1/32 Hasegawa Bf109K-4 Weisse 8

[nmayhew]

Looking forward  to this build!

 

The HD props are magnificent aren’t they.

 

The Eagle editions resin bits were cutting edge when they were released but that was quite some time ago now and things have moved on. 

[Thunnus]

9 hours ago, nmayhew said:

Looking forward  to this build!

 

The HD props are magnificent aren’t they.

 

The Eagle editions resin bits were cutting edge when they were released but that was quite some time ago now and things have moved on. 

 

I agree on all points.  Henri makes beautiful props!  On my D-9 build, I was able to use a magnet to make the spinner removable so that you could see the detailed hub.  But this one has a cannon firing through the spinner so I don't think I'll be able to do that.

 

 

9 hours ago, Gisbod said:

Great John,

 

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

 

The resin looks really nice.

 

Guy

 

Yes, this one is going to get riveted.  I actually prefer the look of manually applied rivets versus the usual 1/32 molded rivets (Trumpeter and some Revell).

 

 

9 hours ago, Vincent/MDC said:

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 :

 

 

Wow... that is great information and an impressive piece of hardware.  It looks brand new and it looks modern... for a restoration?  Since it is so hidden, I'll probably leave it as is.  I'm sure I'll have more questions as I move through the build.  Thank you Vincent!

 

I played around with fitting the Eagle Editions cockpit into the fuselage.  First, I wanted to check fit of the kit without the cockpit.

 

The molded details on the interior of the fuselage walls has to be removed.  I scraped it off using a curved x-acto blade and then finished it off with rough sandpaper.

 

The rear sill needs to be trimmed to accommodate the new sill.  Once that is done, I stick the sidewalls into place using blue-tack.

 

Then the cockpit rear wall, front bulkhead and floor and slipped into place and secured with tape.

 

Hmmm... not bad.  The junction between the rear sill and fuselage has be repaired but otherwise fit is pretty good.

 

That rear bar resting on the sill was sawed away from the resin piece since it seemed like it will obstruct the fit of the canopy.  I may have to shorten it.

 

The wing assembly has a spar so I wanted to check to see if it would conflict with the resin cockpit.  It did so I had to trim two of the mounting tabs on top of the spar.

 

Once I did that, the wings sat into place fairly well.  The fit is ok but there are some gaps that will need to be addressed once it come time for glue, I'm guessing.

 

[Out2gtcha]

Great fitment work John! This one is coming along swimmingly so far. That resin pit looks exquisite in there

[Thunnus]

First question for K-4 experts...

 

The Tweak List for the Hasegawa K-4 kit says:

 

• Quote

  There is no panel line between the top cowl and the cowl sides (part C17 and fuselage): fill and sand smooth the seam.

 

Is this correct?  My references indicate a visible panel line may be present.

 

 

G-10 Cowling...

[rafju]

On ‎4‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 10:24 PM, Thunnus said:

The Bf109 wing did not change significantly after the F series.  

Hi Thunnus

Great, i'll follow your build, very exciting, as I've a great interest in the  K-4 too.

About the wings , you're right and I think there is only  additionnal hatches underside each wing as 

on this last version,  some O2 and air comp tanks moved into these.

 

But  we can count in Vincent Kermorgant aka Vincent /MDC to give us more precise info. ;-) 

[Guest Vincent]

1 hour ago, rafju said:

Hi Thunnus

Great, i'll follow your build, very exciting, as I've a great interest in the  K-4 too.

About the wings , you're right and I think there is only  additionnal hatches underside each wing as 

on this last version,  some O2 and air comp tanks moved into these.

 

But  we can count in Vincent Kermorgant aka Vincent /MDC to give us more precise info. ;-) 

 

The round hatch under the wing for the 02 fill is only under the right wing and yes, there is a line on the cowling (the entire top front section was made of steel while the rest was dural)

Edited April 29, 2019 by Vincent/MDC

[wmoran]

What did we average modelers do before the Internet?  The access to such knowledgeable individuals such as Vincent, Radu, et. al. on this forum is such a magnificent resource for all modelers.  Thanks to Vincent, Radu, et. al. for sharing their knowledge with the rest of us.

 

Bill

[Thunnus]

Yes, the internet has made available a ton of information and more importantly access to human resources such as Vincent.  So I am very thankful.

 

A few more technical aspects of the K-4 that I'd like to verify.

 

The access panel behind the pilot is larger and more of a trapezoid shape than what is presented on the kit?

 

 

 

And the ports for the cowl guns seem to be larger, which makes sense in order to for the cowling to swing away without hitting the gun barrels.

