**** DONE: GB-36 1/32 Bf109G-10 Erla - Axis Manufactured Aircraft of WWII

[JKim]

Thanks for checking in!

Spiral looks great John. Always a hurdle and a relief when done.

Just a small nit pick but I noticed on your windscreen that you rounded the corners of the masking tape. The 109's frames at this location had sharp edges though.

Hey, I'm just following what Montex supplied. Which is based on the framing molded onto the Revell kit's clear parts. But you are right! The corners are supposed to be sharp and not rounded. Hmmm... might be a lot of work to remove molded frames from the clear parts but I'll take a look and maybe I can at least reduce the rounded corner appearance. Thanks for the observation... very helpful and I mean that!

I gave the prop spinner a wash to bring out the fine rivet detail. This is when the advantages of painting the spiral versus using a decal should be evident.

Here's a sneak preview of the what the Reaver prop and engine cowling look together. I still have to put a flat coat on the spinner and do some weathering on it but it looks pretty sexy, I must say.

I'm still not ready to glue the engine cowling on yet. Part of it is fear. The other part is making sure that I can do everything now to ensure a decent fit and to try and minimize the corrective work as much as possible. I've trimmed the join areas and added shims where appropriate to ensure solid gluing contact around the perimeter of the cowling. This is another dry-fit session with the wing components in place.

The biggest job will be the transition at the rear edge of the engine cowling on the port side. The Reaver cowling is considerably wider than the kit's leading edge and that big overhang will need to be filled in, probably with epoxy putty.

The starboard side has a similar overhang to deal with but, despite what the photo indicates, is not as severe as the port side. The cowling can be pinched in on this side so I have to make sure to get a good glue joint here. CA glue sets so very fast that I'm nervous that I won't get good adhesion all the way around. 2-part epoxy glue is a consideration but it takes a bit long for epoxy glue to set... I don't want to be holding things in place for 30 minutes. Is there another glue product that I should be thinking about here?

Some final shots with the clear parts in place... just to make sure things are fitting.

 

[turbo]

I agree, the spinner looks great John. Well done on the spiral in particular

I can't help you on the glue question but it does remind me that there are some specialist automotive adhesives out there that bond rubber, metal, plastic, etc very strongly and set quite quickly which I've been meaning to experiment with I ever find the time...

 

[javlin]

I agree, the spinner looks great John. Well done on the spiral in particular

I can't help you on the glue question but it does remind me that there are some specialist automotive adhesives out there that bond rubber, metal, plastic, etc very strongly and set quite quickly which I've been meaning to experiment with I ever find the time...

Their are some epoxy's now that set up in 1 minute or you can get the 5 with very high tensile strength one can P/U at your local auto parts house by Permatex about $6-7.

 

[Airframes]

Good stuff John.
I used some automotive 2-part clear epoxy a couple of years back, although the brand name escapes me. It was designed for bonding windscreens and repairing holes and cracks in windscreens. It set fairly quickly, relatively speaking, taking maybe a minute or so to be firm enough, but full curing was probably nearer 10 minutes. The initial bond was strong enough to prevent the joined parts from moving, but still allowed some re-arrangement movement, unlike CA, which 'grabs' instantly.
The adhesive, although fairly thick compared to CA when dispensed from the twin syringes, could be spread thinly quite easily, and can be applied by cocktail stick, small spatula etc etc.
However, a word of warning - when first mixed, a little heat is generated, so leave the 'mix' for 30 seconds or m ore before applying to resin parts, just in case, and, of course, test first on some 'scrap' resin.
Another alternative might be clear casting resin, basically the same material as the nose section is cast from, which could possibly be fed into the joint and used as an adhesive.

 

[turbo]

Their are some epoxy's now that set up in 1 minute or you can get the 5 with very high tensile strength one can P/U at your local auto parts house by Permatex about $6-7.

Yep, that's one of them. I have a Permatex adhesive that I used for attaching rubber weatherstrip to the car. Very strong bond but still gives you a few minutes to move things around before it sets up, unlike CA. Is also resistant to water and most solvents including hydrocarbons so should withstand painting and washes, etc. Been meaning to try it on a model...

