Messerschmitt Bf-109F-4 Finished

[Dpgsbody55]

My next project will be another 109 (), this time an F.  We don't see many of these, and since I had one in my stash, I thought I'd give it a crack.  I haven't built a Trumpeter kit in a while, so we'll see how this one goes.  I suspect that if it wasn't for this GB, this is one of those kits in my stash I'd never build.

 

This is the model I'll be building.  There's three colour schemes in the box, but I'll probably do this one.

 

 

I bought this kit in 2021, and quickly added some aftermarket.

 

 

So far, I have the beginnings of an engine;

 

 

, and the beginnings of a cockpit.

 

 

 

And that's about it.  I'll see how I go on whether or not the engine will be displayed, and I suspect the cockpit will take up much of my time before I can start paint.  This one does look like a passably simple model, but after doing Kotare's 109K, I may find myself pfaffing about with extra detail if I can find some 109F cockpit pics.

 

Next time, more cockpit.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Gazzas]

Nice start!

[Marcleon]

What  great project! It's really good to see those forgotten Trumpie kits getting some love! A classic and worthy colour scheme too! I will be watching and enjoying! Marc

[Greif8]

Have fun with the kit Michael, I will enjoying following your progress.

 

Ernest

[Dpgsbody55]

After spending time away from the hobby last year and building good, easy kits from Airfix and Kotare, my start with this got a bit bogged down while trying to get my head around two sets of instructions (the kit and also Eduard's addon instructions), I think I'm getting the hang of this thing again.  I felt like my approach to this had become a bit like firing a scatter gun at the model build process. 

 

The engine was completed first.  

 

 

I may do some more on this, but DB601's had less in the way of pipe work and other stuff cluttering them up.  

 

While I waited for parts to dry, I started on the wings.

 

 

The wing tops have since been added and I've also built up the rudder and tail planes, but not added the elevators yet.  The rudder won't go on until painting is done as it's a different colour to the rest of the plane.

 

Next, the instrument panel is finished.  The gunsight took most of the effort as I attempted to add the Eduard reflectors with only a modicum of success.

 

 

The Eduard kit wanted me to add a panel underneath the IP for what I think is supposed to be fuel tank selection.  I didn't add it because (a) I'm not adding drop tanks, extra guns or any other excreta that this kit provides which is not appropriate for an F-4 Trop; and (b), the panel won't fit anyway.  I suspect that this kit is a Gustav G-2 or '4 that Trumpeter has marketed as an F.

 

The cockpit floor has also been finished, and I'm part way through weathering.  This model represents a machine operated in the desert, so the insides will be a bit dusty.  I've just got to wipe it down with a cotton bud again.

 

 

I've gone with a canvas boot around the control column base.

 

 

Next, the IP was added to the cockpit floor and the machine guns added.

 

 

 

The next few days will involve adding the engine to the above assembly and finishing the cockpit sides.  I expect my next update may also involve the assembly of the fuselage halves.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Gazzas]

Nice looking cockpit and engine, Michael.

[Dpgsbody55]

On 1/31/2026 at 12:39 AM, Marcleon said:

What  great project! It's really good to see those forgotten Trumpie kits getting some love! A classic and worthy colour scheme too! I will be watching and enjoying! Marc

 

I think the best thing about Trumpeter kits is that Trumpy have done kits that no one else has.  Kits like this and their MiG-3 are examples.  But putting them together is a bit of a minefield.  Here's two examples.

 

Firstly, there are no holes in the engine bulkhead to take the top mounting points for the engine.  Thankfully I found this out before adding the instrument panel as the top mount holes need to be drilled directly in front of the horizontal panel (part F20) which is attached to the top of the engine firewall.

 

Secondly, The instructions have you gluing the propeller spinner backing plate to the coolant or oil header tank, then pushing the prop and header tank assembly onto the prop shaft on the engine.  It won't fit or rotate because there are header tank mounting tabs molded into each half of the fuselage nose.  These tabs do not feature anywhere in the instructions which, if followed implicitly will mean you can't put the prop in place.  

 

These two issues are what I've found so far.  Hopefully I don't come across more, but it does go to demonstrate the slap dash approach by Trumpeter and why their kits do not find the same favour as other manufacturers such as Kotare, Tamiya and Airfix etc.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Dpgsbody55]

4 minutes ago, Gazzas said:

Nice looking cockpit and engine, Michael.

