1/32 Hasegawa Bf109K-4 Weisse 8

[Thunnus]

I'm going to see if I can keep two builds going at once.  I'm almost to the halfway point on the Corsair build and once the wings are complete, painting will begin and I think that is a good time to have another project going.

 

This is the Hasegawa Bf109K-4 kit.  I've not built this one yet but having built the Hasegawa Fw190D-9 three times, I feel a sense of familiarity as I look at the sprues on this kit.

 

I'll be adding some aftermarket to this build including, in no particular order:

1. Eagle Editions 109K-4 Resin Cockpit Set
2. Henri Daehne 109G/K Resin Prop Set
3. RB Productions 109K-4 Wheel Well Detail Set
4. RB Productions 109G/K Erla Canopy
5. Barracuda Studios 109G/K Resin Wheels
6. AIMS Late War 109s Decal Sheet
7. Eagle Cals 109K-4 #32-74 Decal Sheet
8. Airscale Luftwaffe Instrument and Placard Decal Sheets

9. MDC resin ammo chutes

10. Eduard masks

 

The aircraft I will be modeling is White 8, Werk Nummer 332884, which was captured in this striking color photo:

 

It's represented in this profile painting by Claes Sundin:

 

And also recently by AIMS Models on their Late War 109s decal sheet:

 

Since I have Silhouette Portrait cutter, I will be using the AIMS decal sheet to produce masks for the major markings.  The only decal I will be using from the AIMS sheet will probably be the "Gabi" inscription below the canopy.

 

The Eagle Cals 109K-4 sheet will be available for stencils.  I am going to try and use the AIMS and Eagle Cals decal sheets to produce masks for the spinner spiral.

Edited December 3, 2019 by Thunnus
Added to aftermarket list

[Thunnus]

Here's a look at some of the sprues that Hasegawa supplies with the Bf109K-4 kit.

 

Hasegawa usually employs a modular approach to offering different sub-types of the same aircraft.  For the Bf109 family, the fuselage is cut in the middle, just aft of the cockpit.  The Kurfurst-specific rear fuselage with the tall tail and revised fuel filler and radio compartment locations is supplied on a separate sprue.  This maximizes mold efficiency but creates more work for the modeler.

 

Here is that K-4 sprue.  Not only the rear fuselage, the sprue also provides K-specific wheel well doors and instrument panel.

 

The molding detail is fine and recessed with no rivets portrayed.

 

The instrument panel has some good detail but this kind of molded dial surfacel has taken a back seat in favor of pre-painted photoetch or resin.

 

The Bf109 wing did not change significantly after the F series.  I think this is probably the same wing sprue that is offered with any Hasegawa F, G or K boxing.  Hasegawa bags multiple sprues into a single plastic baggie so some of the larger parts exhibit scratching and scuffing.

 

The old style circular wheel well openings will need to be opened up manually.

 

Hasegawa 1/32 kits are relatively simple and have a correspondingly low parts count.  They don't offer engines or interior detail that won't be seen and cater to modelers that like to show their aircraft buttoned up and ready for take-off.

 

The clear parts illustrate one issue with the Hasegawa kit.  The profile of the upper fuselage spine aft of the cockpit is overly flat.  You can see the results of this squashed shape when comparing the rear edge of the kit canopy with the canopy from the Revell 109G-10 kit.

 

The kit decals won't be used so it will go into the spares box.

 

The kit decals some with a decent representation of the instrument panel dials so I have a back-up if there is an issue with the size of the Airscale decals.

[Kahunaminor]

Great topic John

 

I will point you to Thierry’s tweak list for the 109K here on LSP for some background:

https://www.largescaleplanes.com/Marketplace/Tweaks/HasegawaMe109-K4.php

 

 although you seem to have most of it covered!

 

Regards,

[Thunnus]

Thanks for the link!  The Tweak List is most helpful and I know I'll be referring to it constantly during this build.

 

Here are some of the aftermarket goodies that I'll be using on the K-4.  First up is the Eagle Editions resin cockpit set.  There are 3-4 different colored resins here, indicating different pours... a little unusual but hopefully that doesn't affect fit.

 

Detail on the resin parts are good.  A little softer than what I typically find on an Aires or Brassin set but still way beyond the kit plastic.

