Bf 109 E-4, Airfix 1/72: JR's second Emil.

[Col.]

Moving forward well JR. Sure you've got the hard parts done now and your continued progress will be swift  

[nimrod54]

On 02/07/2021 at 21:30, Johnson said:

The cockpit certainly looks OK JR.

 

I'm finding 109s so small at 1/72. How on earth John @nimrod54 manages to produce such great models at 1/144 I cannot fathom.

 

OK, back to the bench... more fun!

 

On 03/07/2021 at 10:19, Muchmirth said:

Agreed!

 

On 03/07/2021 at 11:26, jean said:

 

Hi guys,

 

thanks for your comment. Yes, the cockpit looks OK, and it is, but life is too short to repeat this stunt with my next 109.

Re John, aka @nimrod54, I have long suspected him to be bionic and from a distant galaxy, so good his 1/144 models are...

But he is cheating: he never builds the cigarette lighter!!!! The word scandal does not come close.

 

Keep having fun!

JR

 

There is no mystery to 1/144 scale modelling chaps, you just have to have the right type of optical equipment.

 

by John L, on Flickr

 

Great work JR and I am sure that you will soon have the tail issues sorted.

 

Cheers

John

[jean]

28 minutes ago, nimrod54 said:

 

 

 

There is no mystery to 1/144 scale modelling chaps, you just have to have the right type of optical equipment.

 

by John L, on Flickr

 

Great work JR and I am sure that you will soon have the tail issues sorted.

 

Cheers

John

I KNEW IT!!!!!

[jean]

Hi everyone,

 

The damage on the vertical and horizontal tail surfaces has been sorted out thanks to talcum powder and CA glue. I am becoming an expert, considering the amount of damage I am inflicting to my models. Just to keep up the training momentum, I manage to bend one of the stab support strut and break the other, while trying to remove the sprue gates.... Tamiya green top fixed it all.

Note to self: try and be less ham-fisted in the future...

Anyway, none of these problems will be visible once the 109 is finished.

Here is a photo of the model to date:

 

 

More filler and sand paper are going to be wasted.

Have fun.

 

JR

[Johnson]

That looks absolutely fine JR, even under the scrutiny of a close-up photo.

 

Airfix have been criticised for their panel lines (a bit too deep) but I've always liked them. It is a model after all.

 

Carry on the good work (and fun!)

 

Cheers,

[Muchmirth]

1 hour ago, jean said:

Hi everyone,

 

The damage on the vertical and horizontal tail surfaces has been sorted out thanks to talcum powder and CA glue. I am becoming an expert, considering the amount of damage I am inflicting to my models. Just to keep up the training momentum, I manage to bend one of the stab support strut and break the other, while trying to remove the sprue gates.... Tamiya green top fixed it all.

Note to self: try and be less ham-fisted in the future...

Anyway, none of these problems will be visible once the 109 is finished.

Here is a photo of the model to date:

 

 

More filler and sand paper are going to be wasted.

Have fun.

 

JR

I know what you mean about the stab supports, I broke mine as well. Same thing. Then fixed with glue and stuck on. Like you say once painted won't be noticeable anyway....it's looking really well Jean. 

[Col.]

18 hours ago, jean said:

More filler and sand paper are going to be wasted.

If both the end result and the process of creating it satisfy you JR then they won't be wasted  

[jean]

Hi @Johnson @Muchmirth and @Col.

Thank you for your kind words.

Yes the panel lines are a bit deep, but they bother me much less than the Matchbox lines of old, and because I slap paint using a brush, they become actually quite nice when I am finished with my fifteenth coat!

The softness of the plastic is more disturbing, and I still manage to do grievous damage to not so small parts, even if using a sprue cutter. I am dreading trying to remove the aerial mast...

But these new tool Airfix are still a lot of fun, and the plus side is that the sanding sessions are fairly quickly over, thank to the same plastic softness.

We are never fully satisfied, aren't we?

 

Thanks for watching and commenting.

JR

[jean]

Hi everyone,

 

the build is still moving along and it is most enjoyable.

I am in the process of painting all the small thingies so they can be put aside for the end.

Re the airframe, the micromesh is going to earn its pay and then the canopy is next. Always a moment of trepidation, so thin and fragile the transparent parts are.

Anyway, here is a quick photo;

 

 

Cheers.

 

JR

[Col.]

Everything looks to be going well there for you JR  

[jean]

Hi all,

 

working on the canopy at the moment, with plenty of cold sweats when having to cut the sections loose from the sprues... So far so good.

