Airfix 1/24 Bf-109E

[Volksjager]

After recently finishing the Airfix 1/24 Fw-190, I had been really torn with what to build next. To make matters worse, I also had another distraction. I managed to get a resin 3D printer at the best of prices ($0!) which was totally unexpected. Its an older Elegoo Mars Pro but hey, it does the job well and the printing extravaganza has been great so far. 

 

I had a number of choices but over the weekend I came across the Airfix 1/24 Bf-109E at a price I couldn't refuse! I was bitten by the mojo bug and got straight into it.

 

 

Still not sure of the exact model or colour scheme yet but I got a bit to do prior before the decision needs to be made. I am not going to super detail the kit by any means but much like the Fw-190, I am going to add bits here and there and see where the build takes me. 

 

This is a brand new release of this vintage kit and it shows how the molds are faring, look at the flash

 

 

 

Still the bones are there and I am excited to crack on. I cut the main parts ways and gave them a quick test fit for size. Everything is looking pretty decent so far

 

 

First things first, let's have a look at the DB601. The detail is pretty good and I am planning on having the front cowl removable so I will pimp this out as much as I can. I cleaned off the flash, started building the main parts & once together I decided to get rid of the molded wiring to either side of the block. I am 99% certain I will also be removing the molded ignition wires and installing my own spark plugs/wiring. I bought the STL files for the ANYZ spark plugs & line connecters and have been test printing which ,so far, have come out great. 

 

 

 

I have also started to thin the edges of the one piece cowl to better represent the scale. 

 

 

 

From here, more cleaning of the engine and more test printing ahead. To replace the molded on exhaust & the very soft detailed gunsight, I purchased the STL files for the individual exhaust stacks & the Revi C 12/D gunsight from Jiri @ JPWarbirds. I am trying to teach myself 3D design but his parts are too nice to pass up on. 

 

 

Hopefully another update over the weekend!

[Shoggz]

This is great timing for me! I started building Airfix's venerable Bf/ME109 too a week or so ago! (Mine was from the stash and has been there at least 25 years..  )

 

I shall slip stream your build, following your lead, as you are a master builder, whereas I am a mere mortal.

 

[Volksjager]

On 9/28/2023 at 12:11 AM, Shoggz said:

This is great timing for me! I started building Airfix's venerable Bf/ME109 too a week or so ago! (Mine was from the stash and has been there at least 25 years..  )

 

I shall slip stream your build, following your lead, as you are a master builder, whereas I am a mere mortal.

 

 

Thanks Shoggz, hopefully, the build goes well and we can both get this beautiful kit finished. Any advise from your build is welcome. Don't sell yourself short, your Hurricane is coming along nicely.

 

Not much to report from the weekend, unfortunately. Between family duties and a niggling little back problem (where my back cramps up if I sit in a chair too long leaning over the bench), I didn't get too much achieved. Still, a little progress was made. After an hour or so of scraping and sanding, I was able to clear the molded on ignition wiring & spark plugs. If I had thought about it earlier, it would have been much easier to do before I glued the engine together 

 

Once it was clear I was able to bend up and fix in place a new rail out of styrene rod & drill out new holes for the spark plugs to fit into 

 

 

As I mentioned above, I managed to get a resin 3D printer for free a couple of months ago. It's been pretty easy to work with so far so I purchased the Anyz spark plugs and line connecter set in 1/32 scale. After a test print at 1/32 (man they are small!) and another test enlarged 150%, here is what I am left with:

 

 

They are a touch too large for the scale once in place but gave me a good start and proved my idea was sound. I will print them again, enlarging to 133% which should be bang on 1/24 scale.  The hooked connectors are the spark plugs I will be using and the smaller connectors in the middle will be attached to the rail. They each have a rebated hole in the end so a wire should (in theory anyway) fit straight in.

 

 

Of course, I do not want to do anything the easy way so I printed them in Smokey black transparent resin, haha! With the printer, I also got 2L of resin for free so I might as well use it up, even though it a test on the eyes 

 

To keep the craziness rolling, the print of the exhaust pipes & gunsight went well. I printed the exhausts at 100% (the STL is sized for 1/24 scale & fit the gap left after the molded exhaust are removed) & also at 110% as I want to thin down the molded shroud and I will need them a touch bigger to take up the extra space. After a rough comparison, I prefer the bigger ones but will test again once the kit exhaust has been removed.

 

The parts have just been cleaned and are waiting for a coat of paint but so far they are looking great. 

 

 

 

 

I also started filling the sink marks on the back of the props and a little blade shaping but only early days so far. With any luck, I will get some more time on the bench this week. Will start another print maybe Wednesday for the smaller plugs a will see what the new size will look like

[MikeMaben]

Interesting 

[dodgem37]

32  divided by 24 = 1.33.  Just sayin'.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[Gazzas]

Great start, VJ.  Love to see you going the extra mile with detail parts.  I remember this kit from my childhood.  The only thing I can really remember is how difficult it was to glue the main wings to the fuselage.

[Volksjager]

15 hours ago, dodgem37 said:

32  divided by 24 = 1.33.  Just sayin'.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

 

I know, I know..... I should have done that if I were thinking the first time but I didn't print them for this kit, I just had them to hand.

 

28 minutes ago, Gazzas said:

Great start, VJ.  Love to see you going the extra mile with detail parts.  I remember this kit from my childhood.  The only thing I can really remember is how difficult it was to glue the main wings to the fuselage.

