2015 Messerschmitt Bf 109 Group Build

Bob... (R9) Its a learning experience for us all! lol... Good lookin work thus far, and I'm sure your grandson will treasure what Grandpa built for him for ever!

Doug

PS Your work space is too clean and neat... (lolol)

TJ.... So Sorry my Brother...I never seem to have the words so just God Bless and Know that were here for ya if you need.

R.I.P. Mr. Hawley

Doug

To all my group build friends.  I found out this morning that my father passed away last night.  I'm waiting for the arrangements to fly to Florida.   He was 81. RIP John R Hawley Sr.  Thanks for letting me say my piece. John

Lovely work on the site Jay.

And speaking of MDC, does anyone know whats happened to them, the site seems to have ben down the last few days.

Oh, Bob(Radial9), I am pretty sure your bench is supposed to look more like this. At least mine always seems to

Jay: I think I get the idea. I'll see what I can do. Once again, excellent work coming out of that "organized chaos".

Thuderbolt: Looks great, nice work!

I made some progress. Had some setbacks. The wheels and prop assembly are not affixed yet, nor are some of the smaller "fidly bits". I have the decals on and will move on to some panel line and weather wash followed by some exhaust stains.

I'm going to use the excuse my 6 year old grandson wants "a man" in the cockpit. Good thing, as in the middle of the cockpit learning curve (ALWAYS put on last, not mid stream) I snapped it in two using a wee bit more pressure than it liked using some plastic polish to spruce it up a bit. So.. "I'm going with a VERY open cockpit with a pilot waving down to Grandsons bed from ceiling. " These GB's are suppose to be learning experiences for us new guys... right??

Hey guys,

I am asking about the Zvezda f-4.  Is this a good kit?  I would like to build an F-4 that was in the desert.  If this is not a good kit then what would be the best kit to start with?  I have no problem with after market goodies.

In fact I kinda can't get away without it.

moose

Hi guys -- it slipped my mind I'd taken some progress pics of the Hasegawa E-7 as I was bringing her together (this work thing occupies far too much of my attention!) Here are some shots as I was getting the subassemblies together:

She came together pretty quick after that point, though work has been slow due to commitments. The last couple of days I've been sorting out the headrest. I didn't fancy messing about with the etched one in the kit, which I find a bit gratuitous or faddish on the part of Hasegawa, so I pulled out one of their K-4 kits and liberated the alternate/old style headrest, cut away the curved portion and painted it in early war 02. Then, instead of fighting to fit it to the canopy, which was moulded without locator sockets (they seem to have retooled the canopy sprue to accept the etch!) I simply glued it down directly behind the seat, with a slight forward incline -- superglue to the rescue. The canopy then dropped into place over it.

That's where she is right now, and I'll get the masks on tomorrow -- I really want to be spraying before the long weekend is over! In other news, the Airfix E-4 got its canopy parts also:

She already has her masks in place, so the next photo will hopefully be all three E's presently underway with masks done. After that I have a couple of small jobs to do, the E-4 has a broken tailplane strut to rebuild, and the Hasegawa E-7 represents a plane that started life as an E-1, and the early wing gun apertures need to be drilled into the leading edge, as the factory did not rework them when the airframe was rebuilt to E-7 standard. That would be my target for tomorrow, and start laying down paint at some point.

Cheers, M/TB379

Joe(lawdog) that's a beautiful paint job. I know the building process can get tiring for me too, but I am always ready to paint. Just had a few minutes tonight to get the gunsight squared away. Sight is from the MDC cockpit set and the lenses cut from clear acetate.

Oh, Bob(Radial9), I am pretty sure your bench is supposed to look more like this. At least mine always seems to.

Jay

Everything in here looks truly amazing! Keep up the good work guys!

I'm a bit busy right now, but I'll post a longer reply either later tonight or tomorrow morning...