The underside of the fuselage has been re-scribed. The top had some very small dimples along the fuselage spine, so I decided to use thick paint to fill them in. Paint can be sanded much later, unlike CA glue. So here we are:

 

 

Tomorrow should see the canopy sections glued, and in a couple of days the first coat of primer should go on.

 

Have fun!

 

JR

[jean]

Hi everyone,

I really was kidding myself!

On July 11th I wrote that tomorrow should see the canopy glued....

That only happened today, over a month later. No comment required, thanks. Time warps are a frequent occurrence around here!

 

The short and long of it is that the French fancy GB did sidetrack me just a tad.

Anyway, back on the Emil track now.

All the seams have been cleaned, re-scribed, polished, etc.

I spent some delicious moments fitting the gunsight, and at long last the windscreen has been glued. This plane had an armor back plate, so this will have to go with the rest of the clear parts. I can see another fun moment coming.

Here is a picture showing the protracted progress.

 

 

Thanks for watching.

 

JR

 

 

 

 

[Johnson]

Hi Jean,

That looks absolutely fine. You've made a good job of the flaps - that I'm currently having trouble with, the fit is a bit fiddly.

Best wishes,

[jean]

24 minutes ago, Johnson said:

Hi Jean,

That looks absolutely fine. You've made a good job of the flaps - that I'm currently having trouble with, the fit is a bit fiddly.

Best wishes,

Hi Charlie,

 

that's the problem with the Airfix plastic, or at least with this kit.

I suffered far more on my first 109 build. I learnt a few tricks and this one is running much smoother.

But I still find pitfalls, so I know I will have to build the third one in my stash to have a really easy build! I m thinking of buying one more, but seeing what the SH kit looks like, I may give it a try instead!

Just make sure that you only glue all the small thingies after painting, right at the end. 

In my next build I will fit the horizontal stabs and their supports just before paint, as these struts are so easy to bend or break. My fingers seem to get a life of their own, when near fragile parts...

Anyway, it's a great kit and it looks real good.

Have fun.

 

JR

[jean]

Hi everyone,

 

Finally I have glued the three-part canopy. The plane I am modelling has an armor plate, which I had the feeling would cause me grief.

I was not disappointed. It was a nightmare to have to glue it into the canopy without putting glue stains all over the crystal. Added to that it did not want to keep its position, etc.....

Eventually I really stuffed up the main canopy part.

It is only thanks to @nimrod54 who sent me one of his spare transparent trees when I damaged yet another part (!) a couple of years ago, that I managed to salvage the whole job by using a part I had not used then.

I had learnt what not to do, and this time around, canopy and armor plate were correctly in place in no time! Panics under the tropics...

A couple of photos to show the progress:

 

 

 

I may have goofed slightly, by inclining the armor plate a tad too forward. That will definitely stay as it is!

Tomorrow I will start masking the canopy, prior to primer.

The wheel wells, etc have been smothered in liquid mask. The radiator intakes will get some soft sponge...

All is taken care of, or so I hope!

 

Thanks for looking.

 

JR

 

[Johnson]

Hi Jean,

 

It looks really good, the canopy parts are very clear. And it's very useful to have you one step ahead of me!

 

But, may I ask, what glue did you eventually use? I've already fogged my rear canopy with Tamiya extra thin. I was being very inept with my holding it as I applied the glue. I've managed to salvage the part by polishing it with new (to me) 12000 grade micromesh and two (!) dips in Klear. I shall use PVA next time I try to attach it, not as strong as the Tamiya adhesive, but far safer for me.

 

Have fun with the masking and primer.

[jean]

11 hours ago, Johnson said:

Hi Jean,

 

It looks really good, the canopy parts are very clear. And it's very useful to have you one step ahead of me!

 

But, may I ask, what glue did you eventually use? I've already fogged my rear canopy with Tamiya extra thin. I was being very inept with my holding it as I applied the glue. I've managed to salvage the part by polishing it with new (to me) 12000 grade micromesh and two (!) dips in Klear. I shall use PVA next time I try to attach it, not as strong as the Tamiya adhesive, but far safer for me.

 

Have fun with the masking and primer.

Morning Charlie,

 

the secret is not to hold your canopy pieces. I positioned the rear piece to the best of my ability, then just briefly touch the join between fuselage and clear part (in one place only per side) with the thin brush that comes in the Tamiya green top bottle and you can see the glue spreading in the join without any risk of staining.

Make sure not to put too much glue on the brush. Then it's a matter of very carefully adjusting the position of the clear part if need be.

Then no touching for a few hour.

When you glue the main clear part in the middle, only put glue at the contact with the fuselage. Refrain from putting glue in between clear parts. Big danger of glue running amok!

