BoB CB Froggy_06's BF 109 E-4

[Froggy_06]

/media/tinymce_upload/5d22b6618018531007f5766a3d8e86e5.JPGHello everybody,

I've always been fascinated by the BoB. Having be idle in modelling since the beginning of the year, I found this CB a great idea and a good motivation to resume the building and the painting of models.

After looking at the CB's rules, I thought, at first, building a Hurricane, but some talentuous modellers of this forum also had this idea and put it in execution faster than me ! Now, coming back from vacation in south-east of France and looking at my huge stock I noticed this little kit, bought a few years ago. As no one already built one in this CB, I decided for a go on it.

The kit itself, in this boxing is a beauty : well engraved, the few glitches that plagued the previous release resolved, and most important of all, a few more parts that depicts the versatility of this plane : a sand filter (of no use here, but useful for mediterranean theater of ops), two pointed spinners ( what I was expecting for) , bomb and drop tank and support for them. The only thing which prevents me from qualifying of perfect is the lack of E-1 / E-3 style canopy parts and of an E-1 style wing.

As I'll go to the Mons expo this week-end I will try to find a few extra parts for the cockpit but otherwise, it will be build mainly straight of the box.

I will use Model Art's BF 109 B-E variants and Osprey's BF 109 B/D aces 1939-41 as references. But I still not decided for which aircraft to depict : I accumulated over the years many decal sheets for the 109E BoB, ranging from old ABT and Almarks up to Aeromaster and choosing one is a difficult task : Wick ? Oesau ? JG 53 ? stripped JG 54 ? else ? Your suggestions are welcome !

As I told it earlier, I will go to Mons this week-end, so Adlertag (the beginning of the build) is postponned to Monday 24th evening !

 

[Froggy_06]

 I did not find in Mons what I was searching after (photoetched parts for the interior of my 109). So, I bought the new HE-111P-2 instead ! On 24th morning -surprise -back at work,  my boss told me I had to go to Dunkirk for two weeks in order to rescue a rookie consultant...Verdamnt ! So no modeling the two last weeks... Now I am back and while I ordered those damn parts, I don't want to wait more and I will search the "scrap box" or simply close the canopy... In all cases, I intend to build more BoB 109s....

I narrowed my choice for painting between three aircraft :

- BF 109E-4 of 9/JG 54 with "tiger stripes" camouflage, the 12th August 1940

- Wilhelm Balthasar's BF 109E-4 in August 1940

- BF 109E-4/B of 6/LG2 the 5th October 1940

What would be your favorite ?

More on the build this week-end : this time, it's for real !

[Froggy_06]

At long last, I started the build ! The day after my last post, I received the photoetched parts. They are very nice but also very small in size...

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My girlfriend, who is more in "building and painting figures" , said those parts were a waste of time and money and bet with me that " even a good looking Blonde beginner like her would complete the straight building of this kit long before mine with all these tiny parts" . As we went to a modeling show in Mol (Belgium) last week end, she bought another one of these 109 kits. Wait and see....

A glass magnifier is mandatory to handle these parts.

I started classicaly with the cockpit. 

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I found also that the Airfix propeller was a little slim (nothing dramatic) so, I replaced with another one with wider blades.

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I will come back in the next post with a completed and painted cockpit... And will see how the girl is tacling this nice little kit...