 

 

[D.B. Andrus]

1 hour ago, Thunnus said:

And the ports for the cowl guns seem to be larger, which makes sense in order to for the cowling to swing away without hitting the gun barrels.

 

 

 

 John

 

I don't recommend using this photo for anything pertaining to a production K-4.  It is one of a series of photos of a prototype that had a very different cowling design.

 

The radio hatch top edge was 90 degrees with the front and rear edges, parallel with the c/l of the a/c and the front edge was deeper than the rear giving the bottom edge a slight upward angle from front to rear.

 

HTH

D.B.

[Jerry Crandall]

Thanks for using our Eagle Parts. Just a note, we never had any connection with Cutting Edge our parts are own.

    Cheers, Jerry

 

[MikeC]

Great work here.

 

Can I offer some advice if it's not too late?  I've recently built the Hasegawa G-10, and found the best way to minimise any problems between the front and rear fuselage sections was to fix front to rear for each fuselage half before joining the fuselage.

 

Love these late 109s, looking forward to seeing yours finished.

 

Edited April 30, 2019 by MikeC
The usual reason - typo!

[Gazzas]

Some great work John.  The detail visible in that cockpit is far and away better than anything I've ever seen before. 

 

Some stimulating feedback from the forum, too.

[nmayhew]

5 hours ago, wmoran said:

What did we average modelers do before the Internet?  

 

 

ummm...build very inaccurate models, but then again ignorance was bliss

[rafju]

Hello

@Thunnus: do you remember  these x2 build threads? 

 

 

 

Following the info from Vincent, about the wing contents… through this drawing, the hatch named oxy filling must be round, and under the left wing (normally called "portside") what is the 2nd hatch filling for? compressed air tank or ?

 

 

Edited April 30, 2019 by rafju
link added

[Thunnus]

13 hours ago, D.B. Andrus said:

 John

 

I don't recommend using this photo for anything pertaining to a production K-4.  It is one of a series of photos of a prototype that had a very different cowling design.

 

The radio hatch top edge was 90 degrees with the front and rear edges, parallel with the c/l of the a/c and the front edge was deeper than the rear giving the bottom edge a slight upward angle from front to rear.

 

HTH

D.B.

 

Thanks DB!  Good to know about that production K-4 photo.  But that is why included more than one photo.  The other looks like an operational bird and seems to indicate that the gun troughs were bottomless under the gun barrels to allow the cowling to open?  And the radio hatch? Is that the hatch on the port side of the fuselage?  Meaning the profile that I showed (from 109 Lair) is inaccurate?  Just confused because I asked about the hatch behind the pilot and I don't think you're referring to that hatch.

 

 

12 hours ago, Jerry Crandall said:

Thanks for using our Eagle Parts. Just a note, we never had any connection with Cutting Edge our parts are own.

    Cheers, Jerry

 

 

Thanks for checking in Jerry!  The resin cockpit is a great upgrade and will add a lot of detail to this build.

 

 

11 hours ago, MikeC said:

Great work here.

 

Can I offer some advice if it's not too late?  I've recently built the Hasegawa G-10, and found the best way to minimise any problems between the front and rear fuselage sections was to fix front to rear for each fuselage half before joining the fuselage.

 

Love these late 109s, looking forward to seeing yours finished.

 

 

Hi Mike!  Yes, that is exactly what I was planning on doing too.  Not only for fit purposes but to ensure a really good glue bond.  I've built multiple Hasegawa D-9 models and they have a similar arrangement and I've found that gluing the front and rear first gives the strongest connection. 

 

 

11 hours ago, Gazzas said:

Some great work John.  The detail visible in that cockpit is far and away better than anything I've ever seen before. 

 

Some stimulating feedback from the forum, too.

 

Yes, Gaz... I always learn a ton about these aircraft as I go.  That's why I love sharing my builds on LSP!

 

 

7 hours ago, rafju said:

Hello

@Thunnus: do you remember  these x2 build threads? 

 

 

 

Following the info from Vincent, about the wing contents… through this drawing, the hatch named oxy filling must be round, and under the left wing (normally called "portside") what is the 2nd hatch filling for? compressed air tank or ?

 

 

 

Thank you Rafju!  Yes, those two K-4 builds are known to me and are on my reference list along with Tucohoward's Red 7.  I'm not sure what "circular hatch" Vincent was referring to as there are multiple round hatches under the wing.  Hopefully, Vincent will help clarify!  And as I understand, you have the sides reversed.  The "2nd hatch" that you refer to is on the port(left) side while the "oxy filling" is on the starboard (right) side assuming right and left are determined from the pilot's perspective.