Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 (Airfix)

Bill Gilman
Hi mates! Well, here it is, my first attempt ever to build a 109. I'm using the sweet little Airfix kit and the Eduard PE set that goes with it. The pictures show where I am at the moment, as I get ready to join the fuselage halves and the wings. Cheers!

Christian Lehmann
Welcome to the 109 club 🙂

Bill Gilman
Ooohhh, it's a club? Do I have to pay dues? 🙂 🙂 🙂

Christian Lehmann
You paid it when n you bought the kit 😉

Bill Gilman
And the photoetch, and the masks...

Christian Lehmann
😄

Martyn Fox
Looking good Bill. Recently built this myself.

Alan Rush
Very nice work on the cockpit Bill. The etch added a lot to the wheel wells also. It look very nice. 🙂

Hunter Cummins
Im in for sure if you dont mind😉

Bill Gilman
The more the merrier! I'll use the kit decals, so it will be "the one that got away." What's the consensus over here about von Werra's camouflage scheme? (See photo #15.)

I've seen a lot of profiles that show the engine cowling white, but the latest research says that there were a few panels on his plane that came from others. The cowling is not white, it's just freshly painted RLM65 (the fuselage sides are very dirty and weathered by contrast). The panel in front of the windscreen is actually mottled and came from another plane. Do you guys know of this stuff? Airfix look to have the boxart right except for the mottled panel.

Dave Flitton
Watching this one. About time you joined the club!!

Christian Keller
Hello Bill, and again another Beauty from you.
It is always a pleasure to follow your progress. 🙂

Christian Lehmann
Compared to the definitely partly white spinner as well as fuselage markings the side of the engine cover shows a color in a darker shade => RLM 65 with RLM71 colored top. I assume that it is from another plane or a factory painted replacement engine cover

Zimmermaniac
looks very yummie so far Bill

Holger Kranich
Das ich dass noch erleben darf...😄

A one-o-nine on your bench? Are you sick uncle Bill?😄 I will sit back and enjoy this build! And i dare to do a forecast:
This will surely become your next medal-winner!

Holger Kranich
Very very nice, Bill! But there is a big nasty ejector pinmark behind the seat of the seat-armor, did you recognize it?

Bill Gilman
Yep, I noticed the ejector mark. It will be covered in photoetch from Eduard, so no need to fix it! 🙂

Bill Gilman
Look at the picture I posted of von Werra's plane after crash landing. Now look at the (forgive my ignorance on 109s) machine gun cover I think. The cover on top of the fuselage between the windscreen and the engine cover. This is the cover that people are saying is mottled. It sure doesn't match the rest of the plane...

Holger Kranich
I would not say it was always mottled! Have a look here:
[img1]

Holger Kranich
Here is a coloured one!
It looks as if the paint was dirty or heavy faded!
[img1]

Holger Kranich
Even here, no mottling to see...
[img1]

Bill Gilman
The reasoning is that the panel was changed in the field prior to the plane being shot down. Here is one interpretation:
[img1]

Holger Kranich
There are different interpretations on the web, maybe you roll a dice or throw a coin?😢😢😢

Es-haq Khosravi
Nice job!

Philip De Keyser
Great start Bill, the cockpit looks nice, looking forward to the next pictures 👍

Bill Gilman
The first release of the new tool Airfix Bf 109E had a moulding flaw, where detail at the wing root was missing from the starboard side. I thought about just sanding the detail off of the port side, then both sides would match!

But this detail is very noticeable on Bf 109Es, so I decided to try to fix it. First, I made a pencil rubbing of the detail on the port side (what is it - a reinforcement strip of some kind?) and I used that to cut out a very thin strip of plastic, using styrene of 0.010" thickness. I then glued that in place on the starboard side using liquid cement.

After that dried, I sanded the strip down so that it would be thinner and its edges would be rounded over. To match the detail on the port side, I then drilled 0.016" diameter holes into the strip at 1.5mm spacing. I used a jewelers drill bit, but I held it with my hand, using my fingers to rotate the drill bit to make the holes. It's not perfect by any means, but it almost matches the other side. I may sand it down some more, but I think it will look OK under some paint!

Airfix have fixed the moulding flaw in later releases of this kit. Thanks! 🙂

Es-haq Khosravi
Great job Bill!

Zimmermaniac
where'd ya get that drill bits ??

