1/48 Bf109F-4 Zvezda COMPLETED !!!!

Great kit with some nice upgrades.  I'll be watching.  Nice scheme choice too.

Love that paint/marking scheme. I didn't realize the Zvezda kits were so nice! Those extras should really make it shine, too.

BD

Very Nice!  I've heard this is the best F out there.  I look forward to your progress..

Joe

I'll be watching this closely too.  I'm doing Graf's  G-2. Yellow 11 for the GB

Ok folks. The detail on the engine is just stunning. The engine, unlike most others, is NOT molded in with an ignition harness. There for I will need to scratch one up. Which is something I wanted to do anyway. What I want to know is what ideas you guys have as to how to go about this. Suggestions?

Yes, I've seen the PE set for that and I don't care for it. I'm thinking polystyrene rod and copper wire. Ideas?

The good thing is you are not going to have a problem finding reference photos.  The halls of the internet are wallpapered with them  Copper wire is s good choice.  I would anneal it to make it even more pliable.  I like to use solder and varied thicknesses.  Soft and easy to shape.  This can also be rolled under a file to give it surface texture if you need something that looks like a hose with a woven cover or some other textured surface.  

If you have a hose the have a connector with band clamps, use a wire that has  an insulator.  Take off small section to cut to short lengths and slip that back on the wire at-the desired location.  The band clamps can be made with strips of bare metal Foil of silver painted cellophane tape.

I agree that engine is a real gem.  i ended up doing my my F with the cowl closed but had the engine sitting around for a while just to look at.

Ok folks, sorry it's been so long since my last update on this build, but I am just beyond busy with other projects.

I finally managed to get the engine completed and the detailing done on it. I added several resin bits and some PE to it as well as a great deal of scratch items. I plan to have only the left upper cowling open  on this plane for display so I focused on detailing only what can be seen. The left side of the engine is complete with wires and tubing but I did not do the same thing to the right side or the front of the engine as I will be covered up anyway.

I used lead free solder and aluminum wire to form the oil and coolant tubes and wires. The engine was given some PE bits on the supercharger, ignition harness and engine lift brackets. I added a resin intake and resin exhaust stacks as well. I then completed the ignition harness from each cylinder all the way up to its beginning point between the machine guns. That was a huge PITA!! I also added the hoses from the valve covers to the gear housing assy and ran many of the oil tubes over the top of the engine and underneath. But, like I said, I didn't complete all the wiring or tubing to its final destination/s as it just won't be visible in the end anyway. I just about lost my mind taking it this far.

I am nearing completion of the cockpit and will get shots up on it ASAP.

That's a beautiful engine! :D

Looking good Brandon.  Unfortunately you may find that looks can be deceiving.  If your like me you will want to throw this thing into a wall before your done.  I hated this kit.  Maybe you'll have less headaches than me.  

Joe

I'm not having any issues with it at all. I am moving very slow and fitting things many many times before I move on to assembly. The kit is full of small flimsy bits and forces me to move like a snail. This is definitely not a weekend kit, but that's ok, I like a challenge.

Alas, it's finally time for another update. I've been very busy and can't dedicate very much time on this kit at the moment. So, with a few minutes a few times a week I am making slow progress.

I began the cockpit with factory kit bits and removed them all and added a CMK resin cockpit along with thier PE bits and some from Eduard as well. I also added some cockpit plaques using Airscale decals to bring it more to life.

I painted it with Mr Color 116 RLM 66 over all and washed it with Flory black wash. I hand painted most of the wiring and tubing and gave it a light dry brushing with Mr Metal Color Aluminum. The resin cockpit is very nicely detailed and really doesn't need any thing else but I felt like pimping this one out so I just went nuts with the PE and details. Now that I have this much done here I can close the cockpit up and attach the shoulder belts. I can't install them until I close it due to how this kit assembles. 

I know some have complained that this kit is a PITA to build, but I find it to be no problem. I move slow and make sure I have a perfect fit before I glue parts and I also plan my attack on how to attach and glue and hold them before I do so and I have not had any problems thus far. This kit is not a shake and bake kit and will require patience, but the fit is excellent and the parts are very nicely detailed. If you like detail, then this kit will appeal to you. If you don't like messing with A LOT of little fiddly bits during assembly, then this kit may give you a stroke. 

Looks to be coming along nicely! =]

TY for posting your progress .

You've given me the inspiration I sorely need for attempting ( for the 1st time ) the complete Edward PE set for my 1/48 Monogram B-26.  Since my model has scant detail I wanted to spruce it up "a bit " with the detail set.  When it arrived I was overwhelmed by the parts count and I didn't know where to start.  your "1 little detail at a time "  renewed my confidence and I will continue onward and upward a little at a time.

