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Revell 1/32 Bf109G-10 Erla


Thunnus

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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.

 

 Oh, not a problem at all Kiwi!  I appreciated the comment as it was something that I was unaware of.  I'm here to learn as I build so those type of insights are always welcome!  But thank you for the compliment.

 

Just some small steps taken as I spent only a few hours on the work bench the past couple of days due to work.  The pre-ftting of the Reaver cowling continues.  I still can't get a firm confirmation that things are fitting or not.  With the wings attached and the cockpit tub in place within the fuselage, I Blu-Tacked the cowling into place.

 

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At times, I get a distinct gap between the cowling and the gun breech cover on the port side.  Depending on how the cockpit tub jiggles around within the fuselage, the fit of that port side... sometimes there's gap as the internal wall of the cowling butts up against the forward bulkhead of the cockpit tub.  The starboard side doesn't have this problem.  It's hard to figure out what's going on because everything is moving around and I can't get a good view into the place where the cockpit tub seems to be interfering with the cowling.  More investigation is needed.  But I really do like the difference that the Reaver cowling gives to the G-10!

 

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I performed some minor correction work to the fuselage.  The Alley Cat G-10 upgrade set has a scribing template to relocate the fuel hatch on the port side.  I have this set from the previous build so I decided to utilize the template.  First I filled the port with Mr. Surfacer 1000.

 

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And then I taped the template securely to the fuselage.  I once had a bad experience holding down a template with fingers only so now I am sure to tape that mutha down tight.  Scribing is accomplished using a sewing needle chucked into a pin vise.

 

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I usually scribe the outline about 4-5 times in each direction before taking the template off.  I'll then alternate between scribing, sanding and scrubbing with a stiff paint brush until the outline is smooth and burr-free.  If necessary, I'll run a touch of Tamiya Extra Thin cement to melt any thin shavings.

 

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I drilled out the circular opening near the tail.  There is clear piece that is glued in place... some sort of plexiglass port for the aerial antenna.

 

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The clear piece is glued in with Tamiya Extra Thin.  I've left it sticking out a little bit.  When the glue is dry, I'll sand it down flush and give it a polish.

 

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There is a hatch on the starboard side that I tried to re-scribe.  Because the hatch outline was so shallow and I tried to do this freehand, the results were not very good.

 

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As you saw on the re-scribing of the port side fuel port, my usual filler is Mr Surfacer 1000. It's a good filler but it's not ideal for this type of work because it has a tendency to crumble when scribed upon.  I've been reading about using CA glue as a filler but had never tried it.  I thought this small hatch would be a good test.

 

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Wow... what a revelation!  The stuff works GREAT for filling plastic, especially when there is a need to put a scribing line over it.  There were areas along the panel lines where my scriber had jumped off the track and it was perfect for that type of repair work too.  Although this is a small discovery, I was really excited about it... lots of possibilities on areas/situations that I had struggled with in the past.

 

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The Erla kit comes with three types of tires. Which one to use for a small wing bulge Erla G-10.  The G-6 kit specifies using the treaded tire in the upper right corner so I'm thinking that this is probably appropriate for a the small wing bulge Erla G-10?

 

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Edited by Thunnus
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Good update, John - and glad you discovered the CA technique for filling in panel lines. It's an indispensable weapon in the war on scribing! Just don't wait more than about an hour before you rescribe, or you'll find that the CA is already harder than the plastic, and therefore harder to deal with.

 

Kev 

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Guest Airfixer

Great project, great attention to detail and good progress, so far.  :speak_cool:

 

In case you don't mind, and since you're spending a great deal of effort to make your model look "right", a few notes on the rear cockpit and canopy:

 

Part #58 depicts the earliest version of the" Erla hood", the so-called "replacement hood" which was conceived as a drop-in retrofit for the earlier centre and fixed rear canopy installations.

Most prominent recognition features: obtuse angled transition between lower and rear canopy frame and the distinctive notches on both of the lower rear canopy frames. To cut along story short, you won't find any of these on Erla-built G-10s. Hence, you might want to chose part #59 instead.

 

Transition rear cockpit sill/bulkhead:

Did you notice that small "step"?

