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1/48 Eduard Bf109E-3, JG53 November 1939


Kahunaminor

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Welcome aboard,

I am building this for a GB over on BM and it is going fairly well, so I thought I would edit it up and add it here. My entry will be the 1/48 Eduard Bf109E-3 from the Royal Class Boxing. Here are the opening sprue shots:

 

53E4ACF9-9151-461B-B3E3-323D215042F9_zps

 

I intend this to be my first "in flight" build, so AM will be limited to the Aerobonus seated Bf109E pilot and the masks and PE that came with the kit. Disregard the markings shown below:

 

A7D057FF-4561-4E43-AC8C-DA5F3939594D_zps

 

The pilot is beautifully moulded, but has his left arm posed resting on the cockpit coaming, so a little modification will be needed there:

 

996C1AAF-AFD4-4AD0-95CF-FB7C18BBEE0C_zps

 

It will be this E-3 from the Royal Class boxing which will also need a rear vision mirror from the accompanying PE:

 

8B02B424-086A-4136-8D5E-0A43CED81A2B_zps

 

So that's the plan. I should break plastic in a week or so with this nice simple build to start.

 

Regards,

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I was pondering the question of the prop in motion and wasn't coming up with an answer. I was tidying up some of my young blokes toys and came across something that I think may help this build. I have a couple of spare motors for his R/C chopper which are pretty close to being perfect size to mount in the front of the aircraft:

 

16FE9935-69AE-4FE7-8BB8-A5EFA922BD52_zps

 

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8CA1F211-C1B0-46F8-8E49-70DC3475850A_zps

 

It will require some finagling, but I think it is close enough to try.

 

Regards,

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We have lift off!

 

I ordered some smaller Micro engines from eBay and they arrived this morning. It fits into the kit engine better with some 2.5 x 2.5mm styrene strips top and bottom to centre the engine. I opened up the engine block front and rear using a round file. Some whittling with a micro chisel to tidy up the holes and remove some of the interior plastic to fit the oval shape of the motor:

 

5C44CFFB-B826-4AAA-B4AC-952B2C33F9CC_zps

 

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A function test of the motor was a success. The motor sits nicely and I will secure it with some epoxy. Once I've wired it up before I seal the engine halves, shall put another block behind the motor to ensure it stays forward.

 

Regards,

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Whilst awaiting the arrival of some electronics, I thought I would turn to another area of importance: the cockpit. I have reasoned that not all the PE will be necessary as once the pilot is in, there isn't much to see. So I have opted for the minimalist look:

 

9C860055-4CAA-46CE-B805-E934FD0DE86E_zps

 

13E14BC3-F7C0-4B98-9A16-DF5E69F280C3_zps

 

The cockpit tub has been attached to the port side. Once painted and the additional PE panels installed the fuselage will be closed up. The Aerobonus pilot has the seat attached and I have started putting him together:

 

C265FBC0-BAB3-4DA9-BB89-0E497C1E6A33_zps

 

E554D30C-661E-425B-9AAC-A08ABC4DC3A9_zps

 

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The left arm is supposed to be resting on the edge of the open port cockpit sill, however this would not be feasible so a little surgery was performed to bring the arm closer to the torso. The more eagle eyed amongst you may have noted the injury sustained to his left hand during this operation. A false hand was shaped out of sprue and affixed to a hastily drilled hole in the sleeve. Once painted and with the fuselage halves and closed cockpit, it should look passable. A final look at the set up and just how much will not be visible:

 

97C9DB17-E6B2-4190-A815-52F964BD6536_zps

 

99C16872-50F4-43AD-A180-FA3C26F9A3C4_zps

 

FBE0C48E-8404-4E22-8C4B-EEBA6EE0AFA9_zps

 

C96782EE-C2FF-4EA0-8C90-364D92A568E9_zps

 

Regards,

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Not much progress as the kids were sick during the week and fortunately passed it onto me! Just some finagling with the final PE in the cockpit area and some card stock down each side of the air cooler to address the gap issue. This will be sanded flush before painting:

 

D7FF1C40-56F8-45A9-B505-C057856DF645_zps

 

C52A2E0D-C6C6-4E68-9187-A79D9FDA36E3_zps

 

I also started working on the raised undercarriage. Upper half of the MLG as it won't be visible and glued the lower ends to the covers. As the upper covers slide over the top of the lower when down, I am going to use the upper gear covers as a template for some card replacements before sanding them flush with the lower covers then trimming the excess from the covers to fit. It's not a mm or two but I figure this is the best way rather than cutting the complete upper covers off and adding to the end of the lower:

 

6154112E-E810-4120-A643-4F100BBAC7E9_zps

 

963F52F1-73BC-4C88-A3D4-2B0DA790E17A_zps

 

Regards,

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Welcome back,

I have finally felt well enough to get back to the bench. The interior areas, including the pilot, have been sprayed RLM 02 and await detail painting before assembly:

 

40A434D1-A7B7-4050-AB54-19D743C4D94D_zps

 

The opening for the electrical motor connector has been cut out of the lower fuselage section. It will allow me to remove the aircraft for painting and transport. I will secure the connector to the interior using some strip on each of the length sides and securing another piece across the tops:

 

885FC067-07C6-4678-B9D1-B1A18355E307_zps

 

09CA33C8-4AE1-4CEC-AA93-00131290EB5B_zps

 

This will allow the male section enough clearance to fit into the female connector and hopefully have minimal connector showing:

 

DFBE1502-05CA-4030-9437-691DD248E649_zps

 

712D91E6-E7B8-413F-8AA3-F7530CF7D2DA_zps

 

D09F806F-DB73-449D-9D7D-7CEC4B743F1D_zps

 

I have a small video of the connected motor which will appear below:

 

http://s219.photobucket.com/user/kahunaminor/media/Eduard Bf 109E-1/982298B8-8F90-4DA8-8662-8C1C6142AC29_zpsomqcfylz.mp4.html

 

Hmmm....may have to work on that. Anyone provide a how imbed a video please?