 

The instrument panel dials do not have any molded relief, which is what I prefer since I like to use either pre-printed acetate sheets or decals for the dials.  Eagle Editions doesn't supply either so you can either use the kit decals or in my case, the Airscale decals.

 

The one area where Eagle Editions consistently scores higher than Aires are the instructions.  There are four pages of detailed instructions, including photos so this should make assembly less traumatic.

 

A couple of photoetch sets from RB Productions to help supply extra detail.  I'm not sure how the photoetch canopy will work out as I've never worked with anything like this but it comes with some notes about the squared-off fuselage profile on the Hasegawa kit and how to go about correcting it.

 

I picked up a set of Barracuda resin wheels for the K-4.  I'm still open to using the kit wheels if they offer a better fit.  Sometimes, there is too much play between the wheel hub and landing gear axle on these resin wheels.

 

Finally, we have the beautiful resin prop assembly from Henri Daehne.  This one has a cannon firing through the hub so I don't think I can do the magnet trick on this one.

[Thunnus]

I played around with the exhausts on the K-4.  The kit parts do not have hollowed out ends.  Because of their shape and orientation, hollowing them out manually can be difficult.

 

I had some time on my hands so I decided to see if it would be worthwhile to hollow out the exhausts myself or order an aftermarket set.  Hmmm... not too bad.

 

For these exhausts, I used a sharp x-acto to bore out three holes across the face of each exhaust pipe.  I then use the knife to dig out the plastic between the holes

 

It takes a bit of time but with that finished, I can move on without having to invest in a resin replacement.

[LSP_Kevin]

34 minutes ago, Kahunaminor said:

Great topic John

 

I will point you to Thierry’s tweak list for the 109K here on LSP for some background:

https://www.largescaleplanes.com/Marketplace/Tweaks/HasegawaMe109-K4.php

 

 although you seem to have most of it covered!

 

Regards,

 

I really must remove those old Tweak List files! People keep finding and linking to them, but they are in fact defunct. This is the correct link for that particular Tweak List article:

 

https://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=2755

 

Kev

[Thunnus]

4 minutes ago, LSP_Kevin said:

 

I really must remove those old Tweak List files! People keep finding and linking to them, but they are in fact defunct. This is the correct link for that particular Tweak List article:

 

https://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=2755

 

Kev

 

That's the one I've been looking at. Didn't know there was a defunct one too.

[LSP_Kevin]

1 hour ago, Thunnus said:

 

That's the one I've been looking at. Didn't know there was a defunct one too.

 

I've just added some redirects to most of our old Tweak List articles, so that when you try to load them, they'll redirect your browser to access the new one instead. I also discovered a couple that haven't been moved across yet, so I'll take care of those in the coming weeks too.

 

Kev

[dodgem37]

Some nice additions.  This aircraft is on my to-do list, as my daughters' name is Gabriella, and we call her Gabi for short.  I'll be tuning in.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[Wackyracer]

Looks like another exciting and enjoyable build. Following along.

[Thunnus]

Thanks guys!  I've been planning to do a 332xxx or 334xxx K-4 defensive scheme and I noticed White 8 when the AIMS decal sheet came out so...

 

Started toying with the Eagle Editions resin cockpit, sawing off the pour stubs and fitting the components together.  So far so good.

 

The different colors of resin bothers me for some reason.  I may shoot the components with primer just to have that uniform "pre-painted" look.  I'll be looking at the necessary modifications to the fuselage parts next.

[Fvdm]

Wow, what a lot of detail. Must be fun working with this. You normally don't use primer when painting resin?

[Thunnus]

26 minutes ago, Fvdm said:

Wow, what a lot of detail. Must be fun working with this. You normally don't use primer when painting resin?

Yeah it’s always fun when the resin adds so much detail. I usually just wash the resin parts with dish soap and then straight to paint.

[Gisbod]

Great John,

 

Are you going to rivet? That has always put me off Hasegawa kits.

 

The resin looks really nice.

 

Guy

[Guest Vincent]

i know the k4 by heart so don't hesitate to ask if you want to know something.

 

The MK108 ammo bin supplied in the resin set is not the correct one for the K4 but it is the correct one for the G10 and G6U4. But i guess it's not that visible so it doesn't matter that much

 

Here's the K4 one :

 

Edited April 28, 2019 by Vincent/MDC