Bf-109B Hptm. G Handrick, Condor Legion 1938 - 10/6

[trickyrich]

I hadn’t really made up my mind to join this STGB, originally I had planned a 1/32nd Bf-109K-4 or a late model G, but time and work stopped this. Then by chance I happened across one of these little beauties at a price I couldn’t refuse!

 

So I decided to join in with a nice simple build, which will be a nice break from the beast!

 

 

There is a lot of detail and the moulding look really nice for a limited run model. The only thing is there are no locating tabs or pins anywhere on the model, on a plus side the sprue gates are really nicely done!

 

 

He even comes with some resin bits as well as PE bits and masks…..though I’m note sure about the rubber tires!

 

 

 Ok the scheme…..I found these and thought they’d be perfect  and I planned to do 6o56, which was flown by 1936 Olympic Pentathlon Gold medal winner Hptm. Gotthard Handrick in the Spanish civil war.

 

 

However as with a lot of my builds of late there is some controversy with this aircraft as to whether it was a B2 model or a D1 model! The only visual difference between the two was the fitment of wing MGs on the D’s and the positions of the Oxygen & electrical sockets.

 

There are luckily quite a few photos of this aircraft that reveal quite a few things, one being there were probably two aircraft painted the same! The one flown by Handrick was a B2 and was later flown by Walter Grabman in 1936 (he scored 7 kills in it, Handrick scored 5). Pictures of this aircraft clearly show no guns in the wings and that the Oxygen & electrical sockets were in the correct place for an B model.

 

 

The second one is thought to have been a propaganda aircraft used for photos on his return to Germany as Grabman in Spain was still using the original aircraft. There are a few subtle differences between the different photos and the second aircraft is probably an early D model. All the photos of the suspect D model only showed the aircraft to be very clean and with the sharp "H" and 2 kills on the tail. The B model appears in photographs as quite weathered in looks, the style of the "H" is different and there are up to 5 kills on the tail.

 

Anyway I have some nice photos of B model 6o56 looking quite weather worn in Spain, so that’s the one I’ll be building.

[TonyTiger66]

This is great Rich  

Spot on with your research.

 

The Olympic 'ring' emblem on the spinner is different on the propoganda plane too.

 

There was a subtle yet noticeable difference in the amount of protrusion of the exhaust pipes, beyond the cowlings, between B, C and D versions. They don't really protrude at all in the B, they do enough to notice on the others. It's subtle, but it's there.

 

Some manufacturers (even Aeroplast) have acknowledged this in 1/72, but I don't think yet in 1/48.

 

Your kit looks great on the sprues, it's a nice complete package; the etch looks great.

 

Good luck for a nice enjoyable build, looking forward to this .

 

Best regards

TonyT

[Mottlemaster]

I'm sure you will make a top notch job of this one Rich . I look forward to seeing it come together  .

 

cheers

Alistair

[trickyrich]

thanks..

 

Tony you won’t believe how much research it took to finally figure out the aircraft I want to build is actually a B model!

 

Pretty much all the reference books I have and internet sites I visited mentioned that the B series aircraft used in the Spanish Civil war finished at aircraft code 6o45, about the only thing they all seemed to have agreed upon.

 

I found this site, which helped solve the issue for me…

 

Bf-109 in Spain

 

…plus it turned out that one of the oldest and pretty basic reference books I have got it right as well, “Aircam Aviation Series – Messerschmitt Bf109B,C,D,E in Luftwaffe & Foreign Service”.

 

Plus it sort of turns out as well that there isn’t a B-1 or B-2 model, they’re all B’s. The B-2 reference appears to have been something that came from the field and was used to help identify modified aircraft. When some of these aircraft were returned to Germany they were re-identified as D models.

 

All this researching came about because I didn’t know which propeller I should be for 6o56. The fixed pitch wooden one or the variable pitch Hamilton one. The instruction mention to only use the fixed pitch wooden one.

 

 

Again it turns out this is not quite true, the early B models from the factory (pretty much all of them were sent down to the Condor Legion) were fitted with the wooden due to shortages of the Hamilton one, but were later fitted with them in service. I think only the A’s kept the wooden one, but I may be wrong there. An interesting note as well was that the early prototype aircraft were sent down there as well!

 

Anyway back to the build……

 

Everything goes together really easily and fits! Not what you’d expect from a short run model, there are no locating tabs, just some clever moulding which makes fitting parts a breeze.

 

The gap on the elevators is a bit much but some thin sheet card will sort that.

 

 

The wings go together just as nicely, with separate control surfaces. I’m leave the flaps slightly down as the appear to be like this in all the photos of the aircraft parked. The ailerons a just slightly off centre.

 

 

The only issue I’ve found is that the leading edge slats are wrong. They are too long, you can see a black dot in one photo, that’s were they’re meant to end on a B model (and the C & D models as well). These longer ones were fitted to the A model, just a simple fix required here.

 

 

The cockpit is lovely, there’s some nice detail here, but as it’s a 109 you won’t see an awful lot once it’s closed up and the canopy is on!  I won’t go crazy in here for that reason.

 

 

I’m really enjoying this build, it is a really lovely model to build.

[TonyTiger66]

4 hours ago, trickyrich said:

Tony you won’t believe how much research it took to finally figure out the aircraft I want to build is actually a B model!

 

I would believe it Rich  !

 

It's a minefield. It's also great fun .

 

I've been researching the overall subject for around 17 years now. That really doesn't mean I think I know anything much. In fact, the longer I research anything much to do with aircraft of just about any kind in Spain, I just wave the white flag. There's so much that's not certain, so much subterfuge, even conflicting primary sources, so much history constantly being rewritten, in many languages, a true Spanish Labrynth. All the more fascinating but often frustrating. In modelling terms I just decided to get on and enjoy whatever I thought was 'right enough'.

 

David's site is superb; almost a bible of SCW aircraft for many. We exchanged a few emails around 10 years ago; he knows his stuff and is a nice guy.

 

There used to be an incredible site in Spanish on Lycos. Just wonderful. It was eventually taken down due to copyright issues; the owner did the right thing.

 

I think some people may have made complete web archives of the site, but I'm not sure who they would be  .

 

Network 54 had vast and sometimes very heated discussions on the Spanish Bf-109 aircraft a few years ago. Some really good stuff. Interesting views.

 

I'm interested to see that AMG have put the long leading edge slats in. That's going to be useful for the early aircraft (increasingly being referred to as the 'A' series) and prototypes.

 

Nice work on changing it for this one  .

 

I've got quite a few pictures of the 'B' version of the aircraft you're modelling (and the propaganda 'D'), but can't put them here due to copyright.

 

I'll send you a PM.

 

Lovely work on the interior, nice neat photoetch work  .

 

Oh please AMG release the 1/72  !

 

All best regards

TonyT