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Xmas build off - ME109's in foreign hands (Airfix 1:72)


Si2

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It's nearly Christmas and the Airfix starter kits are in Lidl and Aldi...

Not one to miss an opportunity or a bargain I wanted to get one.

The only issue I have is that I'm building Japanese planes and the stock is really BoB based with a gnat and some fancy old ships.

I spoke to a pal of mine who got me restarted on plastic modelling back in the early lockdown.

He's a Spitfire fan and is focused on British planes, mostly spitfires :)

We got to chatting and he suggested a Christmas build off based on the Airfix ME109E starter kit.

He's doing it in GB colours and as there were six sent to Japan for eval, I will do one in Japanese colours.

I bought mine on Tuesday, took it home, washed it off and sprayed if black.

This is the plane I want to replicate, there are a few pictures of it on the net, this is the one I will base my build on.

I believe they are 109E-7's and not a 3 as the kit represents. I will need to take note of the differences.

The plane was delivered with no armamment, so I have to work out what to do with the holes in the wings and the top deck - those twin MGs missing would leave some holes that would create a nasty draft in the cockpit...

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there is a nice colour profile of the same plane on line as well... The rear honomaru looks too small, as does the number 1 and the red LE stripes don't cut across the wheel well covers as they do in the picture above. The spinner looks to be painted with a straight line rather than the blurred transition above and there's a big gun sight in the cockpit.

 

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Doesn;t help me with the plan view though...

 

 

 

Edited by Si2
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I bought the kit on Tuesday and spent last night working on it after a quick blast of undercoat.

All sorts of stuff has been written on the Airfix ME109. It's a great kit, very good fit and nice details.

I had no problem sticking it all together in a few hours.

I'll not do a detailed build chat, just some observations.

I really liked the moulded in seatbelts. I know they aren't super accurate, but they do represent belts pretty well - the buckle hardware is missing, but for a Christmas build off sprint they were just right. My plane in the picture I want to replicate has the cockpit shut too, so they won't be too visible.

A few pics of Wednesday nights progress and the build up...

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97fa0ad5-3664-48a5-afcc-5d7c0308a6ea.jpg

 

Edited by Si2
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From Squadron/ signal me 109 in action vol I

The E4 introduced the heavier framed armoured canopy. The wing mounted mg ff’s were replaced with mg ff/m cannon.

The E5 and E6 we’re reconnaissance models and some had the DB601 N installed.

The E7 was externally identical to the E4, but had the capability of accepting external racks for either a bomb or a drop tank. Also as the mg ff cannon firing through the spinner wasn’t fitted most E 7s had a pointed spinner without the hole.

 

So to summarise; armoured canopy,  heavier wing mounted cannons, pointy spinner and could have a drop tank or a bomb.

 

hope that helps.

 

 

If memory serves me well ( and it usually doesn’t) I think the canopy as supplied on Airfix’s E3 is incorrect for that model but is actually the later E4 style.

Edited by Marklo
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Marklo, you are correct the clear parts for the Airfix E3 are actually the later E4 parts with the single frame up front and squared off profile.

That makes the kit good for my plane.

 

I have been chatting with Nick Millman, who has been very patient with my continual questions. He's advised on colour schemes.

One thing that is apparent is that these planes changed colours through their time in Japan.

Choosing a colour scheme is a matter of picking a photo and using that as reference. If only they were in colour !!

They also look to have changed in armament spec as well. Apparently being supplied without arms, but MG barrels are visible in some shots.

So ths MG barrels I cut off now need to be added back...

I guess as Japanese versions, might be time for a bit of brass...

 

I've decided to go for aircraft 1 as it is shown in two pictures.

The one above and a front shot.

 

The aircraft 1 in the pics appears to have the original factory applied camo scheme (65/71/02).

It also has hinomarus added with no evidence of them overpainting German markings, so possibly at the factory?

The hinomarus are red on the wings and outlined in white on the fuselage sides.

There are also leading edge markings, in red rather than the later yellow.

There are markings apparently designating experimental aircraft - the red over white fuselage band towards the rear and the number on the tail.

Some of the orginal German warning markings are still evident and there is a small marking on the side, above the wing root leading edge that looks like some tape has been added or removed.

A lot of the aircraft has been oversprayed in a mottle effect, it seems to go right down on to the lower nose intakes at the front.

 

There are a few other details of this particular aircraft that I want to capture.

The gun sight appears to be missing. There is what looks like a hefty repair to the tail at the top, tie down loops are still on the wings and the spinner is in black and white subdivisions. The spinner has the canon hole, although it is not fitted.

 

Things I am not clear on are:

1 - The over spray - is it a Japanese colour, a German colour or a strange local paint brew?

2 - The fabric services are a very light colour on certain photos of these planes, I cannot workout from this photo if that applies to this plane at this time. Although the outer ailerons appear to be lighter than the inner flaps on the front view.

3 - The prop blade are very dark, anti glare black or Japanese red brown? Or RLM70 black green... 

4 - the wing canon holes are not present - possibly covered with metal patches.

 

I will be making decisions based on guesswork as I go through the paint job.

First up is the standard RLM camo scheme...

I'm on it.

 

e9dabed0-25ee-4067-8b47-4b65b0cc8d75.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by Si2
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50490194932_be75524475_c.jpgI did my own Japanese export earlier this year. Afaik the export machines would have been factory finished in the recipients colours and markings.

 

It’s only with later war post war machines that you see captured machines with the German markings over painted.

