**** DONE: 1/48 Bf 109E-4 Von Werra - Defense of Britain/Atlantic.
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Crimea_River
Marshal
So far so good.
T Bolt
Colonel
- Thread starter
- #24
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Doing a bit more work in the cockpit of the Emil. Here is the starboard fuselage side. The sidewall details are molded into the inside of the fuselage.
There is a photo-etched plate that replaces the rectangular panel along the top edge so that has been sanded down. Looking at reference pictures, I started building up some detail. Due to the placement of the instrument panel, I doubt that this added stuff will be seen. I may even elect to have the canopy in the closed position to preserve the elegant lines of the aircraft so I decided to not to expend too much on added details.
On the port side, I just added some plastic sprue rods to add to the included photoetched stuff.
The cockpit parts were painted in black.
And then RLM 02 Grey. When dry, I'll come back and do some detail painting and weathering on the cockpit.
The outer instrument panel PE pieces are shot with a flat coat to deaden the shine and even out that texture.
From what I've read, this kit was designed to have the engine and gun compartment open for display and that mounting the engine and gun cowlings in the closed position may result in some fit problems if one isn't careful. Since I am intending to show everything closed, I'm spending some extra time looking at the engine components, paying extra attention to the kit instructions (certain parts of the engine assembly must be left off) and pre-fitting as much as possible to avoid any headaches.
I've noticed that there are some subtle removals called out for the closed cowling option. Easy to miss if you aren't paying close attention.
This one will be done after the two engine halves are glued together.
One minor concern are the engine exhausts. One the positive side, the exhaust ports are molded with hollow openings. But each stack is molded as an individual piece. The cowling open option will have you insert the exhaust stacks AFTER the engine trapped between the two fuselage halves. This is good because you can added the painted exhaust stacks after painting of the fuselage.
But since the cowling closed option requires leaving out some engine components including the engine mounting braces, the instructions show the installation of the exhaust stacks before the engine is placed between the fuselage halves, probably to aid in alignment. I'll have to look at this to see if there an alternative or maybe I just to need to accept that some delicate masking will need to be done around the exhausts.
There is a photo-etched plate that replaces the rectangular panel along the top edge so that has been sanded down. Looking at reference pictures, I started building up some detail. Due to the placement of the instrument panel, I doubt that this added stuff will be seen. I may even elect to have the canopy in the closed position to preserve the elegant lines of the aircraft so I decided to not to expend too much on added details.
On the port side, I just added some plastic sprue rods to add to the included photoetched stuff.
The cockpit parts were painted in black.
And then RLM 02 Grey. When dry, I'll come back and do some detail painting and weathering on the cockpit.
The outer instrument panel PE pieces are shot with a flat coat to deaden the shine and even out that texture.
From what I've read, this kit was designed to have the engine and gun compartment open for display and that mounting the engine and gun cowlings in the closed position may result in some fit problems if one isn't careful. Since I am intending to show everything closed, I'm spending some extra time looking at the engine components, paying extra attention to the kit instructions (certain parts of the engine assembly must be left off) and pre-fitting as much as possible to avoid any headaches.
I've noticed that there are some subtle removals called out for the closed cowling option. Easy to miss if you aren't paying close attention.
This one will be done after the two engine halves are glued together.
One minor concern are the engine exhausts. One the positive side, the exhaust ports are molded with hollow openings. But each stack is molded as an individual piece. The cowling open option will have you insert the exhaust stacks AFTER the engine trapped between the two fuselage halves. This is good because you can added the painted exhaust stacks after painting of the fuselage.
But since the cowling closed option requires leaving out some engine components including the engine mounting braces, the instructions show the installation of the exhaust stacks before the engine is placed between the fuselage halves, probably to aid in alignment. I'll have to look at this to see if there an alternative or maybe I just to need to accept that some delicate masking will need to be done around the exhausts.
ozhawk40
Master Sergeant
Great detail work John - nice!
le_steph40
Chief Master Sergeant
8) 
Good stuff!
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
good stuff John. Maybe use a 'backing plate', inside the cowling, so that the exhausts can be added later ?
Looks good so far!
Crimea_River
Marshal
Masking around the exhausts is not as bad as it may appear John. I've done it a few times with no real issues.
- Thread starter
- #32
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to do. It's nice to be able to add the exhausts last but putting them in now and masking around them shouldn't be a real issue.
Continuing on with the cockpit... After the overall color of RLM 02 Grey is dry, I picked out details by handbrushing and then gave everything a dark pastel wash. The sidewalls are first. Notice how thin the plastic is at the cockpit/engine joint. I could see this snapping due to carelessness... gotta be careful!
And then the cockpit tub. The seatbelts are provided as pre-painted photoetched parts. I purposefully put kinks into the belts to try and make them look more natural.
I mounted the Revi 12C gunsight onto the completed instrument panel but I'll have to be very careful and will not attach the IP prematurely to prevent the reflector glass pieces from being knocked off (which has already happened once).
The gun barrels are hollowed out and look pretty good with the exception of one of the wing guns. The business end is short shot and I'm not sure I can salvage it. I may have to look at my spares box to find a suitable replacement.
Mini-disaster strikes! I found this pretty mess after some pre-fitting. Somehow, CA glue got onto the masking tape that I was using to hold the fuselage halves together.
I picked off as much of the mess as I could without removing plastic. And then it was a matter of gently shaving off the superglue layers, sanding/polishing/sanding/polishing and finally gently replacing the rivets with a sewing needle. Came out better than I expected!
Well done John...!
- Thread starter
- #36
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Wow... I did not know there was such a thing! So the Debonder can remove dried CA glue without affecting the plastic? I definitely need to pick up some!
Yes John it can. In fact the liquid is for ungluing parts put together with the CA adhesive by unloosing of CA joints. But it can be used as the CA remover as well. It is enough to soak a Q-tip with it and wash up "a dirty" area. Usually I apply a drop of the liquid on the area that was dirty with the CA and wait a little bit. Then I use soaked Q-tips. It is important to change Q-tips often because the CA glue soaks the cotton tips easily while cleaning. Also you have to know that the Debonder works for some time only and then the CA adhesive gets hardening again. It is quite a nice feature of the liquid because you may remove the CA excesses leaving it in gaps as the filling of a smooth surface.
Here is what happened to me while building a Bf 109E of the Airfix.
Some of CA glue on the wing half ...
The Debonder is ready for cleaning ...
Clear surface of the wing ....
Here is what happened to me while building a Bf 109E of the Airfix.
Some of CA glue on the wing half ...
The Debonder is ready for cleaning ...
Clear surface of the wing ....
- Thread starter
- #39
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Very useful info... I just assumed that CA glue was permanent and have at times struggled with excess CA glue marring details, leaving messes and making life tough. This will definitely make things easier for me!
