First serious build: Trumpeter BF109

[Roy vd M.]

Hi all,

 

Some 15 years ago I last touched a model kit. I had done some terrible truck 'models' when I was a kid, really terrible; I'm talking not even taking the trouble to sand the sprue residues, one model not even painting. I just wanted to glue glue glue :-) So, 15 years ago I tried it again. I was a student then. This time I got as far as painting a Chevrolet Bel Air 1/24 engine, of course with the pensil. I didn't know I had to thin the paint. I also got a 1/16 Corvette with Revell airbrush thingy and went as far as to airbrush the body, then stopped.

 

So with all this experience I started working on a new project, 15 years later, a Heinkel HE111. But I wanted it to be as perfect as possible for me as possible, being a bit hard for myself. I made a few mistakes and decided to try a Trumpeter BF109 1/32 simultaneously, as a test model. As this model turned out to become nicer than I had thought (for my standards, although I'm in absolute awe of the for-me-unachievable works of art I've seen on this and other forums) I decided to finalize this build first (using an old Revell kit as test stuff instead).

 

i got photos of almost every little step and the numerous mistakes I made, starting with the Heinkel, then over to the Messerschmitt, Heinkel and again Messerschmitt. Maybe I'll make a huge photo thread someday with all those mistakes and things I learned, ideal for beginners such as myself. It would be a bit of a messy thread, as three planes are in there, but it'd still be educational.

 

Here are two pictures of the finished plane:

 

 

 

[LSP_Ron]

Welcome to LSP!

[LSP_Ron]

Oh, and nice little 109E

[Roy vd M.]

Thanks! And thanks! My girlfriend has been the only one who'd really interestedly (be it pressurized) taken a look at it until now, so I'm very happy with your approval of the 109.

[LSP_Kevin]

That looks a decent build Roy. Congrats on returning to the hobby in style! It's an addictive one, so watch out...I'm sure we'll be seeing more of your work!

 

Kev

[Roy vd M.]

It really is a little plane, compared to the bomber!!

 

 

I tried to depict a heavily used plane, with quite a couple of scratches, also a lot on the blades, trying not to overdo it.

 

Edited January 6, 2013 by Roy vd M.

[Barry]

Congratulations Roy on a fine build and welcome to the finest modeling forum around.

 

Barry

[Roy vd M.]

Thanks Kevin and Barry for your kind words. I already feel welcome here!

 

One last thing about the ME: I'm happy with almost everything (if I wasn't happy I'd simply do it again, or restore it, or enhance the scratches I made into something broken etc. etc. but one thing that I've not been able to fully cure is the white shading of the back canopy window... had used super glue for that. I thought I'd read most basic stuff but now I know one should never use super glue on clear parts. Fortunately a bit of floor polish made most white mist go away. But still...

[98Wrangler]

Dip your canopies in Future Liquid Floor Polish and super glue won't haze them.

[Roy vd M.]

Hi 98Wrangler, I had dipped the canopy parts in polish... first I had sanded the parts (all except the hazed part... (?))... from grids 800 up to 60.000 (!), then I got the floor polish on, then I let them dry, then I masked them, then I glued them. Upon getting the masks off I saw the whiteness. Didn't know what it was until I read that they're superglue markings. Cleaned it up quite a bit by massaging with a few drops of floor polish, but it won't go away completely. I'm at peace with it though, doesn't look as bad as on the first two photos anymore (they were made before I found out what the problem was). The next pictures were taken today. You can see on the one with the Heinkel underneath that the canopy is quite a bit clearer now.

Edited January 6, 2013 by Roy vd M.

[xmh53wrench]

WOW!!!!!!

 

You really need a backdrop....that head on view, could be the real deal.....that spinner is just the most!!!

 

WELCOME!

[Roy vd M.]

Thanks for the compliment!! Maybe after finishing the Heinkel in approximately 15 years I'll make a scenery thing for both together, standing in a field or hangar or something. It'd have to be quite a big box then by the way haha

[jeroenpeters]

Great start and work.

If this is your first model after a long hiatus, you'll be teaching us a couple of things in some time.

Keep it up.

 

Cheers,

Jeroen

[Roy vd M.]

Thanks Jeroen (who is fortunate to live even closer to my main source of modelling stuff: Aviationmegastore :-)) for your kind words but I'm afraid I'm more of a follower haha... I only just saw your own HE111-thread, will watch that while building my own version. I simply adore your JU88...

[Juggernut]

Welcome to our community...such that it is. Nice attempt at the early 109's! Apart from the learning curve inherent in these kits, you seem to have regained a good grasp on modeling concepts. With a few more kits under your belt and you should be up with the pros. I do have one suggestion though; make sure you research your subject as much as you possibly can. I say this because the flaps on the early 109's were fabric covered. It looks as though you've got metal chipping on the left flap which it wouldn't have being a doped fabric covered control surface. You've gotten the splinter camouflage pattern down pretty well. Do you use an airbrush for painting or was that done with a brush? If you brush painted it, my hat's off to you as I could never brush paint an entire aircraft, I can't get rid of the damn brush marks. There are guys here that do brush paint aircraft; I don't know how they do it but they come out looking fantastic.

 

Great job on a tough subject! In the end, all that matters is that you are happy with the end product. Don't let me discourage you from using your imagination...that's a big part of our hobby.

 

In this community you can feel at home asking questions about almost any subject (with respect to the forum rules) and someone here has probably "been-there-done-that-got-the-t-shirt" and will give you the information you're looking for, usually in a few hours. We're a very user friendly bunch and very tolerant (which is one attribute that sets us apart from some other forums). Advice is cheap so, jump right in, feel at home and try not to spill any paint.