Bf109F-4/Z Trop, 3./JG27, Hans Joachim Marseille, N. Africa, Feb. 1942

[dodgem37]

Thank you very much, Filippo. Just doing my best to do my best when it comes to the IP. I haven't quite found that sweet spot for doing IP's just yet. But with each one I do I feel as if I'm closing in. One of these days I hope they'll be easy for me.

 

Thank you, Peter. Very nice of you to say.

 

Evan, did you contact Aires for a replacement set? I'm sure they would send you one.

 

Thank you, Taff. Just trying to keep up with your Sea Fury! That is some jelly roll.

 

Thank you ever so much, Maru.

 

No visual update today, just typographic.

 

I was ever so close during this round, my third, when I noticed a gap. Upon review I realized I used a .015 strip instead of a .010 strip. It's not noticeable and I was going to work thru it but once the .005 shape I was using as the spacer between the center canopy ends and the windshield and rear canopy tore, I decided to put it down for a week or so to concentrate on yard work, straightening up the basement, boxing my models and magazines for sale, reading some Art History, and generally doing something else until I get the congestion out of my brain that I have at least one more to do before I get it right.

 

Thank you everyone for looking in and for such nice and inspiring comments.

Sincerely,

Mark

[Martinnfb]

Very Cool , see you in a week.

M.

[dodgem37]

Lots of work, lots of failures, some success. Failures, in no particular order.

 

Here I've drafted up the canopy on an index card so I would have an idea of how to draft it up on .005 sheet. Making the end frames. They are too big. I forgot to take into account the thickness of the built-up frame.

 

One of the frames cut out of .005 sheet. .005 cut strip spacers for the 'glass'. I had something else in mind, which was wrong, and did not continue the strip to the edge. Which I should have.

 

.005 clear sheet set down on double-sided adhesive film and ready to trim.

 

This is from the second attempt. Making each panel individually then glueing everything together. I didn't champher the edges so the top ended up not fitting. 'F' for front, 'B' for back.

 

Glueing on the end gasket. I've already located some framing.

 

A new frame. The third attempt, I think.

 

One of the builds was .5mm to wide so I cut some index card and subtracted .010 from that.

 

Starting over again. This time writing down the dimensions so I could focus solely on visualizing a different construction methodology.

 

New ends. .005 cut sheet. These tore on more than one occasion necessitating starting over for one reason or another.

 

More below.

[dodgem37]

The above image and the next series of images pretty much document the last one I worked on.

 

Framing drawn out on .005 sheet.

 

Some of the parts. All styrene is .005. I went out and bought some .005 acetate for the windows because my stock of .005 clear styrene is so scratched. The brown is double-sided adhesive film. Thick width is 1.5mm, thin is 1mm.

 

Frame cut out and preparing to bend.

 

Working on the second bend.

 

Caught that line right on.

 

Putting on double-sided adhesive film.

 

Locating the acetate window.

 

Wish I could do this more often. Window opens from the 'F', front.

 

New framing. End cut at an angle to match.

 

Too many images. Continued below.

[A.Wolf Grant]

This some astonishing scratch work Mark, I'm dumbstruck with the precision and quality of your work.

 

Grant.

[dodgem37]

Inner window framing located. Attaching the main frame.

 

This is how I held and pressed the end strips into place. Window framing for top window in place.

 

Loser! I've moved on to rivetting. I'll get back to this later.

 

Rivetting below.

 

I decided to draw on a painted surface with a soft lead this time instead of directly onto the slick plastic with a hard lead as I did with the K-4 build. There were imperfections due to my airbrush spitting so I sanded them off and just drew on what was there instead of repainting. Not quite finished in this photo. In general, 1mm spacing. At panel lines, .5mm spacing.

 

One of the reasons why I didn't rivet the K-4 with a bead tool is because I didn't like the size of the bead I had seen in publications and of my test. I tested with an MDC bead tool. MDC bead tool is a #4 as compared to UMM's beading tool set. I think it is too big for a rivet. You can see the ghost of the CA filled and sanded rivet below UMM's #1 bead rivet.

 

Done.

 

Although the wheel well opening is 21mm in diameter, and the detail underneath the top wing panel is 19mm in diameter, what fit was an18mm diameter circle. Go figure.

 

A little structural support while pressing down.

 

Removed the Milliput and CA'd styrene. On the wing fillet are a couple of rivets. Altho the placement is as right as I could figure out, the real condition requires 4 rivets situated in a square at each location. That didn't go so well so I just put in one. Might be able to see some rivetting and scribing under the intake along the wing edge.

 

Whew! Got a few more of these to do.

 

Thanks for looking in.

Sincerely,

Mark

[LSP_Kevin]

Grant is right, this is precision micro-engineering at an unparalleled level. Stupendous work Mark, and your dedication to the task is awe-inspiring. Every time you post I learn something.

 

Kev

[Guest Peterpools]

Mark

I'm speechless. Absolutely some of the finest precision modeling I have ever seen. It's just hard to believe the standard of craftsmanship and accuracy you've set for yourself.