 

Thanks Gary.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Greif8]

I echo Gary that your engine and cockpit are looking good Michael.  Reference wrapping your head around instructions; I often have to carefully reread them, especially when I am using after market addons to make sure I am understanding things correctly - so you are not alone there my friend!

 

Ernest

[Dpgsbody55]

Work has continued on my 109F project.  Here's the completed right side of the cockpit which has a few Eduard enhancements plus my own in the form of the cabling at the back of the electrical panel which was made from 0.3mm wire twisted together then painted white.

 

 

Left side also completed.  Most of the extra detail here centres around the flap/trim chains.  

 

 

The engine and cockpit have been mated together.

 

 

So here's the cockpit in place against the right side fuselage half.

 

 

And again with the left side of the cockpit.

 

 

So at this point, I put the fuselage together.

 

 

As I was cleaning up the joint between each half, my fingers started to brush up against the gunsight, so I masked up the windscreen and added the braces and a couple of other unknown bits to the windscreen and put the lot into place to protect the gunsight from any future clumsiness on my part.  You'll also not that I've splashed some paint around the exhaust area so I can mask up more easily later.

 

 

This is where this project starts to head south.  Test fitting the wings to the fuselage shows some issues.  There's a gap on the left side which is an easy fix, but a canyon the right side.

 

 

"Ill fitting" is a slightly inadequate description.  I could put some plastic card in there to fill the gap then filler to finish off,  but this model has bigger issues.  The lower cowling and oil cooler has been assembled, but left off as it has to be painted yellow.  Easier to do it this way rather than mask then paint, especially given the proximity to the exhausts.  First up, the oil cooler flap actuator interferes with the inlet manifold on the engine.  Easy fix; just rip it off. I won't be seen anyway.  Notice also in the following picture the two black marks on the forward edge of the cowling.  It's hitting the engine so is being pushed down out of proper fitment.  The engine sit too low and the prop shaft is below the mid point of the nose by about 1mm which will cause a bad fitting prop.  So grinding the lower engine cowl is not a fix.

 

 

But it gets worse.  The lower cowl is too wide, or the fuselage is too narrow.  I'm going with the latter.  Notice the gap on the right side (lower edge in the following pic) between the fuselage and the lower cowling.

 

 

This is about the same size gap as the wing top to fuselage joint.  Here's another view of how well it (doesn't) fit adjacent to the wing root.

 

 

Right now, I'm contemplating the future or otherwise of this project.  Having looked hard at what I've done so far, the engine sits where it should vertically in the fuselage as the exhausts are in the right place, but it's about 1mm low at the front of the engine.  However, the engine mounts are in the right place on the firewall.  I haven't squashed the fuselage when the cockpit went in and the halves were joined.  The floor and cockpit walls all fitted well.   The engine cowlings fit well, which means no distortion of the fuselage caused by poor fitment of the engine/cockpit assembly.  I have notice that the right side joint to the top wing at the wing root on the fuselage is slightly convex.

 

I could push the engine up by jamming and taping the lower cowl up tightly into place against the fuselage.  But that still leaves the problem of the gap between the the back of the lower cowling and the sides of the fuselage.  If I can solve that, then mounting the wing and fixing the gaps becomes doable, if full of filler.  I'm going to have to commit some major surgery on this, so we'll see if it survives the operating table or not.  I have no intention of wasting anymore time or paint on this model if I can't get this right.  It's even more disappointing as I've built a very similar Trumpy 109 before and had none of these issues with that kit.

 

I hope to have made the fixes by the end of the weekend.  If not, well the garbo's come on Monday.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

 

 

 

[Greif8]

Very frustrating for you Michael.  This kit sounds like the modeling version of a car built on a Monday after a long weekend.  I hope you can correct the issues!  In the past I have had very simliar issues with a Trumpeter kit and ended up trashing it once I realized that the terrible fit issues had squeezed any joy out of building the kit.

 

Ernest

 

 

[Gazzas]

Saddening.  Perhaps a spacer made from a length of sprue that pushes the cowling outward?  Maybe that will give you a push in the right direction.

