Eduard Bf-109G Royal Class build - 1/48

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 7:36 am

Hi guys,

This will be only my second WIP build thread as I've only just returned to the Hobby this year after about 25 years of absence (my teens being the last time I did anything). It's a fantastic kit with some very cool extras listed below. I'm very keen to make the best of it and hope my ability (or lack of) doesn't cause too many tears.

Royal Class edition of the new tool scale plastic kit of Bf 109G in 1/48 scale.

Box contains:

plastic and photo-etched parts and for two complete models of Bf 109G in variants G-2, G-4, G-6 and G-14 (premiere release of parts for variants G-2, G-4, G-14)
Cartograf printed decals for 16 colorful markings
a piece of the real Bf 109G-14 mounted on wooden block with certificate of authenticity
Eduard "Gustav" designed Beer glass
Brassin set of Bf 109G-6 wheels (2 pairs)
Brassin set of Bf 109G cannon pods
Brassin set of Bf 109G W.Gr.21 rockets
Fabric seatbelts

Marking options:

Bf 109G-2, flown by Maj. Hannes Trautloft, CO of JG 54, Eastern Front, summer, 1942
Bf 109G-2 trop, Flown by Oblt. Werner Schroer, CO of 8./JG 27, Rhodes, early November, 1942
Bf 109G-2 trop, Flown by Maj. Heinz Bär, CO of I./JG 77, Comiso airfield, Italy, September, 1942
Bf 109G-2 trop, W.Nr. 10 501, Stab/JG 77, Bir el Abd airfield, North Africa, early November, 1942
Bf 109G-4, W.Nr. 19 257, Flown by Fw. Viktor Petermann, 5./JG 52, South Part of the Eastern Front, June, 1943
Bf 109G-4, W.Nr. 19 347, Flown by Fw. Jan Reznak, 13. (Slowaken)/JG 52, Anapa airfield, Soviet Union, April / May, 1943
Bf 109G-6, W.Nr. 20 499, Flown by Lt. Erich Hartmann, CO of 9./JG 52, Nove Zaporozhye, October, 1943
Bf 109G-6, W.Nr. 15 909, Flown by Hptm. Gerhard Barkhorn, CO of II./JG 52, Eastern Front, September, 1943
Bf 109G-6, Flown by Oblt. Kurt Gabler, 8./JG 300, Jüterbog – Waldlager Air Base, Germany, July, 1944
Bf 109G-6, W.Nr. 163162, 2a Squadriglia, 2o Gruppo Caccia, Verona-Villafranca airfield, Italy, October, 1944
Bf 109G-6, W.Nr. 165267, 1/HleLv 34, Taipalsaari airfield, July, 1944
Bf 109G-6, W.Nr. 95 417, Flown by Lt. Pál Bélavári, 101/3. vadászszázad, Veszprém Air Base, Hungary, August, 1944
Bf 109G-6, Flown by Lt. Baciu Dumitru, Grupul 1 Vânănatoare, early May, 1945
Bf 109G-6, W.Nr. 163815, Fliegerkompagnie 7, Flugwaffe, Interlaken Air Base, June, 1945
Bf 109G-14, W.Nr. 464534, 19./EJG 2, Pilsen airfield, May, 1945
Bf 109G-14, W.Nr. 781308, Flown by Lt. Hans-Helmut Linck, 10./JG 4, Alteno airfield, Germany, September 11, 1944

I intent to build this aircraft in the following scheme: Bf 109G-6, W.Nr. 165267, 1/HleLv 34, Taipalsaari airfield, July, 1944

Eino Luukkanen was in the cockpit of this airplane while achieving his 56th confirmed victory. He downed a Soviet Yak-9 fighter flown by Lt. G. F. Nizhnik on August 5, 1944 over Narva Bay. This Yak was the only aircraft downed by the guns of MT-451. The aircraft was delivered to Finland on June 23, 1943. The former German Werk Nummer is visible on the rudder. Two underwing cannon pods were mounted and there was no artwork on the rudder at that time. The fledgling eagle was painted later on. MT-451 was written off after an accident on August 25, 1947.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 8:17 am

Now onto the build.

The first thing I did was cut the parts off the spru and start folding the photo etch. This is my first attempt ever of folding the stuff and, Holy Moly, is it ever fiddly!

What I'm working with....note the size of the CD I'm cutting it out on compared to the pieces!

Before

After

Rudder pedal......little bugger

Tub without paint

Tub painted with Mr Hobby H416 RLM66 Black Grey. That's all for now. More photo etch to place and brush painting next.
Thanks for following the build

Post by **Avgas** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 1:20 pm

Never seen one of the Royal class built.

