Scaleplanes Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 (edited) Hi all. Just started this week - Eduards 1/48 Bf109 F-2 profipack. This is going to be like most of my builds -OOB - although of course being the profipack edition the kit comes with a couple of nice etched frets, one in very fine colour. I’m not one for masses of aftermarket in my builds - I’ve seen too many threads optimistically starting with the photo of the kit surrounded by shed loads of extras which fizzle out presumably with the half finished model consigned to the back of the cupboard. I’d rather get through the build whilst my enthusiasm for the subject is fresh and get it on the shelf. First up - well being a slave to the kit instructions it’s the cockpit of course. Here the main elements which will be RLM66 are assembled ready for priming. Just a note - the sprues in my kit were noticeably greasy so the parts were washed and dried before assembly. Sometimes I don’t bother with this but this is the first time that I’ve actually clearly seen and felt what I guess is mold release agent on the parts. Edited July 2, 2019 by Scaleplanes New photos 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Mind if I tag along as I have one of these in the stash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaleplanes Posted June 24, 2019 Author Share Posted June 24, 2019 (edited) Assembly primed with Tamiya super fine primer decanted from the rattle can and applied by airbrush. Edited July 2, 2019 by Scaleplanes New photos 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaleplanes Posted June 24, 2019 Author Share Posted June 24, 2019 (edited) With the parts in primer I shaped the seatbelts on the seat and set aside ready for adding once the cockpit is painted. I don’t like doing this after painting as it tends to scuff and mar the paintwork. They can be dropped into place more easily doing it this way. Here the assembly has has received a coat of Vallejo RLM66 grey. Edited July 2, 2019 by Scaleplanes New photos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaleplanes Posted June 24, 2019 Author Share Posted June 24, 2019 16 minutes ago, modelling minion said: Mind if I tag along as I have one of these in the stash. Please do MM I could do with the company. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimea River Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 Well I'll drop in every now and then too. Nice start on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaleplanes Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share Posted June 25, 2019 (edited) Just a light dry brushing on this with pale grey - enough to pop out Eduard’s nice moulding.. Then a couple of happy hours detail painting the cockpit, adding the photo-etch, and dropping in the previously shaped seatbelts. Eduard have refined their colour printing as the belts here have some lovely shading and fabric effect - more detailed than their previous sets. I use Citadel acrylics for details - they brush nice and smooth and have great coverage. I debated about adding some of the plumbing around the oxygen regulator on the stbd side but I thought it looked busy enough as is. I’ll get the cockpit in and the fuselage zipped up later today. Whilst that’s drying I’ll make a start on the wings. Edited July 2, 2019 by Scaleplanes New photos 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 good start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 You have picked out the details beautifully! Nice work Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaleplanes Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share Posted June 25, 2019 (edited) Ok the fuselage is together with the internals slotting into place without problem. I had to take extra care with alignment as there are no “pips/holes” on the main airframe parts. I can’t recall this on a mainstream kit - more like a short run feature - but with a bit of concentration it came together. I’ll leave it alone for a day or so now to fully cure before sorting the seams out. The instructions call for the tail wheel to be installed during closure, but the Eduard parts are very delicate and would likely not survive. Instead I installed the upper tail wheel strut and cut off the lower fork to be drilled pinned and joined at the end of the build. Great idea I told myself until I came to lose the lower fork and I can’t find it anywhere. I’m not fretting though as I’ll scavenge a replacement from one of my G-10 kits which share the detail sprue with this kit but which uses the longer tailwheel strut. You’ll also notice that I’ve protected the fin aerial mast - Yes I’m ham fisted enough to bend it with the handling the model will receive. Experience is a wonderful thing............. Edited July 2, 2019 by Scaleplanes New photos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fubar57 Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 Looking good and I agree about the fuselage join. Having said that, my Airfix Spitfire Mk.Vb has no locating tabs on the wings, vertical stabs or Volkes Filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 Wow! You are really cracking on with the build and doing a great job too, that cockpit really is nice and I agree with you about adding anything more, it really doesn't need it and you can't see much in there with the fuselage closed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaleplanes Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share Posted June 25, 2019 (edited) Whilst the fuselage is setting up I’ve moved on to the wings. These are simple enough apart from the wheel well interiors each of which are made up of three parts representing the canvas covers and internal structure. These are slightly fiddly to assemble but they have long connecting pins which wrap into grooves and with care come together well. I tacked the pins into the