**** DONE: GB-37 1/48 Bf109E-4B - Helicopters / Military a/c of BoB 1940

[fubar57]

Nice fiddly bits manufacturing. Hope you get a fix on the fogging. I've never had much luck with Future and CA but maybe I have to dip the clear parts more than once

 

[Gnomey]

Looks great so far Andy!

 

[Airframes]

Hope you can fix it Andy.

 

[parsifal]

I hope so too Andy.

 

[turbo]

Hmm, bummer, fogging after Future treatment is unusual. Can you remove the part, strip it with IPA, and then polish if necessay?

 

[Crimea_River]

Ironically, I attached the damned thing with CA and it had no effect. Then I go and put a tiny dab on the end of the flare pistol and poof....

Trying to get the canopy off is a last resort as the fit is really nice and I don't want to break it. I had 20 minutes today and began sanding with fine paper and will keep trying that.

 

[parsifal]

have you got any photos of the damaged area Andy. not that we can give you more knowledge than you already have, but merely to understand the dilemma....

 

[Crimea_River]

Yes, just haven't had time to post.

 

[Crimea_River]

Here's the damage to the windscreen just above the "F". Looks to me like a drop of CA got onto the clear part unnoticed.

And here's the repair which I'll rate a 5 out of 10. This after a couple of hours of sanding and polishing followed by brushed on Future. Not too happy about it. Some sanding water has dripped onto the fuselage side and still needs to be cleaned off.

Because of the tight quarters, I made two sanding sticks, one of which is shown here. The ends of a toothpick are cut to a chisel edge and thin strips of different grades of sand paper CA-glued to them

I then moved on to the center canopy. After carefully masking both the inside and outside frames, I noticed a crack in the plastic near the sliding pane. That pretty much seals the fate of this model as far as entry in local contests is concerned.

Canopy glued on and restrain wire attached. Mast is now on so the antenna wire can be added and the model declared finished.

I'm a bit miffed at how this has turned out as I was very happy with how this one was coming together before these final issued surfaced.

Thanks for following.

 

[Airframes]

Darned shame about the problems Andy, but it still looks the biz, and to the average eye, it'll certainly pass inspection.

 

[parsifal]

The biggest issue by far Andy is the crack, but even then its a small issue. I know you don't want to replace the whole canopy. I know I wouldn't at least. what about just replacing the cracked centre section. Surely there is a spare one of these lying around somewhere.....

 

[Wurger]

 

[Wayne Little]

Bummer Andy, you did pretty good to get the improvement on how it was....still the crack is another matter, replacement?
I like what you've done in any case...!

 

[fubar57]

Did a very nice job removing the CA, sucks about the crack.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks guys.

There is a second canopy in the kit and I may do a swap at some point. I was miffed that I only discovered the crack after I had masked and painted everything. I really don't have the time and inclination at this point to do another Future dip, mask, and paint as I have lots of real life things with deadlines on the go.

 

[turbo]

A nice job on this one Andy, bummer about the canopy issues. You can always replace the cracked canopy later when you can be arsed.

 

[Crimea_River]

When I can be "arsed"? That sounds bad in my neck of the woods!

 

[Gnomey]

Great work so far Andy!

Shame about the issues though.

 

[Arrawin]

Username: Crimea River
First name: Andy
Category: Judge – Non competing
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Eduard
Model Type: Bf109E-4
Aftermarket addons: None planned. Lotsa goodies in the kit already. Some scratchbuilding no doubt.

I was intrigued with this scheme when I got my a copy of one of Kagero's Topcolours Battle of Britain volumes and have decided to go ahead and build it.

View attachment 483156

The aircraft is a Bf109E-4B of 5/JG51 and is depicted here as it appears in what I assume to be October 1940 when the Luftwaffe was undertaking its final phase of the BoB with large scale Jabo operations.

The rather unique inscription on the side says "Achtung Anfänger" which translates to a rather ambiguous "Caution or Beware Beginners". Does it mean "if you are beginners, watch out!" or is it "we are beginners so stay clear"? I've seen opinions on both sides but, whatever the the meaning, it's still a unique scheme.

The other interesting feature is what appears to be an unpainted (or lightly painted) cowl covering the MG17s. The caption in the profile above suggests that it is RLM 65 but without a picture, it's impossible to see what this panel actually looks like and make a judgement on what was the most likely finish.

I'm creating this thread now but will likely make a sputtering start as I work through the Fairey Battle build. I also plan on resuming my Anson from the Trainers GB and paint that along side the Battle so between those two, you may see a bit of assembly on this one. In the meantime, facts, opinions, and conjecture on the open questions are welcome!

The Bf109 that we have in our Flying Heritage Museum has that same Weeping Bird emblem on the side of it.

 

[turbo]

When I can be "arsed"? That sounds bad in my neck of the woods!

An Australian/British colloquialism meaning to be bothered, just to clarify!