Unloved and Unwanted
Everybody remembers the 1/48th scale Airfix Bf109E, right? It was one of the earlier products of the New and Improved Airfix and was a greatly anticipated kit prior to its release, but its welcome was fated to be short-lived. The kit was roundly criticized for its skinny prop, poorly detailed wheels, clunky transparencies (including a manifestly incorrect canopy for the E-4 and E-7 variants the kit could produce, the result of Airfix using a restored 109E that had been fitted with a heavier Me109G canopy during the course of their research), a mediocre interior, and panel lines decried for their width and depth, plus main landing gear that was painfully too tall; that last resulted in an absurdly high "sit" to the model if it was completed with its gear down. A couple of the larger internet modeling sites jumped all over the kit with criticism bordering on the savage and which resulted in it languishing as a last-resort sort of model, at least in the United States. The criticisms were largely valid too, if somewhat overstated, but there was good news as well.
For starters the model was basically accurate, and the kit contained enough stuff to allow the modeler to build any Emil variant from the E-1 through the final E-7 using only what was included in the kit. It featured both normal and tropical air filters, both canopy styles (although the later E-4 style was inaccurate as given), and almost everything that could conceivably be hung under a Bf109E, only missing the semi-obscure SD 2 Bomblet rack in that regard. Everything was there to allow an excellent 109E to be produced but Airfix's kit quickly became the Emil that everyone loved to hate, largely because of those negative initial internet reviews. As a longtime fan of flawed kits and lost causes the criticisms made it a model I couldn't pass up!
With that said, I've built a couple of these now and think I can offer some insight into making the kit look a little better than its reputation would suggest. Here are the things I found it necessary to correct, although your mileage may certainly differ on that one! Most of the corrections are minor: The interior can easily be spiffed up with aftermarket or even just careful painting, although I find the UltraCast Bf109E seat with belts and harnesses to be a considerable improvement whether you detail anything else in there or not.
The propeller is one of those places where the internet crowd got it right; it's way too skinny and looks absurd once you know what the real thing is supposed to look like, but UltraCast have a great replacement for it. They also offer much improved main landing gear wheels at a very affordable price, which helps spiff up the detailing in that arena. I'm not a big fan of Eduard's Brassin' wheels for the Emil but I did use their tailwheel, which constitutes a significant improvement over the kit item.
The transparencies ARE too thick and the frames somewhat wonky, but they can be worked with. Solutions can range from careful painting (E-1, E-3, and those E-7s using the earlier canopies) to sanding, polishing, and re-framing (E-4 and E-7 using the "square" canopy stack). You can also replace the whole transparency set with those from another kit, or with vacuum-formed components.
The panel lines are a little heavy but aren't nearly as bad as some folks say. Paint and decals can go a long way towards attracting the eye away from them if they bother you.
That stalky landing gear is the biggest problem I found with the kit, but it's one that's fortunately easy to correct! It's been said that the gear legs are too long, but they aren't! The problem lies in the way Airfix would have us mount the main gear legs; take a look at the kit and you'll see that those square mounting pegs sit ON their mounting pads when they should slip inside them. The legs sit approximately 1/8th of an inch too high as given, but if you open up the mounting slots and slide the gear legs down inside them until the locating pegs that are molded to the upper end of those legs hit the underside of the upper wings, you'll have the correct gear strut length and the problem is solved. (Be sure to avoid cutting the side of that opening that faces the centerline of the airplane so the gear spacing remains correct!) All that's left is to carefully align the legs fore and aft, and make sure they splay outwards correctly. You may have to take a tiny (and I do mean TINY) bit off the angle on the rearmost part of the gear doors where they meet up against the wheel wells, but that's it unless you choose to detail the wheel wells too; Airfix missed the boat on that one but it doesn't bother me because I rarely turn my models upside down---your mileage may vary!
After that it's all a matter of cleaning things up and detailing to taste. This model was done as Herbert Ihlefeld's I/LG 2 mount as stationed in Romania just prior to the beginning of Operation Barbarossa and all of the national insignia, plus all of the stenciling, came directly from the Airfix kit, while Ihlefeld's unit and personal markings were scabbed from an Eduard "Barbarossa Limited Edition" set.
All of the paint used was Mr Color.