grooves and when set up were glued to the wing undersurface. Finally Tamiya extra thin cement was brushed around the outside of the parts to secure it all in place. The instructions warn you to fit the u/c leg “sleeves” first but I didn’t and found that they just clipped into place afterwards. Again there are no locating pins on the wing assembly but a bit of care saw the upper wings cemented in place . As a check that everything was correctly located I slotted the ailerons in to make sure that the trailing edges aligned. Here is the assembly ready to fit to the fuselage - I did a quick check of the fit of the wing to the fuselage and found that the port side needed a bit of fettling around an obstruction caused by the u/c leg mount to get a flush joint at the wing root. Nothing major but just enough to make a neat joint. During this stage when I’m waiting for the glue on main assemblies to dry thoroughly (I usually leave them a couple of days before sanding) I prepare the smaller parts - I know some people find cleaning up and prepping these small parts is a real chore but I find it quite therapeutic and I think careful clean up makes for a neater cleaner finish on the final model. Edited July 2, 2019 by Scaleplanes New photos 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaleplanes Posted June 28, 2019 Author Share Posted June 28, 2019 Now I’ve got a dilemma. I was sure that I had a scribing template for the two small D shaped “hatches” just forward of the windscreen. My memory was that it came in an old hasegawa 109 kit which I thought didn’t have these inscribed. Anyway I must be mistaken as I can find it anywhere. I know Eduard do a set and I’ve also found a couple of interesting 109 scribing templates from a company called ATOL in the Czech Republic but they’re not available in the UK apparently. I’ll have to work out what to do as the fuselage is ready for sanding and scribing now. 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fridrih Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 Hello. The seam on top and bottom of the fuselage should be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaleplanes Posted July 6, 2019 Author Share Posted July 6, 2019 (edited) So back to the 109 after a few days on my F6F-3. After leaving the fuselage to cure for a few days and waiting for a set of Eduard scribing and panel templates (it’s labelled for the G but works for the F too) I was able to get the fuselage sanded, rescribed and primed. I used the Eduard template at the bottom of the picture to scribe the two small hatches or panels in front of the windscreen. Eduard supplies a separate hinge strip for the upper cowlings which is a feature that would be difficult to retain had the hinge been moulded into the centerline of the fuselage halves. I managed to loosen the shoulder belts during masking so took them off and will refit them when I come to put the rear canopy and windscreen on. Scribing the panel line along the upper and lower fuselage requires the joint to be fully hardened otherwise the scribing tool tends to drag any part-set glue and makes it difficult to scribe a clean line. I used my riveting wheel to reinstate the detail lost around the seams to match the rest of Eduard’s lovely surface detail. The underside after rescribing. The Eduard template was used to put in the compass inspection hatch just behind the starboard wing fillet which is only partially moulded on the kit and which was completely lost during clean up. And finally for today a check of the fuselage wing joint. It looks great and I don’t think it will need any more than a quick swipe with a polishing stick to finish. Edited July 6, 2019 by Scaleplanes Text error 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Very nice details in that pit!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 I have Zvezda's 1/48 109F kit in the stash, this kit looks very good, I might have to get one. One can never have enough 109s.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 That is fantastic work so far, great pics as well which show off the work you've done so well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaleplanes Posted July 7, 2019 Author Share Posted July 7, 2019 5 hours ago, Adam Poultney said: I have Zvezda's 1/48 109F kit in the stash, this kit looks very good, I might have to get one. One can never have enough 109s.... I have the Zvezda F-4 too. It’s a more complicated kit because of trying to offer multiple variants in the parts breakdown. Eduard’s approach is generally to provide specific dedicated fuselage and wing parts for the variant being built which makes for an easier build in my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaleplanes Posted July 7, 2019 Author Share Posted July 7, 2019 Primed and ready for some paint tomorrow hopefully. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaleplanes Posted July 12, 2019 Author Share Posted July 12, 2019 I used a quickboost Revi gunsight which is more detailed than the kit part and has separate reflectors. I’m just working on detailing the windscreen with some etched but it’s testing my patience at the minute so I’ve put it to one side...... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mansur Mustafin Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Neat and accurate! The only thing I would point is that the seat back and the harness is a G-style not F. Despite that minor flaw everything is perfect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 good progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaleplanes Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 Sorry for the gap in progress - I’ve been finishing up my F6F which is now in RFI. I’ll be back on this over the next few days so I’ll be back soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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