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*** FINISHED *** Helmut Wick's Bf 109E4, October 1940 (Tamiya 1/72)


jrlx

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EDIT: this thread started as an entry to the BoB GB. Since I didn't manage to finish in time, it was moved to the KUTA GB.

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

Dear All,

 

this is my third and last entry in the BoB GB: Helmut Wick's Messerschmitt Bf 109 E4, as flown on October 1940.

 

Wick was the most successful German fighter pilot at the time, as he reached 56 confirmed victories in 168 combat missions, before being himself shot down over the sea, near Britain, on 28 November 1940, at the age of 25. During his career he was awarded several important military awards, including the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub.

 

The aircraft I'm building was the following one:

y4mXsAdXVLT-pvRrRuWYyiEIL9Svb95RTQtO4l9e

 

As can be seen, painting this camouflage will be quite a challenge...

The kit itself is the one from Tamiya and comes with the correct markings for the above profile. The picture shows the box, sprues, decals and the PE fret from Eduard I'll be using for better detailing the cockpit (mainly). The kit itself has a good amount of detail but I want to take it to the next level.

y4ma9QG58DXGGX4l07rolId0nqYzZ83EoFvWM_xG

IMAG2298

 

I've already planned the build in some detail and hope to be able to finish it relatively quickly. This is important because I'm also building Airfix's Defiant (WIP here) and Do 17z (WIP here) for this GB. It's quite ambitious for me, especially because I'll be using a lot of PE, which will be a first...

 

Anyway, as said in my other posts, I'm still finishing three British Phantoms for the Phantom GB, which ends on the 26th, so I don't think I'll be able to start the BoB builds before that.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

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Thanks, Joe :) That's very kind! I may start my BoB builds with this one, because I've already planned it in some detail and looks it can be done relatively quickly.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi again,

 

At last, I'm starting the work on my BoB GB entries. All three at the same time.

I'm beginning with the transparent parts, just to mask them and put them to the side right from the start.

 

I'll build the Bf 109 with an open canopy. Here's the sprue:

y4maGR1gK8EZhX1y5-DYC8xgTWy0m1IYMNjQJnbU

IMAG2520

 

As in the Dornier and Defiant, I used my recently acquired RB-productions micro saws to cut the parts off the sprue. Here they are, just after cutting:

y4mu6KX8SubZR41aJ6D_YJ8Bjcq9C89R4nMzAl3r

IMAG2521

 

I made the cuts well away from the parts, in order to avoid any damage from mechanical stress. I can say that the micro saw used works really well.

 

The excess plastic was removed with x-acto blades and sanding sticks (see my technique in detail here). Here's the final result:

y4mX_weHfAvJZQ-G6pbxvV7ZfrUQFn9sIfMoKJKy

IMAG2522

 

The parts are very transparent.

 

I washed the parts with water and dishwasher liquid, to remove all dust, and then gave them an Aqua Gloss bath. Here they are, ready for the bath:

y4mzMLWg2yYwCKu4gK2KaFdYPy9dm66uLGktSDxU

IMAG2527

 

And here they are, drying:

y4mSnmWMOqlZx0FLH4nbC40ZUEXjzyIqM6psm6RF

IMAG2528

 

They are fully dry now and look really good: brilliant and transparent.

 

Next step: masking. For this kit I don't have pre-cut masks. I'll have to mask them by hand.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Jaime

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Hi Jaime, they have come up really well. Very good tip that. Joe :)

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Hi,

 

Instead of masking the canopy, I started taking the parts off the sprue. The main parts of the cockpit, fuselage and wings are shown in the next picture:

y4mFWuknf6fUrq8uUbX5U7a1KsSPePdLIUwHa6K9

IMAG2552

 

Here are the cockpit parts. The kit's instrument panel is not shown because it won't be used. PE parts will be used instead:

y4m_dNGSLBGZezgYBT1NxAUpl7_G2-hqNdmqnj0y

IMAG2553

 

The propeller, tail wheel and main gear legs will receive Alclad primer and Alclad paints, since they have metallic areas:

y4mzcGnytFj1A5giy64xfxr8dNqc3DyeHffayp9F

IMAG2554

 

These small parts of the undercarriage legs (what's their name?) were removed because they'll be replaced by PE parts:

y4mzIOvJx58-0PN2dKolSDc7XgrcvsBeONLMGrR1

IMAG2556

 

