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Eduard Bf 109E-3 Profipack FINISHED


MikeC

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I'm not good at posting WIPs as I go, but I thought this might be of benefit to anyone with one of Eduard's 1:32 Bf 109Es.  When I started, I had a look at (among other things) Thierry Laurent's "Tweak List" on the LSP site ( https://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=2924 )  which is, of course, generally applicable across the range.  It mentions something I had already though of: if the engine is omitted to do a model with the cowlings closed, there is a big void which is potentially visible through the cooling slots in the cowlings.  It is difficult to fit the engine and close the cowlings.  But here's my solution.

 

1: Fit E24 & G16 as per the instructions, then fix G25 to E24.  The position is approximately correct (I checked by dry-fitting the engine block etc).  This puts something in the lower cooling vent.

 

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Assemble the basic engine block with the top panel and front portion:  parts G27, G32, G8 and G24.

Remove the top front portion of this assembly; you don't need the main block any more.

Fix packing pieces of sprue to the sides of what's left of the block, so that this can be fitted inside the top cowling (A6).

 

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The wooden stirrer is attached using white glue as a handle for painting.

If you're wondering why the cowling is a different colour, I messed up the original kit cowling.  The replacement was "robbed" from an E-1 in the stash which is earmarked for an Alley Cat Bf 109C conversion.

The plan is now to spray the whole lot suitable dark colours.  The exhausts etc can now be fitted as per the instructions for a closed cowling.

 

Note also that I've filed down the interior of the gun compartment (so that the cover for that will fit) and added a spreader bar as Thierry suggests to the cowling.

 

Hope this is useful.

 

 

 

 

Edited by MikeC
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Nice to see another 109 wip Mike, how did you find the fit of the fuselage halves as there is no real location points on my copy. Fortunately as I'm doing an Alley Cat B conversion I not having to deal with the kits nose fit issues etc. Hiwever I do have an E-3 boxing as well I think so taking notes.

 

Regards. Andy 

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https://brexitmodeller.com/forums/topic/2838-bf109e-3/?tab=comments#comment-32008

2 hours ago, monthebiff said:

Nice to see another 109 wip Mike, how did you find the fit of the fuselage halves as there is no real location points on my copy. Fortunately as I'm doing an Alley Cat B conversion I not having to deal with the kits nose fit issues etc. Hiwever I do have an E-3 boxing as well I think so taking notes.

 

Regards. Andy 

As you say Andy, the locating points aren't particularly effective.  I had been forewarned by a thread on another forum (https://brexitmodeller.com/forums/topic/2838-bf109e-3/?tab=comments#comment-32008) about how the sidewalls, instrument panel, and oil cooler can all affect the fit, so took care to do lots of dry fitting and fettling before closing up.  When I did, I glued in stages and took great care over alignment.  All this care was well repaid, it fitted fine.  The filler you can see just behind the cockpit is purely down to my being a little too heavy-handed cleaning up the seam.

 

Note away, I'll be doing the same with your B for when I come to do my C.

Edited by MikeC
Found the link to the thread I mentioned
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9 hours ago, monthebiff said:

Just out of interest Mike, did you glue the upper and lower  wings together as an assembly before attaching to the fuselage?

 

Regards.Andy 

I did; again I had to adjust the fit somewhat, but with care it slotted in well.  I glued the lower wing, when that was dry adjusted and clamped the top wing and glued that seam.  There's a small gap that will need filling with Perfect Plastic Putty, but it's quite acceptable.

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That looks great!  I know some kits require going "out of box" (so-to-speak) on the assembly steps. I know some have recommended gluing the upper wings to the fuse before gluing the wings together on some kits.............the Fly Hurricane comes to mind IIRC.

 

 

Looking forward to more! 

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So has this little trick been effective?  Here's the inside painted

 

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And placed in position, albeit not fixed yet:

 

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Without the light, it's not 100% apparent there's anything there, but without the engine block it is apparent there's nothing there.

 

In the meantime, here's the wing seams Andy inquired about, before any filler:

 

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Finally, a couple of cockpit shots and an overall view of progress so far.

 

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Thanks for all the interest so far: more to come soon I hope.

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A bit more progress on this one recently.  Firstly, checking the fit of the cowling showed that the spreader bar was not quite the correct length - it was a small amount short and left a noticeable step.  So I thought that plastic card tabs on the airframe would be a better solution and guarantee the correct width.

 

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I also thought that "Pips" might need a map, so I found a suitable image online, scanned it and scaled it down to various percentyages in a Word document: here's where I was playing with various sizes.

 

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Brits (and others) may well recognise it as the northeast corner of Kent, including Ramsgate and Margate: very much Battle of Britain country.

And here it is in the map case: you can't really see the image itself, but it does look a bit like a folded map - more so in reality than the photo.

 

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Hoping to get going on painting fairly soon.  Thanks for all the interest so far.

 

 

 

 

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