Structurally, said step isn't present on actual aircraft. Personally, I wouldn't rate it a glitch per se...rather sort of a concession Revell had to make to keep things simple.. But in case you'd want to depict your model with an open canopy, that step will have to go.

 

This is how that step was born: replicate what you see - and not what you know...

 

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Part #59:

As a consequence, you'd have to a) fill the the notch at the lower left rear frame of the canopy, and B) slightly reshape the notch on the lower stbd side. No filling required.

 

Assembly guide, step 63, parts #25 and #26:

#25 - canopy jettisoning axle. Replicating the axle bearings from sheet or strip styrene will positively enhance overall detailing.

 

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#26 - hot air duct.

Heads up...the duct assembly was installed at the lower base of of the Galland head armour, and not - as erroneously suggested by Revell - attached to the cockpit rear deck. Apart from that, the hot air duct was absent on Hartmann's last mount. In general, it's a feature you won't find too often...

 

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Keep it up!

 

HTH

Erik

Edited by Airfixer
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Thanks for stopping by!  Airfixer... all I can say is WOW. Thank you so much for the detailed information on the Erla canopy!  I'll have to take some time to digest what you have shared with me.  THANK YOU!!!

 

Lots of "preliminary" work done on the G-10 build.  Haven't gotten to stage where I can start painting and gluing stuff just yet. 

 

The clear aerial port on the rear fuselage has been cleaned up.  I've drilled a hole in the middle to accept the future aerial.

 

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I like to re-scribe all of the panel lines and hatches.  Not necessary to make them deeper but to make them more uniform.  It also gets me familiar with the model in preparation for the rivet stage.  When scribing the wings, I noticed these depictions of taped seams by Revell.  Like the little discs on the fabric control surfaces, this tape effect is a bit too heavy for my tastes and I'll be shaving them down.  You can also make the slightly pebbly grain of this molding.  I don't care for it much but it will be addressed after riveting.

 

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I thought I'd scratch up a deflector plate for the port exhaust stack.  Presumably, this was to direct the exhaust flow away from the supercharger intake.  I used a business card as the template medium... nice and stiff but easily cut to shape.

 

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The card template is used to draw the deflector on a piece of brass sheet.  The brass is thin enough to cut with scissors.

 

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I used a PE bending tool to put a 90 degree bend in the deflector plate.  This also helps give the plate some stiffness and keep it from bending.  I made a final trim after testing the fit.

 

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Here is what the deflector plate looks like over the exhaust stack.

 

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I had the choice of using the photoetched harnesses/buckles from the Aires cockpit set, cutting my own harnesses from foil and using the Aires buckles or utilize the leftover HGW harness from my Black 1 build.  I decided on the HGW. But instead of using the pre-printed side, I flipped it over and used the backing, which as a very fine woven finish, which I thought looked pretty good for 1/32 scale.  I'll paint the harness material before sticking them on the seat.

 

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All the while, I have been pre-fitting, pulling apart, trimming parts here and there and repeating to try and dial in the resin cowling fit.  I think I've gotten to a point where I can move on.

 

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I'm really digging the look of the Reaver cowling.

 

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From above, you can really get a sense of the added girth that the Revell kit lacks.  I am going to start thinking about adding some tabs to help align the outer surfaces of the resin and kit join.

 

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Edited by Thunnus
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The next little task resulted in a mini-disaster.  I was prepping the clear pieces for a Future dip when I decided to clean off a scratch on the windscreen.  During the polishing stage, I used a fiber buffer tool on my Dremel instead of my customary soft bristle wheel.  At the lowest speed, the buffer melted the plastic on the windshield!!!

 

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Luckily, I noticed it right away and did not damage the clear part any further.  I sanded the melted portion away and then tried to flatten the section as much as possible.

 

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I then used various grades of Micromesh (6000, 8000 and finally 12000) to get rid of the scratches.

 

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Finally, I used some polishing compound and the soft bristle wheel to finish the job.... big sigh of relief!

 

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The clear parts after the Future dip...

 

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Since I am satisfied with the dry-fitting, I can proceed with real "start" of this build... the cockpit!  Most of the Aires cockpit set is going to be used with the exception of the trim wheel and the fuel line from the kit.  I've added a post on the left side of the seat for the trim wheels. I've also added a post to the Revi gun sight mount, which I left long so I can use as a hold during painting.

