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Bf109E-3, 3/JG52 Yellow 15 - Uffz. Karl Wolff **PHOTO UPDATE**


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Is the RT canopy vacform? And are the front and last section of said canopy you tacked to the fuselage the Airfix ones or the RT?

JR

Thanks for your comments Jean. The RT canopy is a vacform and the front and rear sections in the photos are a part of this. It is a very clear part and comes moulded with a decent space between the sections which are easily separated with a new scalpel blade. I have given the parts an initial trim and they just need a bit of refining now to tidy things up. I also purchased a replacement item for my Spitfire build because the kit item is moulded as a single piece and I want to try and open this area up and this is just as good. Overall I am quite impressed with the quality, the only snag being that it is a one shot deal so you need to be careful when trimming them.

I remember from an earlier post that you said you had damaged the rear part of your canopy, my offer to you of the kit parts still stands, if you can use them.

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Hi John,

thanks for the offer. I will PM you tomorrow as I am in South Africa right now and the damn Wifi credit I am using is all but exhausted.

Cheers

JR

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A mini update for this build too - see my Spitfire build. I have added some Master barrel tips to the top engine cowl and this along with the lower engine cover has been added. The tailplanes are also on but I have left the struts off for the moment to help with painting. I must just say that I have been very impressed with the parts fit on this kit but, as per the Spitfire kit, the tolerances are tight and any paint has to be removed before joining. I look forward to making more of this great little kit though.

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Not far off paint now.

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John, I can't believe you've managed to install so neatly the Master gun barrels!!! To say I am impressed is an understatement!

During a temporary lapse of reason I ordered them a while back from Mrs. H.

When the pack arrived my heart skipped a beat: the pack was empty!!! Until I put my glasses on and there, at the bottom, I saw a few microscopic bit of copper coloured thingies....

I had a good laugh when I realised I would NEVER managed to fit these barrels in a million year!!!!

And then I see your 109 and it looks brilliant!

So there is hope I may be able to use them on my next 109!

Congrat John for an impressive piece of work!

JR

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Thanks Stew and Jean, they are a vast improvement over the moulded items. The process that I used for fitting them was as follows

1. With a new scalpel blade I removed the moulded barrels, I trimmed away small amounts out at a time until they were gone.

2. I then used a 0.8mm drill to open up the rear of the muzzle housing trying to keep it flat on the bottom of the housing. Take your time when drilling and make sure that you do not apply too much downward pressure because there is a risk of breaking through the bottom surface of the muzzle housing. This happened to me on both sides and I had to repair the surface with some Super Glue (Cyano Acrylate).

3. You will probably find that the Master barrels do not lie flat in the opening. This was the case for me, so I flipped the cowling over and used a round needle file to make a groove on the underside of the cowling from the rear edge where it joins the fuselage to the newly created opening. Again, you need to take care so that you do not make the opening any larger than the hole that you have drilled or break through the top edge of the cowling. You should find that the taper of the file removes sufficient material to allow the barrels to lie flat.

4. I then held them in position with small blobs of BlueTack. Then, one at a time, I tacked them in each opening with small amounts of Cyano, this gave me time to adjust each barrel to ensure that they were aligned correctly. When this had set I removed the BlueTack and added more Cyano to secure them.

So that was it, looking at them now I feel that they should probably have been set a fraction further back although the offset is about right. You also need to make sure that the starboard barrel does not interfere with the rear mating surface of the cowling - keeping it just short of this edge should set it at the correct distance. One other area that I would keep a check on, though I don't think that it will be an issue, is the clearance between the barrels and the top of the engine block.

I still have to fit the wing barrels but do not expect any issues with those.

I hope that this proves useful to you both.

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That's brilliant John, thank you, exactly what I was angling after. The efforts you made have certainly paid off and as a bonus - for me at least - have saved me a lot of trial and error. One last question if I may - the removal of the moulded-on gun barrels; would you recommend a curved blade? That was my intention but of course I haven't had to test it yet!

Thanks again for the detailed and informative response.

Cheers,

Stew

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​That's OK Stew, just glad to help out. I used the tip of a flat blade to remove the barrels from the cowling and tidied things up with the shank of the drill when I drilled the holes. I was a little over zealous with this and broke through the surface. I think that once you have them reasonably tidy that will be sufficient, the replacement barrels will hide any thing that remains and that should also help you with alignment. Just be sure to leave enough plastic to support them, I would also recommend that you glue them on the underside of the cowling and that way you retain the definition of the parts.

Sorry if that seems as though I am trying to teach 'Grandmother to suck eggs' Stew, but I just want to pass on as much info as I can.

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Not at all John, that's exactly what I wanted, I had been looking at those tiny little barrels with trepidation since I got them so it is both reassuring to know it can be done and useful to know precisely how to go about it - thanks! The wing-mounted cannon are less of a worry as it looks like they plug right in where the kit parts did, only will be much harder to break off...

Looking forward to seeing your progress, it's coming along really nicely.

Cheers,

Stew

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  • 2 weeks later...

With the Spit currently having the decals applied I decided it was time to progress this a little more. So to that end I have added the Master gun barrels to the wings, I did this by temporarily fixing a kit barrel in place and measuring the length from the leading edge to the end of the barrel (approx 5.5mm). The replacement barrels are longer than the kit items so the hole needs opening into the wing to allow them to fit in further. I then cut a thin strip of masking tape and positioned this along the replacement barrel at 5.5mm, this would then act as a stop when fixing them in place. Then I fixed them in position using a medium viscosity super-glue and this gave me enough time to ensure everything was aligned properly.

