instead of digging myself into large modelling holes that I end up burying myself in. This time though, I've been a bit reserved, so Bf 109E #1 will be back dated to an E-1 and will hopefully look something like this; It's the Bf 109E-1 W.Nr. 3367 of 5/JG 52 flown by Leo Zaunbrecher that was forced down in Sussex on the 12th August 1940. Don't know why, but I've always liked this scheme. Maybe it's the little devil emblem. I know there has been some debate regarding whether or not it should be Red 14 or Black 14. The period intelligence report says red, so I will be going with that. Bf 109E #2 is going to (hopefully) look something like this; I've always liked the Bf 109 V-14. It's a cracking colour scheme and I like the Ernst Udet connection. I happen to have the Meng 1/24 Fokker Dr.1 in Udet's colours, so this could be a nice double display. I found that Red Pegasus decals produce decals for D-ISLU in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32, so I reached out and asked if a 1/24 sheet would be possible and Greg from Draw Decal came up trumps. So thank you Greg! You made this project a viable proposition. I've not found a mountain of information on D-ISLU. There are a lot of differences between a standard 109E and the V-14. I've got most bases covered, but there are still a few grey areas. Maybe Lynn Ritger's forthcoming book may help. However, it does seem that the V-14 was based on either a 109B or D airframe so that helps a lot. The major blank I have is on the oil cooler under the nose. It's seems that was a lot deeper that a standard Emil. Anyhoo, I've waffled enough. Time to get building. One final warning though. My builds move at glacial speeds so I hope these get finished before my terminal trip to the CO-OP funeral parlour. Cheers for looking! Steve

Good God! That's beautiful Peter. I'm lost for words.

@LanceB Thanks for explaining the differences. I was unsure whether to buy the S.6A just because it's so similar to the S.6B kit, but I think I will anyway. 😁

Remembering well the mortal remains of Scion G-AEZF as I do, and helping shift the wings on a trailer to Coalhouse Fort (before it ended up at Medway), this release is very welcome and will be a must have purchase. Look forward to it.

Have to agree. I thought episode 5 was really well done. It's taken me a while to get into the series, but it feels like it's coming together now. I had a similar experience with The Pacific, but when I watched the series second time around I appreciated it so much more and what it was trying to achieve. I have a feeling my eventual re-watching of Masters will be the same.

I was under the impression that a fair few of the CASAs started life as German built airframes. Was the CASA 2.111 you were referring to the now Hawkinge aircraft? That certainly turned out to be a Heinkel built H-16 by all accounts.

Duplicated post!

@Michou Thank you sir! I didn't realise a piece of the aircraft still existed. I'm happy with the colour I need now. Thank you for the input.

Thanks Troy! I'll certainly have to pick up a copy of that book when it is published. The artwork on the cover is interesting. The oil cooler does appear to look deeper than a standard Emil, but the spinner looks standard yet photos appear to show what I assume to be the spinner cap having been removed, but maybe that happened at another point. Improved cooling maybe? I still have a feeling that the shade of red should be darker though. Thanks Mike! I think the references to the actual colour that I saw (as opposed to the blue theory) were quoted from contemporary reports also. RAL 3002? That's just the shade of red I had in mind as to the colour of D-ISLU. I think this is the route I will take. @Black Knight That more than confirms the colour for me. Can't argue with contemporary reports. Looking at photos, the colour does appear to be considerably darker than the red shade of the tail band hence the reason I was leaning towards a wine red. The same shade perhaps as used on the V.20 prototype D-IRRT. @Icedtea Thanks for the reply! The oil cooler is very interesting. It certainly appears to be non standard Emil in photos. Deeper and possibly narrower much like a G or K oil cooler. I've seen reference to the rear of the cooler being a completely different shape too. Hopefully Lynn's book will shed some light on this. I also found an enhanced photo that appeared to show T-bar shaped struts on the radiator intakes. Something else to try and find out. I'm not sure about the wheel wells. I've seen mention that they were different, but conversely, I can't figure out why they would have been. The additional undercarriage door fairings make sense from an aerodynamic point of view though. Maybe we will both eventually find the answers we are looking for. If I find anything new, I'll post it up here. Thanks for all your helpful replies gents! Cheers; Steve

Hi all; I know this is technically inter-war, but I've got a few questions regarding the Bf 109 V-14 D-ISLU as I'm currently converting the Airfix 1/24 kit into this variant (WIP to follow soon) First off is the colour. I'm in the red camp as far as D-ISLU is concerned, but I've read references to wine red. Something that was seemingly recorded at the time. A lot of the profiles, artwork and models I've seen have been quite a bright red but I was going to go with a colour like Mr Color's C100 Wine Red. This seems to be my idea of what wine red should look like, but would that be too dark a shade? I've got a fair few references on the 109, but all of the line drawings I have and all the profiles I've seen show a standard Bf 109E oil cooler housing. Yet photos of the aircraft seem to show a far deeper oil cooler similar in depth to G model 109s. Is there any more info on this aspect of the aircraft? Were the wheel wells rounded? I know the undercarriage doors had additional fairings presumably to clean up the aerodynamics, but I have seen reference to the wheel well bays being rounded and a different structure internally from a production 109E. I can't find anything to solid to confirm this. Wing radiator intakes. One photo seems to show a T shaped strut on the intake as opposed to the usual 109E single vertical strut (sorry, don't know the technical name). Something else my drawings don't show, but is this a known thing? I think I've got everything else in hand. Fuel filler in different location, lack of aerial mast, cowling modifications, exhausts, intake on port side cowling. Finally, would I be right in thinking the V-14 was based on a 109B airframe? Sorry! So many questions. Thanks for looking. Steve

Typical me. I hadn't spotted the recent releases. I just remember when the Trabant was first issued that it disappeared quite quickly and then the second hand prices skyrocketed as is usual with Revell.

I think I might have to pick up the Revell Trabant. Missed that the first time around.

That was unexpected! If this kit provides the option of a stinger tail and is better accuracy wise than the 1/32 or 1/48 HK kit then I'm all in. I've had this long term plan of a large scale B-17 diorama, but in 1/32 and even 1/48, finding the vehicles I want to go with it is quite difficult. 1/35 will solve that problem. Look forward to seeing the CADs for this release.

Fantastic news. Although I've got the later release Aeroclub Anson in the stash, you can never have too many Ansons. Got to love Valom. They do some great subjects.

I've still got a warehouse full of Heller kits left over from the last GB, so it would be rude not to. Count me in!