Quick update:

Sorry for the long delay between updates but life has me far too busy to work much on this kit or check the forums like I want to. So, here is what I have completed thus far.

This Zvezda kit is just outstanding in every regard but it requires a slow building process due to its high quantity of fiddly bits. You just can't rush the building process on this kit. If you try to hurry you will regret it. The fit and detail on this kit is just plane stunning.

As a quick reminder I have added a large amount of PE and resin to this build so what you see is not exactly what one would get straight from the box. I have so many left over parts that if I had a fuselage and wings I could build another plane. 

Since my last update I have closed the fuselage and attached the nose, wings and all the control surfaces. The cockpit is completed and all the PE is installed there and I have masked the canopy using Montex masks which I personally believe to be superior to Eduard masks by a long shot, but remember any mask beats doing it from scratch. Once I get the inside of the canopy painted I will install the pilot's rear armor plate and close it up so I can get this kit in primer. When I get that done is anyone's guess. 

So without making you read more here are the pics of where I stand today. Thanks for looking.

BK

I am just stunned at the lack of activity on my last two WIP's. My Spitfire came out pretty nice, but got very little attention. This kit is coming along nicely, if not slowly, but again is getting virtually no traction in the forums. I feel like I am wasting my time stopping and taking photos and making posts that get overlooked or just aren't cared for. Whether it's my builds or me, the end result is the same, it just isn't worth the time and effort to show you guys how it's going if it's going to be ignored.

Therefore I am not going to waste everyone's time posting things they just don't care to see. I will build my kits and post the completed one's I think you may like.

BK

Brandon, I'm new here, so I'm just learning to navigate through the different threads as well as tips in regards to model kits.  If I may say, your build is definitely a high quality and an amazing rendition of the actual aircraft.  I can only speak for myself; "I will definitely read and reply to your threads in this regards, not only out of respect but, the knowledge I gain".  Thank you Brandon, I hope you change your mind.

Toshi

Mopar Madness has a point.  It's never a waste.  Someone will find this page tomorrow or a year from now and may uncover a very basic skillset for the first time and it changes the way they do everything until they improve some more.  Sometimes the subject doesn't appeal to the majority of people and won't attract a lot of attention.  Whatever the case, push on.  Complete your build for you.  Someone will eventually be building this and have a hang up that perhaps you had too and you're providing a road map to solving it. Never surrender.  =]

You know you guys are totally right. I've had a lot of frustration and stress in life of late and I let it roll over  into the forums. I should have bit my tongue, but I chose to vomit in here instead. Bad call on my part. I know the forums are a busy place and very welcoming and friendly, that's why I chose to be here. It is truly the spirit that ebbs and flows in these forums that makes the builds so much more enjoyable.

I think bvallot hit it on the head. Sometimes some subjects just don't garner much excitement. I have to remember that just because I like it doesn't mean someone else will also.

I'll get it knocked out and in paint soon. This one has a tricky scheme so I will endevour to persevere.

Thanks guys for your support, sorry to vomit on you like that.  

B- every other model I post I get crickets.

Keep at it partner and persevere. I'll be watching.............

I'm so glad you decided to continue posting on your BF 109.

I ,for one, don't always respond because in your case, I have run out of accolades  to express my amazement of your skills and I do not not want to let words like awesome or fantastic become trite or overdone.

I am very much enjoying each installment of your W.I.P,s and learning much from your experience. If you fail to post further progress on your builds, to me it would be like removing key referance material from the public library.  Even 1 little candle can light up a whole room.  Be that candle for those that need your light.

Thanks guys, I won't let life get the better of me in here again. I've thrown my sippy cup on the floor and I feel much better now.

Brandon - I'll echo the thanks from others, on learning that you will continue to hang out with us and share your builds. Very nice of you, LOT'S of really valuable tricks and techniques that you always send our way, you've helped my modest efforts considerably. Thanks, Brandon, well done.

At a strictly personal level, to you I'll extend my regrets that richs26 saw fit to release such a demeaning and unwarranted tirade toward you. Conduct not befitting FSM Forum expectations I'll venture to say, his words speak for him, not the rest of us.

Bad form. richs26, would you like to have a take back and redo????

Patrick

Thanks Patrick. His response, although harsh, was a good bucket of cold water to the face that I needed to make me re-examine my thoughts. No harm done, water under the bridge. I can be a duck and shake it off.

BrandonK

I think bvallot hit it on the head. Sometimes some subjects just don't garner much excitement. I have to remember that just because I like it doesn't mean someone else will also.

Bah, that may be the case with other subjects but this is a 109......an F variant to boot! It's the very definition of excitement 

Nice build BTW.

My father in law "owned" a 109. He liked to say wings from an E, canopy from an F, fuse from a G and what the Hell.

Looking forward to some updates here..........