Spanish Civil War GB.

Sounds like some of us are mamking progress.  So I have some good news and some bad news...

The good news is I just bought a new Dell Laptop and got it on Monday.

The bad news is I also got a wireless connection, it wasn't working and spent the last several nights fighting with my internet provider and the wirless router manufacturer trying to figure it out.

The good news is, it is figured out now and I love it!  never will I go back to the chains of the ethernet cable!

The bad news is, while I was doing all this, the weather was nice and warm for most of this week and I could have spent the time out in my garage spraying the Bf-109 for this build!  Well, I guess I'll see how this weekend goes.  Maybe I'll get the RLM02 on it.

 Now that I have a nice, new, fast computer, I should be able to upload picture more often as it has a card reader port (I love that too). 

Scott, good to see CA are on the ball with their customer service.

Jay, computers, such a boon to modern living, but only when they work!

Looking forwards to seeing some pics.

And talking of pics....

As you can see it's tiny, but coming along nicely.

Karl 

Looking good Karl! 

Here is an instrument panel shot of my Bf109D (B) right after I sandwiched the acetate instrument sheets between the PE instrument bezels and the resin instrument panel back.

The acetate instrument sheet (with two panels to be cut out) was very easy to cut except for the notch for the gunsight and the curved arch on the lower panel.  If I could do it all over again I would have cut the curved lower edge of the lower panel before removing it from the sheet as that piece is very small and is difficult to securely hold down while trimming with an x-acto knife.  I also highly recommend using a new #11 blade as you'll want that baby to be sharp.  The rest of the cutting was easy as they were all straight edges.  My wife got me a great pair of small, very sharp high quality scissors that worked fantastic for cutting the straight edges (from Michaels I think... too much estrogen in that store for me.... ) 

I put some future on the resin IP facings, carefully positioned the acetate instruments, let it sit for a bit, then put some future on the acetate instruments and plopped the PE bezels on top of that. 

All in all it wasn't too hard, just required a bit of patience and extreme caution while cutting.  I did have to to a little extra trimming on the bottom of the gunsight and the notch in the upper acetat instrument sheet to be able to position them all correctly, otherwise the upper parts would have been forced to be a bit low on the panel... not cool. 

I'm pleased with the results, not bad for my first acetate/PE instrument panel, although looking at the photo I might need to do a bit more trimming before installing it in the fuselage.  I'll have to dry fit... might be ok.

edit:  doh forgot to put in the photo 

Karl,  Looking good.  Nice clean construction.

Scott, Congrats on your first PE Panel.

Regards,  Rick

Some nice progress Karl and Scott.

So here are some of my progress pics, see I really am in this build!

I will cover the silver with a light layer of, RLM02 kind of like what Dave did.

Looks good from here Jay.

Regards,  Rick

Looking good Jay! 

Bf109B-2 update - I painted the instrument bezels last night (well, dry brushed to be exact).  The seatbelts are done, just need to install them.  I'm just about at the point where I can put the cockpit in and assemble the fuselage and wings. 

Cockpit is all finished. 

Seatbelts have been installed, all the detail work finished (need to cut a small piece of acetate for the gunsight, but I'm going to put that on right before I attach the cockpit as I don't want to risk damaging it during assembly). 

I just got done with the oil wash (burnt umber thinned with turpenoid) and it's drying at the moment.  I tried to take a "before" picture, but the digital camera battery died.  Soon as it's charged and the oil wash has dried somewhat I'll get some pics posted. 

Here are the pics of finished interior of my Classic Airframes 1/48 Bf109D. (I love this kit so much I bought another one yesterday.)

I'm going to attempt to get all these goodies installed in the fuselage tonight, along with the wings and cowling.

Looks good Scott.

Regards,  Rick

Well folks looks like the modelling will be put on hold untill I get the renos done.  I am painting our basement and doing some other tasks so I do not have access to my model stuff for the next few weeks and Karl, I am pretty sure I will not finish before the deadline. 

I will resume with the Bf-10b once my basement is competed and I will post pics here in this forum thread so don't forget about it totally.

Good luck with the reno's Jay.  I've been at mine for about 10 months now and I've still got a long way to go but progress is being made!

 Scott, nice looking pit!   That covering around the oxygen tank(?) looks fantastic.

Thanks Dave. 

I've been reviewing a few photos of the oxygen tank/cover and I think I'm going to do a black oil wash to darken the inside of those holes. 

I was busy decaling my P-40 last night, so I'm planning on installing the 109 cockpit this evening, although my wife is trying to talk me into going to a charity event tonight. 

Scott, tell your Wife that Charity begins at Home .

Regards,  Rick

rjkplasticmod wrote:

Scott, tell your Wife that Charity begins at Home . Regards,  Rick

I like your thinking Rick! 

dry fit.... fiddle..... pick stuff up off the floor ... dry fit.... fiddle some more..... tape fuselage together..... dry fit.... sand...... dry fit.... pick more stuff up off the floor..... sand... dry fit......  reach for super glue.....   look around for superglue....  tear model area apart looking for super glue.... tear the entire den apart looking for super glue..... think about strangling the first living thing that comes into view (the cats are wisely staying out of my den at this point ).

Where the heck is my super glue?!?  I just used it last night!

hmmm suspects....... it's either the housekeeper or the damned cats.  My money is riding on the cats

here kitty kitty kitty.... here kitty kitty..... 

