Read the manual!

is always a good thing – reading and understanding it is even better

Zvezda operates with several different expressions – like “Assembly version 1”, “Version 1” and “Paint version 1”. Fully understanding these terms are key to a proper outcome.

The engine-assembly instructions are more or less the same for the F and G – just the trees have different letters even though it is the same sprue used in the two sets in some instances.

One thing that is not correct is the layout of the seating. For both versions there is a different seat depending on whether you will have a pilot there or not.

The first picture is the instructions for the G-6, the second for the F-4. The pilotless cockpit wrongly wants you to put in the seat for an F-model, and in the F-4 they want you to put in the G-6 seat if you want the cockpit occupied. That is of course down to the figure being the same, and it will not fit in the correct F-seat.

And with that little tale in place it will be some assembly next. Stay tuned

Zvezda Friedrich progress

The Friedrich gets a headstart

Commencing this double-Zvezda build with the Friedrich. I have decided that one of them should be with at least one half of the cowling open, and that burden falls on the Friedrich version.

The engine is assembled with the firewall and guns.

Then attention turns to the Cockpit.

Stick forward and a bit to the right (to be reflected in the rudders later on!). I love the way Zvezda has made the rudder pedals – some of you may remember the trouble I had with some of the Eduard kits when modifying the cast details to deflect the pedals. I will be modifying a Zvezda set at a later date most likely.

The engine assembly is placed loosely for the photographer.

Fingers crossed that all will line up later on.

next up the Gustav will be receiving some TLC

It’s a wrap

Actually got both of them wrapped up in Tamiyatape today!

The engine for the Gustav got some exhausts.

The kit-exhausts are a bit disappointing, but AM resin parts are available. I’ll stick with the standard ones this time.

And then it all went off the scale! – painting, glueing and assembling like a mad man – and no pictures. . .

So two of the wrapped-up fuselages must suffice for now.

And it is about time to take a decision on the paint I think. The kit-decals are useable for the Gustav

The Friedrich not so.

I have bought some SBS-decals for both. The Friedrich will become Spanish

But will it be 6.135 or 23.51?

The Gustav on the other hand may migrate to Hungary as V8+63

Nothing final on this one though, but my money is on this one if I get it built properly. If I am not really pleased, it may yet get the Swiss markings from the kit.

and with these set aside for now, decision pending, it is on to some of the other 109’s that are in progress elsewhere on this site

Erik, @airbum
This is my style of building models right here ! I will definitely be watching this build journal as it progresses. I like to watch all of your journals, as you do a good job of posting up your progress. I have not been posting as many comments as usual for me, but it doesn't mean that I have not stopped by.

It is customary for us to run into little problems along the way... It's the nature of the beast. That was a good catch on the different seats and firewalls. My luck would have me discover this once I tried to install the engine and the glue had set up and dried !

I like these aftermarket decal options you have, but I also happened to spot the JG 54 Green Heart decal... and that would be my choice. Please keep us posted on both "The good, the bad, and the ugly" if you happen to encounter anything out of the ordinary. (I'm a big Clint Eastwood fan if you didn't notice...)
I have the 1/48 Zvezda Bf-109F2, and two of the Revell F2/4 kits in the stash, so I will definitely be paying attention. My kits are still sealed in the shrink wrap, so I have a question for you. Are these kits I have the same molds, in a different box ?

I have several Luftwaffe birds on the bench, and with all this talk about 109's, I might just have to build one (or more...you know the deal at the Iron Werks...) Then park it on top of a Dragon / DML Ju-88 G-10.

Looks great my friend.

Stay safe.

George (@gblair), This will not be a double build, it will be the kindergarden for all those 109’s I start up in the future that does not have a clear final destination on them! The Zvezda kits are packed with detail at an affordable price, and like their “snap” kits they are well engineered and assembles like a dream in most cases. Spain did indeed have some interesting colors.

Louis (@lgardner), as mentioned above this topic will – hopefully – never end, so you are in for a looong ride here – comments are of course welcome, but just taking a peek is quite OK. More on the build in the log-posts, suffice it to say my clumsiness nearly cost me the Friedrich! The Grünhertz markings are indeed great, but these early Zvezda decals are rubbish, so it would have to be a set of AM items.
The Revell F2/4 is a rebox of the ICM-kit from 2006, and was the first 109 I attempted to build, but not at all a great choice – it has a full engine, and may be OK for experienced modelers, but I gave up on it, and it lived a sad but purposeful life as a paint mule for my first airbrush. The Zvezda F-2 is from 2010, and the trees are the same as the ones used in the F-4 built here.
Please do build one – even with a Ju-88 on the belly it will be fun! Go ahead – make my day

Spiros (@fiveten), rest assured that Tamiya and Eduard kits may migrate to this topic before they know their final destination! Regarding RM with additional letter in between, I think it is universal – my girlfriend learned it as one of the first things when she attended the commercial flight school.

And so it is time for one more update gentlemen – coming up any minute now!

Looks fantastic, my friend @airbum!
OF COURSE I loved the visible actuator implementation. Makes a difference and, may I add, a kit choice factor?
This turns out beautifully.

What was that with the manual?

read it? Naahhh, real men do not read manuals.

Now, the Gustav that will be built with the cowling closed is built according to the instructions – I thought. . .

When it says “for assembling version 1 only” (the one with open cowling) AND there is a line to a specific item, it means just that – that specific item is to be left out if built with the cowling closed – and that one only!

The three items shown without a line to the text are to be included! – they are the only thing that actually holds the nose to the rest of the plane! At this point it would have been nice if there was some sort of strange looking sprue like in the Ki-61 from Tamiya that Louis (@lgardner) discovered in his build of that one that could be used to keep the propeller and nose in place if the engine is left out. (in this case there is the exhausts to consider too)

The Friedrich that is to have the cowl open is no problem – all is there

Oh yes, I did assemble the wing today, and gave it a free testride. Filler will be involved during assembly I think, and I am thinking of adding a plate in the fuselage to keep the aft part of the belly in place when glue is added. (did this in my Tamiya Emil in the EofJ GB)

George (@gblair), I’m sorry, but I did not take pictures during cockpit assembly – all went too fast! Oh yes – I wrote that the Fuselage was near a disaster. See earlier picture of it with a clothes peg "clamp" – the Zvezda plastic is slow to react to glue as Pedro (@holzhamer) pointed out earlier, and the pressure together with the slowly dissolving plastic simply squeezed the space together. As You can see, I succeded in adding some space and all is well again.

next up a small post on the gearlegs – this one is long enough by now