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Will's Bf109E **Finished**


malpaso

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Well, with the revelation that the GB will go on till October, I decided there's time for another single seater.  This time it'll be the 1976 Messerschmitt 109 in 1/72, from the absolute high point of Airfix.  I think any of the early-mid 70s aircraft are absolutely superb kits, from looking at it I wonder why they bothered with the more recent tooling.

Here's the lovely box art, I think Roy Cross.  This is a first edition with "new" star and even swastika on box and decals transfers.  I'm probably going to go for the tropical alternative and save the Galland transfers for an Aldi new tool.

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Here's the sprues.

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Many of the parts have fallen off over 42 years.  I think they're all there, though!

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The stand hasn't been nicked for once.  The canopy is really clear.

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Too late to use the complaints slip.  The transfers look fine, not too yellowed.

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Straightforward instructions, should go together easily.  Not absolutely sure how the pilot flies the plane without a joystick.

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The colour scheme is all in Airfix paints.  I always found them better quality than Humbrol, I have a few that still work though I'll be airbrushing acrylics.

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Parts are all washed and I'll start putting it together tomorrow evening.  It's going to be light relief between filling and sanding my Supermodell Can't Z.506B whilst carefully assembling a Tamiya Mosquito for our club display at Telford!

Cheers

Will

Edited by malpaso
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I agree Will, the mid seventies was a bit of a purple patch for Airfix and this 109 fits the bill nicely.

I quite like these initial release kits and besides the better decals in later boxes do think that these are really the best editions to look for.

I'd be inclined to tone some / all of those rivets a little though.

 

Cheers and good luck.. Dave

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Thanks Dave.  The rivets don't seem as prominent in real life, I think the light and the glossy plastic made them show more in the photo.  I'll see once there's some primer on.  By the way it's the lovely traditional Airfix powder blue plastic, even if the photo makes it look grey.

Cheers

Will

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Nice!

 

this box along with the 1/72 spitfire vb really takes me back - so much so I can almost smell the enamel paint and turps and hear "don't spill that glue everywhere or you'll get a clip round the ear!".....😆

 

Looking at the parts oh how i wish airfix had done the same in the 1/48 kit with the engine cowlings - just 1 part instead of the 2 halves which don't sit together well then have not much much to hold onto when you put them in place.....

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Lovely little kit although I thought the rivet    detail on the wings a bit much so toned them down a little when I did mine. From memory the canopy was a tad small for the gap it was meant to fill but nothing too serious. Nice to see one here.

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Seems like “tropical 8” has been a popular choice for model companies.  As well as this old kit, its been options at 1/48 by Eduard and Airfix.  And Matchbox went for no.9!  Artwork for both these larger kits, and other profiles (none of which count as actual evidence in my eyes) suggest that the plane had a domed spinner rather than one for a motorkanone.  So I’ll have to review the spares box or sprue and filler to create an appropriate look unless I can find a better conflicting photo than in this profile booklet, which looks to be domed but all a bit in shadow.

Cheers

Will

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Looking closer at that photo of no.8 I wonder more at the colour scheme put forward by profiles, Airfix and Eduard.  They suggest that sand paint just went over the splinter areas and then mottling applied all over.  It seems more likely to me the sand would go down most (if not all) of the side, as seen on later Fs and Gs.  I assume in the desert the camo would be against oblique views in the air or on the ground, whereas the top view BOB-campaign splinter would have been effective against high altitude recce.  Once in the desert they found further camo needed against the scrubby vegetation in that part, so added the mottling in the field?

Anyway it’ll be a while before I get to painting so time for more investigations or advice.

Cheers

Will

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The popularity of Black 8 is due to the famous colour images.

Quote

Looking closer at that photo of no.8 I wonder more at the colour scheme put forward by profiles, Airfix and Eduard.  They suggest that sand paint just went over the splinter areas and then mottling applied all over.  It seems more likely to me the sand would go down most (if not all) of the side, as seen on later Fs and Gs.  I assume in the desert the camo would be against oblique views in the air or on the ground, whereas the top view BOB-campaign splinter would have been effective against high altitude recce.  Once in the desert they found further camo needed against the scrubby vegetation in that part, so added the mottling in the field?

Messerschmitt-Bf-109E7Trop-8.JG27-Black-

 

Messerschmitt-Bf-109E7Trop-8.JG27-Black-

 

PS note the patch of RLM 65 (i presume) behind the swastika, showing it was marked off before the RLM 78 was sprayed on.

Edited by Troy Smith
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Here's the pilot ready to enter the cockpit.  The anatomically unpleasant spruce handle will be cut off to allow him to sit comfortably!

