Global Scale Modeller

After a stash raid which began yesterday but was only completed this afternoon, I have gone for this beauty.

I've had it on the shelf for half of forever having bought it at a model show for less than £30. An absolute steal when you consider what a 1/32 aircraft like this costs these days. I know its a good kit because I've built the non-tropical variant which was a lovely build and came from the same original tooling.

I've jazzed it up with a little bit of aftermarket joy. A resin seat with harness molded on and a set of Montex masks so I can paint the markings as much as possible.

Some 109 blurb

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the Bf 109 formed the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force during the World War II. It was commonly called the Me 109 by Allied aircrew and some German aces/pilots, even though this was not the official model designation.

The Bf 109 was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser, who worked at BFW during the early to mid-1930s. It was conceived as an interceptor. However, later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and aerial reconnaissance aircraft. It was one of the most advanced fighters when the fighter first appeared, being furnished with an all-metal monocoque airframe, a closed canopy, retractable landing gear, and powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine. First flown on 29 May 1935, the Bf 109 entered operational service during 1937; it first saw combat during the Spanish Civil War where it was flown by the Condor Legion (the Luftwaffe's effective operational training unit).

During the Second World War, the Bf 109 was supplied to several states and was present in quantity on virtually every front in the European theatre; the fighter was still in service at the end of the conflict in 1945. It continued to be operated by several countries for many years after the conflict. The Bf 109 is the most produced fighter aircraft in history, a total of 34,248 airframes having been produced between 1936 and April 1945. Some of the Bf 109 production took place in Nazi concentration camps through slave labor.

The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-scoring fighter aces of all time, who claimed 928 victories among them while flying with JG 52, mainly on the Eastern Front. The highest-scoring, Erich Hartmann, was credited with 352 victories. The aircraft was also flown by Hans-Joachim Marseille, the highest-scoring ace in the North African campaign, who shot down 158 enemy aircraft (in about a third of the time). It was also flown by many aces from other countries fighting with Germany, notably the Finn Ilmari Juutilainen, the highest-scoring non-German ace. He scored 58 of his 94 confirmed victories with the Bf 109. Pilots from Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovakia and Italy also flew the fighter. Through constant development, the Bf 109 remained competitive with the latest Allied fighter aircraft until the end of the war.

Comparisons - In 1940, the E variant was faster than the Spitfire and Hurricane at altitude and could out climb and out dive both. It was also better armed with 2 cannons and 2 machine guns versus the RAF's 8 gun fighters. By virtue of its fuel injection system it could dive straight from level flight as opposed to the RAF fighters which had to do a 'half roll and pull' to go into a dive due to their float carburetors which caused the engine to be starved of fuel for vital few seconds if dived from level flight. This would either allow the 109 to escape or catch its adversary, depending on who was the aggressor. As for a dog fight, the Hurricane could out turn it and the Spitfire could match it.

The 109 was a 'pig' on the ground due its narrow undercarriage (even narrower than the Spitfire's) and visibility was poor versus both the Hurricane and Spitfire. It was also more difficult to fly, it was said you had to be a very good pilot to get the best out of a 109, not so the RAF fighters which were much more pilots' aircraft than could ever be said of the 109.

It was a very small aircraft, even for a single seat fighter of the late 1930s, it was cramped due to the design spec basically being a technical version of the concept 'lets put the biggest engine on the front of the smallest airframe'. Fuel capacity was an issue, the only internal tank being in the fuselage behind the pilot. External tanks became available towards the end of 1940 but the 109 would forever be an interceptor, never a long range fighter.

The kit - box and sprue shots



Aftermarket goodies



Bog standard Trumpy instructions



Nice painting guide



And the plastic. Everything is nice and crisp, lovely surface detail too







The kit comes with an engine (for less than £30? Did you hear that Kotare?)



Canopy bits and the tropical filter for the air intake.



Plan is to cut plastic on this tomorrow

Hi Stokesy,

That looks like it has a lot of potential. Good luck! I hope you enjoy the build.

Steve64 wrote: Wed Jun 04, 2025 7:31 pm Hi Stokesy,

That looks like it has a lot of potential. Good luck! I hope you enjoy the build.

Cheers Steve. It looks a good'un so lets hope its fun.

