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Revell 1/32 Bf109G-10 Erla


Thunnus

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Looking good John.  I just got a Revell G-10 in the mail yesterday.  I'm probably not going to go so far as to replace the entire nose on mine...

 

Thanks Jennings!  The Revell G-10 is a decent kit and goes together well.  I've built the Revell G-10 without the nose replacement.  It still looks like a 109 or so I thought.

 

Looking at it now, I think it is missing some of the odd asymmetrical chunkiness that characterized the G-10 cowling.

 

I did a little more work on the current G-10 yesterday and today.  Mostly dry-fitting the cowling and then filling the rest of time on small tasks that need to be done eventually.  Just hopping around, keeping myself occupied.

 

Here is the front of the cowling with the air bubbles filled with putty.  Most, if not all of it will be hidden by the spinner but there were enough bubbles near the visible edge that I just decided to smooth the entire front end.

IMG_1144.jpg

 

The exhaust pipe issue was investigated next.  The Barracuda exhaust stacks are designed to be drop-in replacements for the Revell kit.  However, they are noticeably wider than the kit exhausts.  So they are difficult to install from the inside as designed.

IMG_1146.jpg

 

The kit cowling and exhaust stacks could serve as good references.  I happened to throw the kit cowling into the trash after I had cut them off of the fuselage.  So I had dig them out of the trash can.  Luckily they were cut in a way that preserved the exhaust area.  Here are the kit cowling parts with the Revell exhausts tabbed in from the inside and the Barracuda exhausts dropped in from the outside.  Remember, I had already trimmed the backing from the Barracuda exhausts earlier, which prevents me from installing them like the Revell exhausts.  No big deal... I want to install them from the outside anyway.

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What I came up with is a two-piece backing plate made from sheet styrene.  These were glued in with CA glue.

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The Barracuda exhausts drop in from the outside, like I wanted so this solution is a good one.  

 

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One thing I noticed about the Reaver engine cowling is that it lacks the deflector plates above the exhaust stacks.  The opening for the exhausts is pretty tight with the exhausts in place but I think I can fit deflector plates made from thin brass sheeting.  I did this for my 1/48 Bf109K-4 build...

 

IMG_3326_zpsyu6t1sfw.jpg

 

IMG_3337_zpsaxbixkfg.jpg

 

At this point, I jumped over to the main landing gear legs.  I don't know why Revell chose to do this but each leg is comprised of FIVE separate parts.  It's unnecessarily complicated, don't you think?

 

IMG_1151.jpg

 

Once finished, the legs will look pretty good.  I'll be adding brake lines of course.

IMG_1152.jpg

Edited by Thunnus
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Jumping again... this time to the instrument panel.  The acetate behind an unpainted photoetch face is a bit of an older school approach.  I happen to like it better than the current Eduard pre-painted instrument panels.  Mostly because of that awful purple paint that Eduard tries to pass off as RLM 66.

 

IMG_1153.jpg

 

The back of the instrument face acetate needs to be painted white to make the instruments visible.

 

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The Revell instrument panel is pretty nice as far as injected molded plastic, but it can't match the Eduard panel.

 

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Dry-fitting continues.  This time I've added the wing bottoms into the mix.  I still can't figure out if the forward bulkhead of the Aires cockpit is getting in the way or not.  But the fit of the gun breech cover to the fuselage is not bad.

 

IMG_1164.jpg

 

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Adding the windscreen and canopy revealed some issues.  The Aires cockpit sidewalls seem to be pushing the fuselage sides wider so some thinning is probably in order.  Also, there may be a height issue with those sidewalls.

 

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I've reinforced the exhaust backplates with epoxy glue because I'd hate for them to pop into the fuselage after the cowling is attached.  When that cures, I can do some more dry-fitting.

Edited by Thunnus
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Anyone have a detailed drawing or photo of an Erla 109G-10 cowling?  I want to put rivets on this model but I don't have a detailed drawing for the Erla-specific cowling, especially the area between the rear edge of the cowling and windshield.

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Those are supposed to be weep holes. I've never seen photos or evidence of them

on any drawing. If they were there the disc shape would represent the reinforcement

which would have been on the inside of the fabric.

 

hth

These round things on real airplane

37553582325_f4bb2b64b0_z.jpg1385061240_rr2 by Alexey Matvienko, on Flickr

37553585685_c42eeb67b7_b.jpg163824as-122 by Alexey Matvienko, on Flickr

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Anyone have a detailed drawing or photo of an Erla 109G-10 cowling?  I want to put rivets on this model but I don't have a detailed drawing for the Erla-specific cowling, especially the area between the rear edge of the cowling and windshield.

There is visible internal structure to give idea where the rivets shoul be.

26664716879_a8a60b5140_b.jpgcowl_1 by Alexey Matvienko, on Flickr

38440941901_b1a4ca23c5_b.jpgcowl_3 by Alexey Matvienko, on Flickr

38385235006_1782448e3e_b.jpgcowl_2 by Alexey Matvienko, on Flickr

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Ooh this is exciting!

 

Great to see the Reaver cowling used - I have a G-6 conversion but haven't summoned up the courage to start chopping :)

 

What plane are you making?

 

Also, I'm surprised that with all the AM you're using, that you didn't go for the Eduard bronze legs?

 

Thanks for sharing

 

Nick

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Thank you for those photos Fencer1!  Those are very helpful!

 

 

Ooh this is exciting!

Great to see the Reaver cowling used - I have a G-6 conversion but haven't summoned up the courage to start chopping :)

What plane are you making?

Also, I'm surprised that with all the AM you're using, that you didn't go for the Eduard bronze legs?

Thanks for sharing

Nick

 

Thank you for checking in!  This is my first go at such a large exterior hack job so I'm nervous too.  I have not decided on the markings but it will be a G-10 with the small wing bulges as I have already made one G-10 Erla with the large bulges. The Eduard metal legs were and are a consideration.  I had no issue with the strength of the Revell legs on my last build once they had been assembled.  I'll have to decide if there is an issue given the slight increase in weight with the resin nose.

 

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Photos of restored Gustavs from 109Lair website...

 

G-10 W.Nr. 151591

151591-stabilizer.jpg

 

I hate to be "That Guy" but she's a Buchon restored with a DB and some G-10 parts in the late 1980s/early 90s, so I'm not sure how closely she should be looked as at a reference for a model of a "true" G-10.

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I hate to be "That Guy" but she's a Buchon restored with a DB and some G-10 parts in the late 1980s/early 90s, so I'm not sure how closely she should be looked as at a reference for a model of a "true" G-10.

  

Very good to know.  I qualified my references stating that the photos were of restored aircraft and what that might imply.  Even with the photo that Fencer-1 posted, assuming that is from authentic G-10, I still think the removal of the circles is a valid choice.  For me.

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Fantastic work John. Removal of those donuts was a needed move. Buchon or 109, this detail remains the same. One more thing, If I may suggest solution for the landing gear. Eduard's Brassin legs have excellent detail and solve the problem with overly fragile leg mount, I broke two already.

Cheers

M.

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Martin, can you tell me where the legs broke?  Was it near the peg that inserts into the wing?  Although I did not have that issue with my previous G-10 build, I could see how that might be an weak point. 

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I still think the removal of the circles is a valid choice.  For me.

I know very little about 109s but the circles didn't look right at all, so I totally agree with your choice!

 

In my eagerness to point out Black 2/151591/C.4K-40's dubious provenance I completely forgot to compliment your work in the previous post. I'm really enjoying watching it progress.

Edited by KiwiZac
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