Bf 109 E-4 (Airfix 1/48)

[Steven000]

Hi guys,

I was going through my stash looking for a next 1/48 project and picked out this Bf109E-4 by Airfix.
So far I didn't have an 'Emil' in my collection, and I was looking for something not to complex to finish during the Corona lockdown.
It might sound shocking but I'm pretty sure this is my first Airfix kit...

Box Art :


Sprue-shots :
Some interesting features : Different spinners, ext fuel tank and 3 types of bombs ...




Multiple canopy clear parts :


Decals for 2 versions :


An A4 color-scheme-sheet :


I do like the idea of including a pilot in the kit, but there's a serious scale-issue with this one so I'm not going to put him in.
A 1m80 person would be 37.5mm (like the ICM figure in the picture) but the face of the Airfix pilot is about 50% smaller ...


I always start by cutting and cleaning-up the larger parts, I keep the parts in plastic boxes...


At the moment the cockpit is assembled. I will hang one of the bombs under the airplane.


That's all for now,
Thanks for reading & kind regards!
Steven

 

[Dave Ward]

First Airfix kit? - I suppose you're of an age when other makes of model started to ovetake Airfix!!!!
Dave

 

[Mini Me]

Good choice Steven, seems an awful lot of parts for such a small bird. Will you be doing the yellow nose version? Rick H.

 

[Jakko]

First Airfix kit? - I suppose you're of an age when other makes of model started to ovetake Airfix!!!!

And not from the UK If I had to guess, I probably saw my first Airfix kit after several years of building models — the shop in my village sold mainly Matchbox kits plus a few by Italeri and Revell, and sometimes even a couple of kits by the odd other brand, which must have included Airfix occasionally.

 

[Steven000]

First Airfix kit? - I suppose you're of an age when other makes of model started to ovetake Airfix!!!

Yes Dave, like Jakko said, as a kid I only made Revell, italeri and a few matchbox kits, there were no Airfix kits in the store. ; )

Will you be doing the yellow nose version?

Yes the yellow nose indeed Rick

Cheers, Steven

 

[Archetype]

It might sound shocking but I'm pretty sure this is my first Airfix kit...

You’re not alone. I actively avoided them until last year when I did the phantom, which exceeded all expectation.
I hope the same is true for you with this one!

 

[Steven000]

Hi guys,
Today I finished most of the 'modeling' part...

The Airfix seat has molded belts but no buckles, so I made buckles with electrical wire and glued them in place.


I painted the instrument panel with a small brush...


The fuselage halves...


Then I glued the cockpit in place, this was a nice and tight fit ...



In general this kit has very good fittings, I did a bit of scraping here and there but nothing dramatic .
All the flaps and steering-surfaces are loose parts, so you can give the airplane a bit more character...


I glued the elevator in a down position and the rudder a bit to the left...


Flaps down and the left aileron down (to steer/roll right)...


Flaps down and the right aileron a little bit up (to steer/roll right)...


If you look closely you can see the stick in the cockpit is hanging to the right (to steer/roll right)...


I drilled holes in both guns for the wing...


Then all the loose parts were put on sticks for ease of painting...


That's all for now,
Thanks for reading, stay safe & kind regards!
Steven

 

[scottie3158]

Steven,
Lovely work mate. The stick leaning to the right is a great touch.

 

[Mini Me]

Tricky stuff Steven, looks great.
Rick H.

 

[yak face]

Lovely neat work Steven , the belts look great , it’s coming on really well , cheers tony

 

[Allen Dewire]

Evening Steven,

I'm not wing thingy person myself, but I have to say that the instrument thing dashboard looks fantastic. That must have costed you a few nerves to paint. It looks so good Sir!!! That is a strange thing with the pilot figure being so small, but maybe you should make a sign for the fuselage saying, "Gartenzwerg ins Cockpit" and then you could use him in the build...….

Super progress and nice work too!!!!!

Bleib Gesund
Allen

 

[Vaughan]

A great start Steven some nice detail cockpits looking good

 

[Steven000]

Thanks Paul, Rick, Tony, Allen & Vaughan

Allen ...




I just finished the canopy masking with Tamiya tape.
Not all the lines on the canopy had raised detail, so you need to eyeball it here and there...


The fitting on the fuselage was very good, I used Micro Kristal Klear to glue the parts in place...



That's all for now, kind regards!
Steven

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Lovely work Steven.

 

[flyjoe180]

Great work Steven, this is looking great so far.

 

[Steven000]

Thanks Peter & Joe

I did some more paintwork on the 109 :

Started with a black and grey primer...


The color-scheme included in the kit was very dark, almost black, so I tried lighten it up a bit.
I first sprayed on a dark green...


Then I masked the plane for the second camo color, another dark green with a bit of black added.
The color-scheme showed some RLM02 mottling on the fuselage, I had a hard time getting it to look good,
so in the end I got carried away and sprayed something based on other schemes from books...


Here I'm masking the plane before spraying the blue underside...


The yellow is always a bit tricky, I had to mask quite a bit and sprayed a white base-coat before adding the yellow...


The airplane was masked before spraying the yellow bits...


Spraying the yellow...


At the moment I have this :


It turned out a bit different then I had planned, but after the decals and weathering I hope it will still look interesting...


Next a few small touch-ups and then a gloss coat before adding decals...
Thanks for reading & kind regards!
Steven

 

[boatman]

Thanks Peter & Joe

I did some more paintwork on the 109 :

Started with a black and grey primer...
View attachment 380000

The color-scheme included in the kit was very dark, almost black, so I tried lighten it up a bit.
I first sprayed on a dark green...
View attachment 380001

Then I masked the plane for the second camo color, another dark green with a bit of black added.
The color-scheme showed some RLM02 mottling on the fuselage, I had a hard time getting it to look good,
so in the end I got carried away and sprayed something based on other schemes from books...
View attachment 380002

Here I'm masking the plane before spraying the blue underside...
View attachment 380003

The yellow is always a bit tricky, I had to mask quite a bit and sprayed a white base-coat before adding the yellow...
View attachment 380004

The airplane was masked before spraying the yellow bits...
View attachment 380005

Spraying the yellow...
View attachment 380006

At the moment I have this :
View attachment 380007

It turned out a bit different then I had planned, but after the decals and weathering I hope it will still look interesting...
View attachment 380008

Next a few small touch-ups and then a gloss coat before adding decals...
Thanks for reading & kind regards!
Steven

Really lovely work Steven yes I like the camo an the bright yellow nose an wing tips an flaps down well thought out there sir should look nice when the decals go on top work sir
chris
chris

 

[Deleted member 6559]

A great paint job Steven. Spot-on.

 

[scottie3158]

Steven,
Great paintwork nicely done.

 

[papa 695]

Cracking work