[Dpgsbody55]

20 hours ago, Greif8 said:

Very frustrating for you Michael.  This kit sounds like the modeling version of a car built on a Monday after a long weekend.  I hope you can correct the issues!  In the past I have had very simliar issues with a Trumpeter kit and ended up trashing it once I realized that the terrible fit issues had squeezed any joy out of building the kit.

 

Ernest

 

 

 

Yes, this kit is to reminiscent of a badly built British Leyland Morose Marina .  I agree with you that this sort of thing does squeeze the joy out of modelling.

 

36 minutes ago, Gazzas said:

Saddening.  Perhaps a spacer made from a length of sprue that pushes the cowling outward?  Maybe that will give you a push in the right direction.

 

I've had a similar thought.  I've cut a length of 2mm rod and jammed it diagonally between the wing root forward end and the opposite lower engine mount, so that it only affects the one side.  This has affected the right side exhaust shroud, bulging it outward slightly.  I think that gluing the top engine cowlings in place will fix this and will also brace the forward fuselage so that I can push the engine up a little.  This is a disappointment for me as I had wanted to display the model with one engine cowl open.  Just as well I'm happy with the cockpit and can display it with an open canopy, otherwise it would look rather uninteresting to me.  At least the lower engine cowl fits now.

 

It's not yet a certainty for completion as I have yet to attach the wings, and that's proving difficult given the way the correction brace has distorted the wing root as well.  It has "differential dihedral"  as well during test fit.  Definitely a chinese built 109 - Won Wing Low .  However, I think it's not yet ready for a wheelie bin funeral at least for this week.  Still not sure about the following week, though.

 

I'll post an update with pics once I've go the wing on properly; probably Tuesday.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[nmayhew]

@Dpgsbody55

i feel your pain

i built the Trumpy G-2 which I think in essence is the same basic kit and, although i didn't ever plan to expose the engine so everything out of sight was strictly 'structural requirement only', I think i also had to make some decisions about what i wanted to fit, and what i wanted to fill!

 

my general approach has always been make sure the most difficult bit to fix is the bit that fits - on an aircraft for me that is unquestionably the wing root - and work back from there

so for sh*tty kits I usually glue the top wing to the fuselage and then see how that fits to the lower wing

i realise that won't help you here, but maybe for the next time, or for others looking for an alternative approach?

 

if it does go for the 'wheely bin funeral' (I like the term lol) - make sure it's an incendiary one and film it for us!

 

but hopefully it won't come to that!!

Nick

 

[Dpgsbody55]

On 2/8/2026 at 5:08 PM, nmayhew said:

@Dpgsbody55

i feel your pain

i built the Trumpy G-2 which I think in essence is the same basic kit and, although i didn't ever plan to expose the engine so everything out of sight was strictly 'structural requirement only', I think i also had to make some decisions about what i wanted to fit, and what i wanted to fill!

 

my general approach has always been make sure the most difficult bit to fix is the bit that fits - on an aircraft for me that is unquestionably the wing root - and work back from there

so for sh*tty kits I usually glue the top wing to the fuselage and then see how that fits to the lower wing

i realise that won't help you here, but maybe for the next time, or for others looking for an alternative approach?

 

if it does go for the 'wheely bin funeral' (I like the term lol) - make sure it's an incendiary one and film it for us!

 

but hopefully it won't come to that!!

Nick

 

 

I've built that kit too, and had none of the troubles I've had with this one.  I suspect there are differences, as I had no problems with wing gaps, lower engine cowl or even fitting the engine to the cockpit as in this one.  I built mine with with a partially exposed engine too and was very happy with that build.  I think this kit was designed and engineered by Trumpeter's beginner apprentices.

 

By the time I found out that this was not a good or even passable kit, I'd already assembled the wings so couldn't try your method.  Perhaps it's as well as the right side face of the wing root had a decidedly upwards slant thanks to the distortion caused by the rod I used to push the fuselage away and fix the gap around the lower cowl.  It's a good tip, though, and one I shall bear in mind for future use.  Thanks.

 

Alas I can't stage a flaming dive into the wheelie bin.  Flaming plastic models diving into plastic bins might have me struggling for reasons when I ask the council for a replacement bin.   But I like your thinking .

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

 

 

Edited February 9 by Dpgsbody55