Maybe I'd be better served by carrying out some frustration cutting and sanding the resin parts for the CR.32 in stead! 

I can get some super glue tomorrow......

I picked up some super glue from the hobby store (among other things ).  I think I've got the resin fuselage components trummed to fit into the fuselage now.  Thinning the backsides of the cockpit sidewalls really paid off.  I had to do a bit of sanding on the back upper parts of the cockpit, back where the storage compartment is as it was just a hair too wide to be able to solidly join the fuselage halves together there.  I'll do one last dry fit before I glue it all in.

I have to go play IT support for our oldest son now, he needs some help with his wireless network, so I'll glue everything in after that.  I should have some pics later today. 

Bf109B update - The fuselage is together, and the IP has been installed.  Talk about a frustrating experience, the IP just didn't want to go where it was supposed to , and it's a very fine line between getting it situated just right or having it interfere with the windscreen.  I'm glad that on a whim I test fitted the windscreen right after I put the IP in.  The way I had it set up it would have prevented the windscreen from seating all the way down, and would have forced it to stick up at least a millimeter, which would have been very noticable.  Fortunately, I was able to reposition it.  It was odd though, no matter how I sanded and trimmed the IP, it just seemed to make the fit worse, if that's possible.  Good learning experience as this is my first non-Tamiya/Hasegawa airplane kit.

All I can say with this kit is dry fit, dry fit, dry fit.  I'm going to pop the main cockpit assembly in tomorrow.  I think I've earned myself some chill time in front of the TV. 

On another note, this CR.32 kit is pretty cool.  I love the pre-painted photo etch, very nice touch.

Man, if I didn't know any better, I'd almost say the IP and cockpit aren't supposed to fit into this fuselage, almost like it belongs in another kit!  

I almost had another disaster, I put the CA glue on the back of the right side panel, went to plop it in place and while doing that it just happened to make contact with the fuselage when it was almost all the way in, but was very crooked.... and the glue bonded instantly!  Yikes! 

I was lucky enough to be able to pry it off with an X-acto knife and quickly get it into place .  I had to do a bit more trimming on the back of the cockpit tub to get it in there.  It's not pretty, but it's in.   

It may look a little rough where the resin parts make contact with the plastic, but none of that will be seen once the canopy parts are installed, thankfully. 

I think what made the cockpit install so difficult was the fact that somehow I didn't get the IP trimmed properly, so it threw the rest of the resin parts slightly out of whack as ultimately, there is very little room for error as the tolerances are very tight.

Learned some great lessons on this build, which will make building my Bf109A and the other Bf109D much easier.  But that's ok, as I am trying to push my skills and learn new things.  I've learned an aweful lot about resin, PE and limited run kits! 

Scott,  That's why I use Quick-Set Epoxy for installing cockpit details.  It drys fast & secure, but gives enough time for manipulation to get everything properly aligned.  CA can result in disaster, like the one you narrowly avoided.

Regards,  Rick

 Hi Guys....

 I thought I would have time to work on Franco´s DH-89 but no way, so I will just finish this build with the SM-81....Franco will have to wait a little!!!

See you all in another build.........................

Wow, scott, looking good. Where do you find the time to work on your builds?  I will keep plugging away once the bench is cleared ( there's boxes on top of boxes on boxes in the spare room)

The painting went very well, it looks fab.  We painted the stair well over a year ago and we decided to continue with the same colour into the rumpus room.  The trim looks absolutely wonderful too! We also moved the furnature to the edges and man does it open up the room!  Now we just have to put all the boxes away back on the shelves and stuff.  It is a little scary with my wife opening a day home but I think the benefits totally outweight the risks.  She gets to raise our son, make some money and we can claim a certain percentage of our mortgage and other house expenses come tax time, which reminds me, I have to get on it soon  Here in Canada, April 30 is the deadline!

I'll keep you all posted as I get stuff done (bf-109b stuff).  Sorry about not finishing on time.

Sounds wonderful Jay.  Hope all gets back to normal soon.  Just make sure your models are well out of reach for any would be 4 year old pilots!  vvrrrroooommmmm!!!  

Solid, look forward to seeing your future builds.

Scott, coming along nicely.  CA can be scarey at times.  Glad you saved it.

I totally changed my modeling philosophy, and it seems to be working.  I used to wait until I had a bunch of time (an hour or more) before I'd even think about doing some work on the models.  Now I just do what I can, 15 minutes here, 5 minutes there, 2 hours the next day.  Seems to be working as I'm able to keep these projects moving, and still spend time with my wife and kids, and get some things done around the house.

Jay, glad to here you're making some progress on the home renovations, and taking care of your family, that's the most important thing. 

Not much has happened on the Bf109 the past day or two, I've been busy putting the finishing touches on my P-40E for the CBI build.  It's almost finished, just need to add the landing gear, exhaust, flat coat it and attach the canopy and lights.

The Bf109's progress should accelerate hugely in a couple of days when I'm done with the P-40E.  Just need to get those ailerons fabricated so at least the wings will be 109B wings, then get the cowl and tail plane goodies assembled.  Then it's off to the spray booth.  I can't wait to see how the splinter scheme is going to look.    If all goes according to plan, I should be able to start spraying this puppy on Saturday or Sunday.