I've made notes and learned more then a few new techniques. :thumbsup:

Tremendous work.

Peter ;

[Ripaman]

Hi Mark,

Brilliant , what more can be said.

 

Regards

Richard

[tchwrma]

 

 

 

 

I'm very happy that a good portion of your astounding work in the office could still be viewed after the fuselage was closed. It always a bad thing to made a nice cockpit like your's and then discover that it keep hidden into the fuselage.

 

I'm only waiting to you to finish the job, to save the topic for future reference.

Keep going with your great job!

 

Greetings from Brasil!

[A.Wolf Grant]

I stand by what I said earlier .. astonishing stuff !

 

Grant

[DaneBramage]

Wowzers!!! Love love love.

[dodgem37]

Whoa! I had no idea there have been so many responses. I only have time now-a-days to review the first page.

 

Thank you everyone for following along and commenting.

 

'This some astonishing scratch work Mark, I'm dumbstruck with the precision and quality of your work.'

Thank you, Grant. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. I just keep working at a problem until it's solved. Simple problems are solved relatively quickly. Complicated ones, such as the canopy, take a little more time. The problem I must slove with the canopy is that the edge of the last layer (the 'seen' layer) on each frame must be contiguous to the edge of each other frame once the entire frame is bent to shape. I suppose I could not be concerned with having the edges contiguous and have a gap while covering it with the main framing, but i figured, why not give it a shot?

 

'. . . precision micro-engineering at an unparalleled level. Stupendous work Mark, and your dedication to the task is awe-inspiring.'

Thank you, Kevin. Dedication to task, don't tell anyone, but I'm redoing the K-4. That's partly why I haven't done any posting. Someone, who shall go nameless, but whose name begins with Gabriella, switched out my hand soap with hand sanitizer without my knowledge. Let me just say, don't wash your finish with hand sanitizer as it ruins acrylic (future), but, oven cleaner not only removes enamel paint but will disolve CA.

 

'Every time you post I learn something.' Learning is FUNdamental! I love learning new things. I'm glad I can help, Kevin.

 

'I'm speechless. Absolutely some of the finest precision modeling I have ever seen. It's just hard to believe the standard of craftsmanship and accuracy you've set for yourself.'

Thank you, Peter. Your compliments leave me speechless! I must confess. I spent over 20 years on the drafting table designing 2- and 3-D objects before moving to a computer. So I had a bit of a leg up in many of the compulsory aspects of accuracy.

'I've made notes and learned more then a few new techniques.

Tremendous work.'

Thank you, Peter. I have no secrets. I'm only too glad to share what I know or can figure out.

 

'Brilliant'

Thank you, Richard. You give me a laugh. The BRILLIANT! calling ME Brilliant.

 

Thank you, Grant.

 

Thanks for stopping by, Dane. And thank you for your compliment. I've missed you.

 

As I mentioned to Kevin, I've been putting in some time on the (new) Bf109K-4 build because, well, hand sanitizer ruined the clear acrylic finish and the wings fell off of the fuselage while I was rinsing the model after soaking it in oven cleaner to strip the finish. I'm not too concerned about things not being salvageable.

 

SWMBO is calling. Gotta go. I'll give a report on this build when I get back. It won't be much, as I've been fiddling around with the old and new K-4. But the rivetting is 99% complete.

 

Thank you all for for stopping byand your very generous comments .

Sincerely,

Mark

[dodgem37]

I've done a little but not much to show or talk about, really.

 

I've switched over to the K-4 build for a very long while it seems. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel concerning the work I've been doing on that.

 

I've been working on the tailwheel and tailwheel fuselage details. Something I didn't really want to do but did anyway. It's taken a bit longer to do than if I were fully charged for it, and it's a bit different.

 

I should be in a position to post some finished K-4 construction images by weeks end then I it will be back to this build, specifically the canopy.

 

Thanks for looking in and asking. I'm looking forward to getting back to this build and hopefully solving the canopy construction.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[dodgem37]

Still focused, Brother Bear.

 

Spent the last few days working on a mock-up.

 

Cut out a new frame. This is actually a repeated photo from an earlier effort. I didn't photograph the frame I worked on here.

 

Made a couple of cradles.

 

Worked on applying the layers. First is .010 x .020 for the window depth. Second is .005 x 1.5mm at the center locations, .005 x 1mm at the ends to capture the window. Narrow third is .020 x .020, wide is .030. x .020 interior frame. Not too precise, unfortuneately. But close enough for a mock-up. Frame held in place on cradle with double-sided adhesive film.

 

Completed mock-up. Note tear in upper right hand corner.

 

Inside framing layout.

 

Now that I know how to build the thing, a key to consistency will be to make runs of sandwiched framing held down on upside down tape of which I will cut to length instead of cutting individual pieces and glueing them in place.

 

Thanks for looking in.

Sincerely,

Mark