I made a quick dry-fit, and confirmed that everything fits perfectly:

y4mMuKNAMtEjMdobEpV4kUs2sVxAIYEAk0oFy8IS

IMAG2555

 

I disassembled the parts and marked with a pencil the raised detail that must be removed from the inner starboard cockpit wall. This detail will be replaced by PE parts:

y4m4WzZ5X6--wPyUPbVRoNnaku4Ajo_49Tr70NtI

IMAG2557

 

This was removed with a curved x-acto blade. Here's the end result:

y4m35dyDaruWCWWyoeL3qHSo8NMMDrihJHkgxzYo

IMAG2558

 

The small parts were glued to toothpicks and are ready for priming and painting. This is how it all stands right now:

y4m6aVmSIuhWKSYUKKG_xMhq4SozcEOlRibkrJ1q

IMAG2559

 

Thanks for looking

 

Jaime

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Thanks, Steve. I hope to start painting and installing the cockpit PE enhancements this week. I'll have to repaint the RLM 02-painted PE parts because the colour is not coincident with the Gunze's RLM 02 I'll be using.

Cheers

Jaime

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi again,

 

At last, I'm back to the bench, after holidays and getting back to the office.

 

I resumed work on the Wick's Bf109, starting by applying the PE parts from the Eduard set. In the picture we can see the PE fret, the cockpit base and seat, the acrylic base and handle used for cutting PE parts off the fret (to the left) and the PE instructions (to the right):

y4mluADkLql0_qo2rEoMaGXo9kqaOGiDCJQCYtLL

IMAG2574

 

Here's the first PE part cut off the fret. The acrylic handle was used to hold the fret, being placed over the part to cut off, to avoid it going orbita. A curved blade was used for cutting the gates:

y4mx4JBsxefH5CMBbaHJ2BF9-bl1twqLDx8Y29SW

IMAG2575

 

It is a handle that is glued to the left side of the seat. I used CA glue applied with a toothpick::

y4mAwDOU3jvp1we5BZHqG9zRcHlUhT4pFLFuTVn-

IMAG2576

 

Then, I glued the green rectangular part, right in front of the seat:

y4m_RkToGPgs4cXEHrxbL8sdnw6PKQw4EvEn0y5t

IMAG2577

 

This green is not quite RLM 02, so I'll paint it over, when I paint the cockpit.

 

The next PE part is number 21 in the instructions (can be seen in the following picture, on the bottom right corner). This part must be bent twice before being glued in place. In the picture we can see the "teethed" tool and blade used for bending PE. The part is on the black base of the tool:

y4mhVv9rwZqlHZdxAMoSeIrvaVGEbOJuDIs5Yl5V

IMAG2578

 

First, the part is inserted under a "teeth" and the bending line marked on the part is aligned with the "teeth's" edge. The blade slides under the part and is used to bend it:

y4mhXC3dBjNgt-cnoAIsXDsBv_r3d0_T3yiaEXpe

IMAG2579

 

Here's the part after the first bend:

y4mNH4z0nprXYgjbN1uFOj3sYaHzktcVXjFezWTU

IMAG2581

 

The part is re-aligned for the second bend and here's the result:

y4mFGb4a-dZcQb19k3mvXcZi3X8SITs7l-9NIxiq

IMAG2582

 

The finished part, ready for glueing in place (NOTE: each square on the mat is 1 cm x 1 cm):

y4maBIt7oYuS2yndmk-n-A1PVVxiaXD5vbh9DHdG

IMAG2583

 

Here it is, glued in place:

y4mgWGmHTplatQNoluJnIfVm5bK_1ZRf3pKayT6Q

IMAG2584

 

Next, some PE parts had to be glued to the gunsight. The gunsight is the transparent part held on the tip of the pencil in the following picture. This pencil is an Ultimate tool, used for holding small parts like PE:

y4m53LITAlpsOacOEn_2BWCy2UbSNG70SrCbgQn5

IMAG2585

 

Since the gunsight will be painted black, the glass must first be masked:

y4mR8dfm1kf1kHx2w9UBOKZEkZZbzDz-B_sDnMC7

IMAG2586

 

Then I applied the PE parts to the sides:

y4mrvpWaRaC6kw97xk3ZFGMoKvtJrBbAjz7YMlhE

IMAG2588

 

The scissor links (is this how they're called?) on the main gear legs are also replaced by PE:

y4m73S01gwZKKnFv8Tsaeu16mGiKmUsrQg-ghuLg

IMAG2589

 

To finish with, I masked the PE fret so that I can paint some of the parts that are unpainted or pre-painted with the wrong colour:

y4me6iJbJf_M3RUW1guT-EBZZgUD0ede8M89KoGr

IMAG2590

 

Note that I removed the gates on parts 8,9 and 16 on the sides that will be visible, so that I manage to cover those areas when painting them on the fret with the airbrush, avoiding the need for touch ups with brushes after glueing in place.

