109 fan Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 (edited) I finally put the final touches on the my latest "two-fer". This is the first time I nursed two models along to the finishing line simultaneously. Not sure I'll do that again. Whenever I felt a feeling of accomplishment after a particularly challenging subassembly, I had to face doing it all over again. Case in point was the stretched sprue antenna. The first one, White 1, took 5 tries to attach, shrink with a glowing ember from a lit toothpick, position the cones then add insulators made with white acrylic paint. It would snap off at the slightest provocation. Next in line was Yellow 8, with not one, but three antennae. The center wire fought me through eight attempts. I was reduced to maniacal laughter more than once as the modeling gods toyed with me. After that multi-day ordeal, the two adjacent wires obediently worked at the first try. Go figure. Since I didn't post photos of my first SH 109 earlier, I will include some here. So what are my impressions of this kit? I hold it is as high regard as any other 109 in this scale. But for ease of assembly, Tamiya it is not. I wonder how many Tamiya E'S I could have cranked out in the same time period. But it presents so much of a challenge that I find myself inexplicably drawn to it. I've started two more during these builds but will have to take a break before moving them along. The sophistication in areas like riveting, panel lines, stitching on the flying surfaces and cockpit interior are state of the art. However, other problems are nagging; i.e. the canopy is too wide (although some of this may have been builder induced, but not all of it). The attempt at brake lines is commendable, but they resemble rain downspouts more than thin tubes. On the latter two builds I removed them (again, no small task) and replaced them with stretched sprue and lead wire. Thank you Giampiero Piva for that inspiration. Beware of the tailwheel strut. I broke it off during two of these builds. As a precaution I installed an Albion Alloys tube in the rear fuselage on the third one and inserted the strut after major assembly and painting was done. The plastic in this kit is very soft. I used it to stretch sprues for the replacement brake lines. I had the impression that after glueing this to the gear legs I would be able to press it into recesses for a natural look. That notion was correct. Other plusses are separate, posable flaps and slats, a first in this scale for the latter. Finally, the main landing gear struts are too long. Quite a bit too long. I removed a fair amount from the top of the gear then reprofiled the end into a peg to fit in the recess on the top wing. I think this dramatically improved the appearance of the model. Eduard says in one of their recent monthly newsletters that they worked with Special Hobby on this kit. SH started with Eduard's research on their 1/48th model and improved and adapted it to 1/72. I believe the too-long gear is a vestige of that. The same issue characterizes Eduard's large scale 109 E's, along with the brake lines. Finally, I just like the character of this kit. It LOOKS like a 109 E. Some have claimed online that it is too portly. Perhaps. But all of the other kits have their own shape issues, including the ICM and Tamiya kits. To me, this is the best of the lot. Now on the the last details. Much work was done on the canopy. I used the Rob Taurus vac center section for the Fine Molds 109 F. The kit part would be acceptable for the beefier 109 G, but the E was more delicate. I added some riveted sections at the base of both sides. These were actually bolts, but .005" plastic sheet embossed with a Rosie the Riveter does a convincing enough job. A locking handle was made from more .005" plastic and stretched sprue. More very fine sprue was dipped in superglue to make a bulb. This was painted silver and about .015" was cut off the end. I used these to represent the knobs on the canopy side panels which were used to slide them open. A retaining cord and spring were made from very fine wire. Canopy frames are strips of painted clear decal sheet. Weathering was done with various oil paints and dry pigments. Yellow 8 has the new replacement resin wheel set from SH. They look good, but so do the kit items. That's enough for now; on to the pics. I would be happy to answer any questions. 81EBFE95-2F72-4D69-A632-93918F32B23B_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr C3D5ADB4-BA05-4F73-BFF4-554A41FC18CB_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr 3F60AF03-09CE-4288-BF05-F68E4528E990_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr FFBD7E23-283F-4C75-AD5E-1A46BF8ED70F_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr 35B7C9E0-2FE9-4DAE-93E5-5EA605B28BEC_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr B1A03634-0DFA-455F-8384-340CF89810E5_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr AF742898-D85E-488F-AFC8-6D0EB6FA91AF_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr F1D21E60-4191-460B-B79F-EF764B2308DA_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr 22B80BDA-4265-4E10-8745-AE11C7D0C78E_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr B8A64094-EACD-47FA-8298-607164BF8620_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr 217CD45B-B735-45EF-B8E8-1302D9644655_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr 175AB80C-27D8-475C-BA21-F069E13CD3F6_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr 5E2D9EC1-7BDF-4C65-958B-B00DDC8363BC_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr C2262719-FE94-4161-9943-80C79BE933B8_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr 34D99201-61F7-4B9C-8BF4-C1BA47276764_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr Edited May 19, 2021 by 109 fan 51 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael51 Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Superb craftsmanship and very high quality paintwork. Remarkable! Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Incredible! If you'd said they were 1/32 scale I'd have been none the wiser! 😮 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winenut Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 They are all stunning! Superb work Beautiful finishes WOW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winenut Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 For anyone else looking you can click on the images above and it will take you to Flickr Once there you can zoom in about 3 more times.....the detail is just incredible and well worth a look!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeddahbill Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 These are little jewels - finished so very nicely! Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 fan Posted May 18, 2021 Author Share Posted May 18, 2021 Thank you all for the kind words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric B. Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Wow Stunning. Three of them in good order!! Fantastic build and paint. What can I say? I love your style, really. Very realistic, sharp, well balanced and the photographying supports it all. Cheers. Eric B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theskits62 Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 they look great - could easily pass for larger scale ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Outstanding work, especially considering this scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Beautifully done as ever Barry. Duncan B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark4700 Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Are you sure they’re 1/72? The detail in the painting and the antennas is remarkable. I build aircraft in 1/72 and I’m always put off cammo designs like these because of having to do them free hand. stunning work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatFlyHalf Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 I feel likeI have been conned. They surely cannot be 1/72 ? My modelling looks like stoneage chisselling in comparison. I'm mightily impressed, some of the best Bf 109's I've ever seen in this scale. Correction. They are the best Bf 109's I have seen. One question. How much needs to come off the undercarriage legs to get the model to 'sit' right ? FFH 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 fan Posted May 18, 2021 Author Share Posted May 18, 2021 Again, thanks for the compliments! FFH, the gear length was very much trial an error. Initially, I removed about .040" (almost exactly 1mm), but ended up taking a bit more than that. This photo is something of a guide. There is a ring on the gear near the top. When inserted in the wing that ring is just at the lower edge of the wing surface. B1A03634-0DFA-455F-8384-340CF89810E5_1_201_a by Barry Numerick, on Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Beautiful! Absolutely stunning craftsmanship - as others have said, it's hard to believe that these Es are in 1/72 scale. I look forward to the day when I can create something half as exquisite as these, and in the meantime, I doff my hat, Sir! Cheers, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 For all the challenges what a stunning brace of E's though. Hard to believe they're '72. Hats off, sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamus Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Incredible finishing as ever, Barry 👏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbolt Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Superb work and such clean builds for 1/72nd scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie(kinda) Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 What they👆all said. Stunning. Love them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Words fail me at this point, but the others have said what I would have said, if I weren't so busy picking my jaw up off the floor! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishplanebeer Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 The level of detail and finish are equally stunning and far exceed anything I am ever likely to produce whilst tethered to mother earth. I think in reality you must be a 24th scale human being but you're keeping it quiet, otherwise how do you manage to create such wonderful detail? Truly humbled. Regards Colin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefropas Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Echos of everybody else, great craftsmanship sir! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luka Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 The great thing about these models is that you can build 1/72 kits looking like larger scale kits and save yourself the difference in space. Very impressive builds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 Outstanding work, some brilliant detailing and finishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoohoo Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 Agree with the other comments here, a superb trio and so well detailed its hard to believe they are 1:72, smashing work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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