Something like Humbrol Clearfix works well, but I found that if you want to mask your canopy thereafter, it does not always resist to the scalpel blade pressure, and it pops off... So extra fluid glue is stronger.

 

Never seen 12000 Micromesh. I stop at 8000. 

Keep having fun!

 

JR

Edited August 18, 2021 by jean

[Johnson]

All very good advice, thanks Jean.

 

2 hours ago, jean said:

the secret is not to hold your canopy pieces

 

That's exactly what I did wrong. The wretched thing kept slipping down. If I'd done it the correct way, as you described, I could have adjusted it very slightly after applying a minute amount of glue. Ah well, live and learn. The front went on OK (I wasn't holding it!) and the middle one will be open and will go on much later.

[jean]

Hi everyone,

 

the canopy is now masked using Tamiya tape and a new 11 blade.

Very happy with the result.

Tomorrow I will paint the canopy frames in RLM 02 and then primer. 

Here is a quick photo of the masking job:

 

 

Keep having fun.

 

JR

[jean]

Hi all,

 

after painting the canopy framing in RLM 02, I sprayed some Tamiya primer. All I had left was white, so it will have to do.

Only after, did I realize that I had forgotten to add the wing tabs! Clever indeed...This is another inconsistency of Airfix. This is a really fun kit to build. It even has tabs on the horizontal stabilizers, which a lot of manufacturers do not represent.

And Airfix forget the tabs on the ailerons! It doesn't make any sense!

Anyway, enough bitching, I will add the tabs tomorrow.

I will go through the model with a fine-tooth comb, but it looks pretty good after a first inspection.

Then it will be painting the RLM 65, which is almost finished and my LMS is out of stock. I have found an old tin of Humbrol authentic colour HG5 Hellblau, and I hope it will be usable.

Here is a photo of the model after primer.

 

 

Have fun!

 

JR

[Johnson]

On 8/18/2021 at 8:16 PM, jean said:

the canopy is now masked using Tamiya tape and a new 11 blade.

Very happy with the result.

And so you should, it looks excellent. I've not tried doing masking that way, I'll give it a try, but I'll leave it till tomorrow with better light!

 

2 hours ago, jean said:

And Airfix forget the tabs on the ailerons! It doesn't make any sense!

And they're shown on the painting guide! But should they be red, as shown, or just the same colour as the rest of the plane, as the Xtracolor decal guide I have shows?

[jean]

12 hours ago, Johnson said:

And so you should, it looks excellent. I've not tried doing masking that way, I'll give it a try, but I'll leave it till tomorrow with better light!

 

And they're shown on the painting guide! But should they be red, as shown, or just the same colour as the rest of the plane, as the Xtracolor decal guide I have shows?

Hi Charlie, 

I would go for red re the tabs.

In the absence of irrefutable photo proof, go for red; if nothing else, it looks nicer!

 

Re the masking, just cut your tape at 90 degrees, and make sure you align 2 sides of the tape with 2 canopy frames. That way, you will only have 2 to cut.

I use a sharpened tooth pick to mark the edge of the frame. A new blade is critical, and that way you do not have to put any undue pressure on your canopy.

Start with the easiest section before dealing with curved framing.

 

Have fun!

 

JR

[jean]

Hi everyone,

 

as always there were more blemishes to repair than I originally thought.

This is now done and the tabs have been added to the ailerons.

Now a good clean up with 4000 micro mesh, another quick spray of primer, and I will be able to paint the RLM 04, and then the RLM 65.

A quick photo of the state of affair:

 

 

Have fun!

 

JR

[janneman36]

Hello Jean, great job so far ..

It looks like you are building the 1/48 one !
Sanding these kits do help in letting them look sharper, I mostly use the Tamiya 1500 or 2000 sanding pads but that Micromesh  sanding does indeed a good job on the glassparts.

 

Good luck , Jan

[jean]

Hi and a good Sunday to all,

 

the 109 is crawling forward.

Re-sprayed a bit if primer (almost finished the tin!) and decided to paint the yellow. Found out that the bit of Humbrol 158 I had left, got rock hard in the tinlet... Damn!

So I had to fall back on Gunze H413. Not too happy, as Gunze and Tamiya paints are way out of my comfort zone.

Anyway, I diluted some H413 with some surgical alcohol, and it went surprisingly well.

Next, after masking the yellow, will be the RLM 65 to be brush painted. It would appear that I am running out of all the colors I need!

 

Here is a photo of the 109 at present:

 

 

Slowly taking its own identity.

 

Cheers everyone.

JR

Edited August 22, 2021 by jean