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I have also masked up ready for primer and paint using Tamiya tape for the cockpit, Blue-Tack (White) for the undercarriage bays and a small piece of foam for the opening on the underside of the nose.

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The kit has now had an initial coat of primer and this is drying. At first glance there is some work needed before I can start applying paint. In the main it is rescribing the panel lines around the rear fuselage and there is a small amount of filling at the wing root/leading edge join. Then a second coat of primer before painting starts.

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We last left the 109 having added the gun barrels to the wings and then masking off ready to add the white areas. The white areas have been painted and these have also been masked off. Then, after a coat of grey primer, two coats of RLM65 has been brushed on to the fuselage and undersides. The upper surfaces of the tailplanes and wings have had the splinter pattern masked, these areas have received a coat of RLM02, again brushed on. The next job will be to add second coat of RLM02 and when this has dried I can then mask these areas ready for the RLM71.

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Well I have managed to complete the main painting, next up is to soften the hard edge on the fuselage by blending in with the RLM02/71 mottling. Jean sent me an interesting technique for applying the mottling by brush but I need more practise in using this method and with the deadline fast approaching I don't think that I will be proficient enough to use it on this build. I will definitely be using it on a future build though, I have an Airfix FW190 that would be a good candidate for this.

So its on with more masking, meanwhile here are a couple of shots of the model as of tonight.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Mottling done and the main decals are on. For the mottling I used one of the Airwaves masking tools, covered this with some masking tape and painstakingly removed the tape for each mottle but I think I was a bit heavy handed with the paint application. I tried softening the effect by sanding back a little however I don't think that I went far enough, maybe a light covering of RLM65 would have helped. Anyway I have done the best that I can for this one

I want to try the technique that Jean sent me on a Focke Wulf 190, hopefully this will be more successful, but I am going to need more practice before I do that.

We are away for a few days so the plan is to try and get as far as I can with this for the time I have left and then hopefully complete it before the deadline when we return on Saturday. If that doesn't look to be achievable then I will just post photos of the Spitfire in the Gallery.

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Hi John,

for a first trial of these mottling templates, I think you are a bit harsh on yourself. I don't own an airbrush (dinosaurs do still exist...) although it could be because your paint was not diluted enough (?)

OK, now you are going to tell me that you do NOT use an airbrush...

Bottom line, I really like the overall result of your 109. It is an extremely catchy scheme and you have done it justice. And the model looks beautifully built.

Is there anything to wish on top of this?

JR

PS: What paint are you using for the RLM 02? The Xtracolor RLM 02 I am using may be a tad too dark for my liking,,,or is it just my failing eyesight?

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Hi Jean

Thanks for your comments, and you are quite right having looked at it again it isn't bad for a first attempt. It's good to have a second opinion because I can be too critical at times which comes from setting the bar high I guess.

In the main the model has been brush painted and that includes the mottling, the only spraying being the white areas where I used an automotive primer. These areas were sanded until a smooth surface was achieved and after masking off a grey primer was added before the main painting began.

My previous post is not that clear about the method that I used for the mottle pattern, so I will try to explain things a little better. My intention had been to use the Airwaves metal templates as masks and then to airbrush the pattern, but feeling a bit lazy I didn't want to go through another masking session which I would have needed to do. So I placed a strip of masking tape over the template and then cut each mottle shape out with a scalpel and this became my mask. I carefully removed the tape and placed this onto one side and each of the mottles was then painted in using a detail brush with either RLM71 or RLM02 trying to keep the pattern as random as possible. Of course, this was then repeated for the opposite side.

After the paint had dried I removed the tape and gave it a light sanding with a 3600 micromesh pad to remove the edge build up, this is where I feel that I could have done a little more sanding to fade the mottle a bit more.

The paint that I have used is from my dwindling stock of some RLM colours bought several years ago that went under the Polly Scale brand. It is an acrylic paint and I have had excellent results when applying it by brush. Unfortunately, it is no longer manufactured but the label states that it was produced by The Testor Corporation. They now produce a range of acrylic paints under the Model Master label so these may be similar in both colour and properties.

I hope that this helps and thanks again for the positive comments.

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Thanks for the info John.

I am afraid I won't find any Testors paints between the Limpopo and the Zambezi Rivers. I will have to wing it if I cannot live with what I've got. But I am sure I will eventually reach an agreement with myself.

It must have been a Benedictine's labour to cut the mottle pattern in making tape, etc. You are a braver man than I will ever be!

Keep having fun!

On my 109 I just pre-painted the inside of the wings and chin radiators prior to gluing them in place and fitting the microscopic reinforcement bracket in each of them.

Cheers

JR

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Well, I got back at 2:30 today and after unpacking I cracked on with trying to get this finished. I thought that I had just made it but I can't post either build in the gallery because it is locked. So here is my completed build for this one.

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Finally a shot of the two together.

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I have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in this GB there are plenty of fantastic builds in the gallery. Well done to everyone who made it.

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Nice pair John, they look really good. :goodjob: I've the Airwaves mask for mottling as well, I just keep forgetting to use it,

Sean

Cheers Sean, just been outside to try and get some sharper images I will try and post them up in each thread later.

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