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Messerschmitts of North Africa: Bf-110E-2 and Bf-109F-4 Trop


ChuckD

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Hi, all.  This will be my first build log here - or anywhere, really.  

 

I've long had a thing for the underdog.  I've always been fascinated by aircraft like the P-39, the Douglas Devastator, and yes, the Bf-110.  While it certainly served its niche, it was more or less obsolete as a fighter by the Battle of Britain.  Indeed, the concept of a heavy "destroyer" fighter is kinda dubious in my mind, but that's for a different thread.

 

Anyway, on to the build.  This is Cyber Hobby's kit 3209 and is an offshoot of Dragon's 110C and 110D line.  I picked this one up for cheap several years ago and finally got the urge to build it.  I'm no master scratch builder or detailer, so I'll be building it OOB with the exception of Eduard masks and some HGW seatbelts which are currently on order.  

 

First off, getting organized.

rS5wHGY.jpg

This desk organizer is great as is the book holder.  As you can see, I've got the instruction errata sheet from Brett Green.  His was for the 110C and though it appears that Dragon/CH revised a few things, many of the gotchas he calls out are still valid.  Indeed, it appears they've botched a few other things as well.  Like completely ignoring the trim wheel and several of the cannon magazines.  Oh, Dragon.  I love you, but sometimes I hate you.

 

Anyway, after about 3 hours of sticking parts together, most of the main sub-assemblies are built. Knock on wood, but so far, the fit has been fantastic.  Supposedly the nacelles are this kit's weakness.  Time will tell.

sBCBApp.jpg

 

The cockpit tub is mocked up with tape.  Love the molded detail and the fit so far.

75twIN5.jpg

 

geozlgm.jpg

 

XVDPjIK.jpg

 

9oFQfwT.jpg

Anyone know what the clear piece is on top of the rail nearest the camera?  What is that and why was it molded clear?

 

And here's everything mocked up so far.  I will not bother painting any of the nose MGs since they will be completely hidden when complete, save for a few (scale) inches of their muzzles.  Again, fit is good so far.

veqKRiW.jpg

 

Ai7RXWO.jpg

 

K7xH9eI.jpg

 

V3JpASv.jpg

Edited by Gewehr 43
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Great start on your "E". Really like your organizer for your sprues.

 

The only thing I can find that they would be trying to show where the clear"H14" part is is a morse code key transmitter on a BF-110C-7. Very strange they would do it in clear if that is what it is.

 

I'll be watching your build as the "E-2" will be the base for my G-4 build.....:)

 

Dan 

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I'd sat they clear part is the Morse Key, you can see it on a lot of cockpit photos of the 110, why it's moulded in clear material though, no idea. I have the same kit and keen to get going on it but need to finish several on the go projects before starting a new one. I've built 2 of these in different guises over the years and really like them. However, the fit of the nose can be an issue as can the insert piece that goes behind the nose cone and between the 2 fuselage halves. Both fought me on one kit and on the other it was just the insert panel so could have just been something I did elsewhere in the build that caused me grief later on. You might want to add a piece of styrene to the back of the radio wall to cover off the hollow back of the radios,as it can be seen behind the pilots seat and can look a little odd. I glued the cockpit walls to the fuselage halves and painted them in place, then once the halves were joined and glue set up I added the piece that goes over the top to form the edging around the cockpit (the piece the morse key is sat on). The main problem with the kit and pretty much all Dragon kits is the lousy instruction manual, check everything half a dozen times before committing to glue, the inserts in the gear wells to be precise. The clear windows in the nacelles for the instruments should have the glass windows on both sides as moulded but the instruments only appeared on the inboard sides for the pilot to read but as the nacelle tops were interchangeable between left and right they needed the windows on both sides so as a minimum you'll need to throw some paint at the engine bay as a tiny bit will be visible through the blank windows. Not sure if it was a nightfighter only thing but the cover for the leading edge landing light might be a clear yellow, I've only built night fighters out of my kits so far so I need to check on that as my next one will be a non nocturnal bird so don't hold me to that one. Those are the only things I recall about my builds.

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Thanks, guys. I'll not worry about masking the morse transmitter then. It's odd that it's done in clear, but Dragon has done stranger things in the past.

 

Ade, thanks for the specific advice. I haven't test fit the insert yet, but I noticed it in the instructions and wondered how much of a pain it would be. I will also pop the radios off and cover the back side. I did that for one of the radios that hangs from the canopy cage (and forgot to photograph). I had kind of assumed that the backs of the radios wouldn't be visible after the seat was in, but you're clearly right. They are and will look weird unless they're properly filled. I've got some .010" sheets to cover them up.

 

I'm hoping the HGW belts arrive soon. I ordered them from Victory Models before remembering that they are in Florida and are probably still affected by the aftermath of Irma. I've got a couple weeks' worth of painting before I get too worried about having the seatbelts on hand, I suppose.