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Maybe I overdid the drybrushing.

He's now been stuck in the cockpit and the fuselage closed up.

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I'll leave that to dry for tonight and see how the fuse join looks.

Cheers

Will 

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30 minutes ago, Capri3 said:

I believe real 109s had a line where the two fuselage halves were joined during construction. Not sure how noticeable it would be at this scale though.

Yes, I had heard there might be a panel line at the join on the real thing.  I’m more concerned at the potential +/- 2-inch step on the model!

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top work on the pilot! 👍

 

Just looking @malpaso's pic of the fuselage above.  Rivet-tastic yet on the 1/48 there are NONE at all (apart from some on the underwing).  Amazing the difference 3 years can make ;)

 

 

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Bit more progress but it was a case of two steps forward and one back.  Fuselage is together and the wings put on.

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Looks okay from this angle but fitting the wings hard to the roots (so no gaps) ended up with somewhat excessive dihedral.  I know the 109 wasn't supposed to turn as tight as a Spitfire but I think this one's dihedral would make a BE2c look like an aerobatic special.

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nothing else for it, I cut the wings off again and reset them at a slightly lower angle.  Now the tips are in line with the middle of the engine cowling which seems to match various drawings and photos.  I'm a bit happier now, but I'll leave it for a good while now to set before tidying and filling the joints.

Cheers

Will

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There's always been an issue with the wing roots in this kit. I've no idea how Airfix managed to accomplish such a bad fit but I remember rigging the thing with masking tape and making good the gaps in the upper wing roots with scrap plastic card.

 

Thee was an Airfix catalogue shot of their Luftwaffe Airfield Set which featured this kit in the early 2000s and I recall thinking that they hadn't addressed the issue:

 

https://goo.gl/images/TYUdjJ

 

John

 

 

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Well I filled the joints to the wings, not too bad.  The tailplane's been assembled and the front cowling too (I have given up on worrying about revolving props since the withering / pitying look I was given when I asked one of my club mates* how he would make the airscrew spin on an Eduard biplane!).  Needless to say quite a bit of the raised detail succumbed to tidying up the filler.

The canopy fitted too low and the angled rear bulkhead didn't look much like a 109's so raised the sides and rear with 20/30** thou plastic card.  Now the canopy sits right.   Although yet more raised detail disappeared in the clean up...

 

Cheers

Will

 

*some are proper modellers that win Golds at Telford.

** it was to hand and I didn't measure.

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Here's some photos of the 109 with the mods around the cockpit.

 

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A fair bit of filler's been used, some sink marks on the cowling.

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I masked the canopy with Tamiya tape, some of the framing was a bit indistinct but hopefully it'll be okay.

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I took her out in the sun this afternoon so she's all primed ready to start painting.  Hopefully the mottling will go okay, there's only a week left to the GB.

Cheers

Will

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Well I've now painted the underside and flanks of the aircraft.  Tamiya X-23 if anyone's interested, looks about right for me, especially by the time I liberally interpret the desert yellow and green mottling!  I added white wingtips on the underside - Airfix don't show on the instructions but I thought it might look nicer.

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Anyway, more paint tonight.  "We're playing for time...and it's running out!"*

Cheers

Will

 

*if you don't know where this quote's from...

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13 minutes ago, malpaso said:

"We're playing for time...and it's running out!"*

 

*if you don't know where this quote's from...

Then you’d better go and sit in that naughty corner over there!!

 

This 109 is looking the goods Will. You’ll make the deadline, no need to rush it now. 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

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Err, well I've just done my first mottling paint job.  It's not exactly like the real "tropical 8" but it definitely tones down the sand and blue.  Perhaps the ground crew had a parcel from home with schnapps!  I think it'll look okay once there are some decals aboard.

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Klear tomorrow,  then decalling so feeling more confident about the deadline now.

Cheers

Will

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While it may not be an 'exact' representation of the original aircraft, that looks pretty darn good! Maybe another very random spotting of RLM 65 & 'sand' to break-up some of the dark green (and overspray) patches might 'help'?  Still looks pretty good  though, and with a different viewpoint, the more diffuse/softer green-over-blue & sand colours as your model has, it looks to be a better camouflage pattern !

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I wasn't entirely happy with the mottling, so I tried @yarvelling's suggestion.  Unfortunately there was a lot of splurging, bad language and I ended up doing each of the three colours twice.  At least.  

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I think it looks a bit better and it's another lesson and technique learnt in airbrushing.

Hopefully it'll look okay in daylight, then I'll Klear it for decals.  Thanks for the positive comments and "likes" on the build.

Cheers

Will

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