Airfix 1/24 Bf 109E - Tweaks?

[Expat Tomcat]

Hi Derek;

 

I think that the Hurricane's scale issue became pretty obvious when I offered it up to the Trumpeter kit. The Airfix offering was noticably larger!! Funny thing is, is that I haven't tried the same thing with the Trumpeter 109. I know I'd be comparing an Emil to a Gustav, but it should give a rough idea.

 

Regards;

Steve

 

 

 

I have both the Airfix Emil and the Trumpeter G-10 unbuilt. Laid one atop the other, the fuselage halves match up perfectly. Even the panel lines match up prretty well. The Airfix offering feels larger, clunkier, and more toy-like. It's easy to get the idea that it's 1/20 scale because it just feels bigger. One of the first things I noticed about the Trumpeter kit was how....delicate it appeared, compared to the Airfix, it's a waif. The Hurricane may be larger, I don't have a another to compare it to, but either the Airfix is in scale or both are out of scale.

Just sayin'

Edited November 27, 2010 by LSP_Kevin
Fixed quoting issues

[Derek B]

I have both the Airfix Emil and the Trumpeter G-10 unbuilt. Laid one atop the other, the fuselage halves match up perfectly. Even the panel lines match up prretty well. The Airfix offering feels larger, clunkier, and more toy-like. It's easy to get the idea that it's 1/20 scale because it just feels bigger. One of the first things I noticed about the Trumpeter kit was how....delicate it appeared, compared to the Airfix, it's a waif. The Hurricane may be larger, I don't have a another to compare it to, but either the Airfix is in scale or both are out of scale.

Just sayin'

 

Thanks Ex TC for that info'...It sounds like the two 109's are pretty well in agreement, but there is still a question mark over the Hurricane?...I can't believe that Airfix would be that far out on scale?

 

Cheers

 

Derek

[oletcherfred]

  A rather late reply, but our Bf-109E set in 1/32 is reviewed on this site. Has many details, all done from factory and in-field drawings. 

 

 

It is also available in 1/24 - same set, bigger scale. Mentioned earlier in this forum.

 

E-mail for "in box" review(by Graham Townsend) or pic.

 

Does it qualify as a "tweak?" You decide...   

 

Special order, though. May take a week or three for delivery.  

We accept PayPal(and other methods) and ship worldwide, too .  

[crobinsonh]

Thanks Ex TC for that info'...It sounds like the two 109's are pretty well in agreement, but there is still a question mark over the Hurricane?...I can't believe that Airfix would be that far out on scale?

 

Cheers

 

Derek

 

 

Hi Derek,

I can tell you that the wings for the Trumpeter and Airfix kit are the same dimensions - although the Airfix wings are thicker. I am pretty sure the fuselages lengths where the same as well (although I cannot compare right now as I am in the Caribbean). I looked very seriously at using the wings of the Airfix kit with the correct surface details and not the horrible divots of the Trumpeter model, mated to the Trumpeter fuselage from the rear engine firewall back (the Airfix kit has incorrect details with regard to the drop in from the rear cockpit to the tailplane). In the end after cutting up one Hurricane I came cross the Nutter which will allow has allowed me to fill in the divots on the Trumpeter kit and make a LOT of tiny, raised rivets and get the correct surface detail.

 

In short - wings are too thick on the Airfix model and the spinner is too blobby - the rest (from memory) is the same size as the Trumpeter Hurricane. I will re-confirm once I am back home in December.

 

Regards

[Derek B]

Hi Derek,

I can tell you that the wings for the Trumpeter and Airfix kit are the same dimensions - although the Airfix wings are thicker. I am pretty sure the fuselages lengths where the same as well (although I cannot compare right now as I am in the Caribbean). I looked very seriously at using the wings of the Airfix kit with the correct surface details and not the horrible divots of the Trumpeter model, mated to the Trumpeter fuselage from the rear engine firewall back (the Airfix kit has incorrect details with regard to the drop in from the rear cockpit to the tailplane). In the end after cutting up one Hurricane I came cross the Nutter which will allow has allowed me to fill in the divots on the Trumpeter kit and make a LOT of tiny, raised rivets and get the correct surface detail.