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On the first read I thought this

 

On 26/11/2020 at 14:37, Si2 said:

3c4c8a6e-6df0-4556-b5dc-47ae1722dbed.jpg

 

was your stash... I already sent my wife a photo "look, I'm not so bad after all..." missed the top third of the picture. bugger. :D

 

Looking fine so far, might have to do a newer 109 as well. (I got 4 of the old ones for 1€ apiece...) 

 

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Been painting the crate today and I'm a bit weirded out by the colours. The green is really grassy and the grey is very dark.

Not sure if I should carry on with the Airfix paints or not

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On 27/11/2020 at 19:14, Marklo said:

Would be an amazingly dull stash. I mean how many Mary roses could you actually build ( I do have one in my stash btw)

This Lidl was in Porchester, so only three miles from the real Mary Rose and Victory, so that might have something to do with all the ship kits.  

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On 27/11/2020 at 15:29, Johnny Tip said:

On the first read I thought this

 

 

was your stash... I already sent my wife a photo "look, I'm not so bad after all..." missed the top third of the picture. bugger. :D

 

Looking fine so far, might have to do a newer 109 as well. (I got 4 of the old ones for 1€ apiece...) 

 

Me too! I thought @Si2 had been round the country hoovering up all the kits and that was why my local store didn't have any left!

 

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Some progress on the painting, I'm doing the German camo scheme first while I ponder the colour of the Japanese blown over camo.

After the main German colours are on I'll add Japanese markings.

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I've painted the landing gear legs in the dark green RLM71 as per instructions.

But when I look at my reference picture the legs are noticeably lighter than the inner faces of the wheel well covers.

I wonder if the struts should be RLM65.

My Bf109 reference photos I took at Cosford show the legs in the light blue RLM65.

I'm finishing off the factory applied paint today and adding the tiny little detail parts that I'd have snapped of by now.

Then it's time to spray the mottling - I'm still pondering the colour....

 

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All of the main German colours are now applied.

d8fb9bfc-78d9-4aad-b600-ea0662b60700.jpg

 

Next up are the four hinomarus on the wings. Apprently these were factory applied too and not painted over the German insignia.

Once these are added I will have to make the overspray colour decision.

 

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A bunch of updates to this little plane.

I added some type 98 machine gin barrels to the top deck. I also filled the wing gun holes. 

All of the german camo is complete bar a few scratches and sanding mishaps. I will touch these up.

The landing gear struts are now blue and look more like the proto picture I am aiming for.

I started the cockpit glass, there's a neat circluar hole in the front glass that appears to be a combination of moulding weld lines and pressure on the part.

The result is a neat hole that needs to be filled somehow. I doubt if this will look very good, filling transparencies is not really possible.

Airfix need to adjust the fill pattern on this part.

I'm still pondering the overspray colour and I'm also thinkning of ways to protect the german camo for when I mees up and have to scrub off the overspray.

I checked my stock of Japanese markings for some 10mm banded hinomarus and came up blank, so they will need to be painted by hand, or masked. I'm useless at masking :(

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starting to look more like the photo...

 

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I do need some figures though.... 

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The plane is now marked as it would look when it left the factory, as far as we know.

I've not added any of the little caution markings as I want to spray the camo overlay and I don't want to mask them.

From the pictures of the plane in Japan it looks like those caution triangle marks were either repainted or masked on the prototype.

I added the hinomaru circles on the upper and lower wing surfaces about where the German marks would of been.

I also added some leading edge marks, it's probable that these stripes were added in Japan rather than applied at the German factory.

I added them now because the paint was open. They spoil my chronological markings story, but there on there :)

 

I have a to over spray with some decent varnish now, possibly Future, so I can start to add the overspray and some decals.

My worry is I will screw up the over spray and that will screw up all this nice paintwork. 

I'm not that great with the airbrish and there's really no other way to make the overspray look accurate without using one.

It's time to suck it up and spray it out!

 

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this is the photo I want to replicate.

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This is what I have so far - is my prop on back to front?

The landing gear looks oversize, probably for moulding and stregth reasons.

The front air vent looks big and those underwing radiator intakes don't look big enough.

Flaps are drooping  a little too much and that window needs to open....

Also it needs figures doesn't it...

Edited by Si2
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I think your oleos are at a tinchy but less of  an angle than the real thing. I also think you need to rotate the right hand side of the model a little towards the camera. The radiators and prop look ok to me. But ( and I hate to nitpick) it looks as if your underwing hinnamaru is a little bit too far inboard (sorry) on the photo of the real thing it is much closer to the aileron mass balance.
 

You may also have a little bit less diehedral than the photo.

Edited by Marklo
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The lower hinomaru does appear to be a little inboard. I think I got confused with the pitot and the aileron feature.

Oh well, they are there now.

 

Th position of the plane will be adjusted when I get to the final picture and add the figures.

 

The plane is beig coated now ready for the overspray.

I've mixed a light brown but I'm thinking the pics make the overspray look dark, like the dark green on a few colourised profiles.

 

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I’d have thought if it were painted in Japan the overspray would more likely be a camouflage green. I’m not that well up in Japanese camo but I’d have thought that brown doesn’t figure much.


I got my foreign service decal sheet this morning. Finnish, Spanish, legion condor and Croatian markings. Between this thread and assembling all my bits I’m really looking forward to next years group build.

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There is a lot of speculation with regard this overspray colour.

Nick Millman thinks it was possibly the same brown applied to the 47th DHC Ki-44s which were based nearby, as the tonal appearance is similar. 

The aircraft were tested at the Fussa test centre, an Army establishment involved in both the testing of experimentals and the acceptance of types into service.

The colour described is a sandy grey, khaki colour.

Thoughts are here:

http://www.aviationofjapan.com/2020/08/that-brown-109.html

Edited by Si2
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