**** DONE: Bf-109F Hans-Joachim Marseille - Aircraft of the Aces GB.

[Nxthanos]

Username: Nxthanos
First name: Chris
Category: Beginer
Scale: 1:48
Manufacturer: Airfix
Model Type: BF-109F Single seat day fighter
Details: North Africa
Aircraft Assignment: Hans-Joachim Marseille
Accessories: None
Decals: Hasegawa

The star of the desert's famous yellow 14 is the project.

Hans-Joachim Marseille - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Nxthanos]

Ok, let's take a look at the kit and decals.

Some sprue shots.

And the hasegawa decals.

 

[Nxthanos]

First thing is to paint is the interior rlm green.

No pilot in the kit, so I added one from the spares.

First thing is build the cockpit and paint hans.

The instrament panel is painted.

And the propellar and fuselage is joined.

 

[Airframes]

Quick work, and looking good so far. I think you'll probably need to replace the oil cooler bath with the deeper, tropical verison which, IIRC, is not supplied in this kit. That said, it's not really that noticeable anyway.

 

[rochie]

nice choice, i did toy with the idea of doing this one with the ICM kit i have

 

[Airframes]

Just been looking at the parts sprues. The Airfix kit had a rather good pilot figure, and it looks like 'his' arms are on the sprues.
However, some of the mouldings look different from the original, and I've seen this kit advertised in some places as 'ex-Otaki', so I'm wondering what happened to the original, late 1970s moulds ? They were very advanced for the time, and rather good.

 

[Nxthanos]

The pilot figure was missing, but I knew that before i got it, the seller on ebay said as much, and i only paid $2 for it.

The replacement pilot is actually a monogram american from a P-51.

 

[Nxthanos]

I do not think this is an otaki kit BTW, Airfix made a nice series of 1/48s in the late 70s, this was part of it.

The kit screams 'Airfix', it does not have the 'feel' of Otaki kits (which i have several). i could be wrong about it, but i think its an Airfix original design.

 

[Airframes]

Yes, I know, I had all of the 1/48th Airfix kits when they were first released. It's just that, as I mentioned, I've seen this kit advertised now as ex-Otaki and, having built around 6 of these, the parts don't look as remember them. For example, it looks like there is a 'spare' '109E seat on the sprues, a type not fitted the '109F, and my kits definitely did not have that part, and there was only one set of wheels. each moulded as a single piece.
If it is original Airfix, then it'll have the name and date moulded on one internal fuselage half - not that it matters, I'm just curious !

 

[Nxthanos]

If it is original Airfix, then it'll have the name and date moulded on one internal fuselage half - not that it matters, I'm just curious !

It did, Airfix 1979 on the inner fuselage half near the tail.

 

[Nxthanos]

Today's update;

The stabilizers are added.

next the tropical air filter is built and added to the hood, and the hood is joined to the fuselage, not a great fit.

Next the wings are attached, and as i feared, there are huge gaps on upper and lower joints, very poor engineering by Airfix here

After these have dried a bit, cellophane tape is placed next to the area to be puttied so as to protext the surface and squadron green stuff is used to fill the gaps.

The putty is allowed to dry and sanded down and the tape removed revealing a good fill of the joint both upper and lower.

The airfilters and drop tank assembly is constructed and added, and the plane is set aside to dry overnight, tomorrow begins painting.

 

[ozhawk40]

Good progress there Chris.

 

[Wayne Little]

Doing good Chris, by the way the Otaki/Arii kit is a G-6 and looks nothing like the Airfix kit....

Which yellow 14 are you doing Chris?

 

[Nxthanos]

The one with the 100+ kill marks.

 

[Wurger]

Looking very good. However these wheel bays had charakteristic shape of a"trough" at the areas where landing gear legs were when retracted.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Nice one Chris, off to a flying start.

 

[Nxthanos]

The kit could be better, but for 31+ years its not too bad.

 

[Airframes]

Good work so far. You might find it easier to paint if the drop tank is attached after painting.
Thanks for the clarification Wayne, I thought it rather strange that the kit should be advertised as ex-Otaki, when the box etc are the same as the original issue.
BTW Chris, it's not poor engineering causing the wing root gaps, it's the age of the moulds. The fit of all parts was perfect when the kit was first released.

 

[Nxthanos]

Was it really?

I don't doubt it, the boxing i have is 1994.

I normally think of leaving the tank till later, must be a brain fart!

 

[Airframes]

Yes, in those days (the early 1980s) the then new Airfix kits were quite advanced, and the fit was excellent (bearing in mind tooling methods of the period.) For example, their Spitfire Vb was considered the best on the market, in any scale, and was the first to portray the correct 'gull wing' fillets on the underside of the wing roots, as well as supplying alternative parts for the 'Trop' version, including the deeper radiator (missed by Tamiya).
I built about 6 of the Bf109, including converting 2 into Galland's 'specials' (as in Wayne's 32nd scale build), and one into a 'Buchon' as used in the BoB movie, and still remember being impressed by the kit. OK, advances in moulding techniques make them look 'old hat' these days, but at the time they seemed brilliant !