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Bf109 E-4/B "Yellow 6" Oblt. Otto Hintze 3./ Erpr.Gr210 1940


nmayhew

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hi guys

 

 

thank you for the kind words

thing is, i feel like this project is kind of "sucking me down the drain" a bit - i really did not intend a super detail OR a full blog...all i wanted was a nice quick build! help.gif

 

i guess that will have to be next 109 then eh?? wicked.gif

 

Thomas, glad you like it, but be VERY CAREFUL about following all my wiring - once you start to compare to photos you will see that i am at best showing only 60-70% of what was really there, and much of what i have done is only an approximation (rather than a straight representation) of what was under the hood! doh.gif

 

but, i think you just about get away with this in 1/32 no?

 

as an aside, i think in 1/48 it doesn't really matter / or is just too small; 1/24 really asks the builder for much more accuracy and attention to detail, just my opinion

 

anyway, i have know to look at the gun deck area, specifically the bit where the MG barrels overhang the engine, as that is the part that will be most visible (the panel immediately in front of the cockpit will be installed)

 

the Brassin set sadly adds nothing to this area, and the kit parts are really quite clumsy, but i think they may have to do

 

thanks again for your interest

 

Nick

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(...) once you start to compare to photos you will see that i am at best showing only 60-70% of what was really there, and much of what i have done is only an approximation (rather than a straight representation) of what was under the hood! (...)

Who really cares ???

 

Not sure a lot of us do!

It's a really nicely detailed and clean build, I like it!

Keep on going that good work !!!!

 

;)

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hello gentlemen,

 

only small progress i am afraid, but i am getting closer to finishing the engine area (thank God!)

 

first up a quick question: does anyone know where the long pipe running diagonally down the side of the engine actually goes at the front?

there are 2 other pipes / wires on the other side which i know go into the spinner back plate are, but i have not worked this one out.

if all else fails it will just diverted down somewhere, but i don't really want to do that, as i know i will then find a pic telling me all i need straight afterwards! BANGHEAD2.jpg

 

IMG_0008.jpg

 

i have now added the MGs on to the gun deck...

 

IMG_0007.jpg

 

buut disappointingly (unsurprisingly?) found that the cowl piece still rides too high on top of the guns angry.gif

 

since the panel has already been thinned within an inch of its life, i had no choice but to sand away the top of the guns - a shame, but i really don't think you'll be able to tell once the panel is on top

 

IMG_0014.jpg

 

IMG_0017.jpg

 

next up, i will set about detailing the MG barrel supports / braces, and the small tubes at the end of the MG barrels which mate with the main cowling...

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first up, here is probably the best shot at what i am trying to replicate...

 

Me109E-4FranzVonWerraLovesFarmMarden6.jpg

 

as you can see, my detailing does not even come close to what's actually there, but hopefully it looks busy enough so as not to look completely "toy-like", which i have to say i think it will look like if you build this bird OOB, or even use the Brassin set without adding extra plumbing

 

i added the made barrel brace pieces...

 

IMG_0028.jpg

 

and used some phote etch from an armour model i will never use (it's actually Eduard's PE for the Tamiya Grant if you really must know)!

 

IMG_0025.jpg

 

again this is an approximation, but to just glue the brace to the barrel would clearly look odd

 

IMG_0031.jpg

 

anyway, the pic also give a good shot of the tubes around the front of the MG barrels, and note they are supported themselves by a double brace plus some sort of buckle or strap

 

the Eduard parts have to be thinned first, or the barrels just won't go through them; i used a round file, as my idea of drilling them out just didn't work

 

IMG_0035.jpg

 

IMG_0036.jpg

 

more in a moment...

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here we have the tubes (i suppose i should call them "shrouds" - sounds better wink.gif) on the barrels for a test fit and to work out where they should go...i used the cowling placed on top as reference, as i believe they have been pushed back a bit too far in the pic of von Werra's bird in the prev post

 

IMG_0038.jpg

 

then more photo-etch...yeah

 

4 of these little babies were bent into shape and slip in between the barrel and the engine, and attached with gator glue - much better than CA here because it has instant stick, but gives you the opportunity to wiggle stuff a bit

 

again, an approximation, but the best i could do shrug.gif

 

IMG_0050.jpg

 

that's it for now

 

okay i hope to get some paint on some of the plumbing, and paint the wheel wells before closing up the wings, so it finally start looking like an Emil, and and not a dog's breakfast!

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right...i got fed up just staring at the cowling sections, test fitting, realising it wasn't fitting, doing more staring...

 

you get the picture BANGHEAD2.jpgBANGHEAD2.jpgBANGHEAD2.jpg

 

i glued the starboard panel on once i had scraped and chain drilled out the vents - the look a bit rough in the pic, but hopefully with a bit of paint they should look ok - and then glued the top panel on...