 

In short - wings are too thick on the Airfix model and the spinner is too blobby - the rest (from memory) is the same size as the Trumpeter Hurricane. I will re-confirm once I am back home in December.

 

Regards

 

Hello Colin (I hope that you are finding the Carribean to your liking ). I think that you have pretty well confirmed my suspicions with regard to the Hurricane. I have the Airfix Hurricane I, but not the Trumpeter kit, so I cannot make the comparison. I am wondering if there is something of an 'old wive's tale' going on here?

 

Derek

 

(PS Fred, thanks for the Fotocut heads up, I my need to invest in a set at some point...I suppose that I am looking at what improvements I can market for the kit as much as what is needed to improve it?).

[oletcherfred]

Welkies, Derek !    

[crobinsonh]

Hi Derek,

Back at home and the fuselage lengths are the same when I lay a LH Airfix fuselage against a RH Trumpeter fuselage. There are some minor difference with the depth of the front of the fuselage (i.e. the cowling under the engine) of around 1 - 1.5mm. I will post photo's later

 

Same for the wings as we discussed previously - again the depth at the point where the wings meet the fuselage is around 1-1.5mm greater in the Airfix kit but is pretty much the same at the wingtips.

 

Not sure where the "1/20th" came from - whether this was the thick wing (which is thicker on the AIrfix) or the "Mr blobby spinner" - but if the Airfix kit is 1/20th then so is the Trumpeter Hurricane from my observations.

 

Regards,

[Expat Tomcat]

As far as the 109E goes, the only glaring difference between the two kits seems to be the slope of the rear, stationary portion of the canopy on the Airfix kit seems to slope back much further than the Trumpy offering. I think someone mentioned this breifly, the difference is substantial. I am no "Luftwaffe experten" but I thnk this is an inaccuracy in the Airfix kit instead of a modification between different marks of the same airframe. I would refer to engineering drawings for confirmation of this, but that's another tweek for the list. It would require extending the fuselage forward and a complete re engineering of the aft canopy section and rear cockpit bulkhead. Perhaps a vacuform canopy would solve this problem. OR, since this is an Emil with flat canopy surfaces you could just build a frame of the aft canopy section with the correct slope and "glaze" your own window frame. Another possibility would be cut off the offending part of the existing rear kit canopy section once you had the fuselage angle corrected. Of the 3, the latter is probably the least amount of work, but all options require the same modification and extention of the fuselage. The differnce is what you want to do to solve the canopy issue. Choice is yours!

[Derek B]

As far as the 109E goes, the only glaring difference between the two kits seems to be the slope of the rear, stationary portion of the canopy on the Airfix kit seems to slope back much further than the Trumpy offering. I think someone mentioned this breifly, the difference is substantial. I am no "Luftwaffe experten" but I thnk this is an inaccuracy in the Airfix kit instead of a modification between different marks of the same airframe. I would refer to engineering drawings for confirmation of this, but that's another tweek for the list. It would require extending the fuselage forward and a complete re engineering of the aft canopy section and rear cockpit bulkhead. Perhaps a vacuform canopy would solve this problem. OR, since this is an Emil with flat canopy surfaces you could just build a frame of the aft canopy section with the correct slope and "glaze" your own window frame. Another possibility would be cut off the offending part of the existing rear kit canopy section once you had the fuselage angle corrected. Of the 3, the latter is probably the least amount of work, but all options require the same modification and extention of the fuselage. The differnce is what you want to do to solve the canopy issue. Choice is yours!

 

Thanks TC, that information is very useful to me, and gives me something else to consider

 

Derek

[Expat Tomcat]

No problem, I'm glad to be of help. I realized I was in a minority of folks who just happen to have both kits on hand unbuilt. If you have any other Qs feel free to fire away.