1/24 Airfix Messerschmitt Bf-109E

by Marc Gray 

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Background History

Designed by Professor Willy Messerschmitt, a director of the manufacturers Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG, the prototype BF109a first flew in 1935.  Progressive development led to several speed record breaking flights, the BF109B and C models seeing active service with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War.  In 1938, the company was renamed Messerschmitt AG, though the BF prefix was officially retained throughout the war for the 109 series.  A few Bf109D models were produced before the first major production variant, the BF109E, was introduced into Luftwaffe service in December 1938.  The E model was more powerful, better armed and armoured, and by the fateful summer of 1940 over 500 were in service for the offensive against Great Britain.

The Build

Oh my, this is only my second model that I have ever done, and yet I found it considerably more difficult than my first. This was due to a bad fit, from fitting the engine to the fuselage, to fitting the upper cowling and the canopy. 

Once the engine was readily assembled and painted using my trusted Humbrol enamels, I found it incredibly hard for it to fit snug against the inner fuselage, although the cockpit fit was surprisingly easy. In the end I found I had to spend an hour or so sanding the inner fuselage to the correct shape where the engine would fit without it looking a total disaster. The work paid off in the end as the engine was soon snug as a bug!

Once the engine and cockpit were sitting comfortably, it was time to assemble the upper cowling.  Consisting of two pieces, it was to be glued together, and according to references was able to slot on top of the fuselage, so it could be lifted off for the detail to be viewed underneath.  IF ONLY I COULD SAY IT WAS THAT EASY!!!! Upon dryfitting the upper cowling I found that there was no way in a million years this would fit comfortably without leaving gaps on each side that could make any modeler cringe in horror!  So... as you may have already guessed it was time to fish out the filler from the drawer and get to work. using the "Tools and Tips" of ARC I was able to use a masking technique to make the filling look more professional. Gaps of around 3mm were filled each side of the fuselage, once covered by paint they were barely noticeable.  Thank heavens!  From this point onwards everything went considerably well.  I was just waiting for the next problem to occur! I found myself thinking... "hey, this isn't all that bad now", the wings went together fantastically with only minimum filler on the upper side needed to fill the usual gaps. Again, the tail went on perfectly.  It was only the canopy that needed the real attention. After only doing one previous model beforehand I was not sure what to do to make it fit.  As again, there was a big gap between the bottom of the canopy and the top of the fuselage. so it was another painful trip back to THE FILLER DRAWER!!!!!.  Using the same technique as before (nearly going blind with concentration) the gap was sealed in no time.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

The Painting

As stated earlier I used my trusted Humbrol enamels throughout the models interior and exterior.  Using Humbrol 91, 26 and 65 for the camoflage scheme. Again I referred back to ARC's "Tools and Tips" page to find a technique for weathering the paintwork.  I found a very effective method which consists of simply using womens eye shadow applicators to do the job!  Works perfectly in my opinion. The cowling required around 2 coats of yellow to make it look effective.  Overall the painting went ok.  I invested in some Humbrol Satin Cote to give the paintwork a more realistic shine.  Considering I've never used it before, it was a joy to see how great it made the model look. After a few coverings obviously.

Decaling 

Being a new kit the decals were in good condition, so I decided to go ahead and use them, using a eyeshadow applicator to smooth them over onto the model I found this a very neat and easy way to achieve great results!  Considering my first model (JU-87 Stuka) suffered silvering, due to lack of knowledge on how to apply them I used my Satin Cote to set them firmly into the panel lines.  AND THAT IT DID!!!!  This made me feel a lot better about my model after it had suffered such a bad fit.

As always I am open to improvement suggestions, being relatively new to the modeling hobby, and if anyone would like to drop me an email sharing similar experiences they may have had feel free to do so.  Now its time for me to start my next project, so its back to the modeling table for me!

Marc

Photos and text © by Marc Gray