Post by **Aliktren** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 1:38 pm

25 years away and your 2nd build is this, hats of to you sir, will be watching with interest

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 1:52 pm

Hey cheers. Technically it's my 4th build after my 1:72 Spitfire, 1:72 Zero and 1:48 Super Hornet but this is my 2nd actual build thread

Post by **jbellos1** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 3:55 pm

Awesome to see this being built! Keep the thread going. This kit is on the wish list.

Great PE work...sorta nuts at 1/48 scale, imo.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 5:16 pm

Thanks Jon.

The photo etch is VERY small as the Bf-109G is hardly a big aircraft, half the size of a modern military jet.

I'll be away from home working until Friday so expect nore updates then.

Post by **planemaker** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 9:24 pm

Great build! Love the finnish Mersu.
I have this kit in my stash, so I had a look at it.
Did you notice that the resin barrels for the cannons on the wing where solid while the plastic ones where hollow?!

Post by **Goligod** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 12:17 am

Will be watching with great interest!

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 11:32 am

Hi guys,

A very quiet week from me as I was away for a few days on work. I managed to apply all the photo etch to the cockpit. What an absolute pain in the you know what!

The stuff is so small and fiddly, and TIME CONSUMING to apply. Quite a number of times a small piece would manage to find its way onto the floor with the result being myself crawling around using my phone as a torch trying to locate the offending piece.

I have got to either find a better way of applying these little pieces correctly rotated and perfectly located within 5 seconds or use something other than Zap a Gap CA glue to apply it. Currently I'm using the Ultimate Photo etch placer however it doesn't always pick up and stick to the part (yes I've sharpened it to expose more of the wax) and when it does grab the part it's very difficult to place the part onto the model and then adjust the part before the CA sets.

I am currently applying CA glue onto a cocktail stick and then applying it to the part but sometimes the CA goes off before I can then pick up the part and place it in the correct place. It's like I'm short a hand and I need 3 of them. One to open the bottle of CA glue and then apply to the cocktail stick, the second to hold the cocktail stick and a third to hold the part ready to receive the glue.

So unfortunately a couple of my photo etch parts are not 100% square which does really bug me however I couldn't finish getting them correctly located before the glue set

I've got to find a better way as I've lots of photo etch left to do.....

Now onto the little work that I've managed to do. I have painted all the parts I can see that require RLM 02 Gray using Mr Hobby H70 paint (such a lovely paint to use) and have started assembly of the wheel wells and cut the wings out. I've also drilled out the underneath of the wings ready for the wing mounted cannons.

It's not a big update however the photo etch session took a couple of hours and the cleaning up of parts with painting another couple.

Thanks guys for your interest

Wheel wheel painting commenced

Parts painted on the spru ready for assembly

Photo etch instrument panel completed after many "DOHS" as parts flew off desk, glue started drying before parts correctly aligned etc etc.

Photo etch completed on side walls and radios beside the seat, chain pulley assemblies done

Till next time, thanks guys!

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 11:48 am

planemaker wrote:Great build! Love the finnish Mersu.
I have this kit in my stash, so I had a look at it.
Did you notice that the resin barrels for the cannons on the wing where solid while the plastic ones where hollow?!

Actually I didn't....hmmmmm

Post by **jbellos1** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 3:30 pm

Awesome! Great looking with the color PE. Really makes that cockpit stand out!

Post by **mincemeat** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 3:44 pm

Looks like a really nice kit and your doing an awesome job at it. Try putting a touch of PVA glue at one edge of the PE, that way it grabs a little bit for placement. Hinge it up, apply CA and drop it down. Cleanup the PVA with a moist cotton bud.

I don't have a ton of PE experience, but I've used PVA as a temp holder to fidget the piece around before committing with CA. You can also get CA de-bonder as a backup.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:36 pm

Thanks for the help mincemeat. I have tried using PVA glue but found it pulled off and moved too easily but never thought of doing what u suggested.

Regarding the CA de-bonder, I've got BSI but it warns that it can not only remove the CA but also the paint and can damage the plastic.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:37 pm

jbellos1 wrote:Awesome! Great looking with the color PE. Really makes that cockpit stand out!

Thanks Jon, appreciate the encouragement

Post by **mincemeat** » Sun Oct 18, 2015 12:56 am

Homerlovesbeer wrote:Thanks for the help mincemeat. I have tried using PVA glue but found it pulled off and moved too easily but never thought of doing what u suggested.

Regarding the CA de-bonder, I've got BSI but it warns that it can not only remove the CA but also the paint and can damage the plastic.