We now have several 1/48th scale Bf109E kits to choose from ranging all the way from Monogram's primal 1962 offering to the recently-released Wingsy kit, but my current personal favorite is this one. It's not the best detailed right out of the box, it doesn't fit as well as the more recent kits do, and it has that horrible landing gear, but the end result can be worth the investment and time and modest expenditure for a little aftermarket. It's still a viable option and it's mostly accurate. All it needs is a little love...
I like also non-standard kits 🙂
It's nice to see someone turn what is perceived to be a dog of a kit into a very nice model with a few minor tweaks and upgrades. Very nice build.
Maybe unloved, but I do love the result, Phillip @phillipfridell
You created an awesome looking Emil out of this kit.
Thanks, guys. The Airfix Emil has its challenges but it builds up really nicely. It's honestly nice to have to work a little bit for the result since so many kits are quite literally shake and bake these days!
I've attached another couple of photos; the nasty-looking one showing the lower wing illustrates a before and after for the gear fix. It was in the original post but somehow didn't go through.
phil
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Hmmm...
I've spent 13 years or so trying to master Blogger's software so I guess I shouldn't be surprised when things go awry, wonder if it's a size issue? Anyway, here's the other image I wanted to post.
phil
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Nice build and a great choice if markings Phillip!
Build one of these as an E-1 a few years ago, and found the canopy and the rather undernourished propellers the downside of the kit.
The canopy I replaced it with a surplus from Zvezda 109 F-2 box that is accurate and a drop fit size (Zvezda kit provides E type canopy on account, I presume, of a few odd F-2 that actually used those instead).
As for the spinner I went with SBS set, meant for the Tamiya kit, one that also fits nicely.
I ended up getting Pavla resin set design for the kit, so the final tag of the kit was a bit higher than the older competitors of the time (Hasegawa, Eduard and Tamiya).
Still I liked it a lot, even with the rather “old school” panel lines, and it still looks a fine kit today, shape wise and build-ability - https://imodeler.com/2019/02/phoney-war-emil/
Thank you, Pedro! I've used both the Zvezda 109F transparencies and those from the Eduard E on various projects---a nice source of spare parts for sure!
phil
Everything is judged by the result, many say, so I am paying kudos to you, Phillip for the truly wonderful result.
Thanks for all info regarding the severity of kit's inaccuracies and how to deal with them (yes, the gear fix was great!).
You're too kind, Spiros. Thank you very much!
phil
Most of the parts you need to "spiff up" the kit can be found in the "extras" from any Eduard 109 (other than their "E" which is far more "wrong" than the Airfix kit is). The early wheels are there, the smaller tailwheel (I'm assuming a "G" kit), and a correct prop. Thus doing an E-1 or E-3 isn't hard and doesn't have to involve expensive resin aftermarket.
The rest of the fixes aren't hard - as you have demonstrated so well.
This was what I god.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Looks damn good to me Phillip!
Nicely done, looks great!
What a beautiful finished product! And thanks for the great write-up on how to make the most of an imperfect but 'workable' model kit.
Great job Phillip- gorgeous port side profile photo too! Thanks for sharing what you did- I am sure the article will benefit people with them in their stash- they may actually build them now!
I have some 1/48 Hasegawa F-18's, but I also have 1/48 Monogram F-18's lined up for building-I love using them to expand the range of built aircraft without draining the bank- they need work- but they are not too hard to improve.
Can't seem to find any more of the Monogram F-18A/C kits anymore, or their AV-8B's either! love building them.
I'm no expert on the 109, but I think yours came out great, Phillip (@phillipfriddell). I have several of these lurking in my stash somewhere, so thanks for the info on how to fix them. :o)
Nicely done Phillip, as you demonstrated you can take a so called dog kit and make it shine. Well done.
20 years ago . . . give or take modelers used modeling skill. Shake and bake kits were a pipe dream and the norm was to modify and improve instead of buying off the shelf. The Airfix Emil can be brought up to snuff with good old fashion elbow grease,cross kiting, planning and now with the resin and P. E. . I think the Expertin . . . some of the comments about the kit where not done with problem solving in mind. Nor was build ability and the fun factor considered. It was more of a academic exercise in ego's and reputations into visits to the museums and the study of documentation. Yet, one can still build a flawed kit, have fun, think out side of the box, be entertained and come up with a decent build. As proven by Phillip's build. Two thumbs up Phill ,this is what modeling is all about.