 

Regards,

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Welcome back,

The pilot has had his base colours added as per the Osprey book:

 

1265D021-B777-4433-AAFC-2BD50B679FAF_zps

 

BD47C990-21E2-424A-9AF2-D66C333C3B8C_zps

 

A7B6EABA-999E-412F-A123-4924FA6527B9_zps

 

The engine has been painted and the install of the cockpit, gun deck and firewall into the port side has been completed:

 

F40B7AA9-DFE7-49FA-BBF5-DDB861C033D4_zps

 

The rear end MG 17 are included as you can see them through the two openings in the gun cover:

 

70EEEF42-D9D1-42D9-942D-98CEDD5B6896_zps

 

A5F2AB00-2F6C-4FBC-9ADA-EA9E55324E4F_zps

 

The wiring is a bit long so I have cut a hole in the firewall and it will be looped through and back to the mounting point. The firewall needed a notch cut to accommodate the plug but it all fits pretty well:

 

AE31504A-5698-4083-BA39-3F2CB3D9B1EA_zps

 

Next up is the finishing of the interior before closing up the fuselage.

 

Regards,

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Thanks gents,

 

Kids are on school holidays so a great chunk of my time is now devoted to keeping them entertained for 14 days, hence not much progress. I have glosscoated the cockpit and those areas that were to receive a wash with AK Interactive Neutral Grey:

 

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Some touch ups and highlights to go before the Ultra Matte. I then fit the upper IP in place and had to dry fit the fuselage:

 

IMG_3771.jpg

 

I moved the hole for the motor attachment further back towards the COG. What's that old saying, measure twice cut once? The first hole was filled with some styrene rod, cut off and sanded back to flush:

 

IMG_3772.jpg

 

The stand also progressed as well. I cut a 150mm piece of square brass tubing and then filed two sides to give me a cutout to insert the female electrical connector as it was the exact same width. Nestling it into the brass on two sides gives me better support. I applied some heat shrink material to shield the connections inside the brass rod:

 

IMG_3773.jpg

 

IMG_3774.jpg

 

IMG_3775.jpg

 

Hopefully I will get the pilot inserted and the fuselage together before the week's out.

 

Regards,

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And we have progress! Ultra Matte Varnish applied followed by some actual construction! I glued some styrene strip fore and aft of the connector location. Once the connector is installed, I will attach more strip across the top of the connector and over the strip to secure it in place....forever!

 

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Some work to be done on the lower surface of the oil cooler and lower engine cowl to remove a couple of hairline seams:

 

IMG_3787.jpg

 

I started at the tail and progressively worked my way forward, securing the fuselage halves and ensuring the cockpit tub, gun deck and oil cooler were correctly aligned and snug:

 

IMG_3777.jpg

 

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The gun deck cover was secured in place:

 

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Once this has set up, I plan to dry fit the motor but secure the connector and lower wing assembly into place permanently. This will allow me to fine tune the motor position before the exhausts and cowls are placed. Hopefully next update it will have wings.

 

Regards,

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Welcome back,

 

It has wings! Starting with wing root joins, I glued the upper wings section by section working out to the wing tips. The leading edges will require some clean up but the dihedral looks good:

 

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The slats had the underside mounting tabs removed and cut flush and the slats were then fixed into position:

 

IMG_3853.jpg

 

The underside is in need of some minor attention but nothing too onerous:

 

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The engine is still free but a test of the cowl suggests a positive outcome:

 

IMG_3846.jpg

 

IMG_3847.jpg

 

Thanks for stopping by and regards,

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It lives! My creature has life! The stand is complete. An offcut piece of pine, drilled and dremelled to provide wiring and battery. A couple of coats of left over wood oil to protect the finish. A piece of round 6mm tube was inserted into the base of the square brass and soldered to make it easier to drill out the mount. I will not get any awards for neatness on the wiring but it works. Some self adhesive pads to raise the base to allow the battery to sit a little proud (with all the excess wires underneath):

 

IMG_3839.jpg

 

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Then the moment of truth......

 

http://s219.photobucket.com/user/kahunaminor/media/Eduard%20Bf%20109E-1/5C2EE1A1-495B-44D2-8988-98FB2AE40BED_zpsiyb8dc4w.mp4.html

 

 

Regards,

Edited by Kahunaminor
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I've added the radiators to the underside and puttied some seams:

 

IMG_3859.jpg

 

IMG_3856.jpg

 

IMG_3852.jpg

 

IMG_3849.jpg

 

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The engine has been set in place and the cowling firmly attached. I had been worried about the engine position for the exhausts, but looking at it this morning, they will fit and you would never see if they were exactly over the exhaust ports on the engine. A test fit of the spinner back plate and all good.

 

Regards,

Edited by Kahunaminor
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