I have the same stuff. I don't actively recommend putting it on painted surfaces however, I did and survived. It got on the acrylic on the floor and seat of my PR.IG. It definitely reacted with the paint and funked it up a bit, but if you just leave it to dry it will be ok. If you try to wipe it, off comes the paint. I haven't experienced any ill affects with damaging plastic. You can always slather a scrap piece of styrene, I don't think it will damage the plastic.

I just put it on some sheet styrene, painted and unpainted. No physical damage to the styrene so far. I would avoid getting it on paint as I mentioned.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Sun Oct 18, 2015 1:18 am

Well guys, some bad news. I'm been an absolute idiot and have mistakenly been constructing the wrong fuselarge!

I've been constructing the G-2/G4 fuselarge instead of the G-6 Grrr

That means I'll need to do both cockpit sidewalls all over again. Oh well, after doing them before I should be able to make these a little better.

I was working on the bottom fuselarge when it should have been the top.

Post by **mincemeat** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:44 am

Bummer. Sorry man. I double checked that de-bonder and it is not friends with acrylic paint. A light sand would be needed for the plastic.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 3:36 am

No worries Mincemeat,

Well I had to make another instrument panel as well due to the other one already glued to the wrong fuselage. At least this attempt looks better than the first. lucky I had two in the kit

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:21 pm

Well I have finished the PE on the fuselage now...just need to weather a bit. The fit is an issue with the PE installed and I'm finding the build a bit tedious so far, perhaps due my stupid wrong fuselage mistake.

I feel like I'm going at a snails pace building this one.

Post by **Avgas** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:30 pm

Put it away for a bit, I get a bit impatient sometimes and just leave everything for a couple of days until I get my patient head on.

Post by **patrickroos** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 5:58 pm

Looks good!
See it from the bright side, now You have a G-2/4 on the go also!!

Post by **amacca28760** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 9:57 pm

Hi Homerlovesbeer, I also bought this kit , end of 2014 I think, bought ALL the extras bronze legs, cockpit, engine etc, still frightened to start!!!!!

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Sat Jan 09, 2016 7:10 am

Hey thanks! I've been far too busy the last couple of months to do any work however I've spent the last couple of days working on the fabric seat belts.

Omg what a pain in the woohoo! Hours spent with these fiddly buggers grrr.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 2:01 am

Finally some more updates!

After the most annoying fiddly belts I've ever made

I managed to assemble them well enough that I'm not touching them anymore. I weathered the belts with dark brown Tamiya Panel wash which has given them a beautiful old leathery look to match the worn and beat up cockpit and seat.

This will do me for now......although looking at the pics now I think I've over weathered it

Post by **jbellos1** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 2:42 am

Still enjoying seeing this kit. I think you're doing a wonderful job on the PE, as fiddly as it is at that scale - or any scale for that matter. The 109's office looks geeeeeerate!

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 6:46 am

Exhaust done....I'm happy with the effect. I used Mr Metal Dark Iron and then dry brushed Mr Hobby 7 Brown in to add rusting effects.

Polished side and pre polishing with cotton bud after painting with Dark Iron.

Finished result....looks better in the flesh and much better than the grey spru it started out as (still attached).

Post by **qeialto** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 7:58 am

Fantastic effects with the engine exhaust, keep on!

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 8:53 am

qeialto wrote:Fantastic effects with the engine exhaust, keep on!

Thanks for the kind words

.....here is a pic with a bit more assembly

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:35 am

Hi guys,

I've installed the exhausts (covered with tape which will be removed after the paint has been applied) and used Tamiya Extra Thin to glue the 2 halves together. I've also installed the machine gun Beules and troughs along with the intake. The fuselage halves have gone together very nicely although I find it odd there are no locating pins at all.

I've got some questions though..........

1. the seam which wraps around the leading edge wing root, does it go the whole way along the wing root or it the wing root supposed to blend into the wing without the step? See images in red.

2. Is the panel line/seam in blue supposed to be there where the machine gun trough parts were added or do I need to remove these lines and fill smooth as one piece?

Thanks for your help

Post by **Svenne009** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:25 pm

Very nice kit. Fine work on the cockpit and PE. Gonna be a nice one when it's done

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:44 pm

Svenne009 wrote:Very nice kit. Fine work on the cockpit and PE. Gonna be a nice one when it's done

Thanks for the encouragement....it's very much appreciated!

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 12:10 pm

A little more done.....

All glued together now with some very minor seam clean up using Mr Surfacer 500 and some rescribing.

Underneath cleaned up, rescribed and rivets replaced. Note the beautiful wheel well detail

This is the first time I've used the RB Productions Rivet-R Mini (Riveter) and I must say it works very well.