Nothing wrong with a 109! Definitely keeping an eye on this one

Paul

Nothing wrong with pulling out a older Stash survivor. While I don't have a Trumpeter kit of the bf 109e tropical I do have the Hasegawa F tropical kit which cost me about the same once you do the conversion.
I also have the Eduard bf 109 e , but not in the tropicial version, so still real keen to see how this goes from a couple of different perspectives.

digger303 wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 1:19 am Nothing wrong with pulling out a older Stash survivor. While I don't have a Trumpeter kit of the bf 109e tropical I do have the Hasegawa F tropical kit which cost me about the same once you do the conversion.
I also have the Eduard bf 109 e , but not in the tropicial version, so still real keen to see how this goes from a couple of different perspectives.

Yep, lots of kits of the 109 out there. I've built the Eduard 109E (if you mean the 1/32 kit), its a nice kit if I remember correctly (it was a while ago ). I have high hopes for the Trumpeter kit, my only concern is the upper engine cowl. I dont plan to show the engine so the cowl will need to fit really well and that may mean shaving bits off the engine if its a bit too proud.

Stokesy44 wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 6:33 am

digger303 wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 1:19 am Nothing wrong with pulling out a older Stash survivor. While I don't have a Trumpeter kit of the bf 109e tropical I do have the Hasegawa F tropical kit which cost me about the same once you do the conversion.
I also have the Eduard bf 109 e , but not in the tropicial version, so still real keen to see how this goes from a couple of different perspectives.

Yep, lots of kits of the 109 out there. I've built the Eduard 109E (if you mean the 1/32 kit), its a nice kit if I remember correctly (it was a while ago ). I have high hopes for the Trumpeter kit, my only concern is the upper engine cowl. I dont plan to show the engine so the cowl will need to fit really well and that may mean shaving bits off the engine if its a bit too proud.

Yep I did mean 1/32
The engine being tight is a recurring problem with many kits.

One of the best looking 109s imho. Im sure you'll nail it.

I totally agree with Cor on that ! my favorite WW II fighter with the Hurricane. And the best scheme. Can't wait to see the build. Hope the kit will go well and that you have nice details. I have a love and hate relationship with Trumpeter.

Garion77 wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 10:38 am I totally agree with Cor on that ! my favorite WW II fighter with the Hurricane. And the best scheme. Can't wait to see the build. Hope the kit will go well and that you have nice details. I have a love and hate relationship with Trumpeter.

Yes I'm starting to develop a mistrust of what comes out of a Trumpeter box.

Garion77 wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 10:38 am I totally agree with Cor on that ! my favorite WW II fighter with the Hurricane. And the best scheme. Can't wait to see the build. Hope the kit will go well and that you have nice details. I have a love and hate relationship with Trumpeter.

digger303 wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 11:42 am

Garion77 wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 10:38 am I totally agree with Cor on that ! my favorite WW II fighter with the Hurricane. And the best scheme. Can't wait to see the build. Hope the kit will go well and that you have nice details. I have a love and hate relationship with Trumpeter.

Yes I'm starting to develop a mistrust of what comes out of a Trumpeter box.

Well that's just great. At least if I f*** it up I can just blame the manufacturer.

Stokesy44 wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 2:44 pm

Garion77 wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 10:38 am I totally agree with Cor on that ! my favorite WW II fighter with the Hurricane. And the best scheme. Can't wait to see the build. Hope the kit will go well and that you have nice details. I have a love and hate relationship with Trumpeter.

digger303 wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 11:42 am

Garion77 wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 10:38 am I totally agree with Cor on that ! my favorite WW II fighter with the Hurricane. And the best scheme. Can't wait to see the build. Hope the kit will go well and that you have nice details. I have a love and hate relationship with Trumpeter.

Yes I'm starting to develop a mistrust of what comes out of a Trumpeter box.

Well that's just great. At least if I f*** it up I can just blame the manufacturer.

Nothing to do with your build skills and how well it goes together just Trumpeters use of expediency over accuracy including the instructions.

digger303 wrote: Sat Jun 07, 2025 1:04 am
Nothing to do with your build skills and how well it goes together just Trumpeters use of expediency over accuracy including the instructions.

I know, I was just having a bit of fun, nothing wrong with taking the mickey out of oneself.

I've only ever built Trumpy aircraft and I've found those to be well engineered but not up to the standard of say, Tamiya. The kits have been friendly with nothing scary in the box. I've also found them to be competitively priced - unlike Tamiya!

The only Trumpy armor I've built is their 1/16 PZ4 with full interior. My opinion on that kit was that it lacked detail on the interior. There are 1/35 PZ4 kits out there with full interiors that had more detail than the 1/16 kit, particularly in the engine bay where the Trumpy kit was missing a lot of pipework and fan belts etc.