 

IMG_0058.jpg

 

it looked fine from that side, but not so great from the other...

 

IMG_0061.jpg

 

sometimes all the test fitting in the world is no substitute for a bit of grunt and some super glue!!! (you did NOT just hear me say that!! laugh.gif)

 

IMG_0062.jpg

 

once on, i could see that the panels whilst they line up, are different "depths", and there is quite a step on both sides

 

IMG_0065.jpg

 

IMG_0063.jpg

 

more in a moment...

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i dabbed on some mr surfacer 500 along the panels...

 

IMG_0066.jpg

 

and here...

 

IMG_0068.jpg

 

this is done of course because eduard screwed up and made this panel in 3 pieces, when on the real aircraft it was just one; and so, after a bit of sanding and re-rivetting...

 

IMG_0070.jpg

 

IMG_0072.jpg

 

probably more clean up will be needed once the primer goes on, but i am pleased that i can finally get on with actually making the rest of the plane! beer.gif

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i primed the wheel wells, and pre-shaded black...

primed and painted the wheels black...

primed the Scale Aircraft Conversion legs (some seams to file off)

 

IMG_0073.jpg

 

here are the wheel wells attached to the wing after spraying some rlm65

 

IMG_0078.jpg

 

the canvas covers of some ErprGr210 aircraft were quite clearly much darker than rlm02, bu exactly what who knows...i went with rlm66 and rlm70 mixture shrug.gif

 

i also painted the zip silver, and the tiny border along the zip a light khaki colour, to simulate the zip surround

 

it doesn't look that convincing in the pic, but maybe from a (long!) distance it might look a bit better?? please.gif

 

IMG_0079.jpg

 

i also glued the other bits of the wheel wells on; because you glue one bit on to the bottom of the wing, and one bit on to the top, there are certain fit problems which annoyingly could be solved if they engineered the kit a little differently but as they say, "it is what it is" !!

 

IMG_0080.jpg

 

IMG_0082.jpg

 

more later today if i get the chance

 

cheers

 

Nick

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Wow (again!)! What a fascination with details! :speak_cool:

 

But, just two things i would like to comment:

 

the MG barrels are very rusty. When i learned something during my time in the German Bundeswehr then that any guns are perfectly cared for. I am sure this was effective with the Luftwaffe then, too. But, maybe, you plan to get the guns a makeover later?!?

 

Second: i am sure that there is not a single offical document nor any official order from the RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium) in Berlin that a Smiley had to applied inside one of the wing halves of a German aircraft! Nick, we can be glad that Chuckw´s Pfennig isn´t around!... ;)

 

Just kidding! This is lovely and very isnpiring build, i really marvel at your patience to do all these details. Awesome!!!

 

Thomas

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Hi Thomas,

Yup good point about the guns; in pics it's much more apparent than in the flesh, but you are correct - rusty guns are just wrong.

I will hand paint a bit of Gunze dark iron or something like that to male them look a bit more realistic.

The story behind my error (story = excuse!) is that I thought priming with rattle can risked losing some of the barrel hole detail, and painting direct on to bare brass does not yield good results, sooo.... I dipped them in Blacken-It, a solution used (ironically) for "blue-ing" things like shot gun barrels in real life, but it doesn't "rust" them so aggresively of course. The Blacken-It produced an effect where initially I was happy to leave them as is, but of course you are correct - they really need some paint now.

As to the official RLM Smiliesatz addition, this was a field modification after wings were repaired and fitted correctly I think you will find!!

:) :) :)

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despite test fitting the wing halves with no problems, it is difficult to do this with both wheel well inserts because, as i mentioned earlier, one goes on the bottom, one on the top, hence you can't really tell whether everything mates up until you glue it...so i did...and it didn't BANGHEAD2.jpg

 

the circular insert is fine, as it has a positive lock if you see what i mean, but the half tube insert has a fair degree of "slide" and i found that i had glued t probably a fraction of a milimetre to far inward, hence i could not get the wing to line up

 

now we are only talking a fraction here, but you can definitely tell if you look at the panel lines

 

the solution was pretty simple - i sanded a bit off the tube insert and also a tiny bit off the main oleo insert block until i was happy with the fit

 

then i used various clamps to hold the wing and then used tamiya extra thin along the seams

 

IMG_0085.jpg

 

IMG_0086.jpg

 

this same process was repeated with the other wing...

 

the one downside is that you can see there is quite a gap where the tube insert meets the circular insert

 

IMG_0087.jpg

 

but i should be able to use some lead wire (1mm variety) to fill this, and probably make it look more accurate anyway!

 

the upside is that the wings fit pretty much spot on at the wing roots both sides...punk.gif

 

IMG_0088.jpg

 

IMG_0089.jpg

 

the fit underneath at the rear is not so great - there is a bit of a gap, but nothing that isn't fixable

 

cheers

 

Nick

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