The join I've circled in red, is it supposed to line up or not? The instructions show the longer line towards the nose in the middle of the panel, not offset.

The final result of the wing root join after glued. How does it look to you guys? Is the step supposed to be there?

I'll keep plodding alone but that's it for now.
Cheers

Post by **P51dplt** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 4:04 pm

Looking good!
As for your panel line question, the line on the belly should be in the center of the panel, not offset to the one side. The wing root should have a smooth transition from the wing to the fuselage fairings, no step.
Good luck

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 5:44 pm

Hmmm that's what I thought with the panel line. That's a pretty major error from Eduard I'd say!

I wonder why the kit wing roots go together so misaligned with that step? More work to correct then grrrr.

Edit: this pic suggests there IS a step, just not as big?

Post by **Stokesy44** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 11:40 pm

Hi, the step is only the thickness of the metal that forms the curved fairing that goes over the wing root. If ever you see a 109 with the fairing off, you can see it sits on top of the wing / fuselage skins as they disappear underneath it. Given the step is only the thickness of the fairing itself, on a model you would just be able to see it, rather like a slightly exaggerated panel line.

The step the kit is showing appears to be a design flaw unfortunately. It seems to get worse the further back the wing goes which indicates the wing is slightly underscaled in its cross section. You may be able to correct it by fitting some form of spacer to open the wing up a fraction but that would involve cracking the joint open. The alternative is to sand down the curved fairing so it meets the wing at a more agreeable level, very hard to do however.

Best of luck with what you decide to do with it.

Post by **Stokesy44** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 11:42 pm

PS - cracking work on the rest of it. That cockpit is beautiful!

Post by **P51dplt** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 12:55 am

The step you see in the photo of the actual -109 is where the trailing edge wing flap above the radiator is drooping down.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 11:24 am

Stokesy44 wrote:
The step the kit is showing appears to be a design flaw unfortunately. It seems to get worse the further back the wing goes which indicates the wing is slightly underscaled in its cross section. You may be able to correct it by fitting some form of spacer to open the wing up a fraction but that would involve cracking the joint open. The alternative is to sand down the curved fairing so it meets the wing at a more agreeable level, very hard to do however.

Best of luck with what you decide to do with it.

Hmm thanks. It's been glued so I'm going to have to sand/fill the wing root to get it correct

I did think about using plastic card at the trailing edge to make it sit correctly however I was concerned that then I'd have issues with the flaps

I just used Tamiya extra thin so perhaps I can still separate the join.....should I try?

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 11:25 am

Stokesy44 wrote:PS - cracking work on the rest of it. That cockpit is beautiful!

Thanks Stokesy! My first time using photo etch....so small and a pain in the "you know what"!

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 11:26 am

P51dplt wrote:The step you see in the photo of the actual -109 is where the trailing edge wing flap above the radiator is drooping down.

Yep....I didn't mean that huge step which is the flap down. It's the one which goes the whole length of the wing root

Cheers

Post by **Stokesy44** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 1:05 pm

Homerlovesbeer wrote:
Stokesy44 wrote:
I just used Tamiya extra thin so perhaps I can still separate the join.....should I try?

I would try it but if it doesn't give easily don't force it, you could wreck more than the wing root!

YouTube · Post by **Skullfish** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 5:07 pm

have a beer homer, its all looking great. and yeah PE is a pita.
Jase

Post by **Thomas2542** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 5:36 pm

Looks great. I saw this when I was going through the post. Are you able to squeeze that gap together? That might reduce the step in the wing root and save some sanding.

Homerlovesbeer wrote:

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 12:51 am

Thomas2542 wrote:Looks great. I saw this when I was going through the post. Are you able to squeeze that gap together? That might reduce the step in the wing root and save some sanding.
Homerlovesbeer wrote:

Yep true. This is how it looks after gluing...much better and I think pretty much spot on.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 1:52 am

Wing root, leading edge and wing root "bump" taken care of.

Post by **Stokesy44** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 5:23 am

Looking good....

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 11:17 am

Thanks Stokesy, I've been away a few days so that's all I've done.

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:19 pm

Oil cooler grills assembled and painted with Mr Metal Dark Iron. A bit hard to see but it looks pretty good.

Now the hard questions....why has Eduard chosen to fit the oil cooler assembly like this?

Now there are heaps of joins to fill and sand to make it correct.......or is this how it is on the real one? I can't find any good shots of the join....

Cheers!

Post by **SMAddict66** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 6:45 pm

Looking good Homer. Really neat and crisp.