 

All this took me three hours. A bit slow, perhaps, but it was my first confrontation with PE. It wasn't particularly scary but care must be taken about how to hold the parts and position them while glueing. Tweezers are to be avoided as much as possible, otherwise we run the risk of having the parts go orbital. I think the best is to use the Ultimate pencil (or equivalent) for holding the parts and use a toothpick for adjusting the positioning with careful touches. The pencil shouldn't be pressed hard on the parts because it leaves residues as it is very soft.

 

Hope this rather long post is useful for someone considering a first battle with PE. It's not that hard really, but a lot of patience should be in store.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Jaime

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Nice going Jamie, can't believe you masked the gunsight, especially in 1/72.

I'd have gone mental by now trying that, as for the rest......

Sean

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Well, the gunsight went orbital while I was tightening the masking tape with tweezers... Fortunately, there's no carpet monster here, since I have a wooden floor, and managed to find it quickly. The yellow tape helped a lot :)

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Your doing really well with the etch parts Jaime. They are tiny to fit. Joe

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Thanks, Joe. Yes, the PE parts are really tiny and I have to use a magnifying glass to do most of the work with them... But I think this first session with PE was not too bad. I feel motivated to continue, as I have a lot of PE sets for most of the kits in my stash.

Cheers

JR

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This is just a small update. Last night I didn't do much, just finished cutting the remaining parts off the sprue, cleaning and glueing them to toothpicks, ready for priming and painting. Here they are:

y4mfajzbuxawbn_TppPPeB9D-YmSuJH2lkEfM88X

IMAG2592

 

From right to left: flap balance masses, machine gun barrels, antenna and pitot tube, armoured plate, wheel well covers and wheels. The wheels had ejection marks on the inner hub faces, so I applied putty to cover those marks. Probably wouldn't be noticeable, since they will face the well covers but it's just a small additional effort to do things properly.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

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..you glue the parts to toothpicks ??

Yes,I use a drop of super glue. The parts are easily removed when ready for assembly. I try to chose a contact point/edge that will be the glueing point/edge when the part is assembled. Doing this, I'm able to prime and paint the parts without any (or almost any...) need for touch ups with brushes after final assembly. This wouldn't be possible if I primed and painted the parts still in the sprues.

Cheers

Jaime

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Thanks Ced, much appreciated :-)

I spent the weekend with the Dornier PE, one of my other BoB GB entries. Quite tiresome but managed to progress a bit. I'll post pictures later.

Cheers

Jaime

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi again,

 

I've been working slowly on my four current builds (3 BoB GB and a Tiger Moth GB) since last week but the day job hasn't allowed me much time for substantial posts here.

 

So, finally here is an update on the Bf 109.

 

I started to remove the excess putty from the ejection marks on the wheels:

y4mR5xshcEcYJxiu78W51WMp13-uzm92KMNGNaMF

IMAG2680

 

Then, Alclad Grey Primer was applied to the PE parts that must be painted or have their colour rectified:

y4mIVz_AE3wi_184jgjzQ80UAGieKPn9rQc4U-8C

IMAG2681

 

The plastic parts that will be painted with metallic colours or yellow were treated with Alclad white primer (on the right side of the picture). The remaing were treated with grey primer. After the white primer dryed, I painted the metallic colours: Alclad white aluminium on the gear legs and tail wheel and mate aluminium on the propeler hub (on the right):

y4mc06M1iT69h1jk1J501Zz-CefaEEw5qS-e4Xdn

IMAG2682

 

Finally, I painted the interior base colour: RLM 02 Graugrün (grey-green):

y4mgMlTjDt0p5k7Wj2kecWHHzvAItejXTPlUXD7B

IMAG2704

 

and also on the PE parts that are RLM 02: cockpit parts (centre top) and brake lines (left):

y4mpJw8Smuw3XbB5STMxAuqcsYCfsRTJ-5w-R1Qs

IMAG2708

 

Thanks for looking

 

Jaime

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