1/48 bf 109e

[T. van Vuuren]

Hi Lads.

Here is the 1/48 Tamiya 109E I have been working on. I got the RLM 02 as close as I could.I have (after taking the pic) painted the rudder padals grey, but duly forgot to build the foot retention straps for them !

Belts from streched sprue bent to shape (didn't have thin enough wire) and masking tape.

The fit is exelent and only a little filler was needed on the bottom wing to fuse joint.

I is amazing how small this plane is when compared to a 1/48 P-47 Jug!

Theuns

View attachment 31240

View attachment 31241

 

[msm2]

Following with interest Theuns.

 

[T. van Vuuren]

So what do you guys think of my "African made" RLM 02, close enough or way off???

Theuns

 

[stona]

Your RLM02 "Africa" looks good to me. It is a small airplane isn't it? Compare its wing area to a Spitfire's and it's easy to see why it had a so much higher loading.

Good to see the lack of a cannon breech,well done Tamiya. Some other manufacturers seem to have confused the F cockpit with the E cockpit!

Nice job bending the stretched sprue,I bet that was fun.

Cheers

Steve

 

[msm2]

Good weathered RLM 02.

 

[T. van Vuuren]

Small wings and the weird Europian idea of having the under cart very narrow and retract outwards LOL!

Alleast the yanks had a good idea on this early on during the war, but then you guys and the Jerries catch on later......... (ok then, can of worms opened!):wink:

Theuns

 

[T. van Vuuren]

Steve, only saw the last part of your post now. Well I would say that after making 3 times as many buckles as I needed and loosing most of them the the carpet monster, I am happy with the result. They are a tad on the big side, but so be it.

Would the cannon you refere to be the one that fired through the spinner?

Theuns

 

[stona]

Small wings and the weird Europian idea of having the under cart very narrow and retract outwards LOL!Alleast the yanks had a good idea on this early on during the war, but then you guys and the Jerries catch on later......... (ok then, can of worms opened!):wink:

Theuns

It was because the wings on the first generation monocoque,low wing monoplanes simply weren't strong enough. Some of the early U.S. naval aircraft had even more bizarre assemblies to attach and then retract the undercarriage to the fuselage.

The geometry of the Bf109s's undercarriage made it even more of a handful on the ground than the Spitfire whose track at the wheels is actually slightly narrower. That combined with landing characteristics described as "malicious" by one Messerschmitt test pilot made the Bf109 difficult to handle for inexperienced pilots. This was reflected in their huge losses in training accidents.

Cheers

Steve

 

[T. van Vuuren]

Oh yes , now I recall the Grumman series of early planes UC, wow that was "interesting" to say the least.

But I stand corrected on my earlier statement as I forgot the Hurri.....oops!

I recon the ground handling was bad enough, but can you think how much worse it would be if they had to operate from runways in cross winds and not from nice open aero dromes!

Theuns

 

[stona]

That's why a typical 1930/40s RAF aerodrome looked like this. Except in war time it would be camouflaged with lines of black sand to imitate hedge lines etc. as well as the buildings being painted.

These aircraft are supposed to be easier to handle on grass than on a hard surface. You'd probably know more about that than I would!

Cheers

Steve

 

[T. van Vuuren]

Well Steve, any landing I walk away from is a good landing in my book LOL!

I have found the taildraggers to be a little more forgiving on grass as the tires do not "bite in" so hard as they do on tar if you left the footwork a bit late and landed scew.

The grass does however increase the amount of runway you need for takeoff slightly, IIRC you need to add about 5% in length.

Theuns

 

[yak face]

Hi theuns lovely work on the cockpit and belts. An alternative to stretched sprue is fuse wire, cheap enough and bends really easily, ive used it on a few of my home made belts. cheers tony

 

[T. van Vuuren]

Cheers Tony , I have seen the wire trick, but had only thick copper wire at the time of making then (21h30) when the kids are asleep. I though about making the ajustment bucles, but my peepers wouldn't allow this LOL!

Does anyone know of a tutoral or online vid on how to do the fine green desert mottle freehand? I have read a few things on very thin paint, low presure ect, but am still a tad veary to try it. Atleast the splinter sceeme had more "loose" mottle.

What to do, what to do......................

Theuns

 

[T. van Vuuren]

Just wached a "testor's workshop" vid on mottle now, works great for the cloudy splinter sceeme, not to sure if it will do on the desert "sharp" mottle. Maybe I will try and do the bluetack blobs thing there.

Theuns