Messerschmitt Bf 108 (077) - Mistercraft re-box - Yugoslavian Air Force [FINISHED]

[klr]

I first built this kit back in the mists of time, as my own scan of the boxart proves:

 

The kit is currently being sold by both Mistercraft and Heller. The Mistercraft boxing is cheaper, and has 14 (!!!!) subject options. For once with Mistercraft, the contents of the decal sheet and the instructions line up, more or less:

 

I will be building this is a Yugoslavian aircraft, with a distinctive 3-tone upper camouflage schemes. The exact colours are uncertain. The instructions for the Eduard 1:32 and 1:48 kits are a good reference. Eduard has covered the Yugoslavian option in two releases some years apart, but with markedly different shades. I will use my skill and judgement (and translation tables) to work something out.

Edited February 14, 2021 by klr

[JeroenS]

Good that you're getting another one in, we're creeping towards 200 builds 🙂 

 

Good luck with this one, it's Taifun #4 for the GB I think, spread over 3 builds. 

[klr]

Thanks to the excellent engineering of the kit, progress has been rapid. Very rapid. First up, the fuselage. The rear side windows were attached early, whereas the instructions say to leave them until the last possible moment. No idea why, as they have to be placed from the inside.

 

Next up, the wings and cockpit. The rear bulkhead is not quite wide enough for the fuselage, but this will not be evident once everything is closed up. Note the joins between the cockpit/wing roots  part and the upper wings. These are presumably where the wings could be folded up for transit on the real thing. The fit here is very good, especially for a kit of this age.

 

Wings and fuselage joined up, tailplanes, propeller assembly and transparencies attached. The windscreen isn't a perfect fit, and is bit wide.

 

The joins between the underside of the fuselage and the centre of the wing are very good, and will require just the merest filling in and clean up.

 

Next up: The undercarriage.

[klr]

I'll have more pics tomorrow with the undercarriage in place. One thing about the spinner that I had not noticed before: It's not the distinctive Argos spinner, you know the type. I wonder if Heller based the kit on one of the later Nord-built aircraft with a Renault engine?

 

Oh, and I also bought another Heller Bf 108 today second hand! More on that elsewhere.

[Graham Boak]

Good point about the spinner.  It has been said that the vanes on the front were for operating the propeller pitch change, by some mechanism I haven't seen described.

[klr]

Like all my builds currently in progress, this will resume at the end of December, once I get back home.

[JOCKNEY]

Hi @klr

I hope you managed to get back home ok.

You had made great progress with this when we last heard from you.  With our extra 2 weeks in the GB do you think you will get a chance to finish this one ?

Cheers Pat 

[klr]

On 1/2/2021 at 10:00 AM, JOCKNEY said:

Hi @klr

I hope you managed to get back home ok.

You had made great progress with this when we last heard from you.  With our extra 2 weeks in the GB do you think you will get a chance to finish this one ?

Cheers Pat 

Like the Morane 406, this is on the schedule for next week! It's mostly painting, with just 4 decals to apply.

[stevehnz]

Fairly galloping along on this, I like the look of the kit, I shan't be near as frightened by mine now.

Steve.

[klr]

After a long delay (Christmas. etc.) ...

 

That was a couple of days ago. By tomorrow, all but the tail section will be painted and decalled, not that there are much of the latter, just 4 in all. So hopefully more pics then. For information: The upper camouflage paints are Hu 30 dark green, Hu 94 sand yellow, and Hu 160 dark red. The undersides are Hu 127 US Ghost Grey, which will require a matt varnish.

[JOCKNEY]

This is looking really smart, have you finished it ?

 

Cheers Pat 

[klr]

On 1/24/2021 at 10:35 AM, JOCKNEY said:

This is looking really smart, have you finished it ?

 

Cheers Pat 

Not yet. The fuselage serials just went to bits (as with the Propagteam decals for the MS.406 rudder markings). So I had to build up replacements from spares:

 

The results are OK, but still need some cleaning up:

 

 

It should hopefully be finished in the next couple of days.

[JeroenS]

Hi @klr, we're all hoping you'll be able to get your builds into the gallery this week, do you think you'll make it?

[klr]

On 2/7/2021 at 2:38 PM, JeroenS said:

Hi @klr, we're all hoping you'll be able to get your builds into the gallery this week, do you think you'll make it?

Done, with minutes to spare. The rear windows were tricky and should have gotten a bit more attention. And the Mistercraft decals were rubbish. Well, the Yugoslav insignia were OK, but the fuselage serials a nightmare, Anyway, it hopefully won't be another 35 years before I build this kit again.

 

 

 

[JOCKNEY]

I'd forgotten all about this one, really glad you hadn't. 

Looks the business and let's be honest we don't have many Yugoslav builds in a GB !

Cheers Pat