I hope to start today....

Stokesy44 wrote: Sat Jun 07, 2025 8:24 am

digger303 wrote: Sat Jun 07, 2025 1:04 am
Nothing to do with your build skills and how well it goes together just Trumpeters use of expediency over accuracy including the instructions.

I know, I was just having a bit of fun, nothing wrong with taking the mickey out of oneself.

I've only ever built Trumpy aircraft and I've found those to be well engineered but not up to the standard of say, Tamiya. The kits have been friendly with nothing scary in the box. I've also found them to be competitively priced - unlike Tamiya!

The only Trumpy armor I've built is their 1/16 PZ4 with full interior. My opinion on that kit was that it lacked detail on the interior. There are 1/35 PZ4 kits out there with full interiors that had more detail than the 1/16 kit, particularly in the engine bay where the Trumpy kit was missing a lot of pipework and fan belts etc.

I hope to start today....

I know it's all in fun and that's the way I approach this too....

It's just that for instance with the ATOMIC ANNIE kit I'm still working on. They provide half the fittings for the hydraulic lines and then don't tell you how it's plumbed and the scud transporter just ignores how prominent these lines are altogether. There's other things that I've noticed during different builds, but then they also do some lines that are excellent. The only aircraft of theirs that I have built was a 1/32 Stuka and the wing roots were nasty, but even in the gunners position there were some short cuts in the design of parts for the sake of production I suspect. Yes I know other manufacturers do this too, however Trumpeter is the latest one that has slipped a bit in my estimations of where they sit on the totem pole. I'll live with it, but some I wish were just a notch better.

And we're away.

First up is the cockpit. All simple stuff, floor, cannon housing, rear wall and seat. The resin seat fits nicely and is a much better option than what comes with the kit. I love resin seats with molded harnesses. so much better than PE and the faff of making fabric belts.







Rudder pedals (PE) and instrument panel still to do then details on the cockpit fuselage sides.

To get the angle of the rear wall spot on I test fitted it in the fuselage after gluing it. The fuselage shows its a classic 109, massive engine at the front then the tiny rear fuselage.





Plastic looks nice so far and everything is where it should be as per the instructions

Looks pretty sleek already.

digger303 wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 12:46 pm

Stokesy44 wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 6:33 am

digger303 wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 1:19 am Nothing wrong with pulling out a older Stash survivor. While I don't have a Trumpeter kit of the bf 109e tropical I do have the Hasegawa F tropical kit which cost me about the same once you do the conversion.
I also have the Eduard bf 109 e , but not in the tropicial version, so still real keen to see how this goes from a couple of different perspectives.

Yep, lots of kits of the 109 out there. I've built the Eduard 109E (if you mean the 1/32 kit), its a nice kit if I remember correctly (it was a while ago ). I have high hopes for the Trumpeter kit, my only concern is the upper engine cowl. I dont plan to show the engine so the cowl will need to fit really well and that may mean shaving bits off the engine if its a bit too proud.

Yep I did mean 1/32
The engine being tight is a recurring problem with many kits.

However bad it is - it will never be as bad as a Taurus model!! Trust me on this....

RangerNeil wrote: Sun Jun 08, 2025 12:08 pm

However bad it is - it will never be as bad as a Taurus model!! Trust me on this....
[/quote]

I trust ya, no Taurus for me

Had a good session with the cricket on in the background this afternoon.

PE rudder pedals sorted.



Glued on to their supports





I then blasted through the engine section in the instructions. Its nicely detailed but as said before, I will not be displaying it. It needs to be built up for the exhausts and the prop boss.









I have checked the fit and it looks ok. Next up is the cockpit sides then painting can start.

A good start. The pe pedals are nice.

cor wrote: Mon Jun 09, 2025 2:34 am A good start. The pe pedals are nice.

Thanks. The pedals are classic Luftwaffe, a bit like the control column on RAF fighters

Great to see this underway

Lovely work so far mate & the PE pedals add a nice touch

Tomcat64 wrote: Mon Jun 09, 2025 4:39 pm Great to see this underway

Lovely work so far mate & the PE pedals add a nice touch

Thanks mate.

Test fitted everything today so I could check the fit of the engine cowlings.



The 2 piece upper cowling fits perfectly without any adjustment, to be honest I thought they would be an issue but they were not.





Tropical filter added. This was a bit of a faff but it got there in the end.





The underside cowling needed a bit of internal sanding due to the proudness of the inverted rocker covers and radiator pipework suspended beneath the engine.