Bill Gilman
I inherited the drill bit set from my Grandfather, who was a clock maker (and who also flew a Spad in WWI!). I don't know how old they, but judging from the tip of the bit, and the fluting, they are wood drills. The holder says "Mascot Drill."

Bill Gilman
Hi mates - I can't believe it's been two months since I worked on this little guy. I started to paint today, and did the RLM02 and RLM71 pattern on the top of the fuselage. Next, I have some tricky masking to do for the RLM65 which is on the fuselage sides, underside, and the leading edge of the wings. I've decided to use the kit decals and build von Werra's aircraft. Cheers!

Holger Kranich
Looks very cool so far, uncle Bill!
Will you make some some hard edges for the RLM65 or will you use hoovering masks to create a soft edge?

Bill Gilman
Hi Holger, I'll be doing hard edges. I know that in reality they were very fine feathered edges, but to my eye in 1:72 they look hard. if I were doing this in a larger scale, I would try to replicate the precise, fine soft edge.

Augie
Bill, It looks like tis going to be superb as ever

Philip De Keyser
Great job Bill, fantastic paintjob on the 109 👍

Christian Lehmann
Look's nice Bill.

Choppa Nutta
for a 1:72nd scale 109 this is looking great !! 🙂

Bill Gilman
Thanks guys and gal! 😉

Bill Gilman
RLM65 has been duly applied. My "subtle" paint effects in the blue are near invisible, but with the exhaust staining and other weathering that will need to be done, I don't think that will be a problem. I still have some touch-up, and then it's on to the lightened cowling colour, the odd effects on the panel right in front of the windscreen, white rudder and wingtips, RLM70 spinner backing plate...and probably a lot more that I've forgotten about!

Martien Lourens
Great job so far, Bill.

Alan Rush
Very nice, Bill. I especially like the detail in the wheel wells. That is a nice way to deal with the seam when joining the wings. 👍

Bill Gilman
The front cowling has been painted with a lightened version of RLM65. This was done to help date the airplane to the time of von Werra's crash on Love Farm in Kent. The RAF crash report noted that the cowling was a replacement, and that it was painted with "new and clean RLM65." You can see what they mean in photo #29. I've seen a few models and profiles where the cowling is shown as white, but if the RAF crash report (which I've only seen reference to) says it's fresh RLM65, that's good enough for me! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Bill Gilman
A bit more progress - I've painted the rudder and wingtips white, they may look a bit stark right now but after some weathering they will look fine. I also did some mottling on the panel in front of the windscreen, but I didn't pay attention to the reference photos that I have, and only mottled part of the panel! I've since masked if off again, properly this time, and re-painted it. I'll post some more pictures soon.

I also spent some time on the fiddly bits - I painted the tyres, gear doors, canopies, and some photoetch pieces. Still need to do the prop and spinner, the wing flaps, and probably something else that I've forgotten. I have to do some work on my compressor today, but hopefully I'll get some clear gloss down on the fuselage so I can have a go at the stickers. Airfix didn't include hakenkreuz decals, so I have to dig deep into the decal box. I don't build many German WWII subjects (yet) - I hope I find some!

Ingmar Stöhr
looks great!

Duncan Cook
Looks very nice Bill, I got a question, has Airfix included Swastikas, or not?

Christian Bruer
Nice one-o-nine Bill. I really like your paint work so far! Looking forward to your progress.

Philip De Keyser
Looks great Bill 👍 looking forward to the next pictures

Bill Gilman
Hi Duncan - how are you? Airfix do not include the swastikas, or as they are called auf Deutsch hakenkreuz (hooked cross). I haven't found any that are small enough in my decal box yet! I think the 109 used 250mm swastikas - I'll keep looking, haven't got to the bottom of the box!

Thanks guys! 🙂

Duncan Cook
Still alive Bill, my PC died on me, my Airbrush is out of order, and in August my Traineeship will start, so I got osme money to spend on kits. 🙂 About the HKs I know that HobbyBoss has them, but they are not one decal, they are sperated in the center. But I think that won't be problem for you.

Jan Hazes
Looking good so far! Nice paint job 🙂

Holger Kranich
Uncle, if you need some swastikas, just drop me a line!😢

Bill Gilman
Thanks, Holger, but proper swastikas have been located! So, I sprayed the shiny stuff on, and started the transfers. The main markings are on, but I still need to add the stencils. Airfix do not supply a guide for which stencil goes where, so I downloaded one from Eduard's web site. I've uploaded a few photos that show the current progress.