 

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Edited by Thunnus
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Hi John,as a "109 guy", I really like what you're doing here. I see the beading tool in one picture that you used to make the circle in the rescribed hatch and was wondering if that will be your method for riveting. If so, I am interested to see how it goes on the Reaver resin. Also wonder how Reaver parts would match up to a Hasegawa G-10 as I am not a big fan of the Revell 109s. Anyhow, keep up the good work!

 

Jay

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Thank you for the comments!  Tuco... I've referred to your wonderful 109 builds countless times so it is an honor to have comments from you!  I am not going to use the beading tool for rivets... too much work for me.  I'm planning on rolling the rivets using Radu's Rivet-R tool.

 

Airfixer... it took me several reads of your informational post to register what I was looking at.  I think I understand the points that you are making and will try to incorporate those into my builds where appropriate.

 

The notch in the canopy, as pointed by Mr. Airfixer, was present on both canopy parts.  In fact, the canopy parts looked identical to my eye... not even a hole for the aerial mast as alluded to in the kit instructions.  As I am going to shut the canopy on my bird, I could either fix the notch now or fill it in after the fact and re-scribe.  I decided to do it now.  The fuselage fix is easy... just snip and sand.

 

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To do the canopy right, I washed off the Future treatment first using Windex.  I then shimmed pieces of sheet styrene into the notch with Tamiya Extra Thin and let this dry completely.

 

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After the glue bond had hardened, it was  a simple matter of trimming the excess plastic.  Thanks Airfixer, for a great fix!

 

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Finally, it is time for some painting!  I put on a base of black over all of the cockpit parts.

 

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The cockpit was then given a coat of RLM 66 Dark Grey (Gunze).  This grey is sort of misted on to leave a bit of the black as a shadow contrast in the recessed areas.

 

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Hard to see in the cruddy lighting but I've picked out each of the instrument bezels in black.  One of the smaller dials is ringed in yellow and black.

 

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I still need to paint the details on the main instrument panel piece but I wanted to see what the PE bezels and acetate instrument faces looked like.  I'll get a better photo of this later.

 

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More cockpit painting to come...

Edited by Thunnus
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Hi John! I am here now, following your build progress. I do appreciate the larger photographic windows for viewing your exquisite work! This is, once approved, my very first post here and I am most grateful for the invitation and acceptance (fingers crossed). I am excited to see which cockpit details you choose to highlight and the techniques you use to create the details themselves as that will be the starting point for my very first 1/32 build. I look to your work for inspiration and thank you for your friendship. Best wishes to you and your family for the holidays!

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Great canopy fix, John!

 

Kev

 

Thank Kevin!  I wasn't even aware of that issue until Airfixer pointed it out.  That's the great thing about building online... getting valuable insights in real time!

 

 

Hi John! I am here now, following your build progress. I do appreciate the larger photographic windows for viewing your exquisite work! This is, once approved, my very first post here and I am most grateful for the invitation and acceptance (fingers crossed). I am excited to see which cockpit details you choose to highlight and the techniques you use to create the details themselves as that will be the starting point for my very first 1/32 build. I look to your work for inspiration and thank you for your friendship. Best wishes to you and your family for the holidays!

 

Welcome aboard Bruce!  I'm really glad to see you here.  This seems to be a great modeling community so hopefully we'll both have and learn at the same time.  Looking forward to your 1/32 build.  At this stage, I prefer this scale over the 1/48 kits that I had been previously doing.  Bigger parts so that's better for my aging eyes!

 

 

Looking great so far!   Question - I'm not a G-10 experten.  As I understand it, the Erla G-10 was pretty uncommon.  Does anyone offer a coversion to change this to the more G-10 variant?

 

Hasegawa and Trumpeter both have 1/32 G-10 kits available in the more common MTT/WN configuration identified by the crescent-shaped fairing between the engine cowling and cockpit on the port side.  As far as I know, there is no Erla-to-MTT/WN conversion.  Prior to the release of the Revell G-10, there were some MTT/WN-to-Erla conversions available.

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