1/72 Academy Messerschmitt Bf109 E-3

flyjoe180

Joe
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This is my build from the 1/72 Academy Messerschmitt Bf109 E-3/4 Kit 2133. The kit is pretty good for it's age, with good cockpit detail and control surface texture, but as with so many of Academy's cheaper kits, the decals are poorly printed. I steered away slightly from the kit options and using spare decals, created an approximation of the Bf109 E-3 flown by Gunther Lutzow in France, 1940.

I had to remove ejector marks visible in the wheel wells, and as there was no well structure, I used plastic card strips to create wheel well detail. The port nose air filter was moulded incorrectly and required reshaping so that the fins face into the airflow. The tail plane struts were just terrible and were easily the worst parts of the kit. I fabricated new ones from plastic card and sanded them to shape. requiring extensive tidying up of the tail plane underside. And as one last warning to anyone who might build this kit, the propeller blades are reversed if you follow the instructions. The spindle hole is on the wrong face of the propeller hub, so when you sandwich it between the spinner halves, it is incorrect. I noticed it only after finishing and had to correct the propeller and rebuild the spinner. Elementary error but easy to make when you are nearly over the line so to speak.

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Adversaries together:
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Vaughan

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Joe that's a great build with some lovely detail. How you get such perfection at that scale I will never know.
 

stona

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That came out very nicely in the end!

I admire your perseverance, and you even put the tiny frame numbers on at this scale :smiling3:
 

yak face

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Superb build joe , and masterfully photographed , I wish I could get my models lit like that , cheers tony
 

adt70hk

I know its a bit sad but I like quickbuild kits!!!
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Joe

Very nicely indeed. Very well done indeed

ATB.

Andrew
 

flyjoe180

Joe
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Joe that's a great build with some lovely detail. How you get such perfection at that scale I will never know.
Thanks Vaughan. I'm a sucker for punishment. :thumb2:

Nice looking Emile Joe.
Thanks Tim

That came out very nicely in the end!

I admire your perseverance, and you even put the tiny frame numbers on at this scale :smiling3:
Cheers Steve. A fair amount of cleaning up and correcting, but that's part of what I enjoy in this hobby. Glad someone noticed the frame numbers :thumb2:

Very nice indeed Joe
Cheers Ian, I'm getting more model time this year which is great

Superb build joe , and masterfully photographed , I wish I could get my models lit like that , cheers tony
Wow, thanks Tony. I don't do anything amazing, I have painted the interior of my shed a very light beige, have a few LED lights in the roof and use a very cheap white cake turntable for the base of the photos. The rest is courtesy of my smartphone camera. Amazing things aren't they?

Joe,
Loverly job.
Thank you Paul

Joe

Very nicely indeed. Very well done indeed

ATB.

Andrew
Cheers Andrew, appreciate the comment :thumb2:
 
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