**** DONE: GB-36 1/48 Bf 109E-4 - Axis Manufactured Aircraft of WWII

[Airframes]

Got the main decals on, and it's really brought this bird to life.
With the exception of the swastikas and the abschuss bars, all the decals so far have been taken from the Xtradecal BoB 70th Anniversary (Luftwaffe) sheet, adapting those designed for Bf109E-1 of Fw. Artur Beese, The abschuss bars were cut from a bigger decal from the Academy 'Buchon' kit and, although not quite 100% accurate in spacing, and lacking the small date circles above each bar, they were the closest I could get and, in this scale, should pass muster.
The Xtradecal swastikas looked slightly too large, compared to those in the photos of Schopfel's machine, so the kit decals were used, as these were a touch smaller. They certainly showed their age, as each swastikas took nearly 10 minutes of soaking before they would slide on the backing paper, but fortunately, they went on OK, and settled down nicely, after a few drops of Micro Sol had been applied.
The pics below show the model to date, with the tail pics showing the adapted abschuss bars, and the reduced ribbing on the rudder, as well as some grime, as seen in the photos of Schopfel's machine - note that the rudder is only slotted in place, and has yet to be finally positioned and cemented.
Next step is to apply the stencils and wing-walk lines etc, using the kit decals and, if they take as long as the swastikas to release from the backing paper, I think it's going to be a rather prolonged decalling session !
Back .... er ....... sometime !

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Wojtek !

 

[parsifal]

very very well done terry. I like it a lot.

 

[Crimea_River]

Very nice indeed. I might suggest that the swastika on the port side could have been cranked a bit more. The upper right sloped face should run almost if not perfectly parallel to the horn balance edge as on your starboard one.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Michael and Andy.

I agree the port side swastika should be angled a touch more Andy, but it decided to stick like sh*t to a blanket at the leading edge, and I risked tearing it if I tried to manipulate further.I worked from the photos of Schopfel's kite, and it looked like wasn't actually level with the angle of the fin / rudder horn balance, the starboard one on my model being further 'out' in alignment, leaning the wrong way ! (see pic below).
I also checked some other pics of other 'Emils' of the period, and they were all at the same angle, with the tip of the swastika vertically in line with the base.

Hoping to get most of the stencils etc done tonight, and with luck, I might get the matt clear coat done tomorrow.

 

[Wurger]

Here is another shot but taken a little bit lower.

 

[Airframes]

All the decals are on !
A marathon seven hour session got all the stencils and smaller decals done, some, like the frame numbers along the lower, port fuselage, being tiny, and others, such as the cowling latch alignment lines needing a lot of attention to get them in the correct place and bedded down into the latch engraving.
One of the horizontal rigging datum indicators under the cockpit (the 'WE' decals) mysteriously went AWOL long after being applied, but no big deal, as they weren't always visible under new paint or grime.
I thought that the brown oil filler cap triangle, which sits below the circular hatch, looked far to large, so this was cut away, leaving the twin circles, and the filler cap hatch was painted brown, as seen on most 109Es of the period.
The wing walkway lines were one-piece, 'L' shaped decals, and I knew that these would cause trouble if used as provided, probably folding or otherwise becoming tangled, so they were cut and applied in two sections.
The Tamiya decal sheet didn't include the anti-freeze decals (Frostschutzmittel) for the radiator shutters, or the 'No Push' decals ( -- Heir Nicht Schieben --) for the slats, but again, not a major problem, as the former are virtually hidden under the wing, as the shutters are closed, and the latter would hardly be seen against the fairly dark background of the slats.

Now, purists look away now as, shock, horror - I added a spurious Werke nummer !!
I thought the fin looked rather bare, being plain RLM 65, and the lack of the number stood out like a bulldog's b@lls. On a mottled fin, it wouldn't be so bad, but this just didn't look right, so I made a number, more or less in the same sequence as a '109 from the 9th Staffel shot down over England, using separate digits and the spare 'W.nr' decals from the HAD Decals sheet I recently bought, using W.nr 1094., and you can bet that someone, somewhere, will pop up and state "But that was whathisname's kite !"

Anyway, that's the worst part out of the way, and next step is to spray the finishing clear matt coat, and then continue with the final construction with the bits and pieces.
Pics below show the stencils etc, and that spurious Werke nummer which, fortunately, is not that sharply defined.
I should be back later this evening with another up-date, and thanks again to all for your interest and complimentary comments.

 

[Wurger]

 

[turbo]

That's looking great Terry! I think your W. Nr digits are sufficiently small that you should be OK unless you run into a nerd with excellent eyesight!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks very much Wojtek and Kirby.
I'm just wondering if someone, somewhere on the great Internet, will see a pic of the model, and then think that this is the correct Werke nummer - with many more models appearing with the same number !!
Just getting ready to start on the final stages, and with a bit of luck, there's a chance that this might be finished by Sunday night.
If so, then it'll be time for a Bf109G-6/R6 .......................

 

[Crimea_River]

Looks very good Terry.

Anyone copying something off the internet without checking his facts gets what he deserves so no sympathies here! I'm going to have the same issue with Philipp's 190 so I may fake it as well, though the style could be one of several as well.

 

[Gnomey]

Looks great so far Terry!

 

[Wayne Little]

Sweet Terry...!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Hugh and Wayne.

Got a bit more done last night, with the model being sprayed in a semi-matt clear coat, the tail-planes and struts in place, and the struts painted and clear-coated, and the undercarriage almost complete. Currently working on the gun sight, replacing the glass reflector screen, and adding the handles to the windscreen, both of which will then be fitted.
Just got to finish the undercart, assemble and paint the prop and spinner, and then get the final bits sorted.
I should have some pics later tonight.

 

[JKim]

That was a quickie! Looking good!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks John.

I've just noticed, now that the semi-matt clear coat has fully dried, that there is some slight 'silvering' around the wing-walk decals. Rather annoying, as it didn't show up when the decals were applied, or after gloss clear-coating.
I doubt I can do much about it now, with two clear coats over the top, but I'll try some more gloss clear, to see of the 'silvering' disappears and, if it does, then re-coat in semi-matt.
If it doesn't go, then I'll either have to live with it, or try to re-touch around the affected areas,
What I should have done, is to mask and paint the lines, then add spare spare 'Nicht Betreten' decals that I have, and know work without silvering !
Lesson learned - the next seven 'Emils' will get painted lines !

 

[Crimea_River]

Rather than apply another gloss coat, apply a drop of MircroSol to the silvered area then make one or more pin pricks in the center of the drop. This has worked well for me in the past, even through a clear coat.

 

[Airframes]

I haven't had much success in the past doing that after clear coats Andy, but it's worth a try. And if it works, it'll be a darned sight better, and easier, than trying to re-touch around the lines and lettering !

 

[Crimea_River]

Well, I actually use Solvaset which I gather is actually more potent than the MicroSol.