Bf109E3, 'Yellow 11', 9/JG54, Waldemar Wubke, August 1940, BoB Group Build.

[B-17engineer]

Yikes I bought the 1/48 Hasegawa 109E...hopefully it won't be the same?

 

[Wayne Little]

nothing you can't handle Terry....just think it's not a Buccaneer!

 

[Airframes]

Nah, the Hasegawa 1/48th kit is really nice H, it's accurate and goes together no problem. This kit was originally a 'Frog' moulding, from the late 1960s as far as I remember, then released by Hasegawa in the late 70's. It was good then, but not up to the standards of even 20 years ago now. Still, it should at least look like a '109E when I'm finished - I hope !
EDIT: crossing posts; too right Wayne, it'll take a lot to get as bad as the Buc. At least this one fits together properly, even if the shape is out at the nose and tail !

 

[B-17engineer]

Frog, frog?!?!?!? Thats what the P-47's original mould was. I hates frogs from now on!

 

[Airframes]

Don't knock 'em H, Frog produced some great kits in their time, and some are still good today. OK, the interiors are basic, but at least they have an interior, and can make nice models. If your P47 was Testors, I doubt it would have originally been from Frog. They only made a few 1/48th scale kits, and I don't think the P47 was one of them, or if it was, it was 'borrowed', probably from Hawk. I don't build 1/72nd scale these days, but Frog kits are probably missed by those who do.

 

[B-17engineer]

Errr yeah Hawk...... That's what I meant

 

[T Bolt]

Yes it is an old Hawk kit. At least it doesn't have engraved lines for positioning all the decals like some of the Hawk kits. I can still remember the hours and hours I spent filling and sanding them on the little Geebee kit, and that was 14 years ago!

 

[lesofprimus]

Piss on that Glenn, ur a much more patient man than I....

Is there such a thing as a perfect kit Terry??? Its an honest question, as it seems every stinkin kit that has ever been built needs some sort of modification to make it historically correct...

 

[Wurger]

I think it because it is not easy to cover all variants of aircraft used during WW2 Dan. As a result we get something we can name "standard product".

 

[Airframes]

No such thing as a perfect kit, as someone, somewhere, will always want more !
There are kits which are extremely good, being accurate, and with some nice detail, and some of these are not new either. But the average modeller today expects this and that, and will complain that this part isn't right or that bit isn't included, or it hasn't got ready made and painted whatsits!
Let's face it, there are even aftermarket detail sets for even the most accurate and detailed kits only just released !
There are limitations to what can be achieved in injection moulding, and more so if the retail price is to be kept within reasonable limits (whatever they are these days !), but in the case of the Hasegawa 1/32nd scale Bf109E, people shouldn't really complain, as this kit is over forty years old, originally designed and tooled before Hasegawa were even heard of, and way ahead of it's time back then - a time when the average modeller was happy to get something which was fairly close to resembling what it was supposed to be ! Being fair, if built straight from the box, and well finished, this kit would pass cursory inspection, and 'Joe public' wouldn't know the difference anyhow. I certainly won't be going down the route of accuracy to the nearest half millimetre, not even close - just getting it to look right, as opposed to being 100% accurate!
EDIT: Crossing posts. Thanks for the profile Wojtek. I notice the III Gruppe 'welle' is shown, which was still being used by a few units, although Wubke's aircraft had the fuselage cross further forward than normal, and didn't have any III Gruppe marking, which was true of more than one aircraft from the Gruppe apparently.

 

[B-17engineer]

But a lot of new coming modelers wouldn't know its a 40 year old mold. Plus with the day and age we have now, modelers have it pretty good! So if someone say got that cheap but generally build the newer kits,they more than likely would be disappointed. I guess you just have to know the molds!

 

[Airframes]

Very true, and more so when a kit has been re-issued in a new box, with new decals. Personally, I think the original release date should be shown on the outside of the box, along with the latest release date, for this very reason. The number of fifty year old Airfix kits re-released in recent years I believe has possibly done a lot of harm to the Airfix 'name', as new, or newer modellers, having built a few 'modern' kits, expect a similar standard, especially if the prices are similar also. It's hard to tell someone who has just paid good money 'Ah, well, it is a fifty year old kit you know. It was the top of the tree in 1960 !'
(And back then the Series 1 kits were 2 Shillings [ten Pence], designed as 'pocket money' kits).

 

[vikingBerserker]

So true so true.

 

[Airframes]

Hmm. I've been doing a bit of 'what if I...' with some of the parts which will need modification and improvement, with a view to planning this build. I realised that quite a lot of work will be needed to get this to look anywhere near accurate, and I've already made the balsa wood moulds for the seat and the radiator baths. However, some areas are going to take a lot longer than initially envisaged, and the possibility of this model being even part done by the end of the GB is extremely slim!
I'll try to make a start in the not too distant future, and will continue with the build in this thread, but it will be joining the ranks of 'prolonged builds', not disimilar to Wayne's Ju88 !

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Maybe you could re-enter it in the May 2011 Focke Wulfs Messerschmitts GB T................good idea, what.............

 

[Wayne Little]

Just keep at it Terry....no matter how long it takes...

 

[Crimea_River]

The "Prolonged GB" Group Build is getitng more members!

 

[Airframes]

Maybe we should start a "Will it be finished before I die" Group Build ?!!!

 

[T Bolt]

Maybe we should start a "Will it be finished before I die" Group Build ?!!!

Does that include kits in the stash? I'll have to live to like 127 then!

 

[Airframes]

if I include the 'stash', then I'd need about six lifetimes !!!