For such a little kit with few parts, it sure is taking a long time!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Holger Kranich
Oh yes, for sure!😄

But uncle, i dont know why but the bar of pinholes on both sides of the fuselage/wing roots (and the one you´ve scratched) looks weird to me... I never noticed such pinholes on any 109 model... But maybe its just me... Do i need some new glasses?😢

But on the other, this is a real gem! I love your work, especially the pe´s in the gearbays!

Bart Goesaert
@ Holger: The holes are a bit deep, but on the other hand I didn't knew the plate was there...
[img1]

Very nice paint and decaljob....

Holger Kranich
Ah the image depicts what i mean. Yep just a bit deep...
I have so many E versions build but this plate or bar never came to mind. LOL!

Hunter Cummins
Wait wait wait
Holger, you actually finished something???? 😉 😛 bill I got an icm bf 109 F-2 and I wish I could do this paintscheme on it but I cant sadly
but you have done so well on this little 109 🙂

Holger Kranich
Yep Hunter, there where times, i used to finish model kits in the past.🙂😄

Bill Gilman
Thanks for the photo, Bart. I think I can make the holes "less deep." Stay tuned!

Fox One
It is a little gem 👍 🙂

Holger Kranich
Oh Bill please! Dont ruin your paintjob! I didnt wanted to criticize your work, the plate-thing was just a "pop-up" in my brain...

Bill Gilman
Holger, my friend, do not worry! It is already fixed, and no paint jobs were ruined in the process! 🙂

Holger Kranich
Pheew... 😄

Clifford Keesler
Nice 109 Holger.

Holger Kranich
Its not mine, Cliffy!😢
Its uncle Bill´s! And its his first!

Christian Ristits
Wow Bill, this is an awesome paintjob - love it!

Bill Gilman
Thanks, everyone! Yep, it's Uncle Navy Bird's first 109 in nearly 50 years of modelling. Who would have thought? Looking through my stash, though, there are several more lurking there. I like the looks of the "C" model with the Spanish Civil War markings, but the kit (Avis) looks like it will need a lot of help.

Bill Gilman
Question for you guys - how dirty did the fuselage sides get from the exhaust soot on the 109? What colour was the soot? Black? Gray? Tan? Some high octane white? All of the above? And does anyone have any links to wartime photos that show the exhaust stains?

Bart Goesaert
seems rather black and a lot of it. when looking in google for me-109e exhaust stain, you can find some pics, but they are deleted from photobucket:

[img1]

t0.gstatic.com/image..Dq5KGnqpM7kd8kPadlCA

t1.gstatic.com/image..wtdJA4bLyVIJvJMyi1hE

Bill Gilman
Hello Scalemates! I've uploaded several more photos of the 109. I have all of the stencils and markings on, and I've given her a few coats of matt varnish. Next I did some weathering with pastels - I think we're getting close to the finish! Enjoy while I go back to work on the fiddly bits! 🙂

Alan Rush
Hi Bill. I can't give any advice on exhaust stains, but I can say that the model is looking great. Panel lines, decals and the matt finish - very nice! 👍 Good luck with the fiddly bits. Look forward to the finished product. 🙂

Zimmermaniac
nice Bill...very subtle weathering !! I like it like that....🙂

Bill Gilman
A few more updates - exhausts were drilled out and painted. The guns in the nose were painted, and the ones in the wings added. The pitot and aileron balances were added to the bottom of the wings. Some of those fiddly bits were, well, fiddly! Very small - difficult to get off of the Airfix runners, but somehow we did it. I also stripped the canopy with Windex, and repainted so that the center frames are not painted. This is more like von Werra's plane. Close to finishing! Cheers!

Luis Ferrer
That great job

Christian Meyerhoff
Hi Bill! Did the same with the same kit. The first ME-109 I build was the Faller kit in 1964. My first kit ever and my trigger to addiction for plastic kits.
Never stopped till today.
You are doing a perfect build on this one! (BTW: Meanwhile i`m fixed on ME-109 kits, so I bought another Emil in 1:48 from Eduard 🙂 )
So here is mine: modellversium.de/gal..-109-e-4-airfix.html

Bill Gilman
Wow, nice work, Christian! Was the mottling done free-hand? Amazing in 1:72 scale. 👍 👍 👍

Christian Meyerhoff
Thank you for your kind words Bill!
The mottling was done free-hand with a messed up 10/0 brush and very thin paint. ( Use this method for my 1:35 AFV`s as well.)

