Spanish Civil War GB.

jboutin wrote:

Scott, sound like a good plan, maybe I should try it.  Right now I wait for a good chunk then spend most of the time dry-fitting/planning/test fitting.

I used to do that, and it would take me months to complete my projects.  It's amazing how just a little time here, a little time there all adds up.  I'm up to one to two completed models per month now.    mostly....

I haven't received my replacement nose in the mail yet for the CR.32, and given that this GB is over in a few days I'm going to put it back on the shelf and save it for another time.

I am still slogging away on the Bf109. 

Yeah,  makes sense, it's just that even 15 or 30 mins here and ther are hard to come by!

and not mention my desk and supplies are buried right now.

About your CR.42, keep at it dude, I'd love to see it!  I'm going to plug away at my Bf-109b.  There is a contest in June that I'd like to have it done for.  I think I can get finish it by then (fingers crossed)

Ya, I really want to build the CR.32, so I'll probably just build it as a side project once the replacement nose arrives.  I think I finally have enough skills to be able to do the CR.32 justice. 

I've been thinking.... which is making my head hurt.  I may finish this Bf109D as a D-1 instead of trying to convert it to a late B (there are a lot of little things I'd need to correct, such as the joystick... it needs to be one of those kind with the loop on top, as well as many other minor details with hatches, panel lines etc.  I don't want to do a "fake" B, if that makes any sense, for my whole 109 collection). 

I need a decent D in the collection anyway.  When I was at my LHS last week I was going through their decal sets (they have a ton!) and I remembered seeing a decal set for a Bf109D-1 flown by Gotthardt Handrick.  If they still have it I think I'll snag that tomorrow and go with that scheme.  His claim to fame was having won a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, then he became a pilot in the Condor legion and later the Luftwaffe.  He had really unique markings with the Olympic rings on the spinner, and a cool looking "H" on the side. 

As I side note, I'll probably build my Bf109A kit as Staege's, unless I can get my hands on the 1/48 Hobbycraft B.... if I can pull that off I'll build the A as a V4.  Ok, it's official, my head really hurts now.   

I managed to make a bit more progress.  The lower half of the wing has been attached to the fuselage.  I had to do a little cleanup around the edges as these Classic Airframes kits tend to have a ridge along their edges that needs to be scraped or sanded to make the parts flat so they'll butt up flush against each other. 

I started thinning the upper wing halves where the wheel wells go, and after dry fitting noticed I need to thin about another millimeter and a half.  I'm getting a bit tired so I figured I'd better finish that in the morning.

Looks like some good progress Scott.

Regards,  Rick

Thanks Rick, I'm just a little worried about sanding too far through the wing, so I think I'm going to use sanding sticks from this point forward and just slowly thin the area above the wheel wells.

On the wheel wells themselves I managed to get the backing pretty thin.  I used my dremel to grind away the major stuff, then the sanding sticks to thin them to the point where I could easily see light passing through them when I held them up.  They're pretty thin so I don't think I can get away with thinning those further.  I should have enough room to play with on the upper wing though, just need to be careful.  I need to sand away a millimeter or maybe just a tad more, so it's going to be cutting it close, which I know you're aware of.   

Know exactly what you mean Scott.  I agree, if the resin becomes translucent, leave it alone.  I was able to thin the upper wing enough to get a good join without breaking through, so I assume you will be able to as well.

Regards,  Rick

Sweet mother of pearl!  I got the resin wheel wells glued in with super glue.... then went to glue the wings on.  Man, they needed more sanding.  These definately require a bit of work.  The left wing is on and clamped.  Right wing goes on later this evening.  Whew!

Time for a steak and some red wine!! 

whew, finally got the other wing on. 

Those resin gear wells were a bit cranky, they're not exactly shaped perfectly to fit in the wings.  If I had to do it all over again I would have done a bit of sanding/trimming on the front side of them as well to get them to be a little more flush against the inside of the wing.  I think that would have gained me a little extra space, although you can't tell at all now that the wings are together.

I will have a bit of seam work to do at the wing roots, but nothing out of the ordinary.  I'm going to get to work on the nose sub-assemblies now as I have another hour before my lovely wife gets home. 

Looks like you're winning the war Scott.  Good luck with the cowl, it's a bit tricky to get everything lined up & fitted properly.

Regards,  Rick

razordws wrote:

Sounds like a lot of work Scott but it looks like progress is being made.

Just when I thought the worst was over... LOL 

Actually, it's not too bad.  This is my first resin/pe/styrene kit so I'm learning as I go.  The next one will be a snap, relatively speaking. 

Scott! did I hear that your next one will be a snap tight?  wow, the glue got to you, or maybe it was the resin dust! 

