milesburchell Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 This is the first build from my Spanish Civil War series in 1/72. The base kit is Airfix's Bf 109 E-4 new tool, done up as an E-1, 6-98 of J/88 Legion Condor, 1938. This aircraft, along with 6-96, were both allegedly shot down in the same engagement by Republican ace José Falcó Sanmartín in his I-15bis, which I will be building as part of the series. The moulds for this kit are simply exceptional for the price point, but my kit was riddled with casting errors - the canopy was unusable, so I'm glad I wasn't making an E-4, and there was plastic missing from multiple parts. I had to build one side of the exhaust pipes essentially from scratch with putty. All feedback and questions are very welcome! Thanks for taking a look 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Nice work! Question for you, what did you have to do to convert it to an E-1? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesburchell Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 17 minutes ago, Procopius said: Nice work! Question for you, what did you have to do to convert it to an E-1? Only the use of an early style canopy and the omission of the wing cannons. I would have thought that the removal of the blisters under the wings that house the cannon drums would be necessary, but the only reference drawing I could find for this aircraft clearly had the blisters in place. Whether this is due to an error on behalf of the artist, or that the manufacturing of the wings by Messerschmitt changed before the E-3 went into full production, or some other interesting reason, I do not know! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 (edited) Still a nice looking result, but yes the underside bulges are associated with the wing cannon. The original wing mg's were also situated closer to the wheel wells, so the holes in the wing's leading edge are not the same position for the cannon. It could be the misleading diagram was of an E-1 upgraded to E-3/E-4 standard? regards, Jack Edited February 7, 2019 by JackG 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Great looking Emil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchen Modeller Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 This looks good - shame the kit gave you so much trouble as it’s not a bad kit for the price. You got a nice model at the end 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesburchell Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 2 hours ago, JackG said: Still a nice looking result, but yes the underside bulges are associated with the wing cannon. The original wing mg's were also situated closer to the wheel wells, so the holes in the wing's leading edge are not the same position for the cannon. It could be the misleading diagram was of an E-1 upgraded to E-3/E-4 standard? regards, Jack That's a very plausible idea. Personally, I think the more likely explanation is that the original author of the drawing on Wings Palette got it wrong - my hunch is that this aircraft was shot down before E-3s even hit the front lines. 1 hour ago, Kitchen Modeller said: This looks good - shame the kit gave you so much trouble as it’s not a bad kit for the price. You got a nice model at the end 🙂 Thanks. I think it just slipped through Airfix's Indian fab's QA. The 1/72 new tool Zero I built recently was flawless. Still, I love that this 109 has separate flaps and some engine detail - way to outdo Tamiya! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Airfix will happily replace parts for free if you're in the UK, my first one had a lot of missing parts. My second one looks ok in the sprue.... Interested as to where you got the new canopy from Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Hi, this is a really great looking 109. Congrats!!! I would be very cautious to use any profile etc from wing palette. Nice to look at, but far too much artistic licence all over the show! On an E-1, not only the underwing blisters disappear and are replaced by flush inspection panels, but the machine gun openings have moved lower, below the mid-wing, and have more of an elliptical shape. Furthermore, because it is hard to see on your photos, did yo change the canopy to the earlier model, the more rounded one? I want to do the same, but I am still missing the correct canopy... Patience is indeed a virtue! Have fun! JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 On 2/9/2019 at 6:26 AM, jean said: Hi, this is a really great looking 109. Congrats!!! I would be very cautious to use any profile etc from wing palette. Nice to look at, but far too much artistic licence all over the show! On an E-1, not only the underwing blisters disappear and are replaced by flush inspection panels, but the machine gun openings have moved lower, below the mid-wing, and have more of an elliptical shape. Furthermore, because it is hard to see on your photos, did yo change the canopy to the earlier model, the more rounded one? I want to do the same, but I am still missing the correct canopy... Patience is indeed a virtue! Have fun! JR Hello Jean, My apologies for the poor quality photographs. Taken in bed 🛌. I use these canopies in 1/72. I know that they fit: AModel, Tamiya, ICM and AviS Bf109 B through to E3/4 in these ranges. I haven’t tried with an Airfix kit, but it would probably be a good fit. That’s a nicely made and presented model Miles. It’s always good to see someone making models of Spanish Civil War subjects. Best regards Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig88 Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 Really nicely done!! Looks great! Miguel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now