Bf-109 J / Ha-1109 conversion, SBS-model 1/48 FINISHED

Started by Erik Gjørup · 125 · 1 year ago · airbum, Bf109, Ha1109, sbsmodel, Tripala
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    Louis Gardner said 3 years, 9 months ago:

    I have been reading about the work you have been doing to convert this kit. Then I happened to walk by our calendar and look what is on the month of July.


    Appropriate yes ?

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 9 months ago:

    Sort of, Louis - it is a close relation. Great stuff that the Spanish used these for so long that we still can see them even today, some re-engined to look the part and sound right too - not that there is anything wrong with the sound of a Merlin 🙂

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 9 months ago:

    Good news that you settled down with the Tamiya, my fried @airbum.
    Waiting to see your instrument panel conclusion...(of course, understandably for me, I would have scrstchbuilt it haha!).
    Great work, my friend!

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    George R Blair Jr said 3 years, 9 months ago:

    This conversion is looking really cool. I'm interested to see what markings this plane carried. How heavy is the nose resin? It would be bad if you ended up with a 109 that was a nose-sitter. :o)

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 9 months ago:

    Spiros (@fiveten), a potoetch panel for a 109K just arrived the other day, and now some feddling will take place soon.

    George (@gblair), as for the markings, there are two choiced in the kit, one is standard Spanish with yellow/red roundels, the other is as a "moviestar" that was used in a film about Marseilles where it was marked as "Yellow 14" but kept the spanish colors as it was a black/white movie. The nose is not all that heavy - in fact it is a lot lighter than the DB-engine for the Spitfire conversion, so I guess it will be a proper tailsitter.

    A small update comin' up any minute now - stay tuned

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 9 months ago:

    Instruments and windscreen

    The photoetch panels arrived the other day

    And that means some feddling may take place soon. First off, some testfitting will show if it is at all possible to use it – exciting, isn’t it?



    Comparison of the G and K that are both in the bag.

    The picture of a M1L shows that at least the Merlin engine version is close to the 109K panel


    Pretty close, but no pictures for a K.1L has surfaced yet.

    The windscreen is present in two versions in the Tamiya kit



    One with a hole for a Walter Flare-pistol, the other with a vent. As the 1109 is from around 48 it is unlikely to use flares as it would have had a relatively reliable radio, so the two-vent is to be used.

    That also means that the one with the hole is available for testfitting, and that will go ahead soon.

    Hopefully it will soon be time for some assembly and paint. Stay tuned and feel free to comment

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 9 months ago:

    Those PE look spectacular my friend @airbum.
    Waiting for your assembly on this super and out of the ordinary build!

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 9 months ago:

    @fiveten - some scratchbuilding may yet come - stay tuned! Small update following in a minute.

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 9 months ago:

    Paint

    Spending time in the paintshop

    I was able to spend some time in the paintshop today, and to make the most of it, two 109’s joined in!


    Just to compare the Tamiya and Zvezda fuselages, they were placed together.

    Both kits has separate throttles, as opposed to eduard that has them cast into the sidewall. First a picture of the Tamiya



    And the Zvezda. I actually like the handle shape on the Zvezda more, the Tamiya being a cone, whereas the Zvezda is a proper cylinder-shaped handle.

    While were at it, the Zvezda kits are an F-4 and an G-6


    Some of the trees are the same!

    And to round things off here are the kits



    I haven’t decided what they will be yet, so now they are put aside waiting for the final verdict on what marks to put on. The G-6 has some nice Swiss marks but nothing firm yet.

    Now it is off to work for a few days and then I suppose the jungle (used to be a garden) is in need of some TLC

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 9 months ago:

    I guess the cockpits are RLM66, my friend @airbum?
    Indeed the Zvezda lever is better and less toyish than the Tamiya.
    Waiting for your progress, scheme choices included!
    Nice painting so far!

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    George R Blair Jr said 3 years, 9 months ago:

    You have so many irons in the fire, Erik (@airbum), I can't figure how you keep them all straight. Like Spiros, I can't wait to see what paint scheme you will choose.

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 9 months ago:

    Thank you for the comments my friends.

    @fiveten, Spiros, yes, the cockpitparts are all RLM66 (Xtracolor matt) and other parts are "primer" RLM02 (xtracolor matt again)

    @gblair, George, I have sort of a system, keeping them in large flat plastic boxes, and each has a progress-sheet. I went to buy some more the other day, but (fortunately?) they were sold out. Actually the F-4 was started many months (years?) ago before I started the tracking/box system, as I visited my friend Klavs and borrowed his airbrush etc and sprayed the sprues RLM02 (yep - he had xtracolor available). The parts were stored at his place and I did not remove them for a long time (tak Klavs! @klavs1972), filling up his shelf-space. I have recently acquired some resin-parts to make the Galland 109F with all his modifications for this kit, so I guess it might be that version for the 109F. The G-6, well, Swiss might be it? The decals are not that nice in these kits, but time will tell - one buildbox will soon be available, and then the winner will get a new thread here on iModeler.

    Thank you again guys for encouragement - it is appreciated, and adds tremendously to the fun of modeling!

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 8 months ago:

    One year and 16 days later

    What? – Yep, this little critter was started up more than one year ago!

    I guess there has to be some progress by now? Well, a few other builds got priority while I waited. I have decided it is a bit like woodworking and tools; always take the best you’ve got. No need to save that very nice piece of elm for another project. You always take the best – and guess what, when the piece you took is gone, another piece will be the best you got!

    Sorry – lots of words, but it leads us to the fact that I do have the Tamiya kit that is supposed to be a part of this conversion, and the Zvezda kits have moved to other plans.


    Today I cut the 6-pack from the Airwaves PE tree to get started on the IP

    Forgive the coarse look – it is just a test setup


    But you get the picture I guess? I have sifted through my spare decals and found some that will come in handy here.
    I have most of the interior painted and detailed – the “tub” is to be assembled later and inserted from below

    That comes in handy, as the dryfitting and fettling can take place at a leisurely pace now (not too slow – it is already more than one year into the build)

    I hope to have the major resin parts and tub ready next, but as always, no specific sequence has been chosen – stay tuned for the next update

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 8 months ago:

    This jewel seems to be getting its priority too, my friend @airbum!
    And looking great indeed!

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    Tom Cleaver said 3 years, 8 months ago:

    Interesting work on this. I've just gotten both the Spanish 109 conversions in 1/32 for reviews. I'll be using the Promodeler (Hasegawa) Bf-109G-4 kit for both. Fortunately found two up the the LHS on consignment for guys who are "thinning the stash" for $35 each, a real bargain. Now that I have the book manuscript completed I can get to work on them and maintain some momentum. Since the conversion sets are the same except for scale, I'm watching what you do with interest.