 

Thanks Gazza. I have had a look at that join actually and it doesn't inspire me with a lot of confidence so far. At least on the Fw190 the underside of the wing was one piece and gave a bit more structure to build on!

 

Well I did manage to print the plugs out again at 1/24 scale. After looking at my work from the weekend again I decided to have another go as I wasn't entirely happy with the rails. So off they came, repositioned to sit against the body of the engine and clips added. I also drilled out the diameter of the spark plug hole and gave the new plugs a try. Much happier!

 

 

 

I will get some small connectors attached to the rail to check how they look as well as a few more coming out of the glycol tank to the front. There are a couple more molded wires towards the back I would like to remove, just not sure of how I am going to achieve that without damaging the surrounding detail.

[Gazzas]

4 hours ago, Volksjager said:

 

I know, I know..... I should have done that if I were thinking the first time but I didn't print them for this kit, I just had them to hand.

 

 

Thanks Gazza. I have had a look at that join actually and it doesn't inspire me with a lot of confidence so far. At least on the Fw190 the underside of the wing was one piece and gave a bit more structure to build on!

 

Well I did manage to print the plugs out again at 1/24 scale. After looking at my work from the weekend again I decided to have another go as I wasn't entirely happy with the rails. So off they came, repositioned to sit against the body of the engine and clips added. I also drilled out the diameter of the spark plug hole and gave the new plugs a try. Much happier!

 

 

 

I will get some small connectors attached to the rail to check how they look as well as a few more coming out of the glycol tank to the front. There are a couple more molded wires towards the back I would like to remove, just not sure of how I am going to achieve that without damaging the surrounding detail.

 

When I was a kid, I didn't know about pinning parts.  Heck...   didn't even have a drill or drill bit.  Should be easier now...lol.  As for the wires...   sometimes ya just got to paint them.

[Duncan Doenitz]

I am putting the finishing touches to a Trumpeter 109 and have used some of these little beauties on the engine block and cockpit side walls.

 

 Aims Aircraft decals - AIMS24D002 | Hannants

[Dpgsbody55]

I haven't built one of these since 1971.  I spent an entire wet weekend at my modelling bench and finished it by Sunday evening.  Nice to see what you're doing with the engine and exhaust detail, which is very crude on the stock kit. 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Volksjager]

On 10/3/2023 at 1:55 PM, Gazzas said:

 

When I was a kid, I didn't know about pinning parts.  Heck...   didn't even have a drill or drill bit.  Should be easier now...lol.  As for the wires...   sometimes ya just got to paint them.

 

I know what you mean! Sometimes I think it would be so much easier to just glue and paint like I did as a kid. 

 

On 10/4/2023 at 1:12 AM, Duncan Doenitz said:

I am putting the finishing touches to a Trumpeter 109 and have used some of these little beauties on the engine block and cockpit side walls.

 

 Aims Aircraft decals - AIMS24D002 | Hannants

 

Thanks Duncan, I had plans to cut masks to paint the letters/numbers but I like the plates and stencils in that set. Will have to see if I can find a set locally as postage is the big killer at the moment 

 

20 hours ago, Dpgsbody55 said:

I haven't built one of these since 1971.  I spent an entire wet weekend at my modelling bench and finished it by Sunday evening.  Nice to see what you're doing with the engine and exhaust detail, which is very crude on the stock kit. 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

 

Thanks Michael. Hopefully, it all turns out. It's a slow process at the moment but I can see light at the end of the tunnel 

 

So not a huge deal of process at the moment as a lot of work is going into removing flash and cleaning things up before any upgrades. I have been working on the engine thought and it's almost ready for a base coat. I managed to get the ignition wire attachment points onto the rails as well as drilled a few holes into the glycol tank to accept some line connectors. Also added some tubing onto the end of the supercharger intake so that it would meet up with the fuselage panels as well as adding a small strip of foil to act as a clamp for the pipework. I did the same for the tubing underneath the supercharger as to was short as well, but managed to forget to take a picture of that 

 

 

 

The other time consuming task last night was the removal of the molded on exhaust. I would have liked to have thinned down the cover on the top and bottom some more but I am also aware of the strength of the parts so I will leave at the moment and maybe revisit it in the future. I also rounded off the front of the exhaust cover and drilled it out to better match the actual aircraft. Definitely an improvement over the stock part 

 

 

 

 

The area behind that front section does need to be cleaned out to accept the first printed exhaust stub but that wasn't too hard to do .

 

 Work has also started on the prop with the cleaning and smoothing out of the blades and the prop hub is now in place. I will get the other exhaust cut out shortly and clean the remaining flash from the engine bay, opening up intakes and thin edges.

 

I just have to keep cleaning up all the plastic and the dust from sanding, it gets everywhere and I hate working dirty.

 

[Gazzas]

Already looks heaps better!

 

[Shoggz]

So inspirational! 

[Duncan Doenitz]

That set is just decals that are nice little additions to the engine block, coolant tanks, oleo legs, etc. I did stencil the markings on my G-6 which I cut by hand and the results are very nice, particularly the underwing crosses. The problem with Luftwaffe aircraft is trying to find the correct shades of everything. I was recommended SMS lacquer PL189 for RLM76 Lichtblau. It looks pale in the bottle but works very well on 1:24 (never spray over acrylic !). I searched for mottle stencils but at this scale, the hard edge just doesn't work. Freehand gives a better result.

 

Enjoy !

[Sabre F-86]

Gonna look super. You can never go wrong if you build a 109, no matter whose kit it is. And the E models look better (to me anyway).