Cheers, Clemens

Nice work on the painting law.  The colors are really coming out nice.  Keep up the great work.

moose

Joe - Tietzen's mount is looking great!  I wonder if it's a typo on the instructions, and they got the 5 confused with his staffel number?   Here it is described as an E-3:

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/275907-sky-models-48-027-messerschmitt-bf-109

regards,

Jack

Looks like another beauty coming together there Joe. We can always count on you to produce splendid work.

Beautiful work as always Joe... Gotta love an "Emil", Years ago I couldn't bring myself to pre shade an aircraft thinking they were better maintained then that, but after working (in the mid 70s) at a company that made the stretch presses for shaping the aircraft skins, I finally realized why they did like they did. Even after shaping (most skins were not much thicker then a post card) and washing the skin in "Tri-Chlor" the oils used would still gravitate to the edges and was further added to by the riveting process where dirt and grime would adhere to them. Never had a problem pre or post shading again, lol... Again, your work is spot on!

Doug

Joe, that is art -- straight forward procedures, yes, but so precisely done! It is an absolute joy to see it coming together and makes me itch to get my schwarm to the painting stage! I love your mix ratios too, I'll write them down!

M/TB379

You know Joe, I hear you. I wouldn't call what I'm going through a modeling funk , but a switch in interest as of late. I just finished up with that Dodge Challenger re-build that I took on starting in November and got hooked...............and right in the middle of this GB!! I'm sharing the bench right now with a 56 Ford F-100 and progress on both is slow.

 I haven't reached the point of a slump yet but can see where it would be easy to fall into. Your builds do not , however , reflect a slump. This is just as good as any I've seen you build bud. Sorry to hear about your AB woes. Hopefully you can get that sorted out. I know if my compressor took a dump I'd be calling up my Mac or Matco tool truck and paying that sucker out on the truck. lol

Sorry I haven't had any updates recently.  I decided to take a break from modeling for a while.  Call it a funk if you will.  I guess it happens to all of us at one time or another.  I suppose the fact that my air compressor is dying and I need a new airbrush needle hasn't inspired me much either.  Last night me and Net Flix hit the bench for a while.  As I indicated, I want a plain Jane Emil, nothing fancy.  I have enough yellow-nosed 109's.  I ultimately decided on Horst Tietzen's JG 51 Emil from the Battle of Britain.  I just love their deranged penguin emblem.  I have no idea which variant Emil he flew, nor do I really care.  Its my understanding the only visual difference between the 3 and 4 is the canopy.  The Sky Decals sheet I'm using says it was an E-5.  I seriously doubt a 27 victory ace was doing it in a recon version, so this is probably erroneous. 

Theres nothing to say about Tamiya Emils construction-wise.....complete joy.  I preshaded all panel lines flat black then started the scheme.  I made my own concoction of RLM 65 with XF-23 Light Blue and XF-2 Flat White, about half and half.  Once down, she got a post shade of diluted XF-69 NATO Black and XF-64 Red Brown for weathering.  I wanted it dirty so pushed past my comfort zone again...

This Emil would apparently carry the standard RLM 02/71 uppers.  I then realized I was down to merely drops of my Gunze Aqueous RLM 02.  Using the said remaining as reference, I decided to recreate it with Tamiya.  I used XF-22 RLM Grey and lightened it with a touch of XF-2 Flat White.  I then added a few drops of XF-49 Khaki and it seemed to be an identical match.  I sprayed it down and was pleased.  I then faded it with more white and added condensation streaks.

Next up was the RLM 71.  I taped off a typical Battle of Britain splinter pattern using an old Aeromaster Battle of Britain sheet as reference.  I then used Gunze Aqueous for RLM 71.  Once down, I added XF-57 Buff to add condensation streaks. 

I added a bit more underside grit...

I ordered a few resin goodies for this guy (guns and tires) which should be here anyday. 

Joe  

Lol,  Joe you're cracking me up. What you don't understand is I've already decided to make this kit my b$*@h. It's not gonna beat me, no way no how. It just can't be worse than that Revell F4U, it just can't.

