Another Bf109F-4 This one will be in flight.

[stona]

I'm not going to do a complete build blog as there is already a very good one being done by Ajmac (Antonio). I thought I'd show some progress just to prove I am actually building this thing!

It will be Hans-Joachim Marseille's best known aircraft Werk Nummer 8693 and will be posed in flight. The F for me is the cleanest and meanest of all the 109 family.

Here's how I'm doing.

I've built several of the Hasegawa 109s and this one has reminded me,after the trials and tribulation of the Zoukei-Mura Ta152,what a wonderful kit it is.

I'll do another update before final painting. The Hasegawa instructions have got a few errors on that count.

Cheers

Steve

 

[treyzx10r]

Great stuff Steve, I'll be keeping an eye on this one as I just scored an E&F on evil bay

 

[stona]

Unexpected update. The kit provides a truly awful decal for the pilot's seat harness. I decided that as I was making a point of having H-J M in the cockpit I'd give him a nice RB Productions harness.

The lap belt is fitted and done up,I've just got to adjust the length of the shoulder straps so that when I fit the clippy bits they will line up with,and glue onto,the belt "buckle" whilst maintaining the shoulder straps taught. Should be simple.....

Cheers

Steve

 

[Fenlander]

Should be simple.....

How many times do we tempt fate by saying things like that.......... :neutral:

 

[msm2]

A third hand would be helpful......

 

[stona]

H-J M all strapped in. I shall line up the clips and give'em a drop of CA. I've decided to leave off the locking pin as it has disappeared between a couple of floor boards and I'm not using one off another harness when you'll hardly be able to see this one anyway.

Three hands? A prehensile tail would have come in useful.

Cheers

Steve

 

[m1ks]

Nice figure steve, is this a 1/32?

Have to say, for looks i've always favoured the Emil

 

[stona]

Yep,1/32.

The Emil ... I never really liked the little spinner,the square air intake or the tailplane struts. I think the Friedrich has a cleaner look to it,it was certainly faster. I haven't worked out how I'm going to retract the tail wheel on mine yet.The later models got a bit too heavy and developed all sorts of lumps and bumps, a bit like late model Spitfires. Each to their own I guess, The 109 in all its forms is one of my favourite aircraft.

Cheers

Steve

I forgot that I like the rounder wing tip on the F too.

 

[spanner570]

One of your pupils is following with interest Steve, and very nice too....

Cheers,

Ron

 

[yak face]

Hi steve , top job on good old hans, he looks very snug and belted up! The 'f' is my personal fave too, i love the clean lines, cheers tony

 

[stona]

Three days building (excluding the pilot) and I've got the model ready for paint. The fit is excellent and you are not troubled by an engine,gun bay or other interior detail. Not an issue as mine's going to be in flight.

The sharp eyed will notice the tropical filter is missing. The kit part is molded shut which does not suit my scenario. I have smash moulded a copy of the closed filter in styrene which I intend to divide to give me two "petals" which I can then fit,open,to the suitably adjusted filter. The kit was not designed to be posed in flight and I've had to hack about the flaps,radiator flaps,wheels, undercarriage doors and tail wheel to get everything to fit as I want. I've also filled the spinner. Nothing very difficult though,just shaving bits and removing angled tabs.

I've also inserted a tube into the fuselage (behind the wing) to accept the stand which is yet to be built.

I've had three days off work and have spent most of it building this very easy model. The pilot was done weeks ago.I once saw someone build a similar model,online,in 24Hrs.........how the hell did they do that?

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

Another unexpected update. Went to the cupboard to grab some Xtracrylix white for the theatre markings and the pot is almost empty. I need a bit of white to add to other colours later so I decided to spray enamel instead. I dug out the WEM white and sprayed that. I know I often tell how I've converted to acrylics (less pong,easy cleaning etc) but I've got to say that this is great paint! It does take a while to dry though.

The sharp eyed will notice that my partially scratch built tropical intake filter is now in place.

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

The fumes have got to me and I've decided to paint this one mainly with enamels (White Ensign Colourcoats,they do very good RLM colours)

Here's the underside done and shaded with their RLM 78.

Of course,being enamels,I have to leave this until tomorrow when I'll spray the upper colour (RLM 79). After that it will sit for a week or so while I go and earn a living.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Dave W]

Looking good Steve.I love enamels.Finding it hard to give them up.Mind you i do wear a mask these days when spraying the stuff.

 

[stona]

Looking good Steve.I love enamels.Finding it hard to give them up.Mind you i do wear a mask these days when spraying the stuff.

I think a mask is advisable when spraying anything.

It's been three or four years (maybe a bit more) since I converted to acrylics. What really made me decide to regress to enamels on this model was finding unopened tinlets of the relevant colours. The WEM RLM colours are very good indeed.

I will revert to acrylics after this but the experience has reinforced my belief,and advice I've given,that enamels are far easier to spray. I can certainly understand why you are struggling to give them up!

Acrylics are much more tricky and sensitive to thinning etc.

The downside of enamels for me ,apart from the pong,is the drying time. These White Ensign Colourcoats need a good 24 hours.

Cheers

Steve

 

[treyzx10r]

Looks great Steve, I use enamels but I thin them with nason medium base coat reducer,it greatly speeds dry time. Just throwin' it out there as I know you switched to acrylics

 

[stona]

Basic top camo on. I've faded it a bit but there's more to do with it. I'm not too proud to show this before I've touched up around the wing roots etc!

Hasegawa get this wrong on the instructions. The demarcation line should not rise under the tailplane. There are a lot of images of this aircraft ( I think I've seen all of them lol) and the demarcation should be a straight line down the centreline of the fuselage. I've made a big effort to get this correct as the "Kennziffer",Yellow 14, and fuselage "Balkenkreuz" need to sit properly with the demarcation

The demarcation was fairly hard. I used a mask raised by about 2-3mm to soften it slightly on the model.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Dave W]

Steve.Did you know 'Lifelike Decals' do a 1/32 H.J.Marseille sheet that covers 4 of his Yellow 14 aircraft?.It even includes decals for his kubelwagen 'Otto'!.£14.40p from Hannants.

 

[stona]

The decal sheet in the kit also does markings for four of his aircraft. I wonder if they are the same.The Hasegawa sheet even does the flaking Balkenkreuz for the upper wings!

Mine will be W.Nr. 8693 around 21/2/42 with 50 victory markings on the nice red/brown rudder,port side only.

The propaganda men took a ton of photos at this time (50 victories) so there are plenty of good references.

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

Unexpected day at home so I've got this just about ready for decals. I've sat it on an old (repaired) stand for its photo shoot.

Next post should be the finished article

Cheers

Steve