John Bollig
Hello Bill, I like the airfix kits alos and I can vouch for the heller B/C BF 109 also. I have a soft spot for the 109 and have built at least five of them.

Clifford Keesler
Sorry about that Bill. It's still a nice 109. Is it really your first one?

Bill Gilman
Clifford - Yep, I've been modelling since I was 10, and this is the first 109 I've built. Strange how that works out sometimes. There are plenty of other aircraft that I've never built, too!

John - I have a 109C in my stash, it's a short run kit from Avis. It's a bit (!) rough, but I think it will build up OK. I bought it for the Legion Condor decals.

Bill Gilman
Hi Scalemates! I've finished the Airfix 109 kit, and what a sweet little kit it is. I've uploaded several photos of the finished model, I hope you like them! Now I have to decide what to build next - it's the worst part of modelling for me. I can never decide!

Choppa Nutta
great work, it looks like a much larger scale than 1-72nd !!
as for what to do next, you do have lots to choose from 🙂
but these might look sweet sat next to your Scmitty 🙂

Focke-Wulf Fw190A-8 (Airfix A55110, 1:72)

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX (AZ model AZ7701, 1:72)

B
Fantastic work Bill!! How about that E-2 for the next one?

Philip De Keyser
Great looking 109 Bill, looking forward to your next project! It's always a plaesure to see how these sweet little kits comes alive from your bench 👍

Christian Lehmann
Well done Bill. Looks very convincing.

Jens
excellent 👍

Fox One
Awesome.👍 Very good, and as Choppa said - it looks like a much larger scale.

Martyn Fox
Superb job Bill 🙂

Duncan Cook
Nice one Bill. I have to build a 109 for my shelf as well.

Martin K.
Verry nice Bill.

Christian Bruer
Nice finish Bill!

Bill Gilman
Philip - I liked your comment about these little kits coming alive from my bench. It reminds me of that movie "Night At The Museum." Can you imagine all of the models coming alive and night, flying around my studio, and having dogfights? 🙂 🙂 🙂

Choppa Nutta
Yeah, you need to build a Spitfire to go with it now 🙂

Christian Bruer
Hehe Bill, hope they start not an air raid in your studio😉

Dirk Heyer
Absolutely nice and tremendous gem!
I like the paintjob you did, resulting in a very smooth finish and the clean built! Just perfect!
👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍

Augie
Nice one Bill, finest work as always.

Bill Spargo
This I assume is the new look AIRFIX, they have greatly improved from the past and about time. Lovely kit by the looks of it and you have done a great job building it Bill. Love the cockpit work and the wheel well. Looks really good Bill.

Ulf Petersen
Not bad - for a first attempt!
My Modellboard mates say: "Presenting a 109 in a public forum is like jumping into a shark pool - with open wounds!" 🙂

Vorya hidaryan
Excellent 👍

Bill Gilman
Thanks, everyone! I appreciate the nice comments. I've learned that I need to add some things to the model, for example Airfix left off the trim tabs on the ailerons, elevators, and rudder. These should be easy to add. I will also paint the front of the housing that surrounds the exhaust, as this was open on the real plane.

That's one of the things I like about modelling - learning about the subject!

Ulf, I love that comment, and I know just what it means! Thankfully I have not (yet) been injured in the shark pool! 🙂

Jermaine Hoskin
Great looking kit you have mate. Question what green did you use for the interior? I'm doing a 109 E-4 right now and painted mine dark grey based on photos I've seen but I have also seen the callout for green. Mine is a 1940 model.

John Bollig
Bill, what a great job on the planes that you have done. Wondering if anyone has done a full line up of all of the 109 versions in 1/72 scale?

Bill Gilman
Thanks! Jermaine, the cockpit is painted with Gunze H70 RLM02, it's the same grey-green that is the lighter of the two camouflage colors used on the top, the other being Gunze H64 RLM71. RLM02 was used early in WWII, the later cockpits were Black Grey, RLM66.