Seriously though Scott your progress looks great!, wish I could say the same.

jboutin wrote:

Scott! did I hear that your next one will be a snap tight?  wow, the glue got to you, or maybe it was the resin dust!  Seriously though Scott your progress looks great!, wish I could say the same.

Actually, a snap-tite is sounding pretty good right about now. 

Next in the queue is Hasegawa's 1/32 Bf109G-14..... which relatively speaking will be a "snap" to put together compared to the Classic Airframes 1/48 Bf109D

Rick, did you end up having to put in any spacers between any of the cowling bits?  What fit issues did you run into?

Scott, I don't recall using any spacers, but I did have some seams that needed filling.  I used CA & then rescribed lost panel lines.

Regards,  Rick

Dymo tape was one of God's gifts to modelers.  Unfortunately, the Dymo is going the way of the Buggy Whip in this computer age.  The local Office Depot put all of their Dymo stuff on close-out last year & no longer stock it.  I bought a case of the tape (24 rolls), so I should be OK for this lifetime & maybe the next .

Regards,  Rick

uh oh, maybe I better go get some before it's all gone!  I'd be willing to bet my wife has some stashed somewhere.  Wives, they really come in handy! 

I just received an excellent reference book in the mail "Jagdwaffe The Spanish Civil War, Luftwaffe Colours Volume One, Section 2" by Eric Mombeek.  It's awesome!  Just in time too, as I hope to be spraying camo this weekend.

I'm either going to do Werner Molders Scheme, or Gotthard Handrick.  Probably Molders though, his would be a great scheme to do for the first of my Bf109 series for the ultimate 109 collection. 

Scott, great progress on the 109.

Looking forward to seeing the Cr32 as well.

I picked up the Jagdwaffe volume on Jet & Rocket Interceptors, stunning read. 

Jay, don't worry about end dates, this one can run and run. 

Apologies for not being around much over the last few weeks, work has got somewhat hectic, though at least it has earned me a promotion and a pay rise.

No progress on the I-15, I've been building darkside objects....

Karl 

You know it's funny, this build and all the research I did has totally fired up my interest in the early Bf109 series.  I'm actually going to be building 4 Condor Legion Bf109 aircraft for my collection. 

1. Bf109V-4 just before it was sent to Spain for combat evaluation (in civilian markings, Classic Airframes 1/48 Bf109A kit)
2. Bf109B-late with Staege's markings (two tone camo, looks way cool, Hobbycraft 1/48 Bf109B)
3. Bf109D-1 flown by Gotthard Handrick (1936 Olympic gold medalist, commander of J/88 before Galland assumed command, Classic Airframes 1/48 Bf109D)
4. Bf109D-1 flown by Werner Molders (single tone green scheme upper, Classic Airframes 1/48 Bf109D) 

Molder's plane is the one I'm doing first which is my official submission for this build.  If all goes according to plan I should be laying down primer and pre-shading this weekend. 

I received the replacement nose to my CR.32 last Friday and forgot to mention it here.  The replacement nose has a bit of a problem though with part of the circular framing around the radiator below the spinner being malformed.  I'm debating whether or not to attempt to build up that lip myself or get another replacement.  I know if I'm careful I can slowly build it up a bit with some CA.  I'll post a pic tonight to get some input from you all as to whether or not it's fixable.

zoinks!  Does this cowling belong to this kit? 

Either one or both the fuselage and the cowling are not square.  The filling, sanding and rescribing won't be too difficult..... I'm just hoping I can get all the parts lined up ok.  It's gonna be tricky! 

And on another note.  I can't find the replacement CR.32 nose anywhere.  I swear, I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached to my shoulders. 

hmmm... does the photo-etch radiator belong to this kit as well?    It's a bit too big to fit inside the lower cowling.  Thank goodness there is already detail molded in there.  I'm either going to have to trim the PE part, or just go with the resin detail. 

Or maybe just go relax before I start beating my head against the wall. 

Scott, I found the PE radiator grill to be oversize as well.  I trimmed the PE part, but if I do another one I'd just go with the detail in the resin.

Regards,  Rick

I think I'll skip the PE part as well.  The detail on the resin part is about as good as the PE part so what's the point eh? 

I was all ready to attach the cowling parts last night when I noticed the front end of the fuselage is warped!    I'm thinking now that I should have not followed the instructions and put the cowling parts on first, or at least the upper cowling before attaching the wing.

Not sure how to approach the problem at this point.  I could always sand everything square, but then the parts won't be the right size etc.  I may have to rip the wings out and try again.  I wish I had caught that when I was putting the wings on.  The fit was very tight and must have happened when I popped the back of the wings in, which must have put to much pressure up front.  It's weird though how the front lower fuselage has a twist in it.  hmmm 

OUCH !!  It's tricky enough without dealing with a warped part as well.

Regards,  Rick