I also sanded down the front end of the rocker covers on both sides, the fit was then fine.



I completed the details on the cockpit walls but forgot to take any pictures

I then moved on to the wings, attaching uppers and lowers and putting the ailerons and outer flaps together.



Really nice rivet detail on the surfaces





The fit of the flaps and ailerons is really good. Its always a risk when they're molded separately but in this case the fit is great.







Leading edge slats attached





Priming is definitely next up (I know I said that yesterday)

Good progress except for that finger print.
Which won't take long to fix, but for me just annoying when those things happen.

digger303 wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 12:45 am Good progress except for that finger print.
Which won't take long to fix, but for me just annoying when those things happen.

Caused by just the tiniest bit of TET, if you mean the bit I think you mean, I have already sanded it smooth with an ultra fine sanding stick.

the fine detail and the fit are impressive! all progressing really nicely!

Paul

The whole thing looks decent. I'll have to give Trumpeter a go sometime.

Quax wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 8:00 am the fine detail and the fit are impressive! all progressing really nicely!

Paul

Thanks Paul. I've been meaning to ask for ages, who is it in your avatar?

cor wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 9:57 am The whole thing looks decent. I'll have to give Trumpeter a go sometime.

Thanks Cor. They're not slam dunks like Tamiya but if you do your research there are plenty of nice Trumpy kits out there

Stokesy44 wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 6:53 pm

Quax wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 8:00 am the fine detail and the fit are impressive! all progressing really nicely!

Paul

Thanks Paul. I've been meaning to ask for ages, who is it in your avatar?

It’s Karl Schnorrer who was Walter Nowotnys wingman and 46 kill ace whose nickname was Quax

Paul

Quax wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 8:21 pm

Stokesy44 wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 6:53 pm

Quax wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 8:00 am the fine detail and the fit are impressive! all progressing really nicely!

Paul

Thanks Paul. I've been meaning to ask for ages, who is it in your avatar?

It’s Karl Schnorrer who was Walter Nowotnys wingman and 46 kill ace whose nickname was Quax

Paul

Wondered the same thing myself.

Quax wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 8:21 pm

Stokesy44 wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 6:53 pm

Quax wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 8:00 am the fine detail and the fit are impressive! all progressing really nicely!

Paul

Thanks Paul. I've been meaning to ask for ages, who is it in your avatar?

It’s Karl Schnorrer who was Walter Nowotnys wingman and 46 kill ace whose nickname was Quax

Paul

Thanks Paul. There's a reference to Nowotny in Pierre Clostermann's biography, The Big Show (or Le Grande Cirque), he was well known to the RAF and Clostermann recalls how they were somber when news of his death was announced. It was known that he had complained to Hitler after 50 men were executed following the Great Escape from Stalag Luft 3 and that, along with a general sense of respect that existed between many pilots, meant his loss was felt with sadness. One of Clostermann's fellow pilots made the following immortal quote when considering their enemy - 'Whoever first painted markings on a plane was a swine.'

Clostermann's book is a great read, especially as the full version is now available. Early publications had sections omitted due to paper shortages.

i read that book years ago and think of him after the war in his final flight of what I think was a tempest and how he just rolled around the sky for a bit

cor wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 11:11 am i read that book years ago and think of him after the war in his final flight of what I think was a tempest and how he just rolled around the sky for a bit

Yes, he was flying his Tempest. What a feeling it must have been to fly like that without the fear of flak or enemy fighters. A powerful end to one of the best biographies to come out of the war.

That's coming together really quickly mate - great to see only minimal fit issues, and the surface detail is absolutely eye-popping.

Fascinating info on Quax too - every day is a learning day

Tomcat64 wrote: Fri Jun 13, 2025 3:34 pm That's coming together really quickly mate - great to see only minimal fit issues, and the surface detail is absolutely eye-popping.

Fascinating info on Quax too - every day is a learning day

Yep, its always good to get people talking about history.

Painted the cockpit today. Base colors done, now chipping, washing and dry brushing to do. Then I can close the fuselage up and make some real progress.









The instrument panel is a decal which is not ideal but after copious amount of Microset it looks ok (ish). A wash will calm it down a bit then I'll add a drop of gloss to each bezel.

The instrument panel in it's raw state now might not be what you hoped atm, but I'm sure once you give it the treatment it will be nice. All the other details especially the seat belts really stand out....man I love those seat belts.

digger303 wrote: Mon Jun 16, 2025 12:25 am The instrument panel in it's raw state now might not be what you hoped atm, but I'm sure once you give it the treatment it will be nice. All the other details especially the seat belts really stand out....man I love those seat belts.