Howard:  To quote McDonalds..."I'm loving it".  

Bob: Looking great man.  I was going to recommend you switch to Tamiya, but you already did.  Pure airbrushing bliss.  I just wish they made RLM colors.  I can never get the formulas right to my eye.  As Doug said, you can thin your Tamiya paint with Isopropyl alcohol...I use 91%.  Indeed, Tamiya Lacquer thinner is like painting with silk.  

Matt:  Excellent work on that 109.  Reference dull coats, I've been using Testors Dull since puppies were the oldest animal and IMO its by far the best out there.  Is your bottle old,?  The dulling agent may be breaking down.  Try replacing it and or thinning it with lacquer thinner.  Make sure you stir it real good too.  

Brandon:  Nice Mill....perhaps you'll be spared the fit issues because your not closing it all up.  

Joe

Looks like that came together nicely Brandon! I like all that detail you put into that engine. Really sharp!!

Engine looks great Brandon! You did an amazing amount of detail to it.

Doug

PS... Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most!  lolol...

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.

Worked out great Joe... good lookin engine! I've been using either a metalic tape or the bare metal foil for straps and such, but the decals sound like a good idea. I need to check out the RedHot Rolling site you keep mentioning. I'm stepping way out of my box, and building a car for the 1945 GB, and brother, its been a LONG time since I've built a car, but so far its been fun!

Good idea, Joe. They look perfect.

Jay

Finally..................an update!!!!! Well there for a while I was stuck at how I was going to handle the coolant reservoir retaining straps but ended up figuring it out. About a month ago I ordered an already started/ spare parts boxing of a 56 Ford F-100 for my WIP over in the Red Hot and Rollin' GB. Whoever the seller was he threw all kinds of stuff in that box that didn't pertain to any part of the F-100 build. One thing he threw in was a half cut up set of 1/16 light gray racing stripes which I promptly threw away right along with 1/2 of the junk (and it was junk!--stuff like a 1/12 or 1/16 cut up / half build exhaust from something, 1/12 scale wheels, etc). A couple of days later I had an idea flash through my head. What if I cut the decals the width of the straps and used those?? Well that's exactly what I did. My small trash can was sitting there right beside the bench so I went through it and found the decals. I cut 'em the width of the straps and after a couple of coats of Microsol  I had a winning result.

I have painted up and installed a lot of the accessory drive items at the back of the engine and will start on the weathering process once I have a few more items on here. Right now here she sits and clean and purdy ( complete with my usual dust and plastic shavings that I can never seem to take care of before a photo shoot!)

Thanks, Joe. Yes, usually less is more for washes. When you think it's right, take off a little more.

Jay

Fits like a glove there Jay! Looks like you've got just the right amount of wash usage on that pilots storage door. Lots of times I'll see either gobs of wash in this area that makes it look sloppy or none at all. This is just right.

Thanks guys. Tonight I hoped to get the cockpit installed. Painted the fuselage portion 66 and applied a raw umber oil wash. I taped the cockpit pieces together and put it in as a unit. Used a fair amount of white glue and CA to secure it om the bottom and glued the sidewalls and clamped them to the fuselage, trying to get as much room as possible for the IP. Quite often with AM cockpits you run into clearance issues. The G-10s and K-4s widen out in this area so I was hopeful. It does fit with no modification, but I need to do a few more things to it such as the gunsight.

Jay

That's some nice detail under there jay, not sure I would have thought of that one. Nice work.

Man Jay,  I like the tubing idea!! Your attention to detail continues to "wow" me in both the aviation and automotive worlds. Great work bro.

Thanks Doug. I appreciate it brother. Doing a little work on the belly pan as Hasegawa didn't make any changes from the G series, even though there were several. Added some vent pipes from Minimeca stainless tubing and made an ejection chute for the 30mm cannon.

Jay