 

[JKim]

Ok, thanks for the glue recommendations! I'll look around to see if I can pick up some quicker setting 2-part epoxy. Permatex sounds like one. Someone else recommended JB Weld Kwik, which sounds similar.

This one is for Andy... I removed the masking on the windscreen side windows and re-did them with sharp corners. I didn't bother removing the canopy framing, which was on the indistinct side anyway.

The pilot armor pieces were glued into place using Elmer's White Glue. Remember... the windscreen armor goes INSIDE the windscreen not on the outside as depicted in the kit instructions.

I've glued the drop tank attachments to the drop tank rack. It was impossible to try and dry-fit the tank to the rack without gluing those little suckers into place. I've put on a strap from brass sheeting and replaced the molded fuel lines with brass tubing.

Taking another look at the cockpit before things get buttoned up. I've added the rear cockpit bulkhead and canopy jettisoning bar. The canopy will be posed closed so I am not cleaning up the step around the bulkhead.

 

[Crimea_River]

Making good progress John. I think the masking looks better now.

I'm not familiar with your kit but something that I regret not having added on my just-completed G-14 were the two support struts that brace the Galland Panzer to the upper canopy frame (below arrows). These are quite visible through your closed canopy and an easy add if not supplied with the kit.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Good stuff John.

 

[JKim]

Adding some small details here and there. The canopy jettisoning bar was left without any end details because I reasoned that the closed canopy would block the view. Perhaps on one side but not the other right? So I took it out and fashioned some rudimentary attachment hardware using brass sheet.

After gluing in the armor plate in the canopy, Andy posted a photo of the Galland hood with some bracing arms off of the armor. I had no choice but to comply since it is an easy add.

I have a spare canopy so I was able to check the position of the bracing arms in relation to the canopy frames.

The drop tank looked really bad after I sprayed some paint on it. Some of the seams were showing and lots of excess CA glue around the strap. So I wiped the tank of paint and cleaned it up a bit. After adding the strap, I put on a buckle on the side of the strap using brass sheeting.

Here is the drop tank after the 2nd painting attempt.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Nice detail work John - I wish my hands still worked properly to allow me to add such stuff !

 

[Crimea_River]

Great job on those braces John. I hope I'm not being a pain pointing these things out but at the risk of being more of an annoyance, I'd suggest that the strap supporting the drop tank is actually slung more such that it is tightly suspended from the ETC rack rather than from a point close to the tank. I struggle with achieving this look myself as it's hard to get a flexible strap to do that when installing the tank. I'm only pointing out this kind of thing as I'm seeing that your are doing a great job adding details to make the model look very realistic.

 

[Airframes]

Good point Andy, and something I must bear in mind for the large drop tanks on my '110.

 

[Crimea_River]

Yes, the 110 had a slightly different arrangement but as can be seen in the below pic, the strap was racheted up into the the wing in this case:

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Andy, that's a useful pic. I'll be using the very large tanks, but the suspension and attachment are similar, with parts provided in the Eduard kit that can be adapted.

 

[JKim]

Dang... and I have covered the drop tank with a gloss coat in preparation of the decals. I can probably make some mods without having to remove the strap completely but I may have to add some length of brass sheeting to do it. Always looking for a challenge!

 

[Crimea_River]

I'm thinking that if you can loosen just the upper sections between 10 and 2 o'clock then suck the part where they are glued together further into the rack life will be good. If CA'd then maybe a bit of debonder, though you may lose some paint with that

 

[Spielmann]

Hello,
The notches made on tha canopy should represent in reality an additional frame protruding over the flanges of the fuselage to maintain the canopy when closed and locked. I made it with thin tracing paper.

 

[Wurger]

Yep the kind of the flange can be noticed here.. however the flange is a result of the Erla haube construction. The inner frame was made of pipes with the glass rivedted to, while the outside frame was made of the plate and riveted to the inner one too.