I think I may have to paint the edges of the instrument bezels, that should sort it.

I'm glad you like the seat belts. I really dont like PE seat belts so I always look for an aftermarket seat with a molded on harness if there's one available. Its usually the most visible part of the cockpit so well worth looking at a replacement.

great job. Love the seatbelts also ! I also prefer molded ones in resin, when they are nicely done. What color did you use on them ?

Nice work Stokesy, it looks very neat. Sorry about the IP but you can rescue it with some washes and weathering. Frankly I think we all (me included) pay too much attention to this area. I bet it will hardly be seen when the model is complete and it certainly won't compete for attention with the major parts like wings and fuselage.

Steve64 wrote: Tue Jun 17, 2025 12:44 pm Nice work Stokesy, it looks very neat. Sorry about the IP but you can rescue it with some washes and weathering. Frankly I think we all (me included) pay too much attention to this area. I bet it will hardly be seen when the model is complete and it certainly won't compete for attention with the major parts like wings and fuselage.

I agree mostly the few I have built, it's hard to see too much except for the seat and belts being the most obvious.

Garion77 wrote: Tue Jun 17, 2025 10:49 am great job. Love the seatbelts also ! I also prefer molded ones in resin, when they are nicely done. What color did you use on them ?

Thanks. It was Vallejo Model Color Khaki Green. Lovely paint for brushing.

digger303 wrote: Tue Jun 17, 2025 2:56 pm

Steve64 wrote: Tue Jun 17, 2025 12:44 pm Nice work Stokesy, it looks very neat. Sorry about the IP but you can rescue it with some washes and weathering. Frankly I think we all (me included) pay too much attention to this area. I bet it will hardly be seen when the model is complete and it certainly won't compete for attention with the major parts like wings and fuselage.

I agree mostly the few I have built, it's hard to see too much except for the seat and belts being the most obvious.

I know what you both mean. Whenever I buy an aircraft kit I'm always thinking about the IP and the seat(s). I'm pre-programmed to fixate on them

Just a short update today.

Working on the tropical filter, the parts are way too thick for the scale so I trimmed down the edges of the filter pipe work and the supports.

Before



After



I tried to clean up the instrument panel as best I could. Once the cockpit is installed and the rather bulky gunsight added, there will not be a huge amount visible but I'm still disappointed with it.

Before



After



I need to add the tailwheel and then I can button up the fuselage.

I can see why you are not happy with the instrument, but on the bright side it does look a lot better with the matte treatment and in the recesses of the cockpit as you say it will be a lot harder to scrutiny than it is now.
It's going very well and I can't wait to see the fuselage closed up and the wings attached.

digger303 wrote: Sun Jun 22, 2025 9:07 am I can see why you are not happy with the instrument, but on the bright side it does look a lot better with the matte treatment and in the recesses of the cockpit as you say it will be a lot harder to scrutiny than it is now.
It's going very well and I can't wait to see the fuselage closed up and the wings attached.

Your wish is granted good Sir

There were a couple of bits left to do before buttoning up the fuselage. I added the nose mounted machine guns because the muzzles are visible through the engine cowls, I attached the instrument panel and added the tail wheel.

I test fitted the engine panels once the MGs were mounted but try as I might it was difficult to get the muzzles to poke out so they were visible. In the end I cut the barrels off and stuck them to the interior of the engine cowls. Its a cheat but it looks great.

Cheat



Result



Then it was time to close it up. Its a really nice fit and it only needed a little tape while the glue cured.











The IP doesn't look too bad (gunsight to be added when the windscreen goes on)





The underside is nice and level and there's a panel line down the center on the 109 so this will require only minimal cleanup.



Next up is the attachment of the wings and tailplanes. Starting to look like a real aircraft now.

Possibly waving a red flag in front of the bull - but - Kotare have announced the release of an 1/32 Me-109, I think around the end of July. Its a Me109-K4.
Be interesting to see how it compares to this build.

The instrument panel looks even better now and the rest is coming together in a very nice fashion.

RangerNeil wrote: Mon Jun 23, 2025 6:44 am Possibly waving a red flag in front of the bull - but - Kotare have announced the release of an 1/32 Me-109, I think around the end of July. Its a Me109-K4.
Be interesting to see how it compares to this build.

If it follows the Spitfire, the surface detail will be beautiful, the cockpit will be stunning and the price will be excruciating!!

Cockpit detail looks fine