Edited by Gewehr 43
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I forgot the tail, on the real thing the horizontal surface of the whole tail was adjustable moving up and down so you don't need to fill in any resulting panel lines there when you add that part. I did have photos but I can't find them now. Can't be that hard to find on the internet though as that's where I got them from anyway.

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I forgot the tail, on the real thing the horizontal surface of the whole tail was adjustable moving up and down so you don't need to fill in any resulting panel lines there when you add that part. I did have photos but I can't find them now. Can't be that hard to find on the internet though as that's where I got them from anyway.

 

 

Ade is correct, the whole horizontal tailplane was adjustable in incidence (aka up and down)

 

Yes, the whole tail does move, but you do need to fill the join line near the elevators, as there is no panel line there on the real thing (although one does appear on several drawings).

 

Kit parts assembled:

 

V6wdf1j.jpg

 

After filling the join line that should not be there:

 

x5wLJOX.jpg

 

And a pic of the real thing as proof:

 

wsibC7K.jpg

 

The rotation is indeed of the whole tail, not just the horizontal stab kit part - but also the section behind the kit join line - as seen here where the lighter RLM 02 section has been exposed:

 

SoH6vc0.jpg

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Ade is correct, the whole horizontal tailplane was adjustable in incidence (aka up and down)

Was that for trim, or was it a ground maintenance-only type thing?

 

Edit: Disregard. After seeing the pics, it's clear. Thanks!

Edited by Gewehr 43
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Okay, so not much time on the bench lately, but hoping to sneak a few hours tonight.  I did manage to get all the internals primed.  Now, I just need some input on the overall cockpit color.  Researching gets me a bit of a mixed bag.  It looks like depending on the timeframe in which it was produced, it could be RLM 02 throughout, RLM 02 in the pilot's area with RLM 66 aft of that, or RLM 66 throughout.  

 

I'm not too picky in that I'm not recreating a specific airframe, but I'd like to be at least somewhat period correct.  My out-of-the-box kit marking options are:

  • Bf-110 of 8./ZG.26 based in North Africa during 1942
  • Bf-110 of 7./ZG.26 based in Italy during 1941
  • Bf-110 of 7./ZG.26 based in Libya during 1942

I'm leaning towards option 1 or 3, so which cockpit scheme would be most appropriate?

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The 110's spent a lot of time in depot maintenance, I guess from getting shot down do much, lol, and as you've uncovered in your research, could have a number of different cockpit color options, based on what they did at the depot when repairing the airframe to bring it up to current specs.

 

However, your options seem a little off, they should be:

 

RLM 02 throughout the cockpit

RLM 66 pilots cockpit, and RLM 02 rear area

RLM 66 pilots cockpit, and lower RLM 02/upper RLM66 rear area

RLM 66 throughout the cockpit

 

I've seen no evidence of an RLM 02 pilots cockpit and RLM 66 rear area, but that's not to say it did not exist somewhere at sometime.  The reason for these options is the RLM orders which changed the cockpit color from RLM 02 to RLM 66 in Nov 1941.  So an airframe built with an all RLM 02 cockpit would get an  interior paint job at the depot when it went there for repairs.  Some seem to have interpreted the order to be just the pilots area needing to be RLM 66, and others the whole area.  For those thinking the whole area, some just did the upper half of the rear area in RLM 66, and left the bottom in RLM 02, as the regulation applied to something to the effect of "areas visible though the canopies" so I guess they thought that would be good enough.

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The 110's spent a lot of time in depot maintenance, I guess from getting shot down do much, lol, and as you've uncovered in your research, could have a number of different cockpit color options, based on what they did at the depot when repairing the airframe to bring it up to current specs.

 

However, your options seem a little off, they should be:

 

RLM 02 throughout the cockpit

RLM 66 pilots cockpit, and RLM 02 rear area

RLM 66 pilots cockpit, and lower RLM 02/upper RLM66 rear area

RLM 66 throughout the cockpit

 

I've seen no evidence of an RLM 02 pilots cockpit and RLM 66 rear area, but that's not to say it did not exist somewhere at sometime.  The reason for these options is the RLM orders which changed the cockpit color from RLM 02 to RLM 66 in Nov 1941.  So an airframe built with an all RLM 02 cockpit would get an  interior paint job at the depot when it went there for repairs.  Some seem to have interpreted the order to be just the pilots area needing to be RLM 66, and others the whole area.  For those thinking the whole area, some just did the upper half of the rear area in RLM 66, and left the bottom in RLM 02, as the regulation applied to something to the effect of "areas visible though the canopies" so I guess they thought that would be good enough.

 

Great information.  Thank you.  Yep, the confusion is/was a typo on my part.  The references I saw said 66 up front, 02 in the rear.  I just transposed it.  Story of my life.

 

Aaaanyhoo, I don't think any of the specific schemes relate to a specific date, so I could probably take whichever approach I want, I guess.  I'll see what strikes my fancy when I get moving tonight.  :)

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