This
is my first submission to ARC, with the subject being my Matchbox 1/32 Me-109
E-3 built essentially out of the box. I
would definitely include this kit in the category of “oldie but goodie,” as
it builds into a very nice replica of an early 109.
There are a few fit problems, which include the oil cooler cover (had to
carve a lot of plastic out of the inside to get it to fit flush over the oil
cooler), engine mounting tab into the slot in the firewall, and getting the cowl
MG 17 machine guns to fit into the supporting “brackets”.
The brackets are also molded such that, when the machine guns are
attached to them and then attached to the engine assembly, the guns somewhat
point down toward the top front of the engine and slightly to port.
Be careful here. Also, I
found that the two pieces making up the lower cowl cover were not wide enough at
the top to be glued together. To
remedy this, I taped the two halves flush on each side of the fuselage and
measured the space between them. I
then cut a corresponding width and length of plastic card, applied Crazy Glue to
the edge of each cover half, and gently placed and fitted the piece of plastic
card in the space between the halves. Once
the glue dried, I removed the tape and the resulting “one piece” cover from
the model. I then kept applying
layers of filler over the strip and kept sanding until the correct curvature to
the top of the cover was reached.
I
scratchbuilt a few items, which included the aerial wire, shoulder harness,
canopy wire, and drilling out the gun barrels.
The aerial and canopy wires were made from stretched sprue, with the
aerial insulators made from Elmer’s Glue painted white.
The hooks for the canopy wire were made from copper wire.
The shoulder harness is made from drafting tape with Eduard buckles.
Other areas of the model that could use some scratchbuilding include the
wheel wells (totally open on the kit) and brake lines on the landing struts.
Also, the instrument panel dials are represented as pins that come
through the instrument panel. Since
I finished the model (about 3 years ago), Cutting Edge has released a cockpit
set (CEC32088) for the Hasegawa kit that I would think could be worked to fit
this kit as well. Other than the
instrument dials and the gunsight, the kit-supplied cockpit isn’t bad at all.
For
painting the model, I used Model Master Enamels.
The camouflage scheme is the standard RLM 70 Black Green and 71 Dark
Green over RLM 65 Light Blue. I
achieved the “hard yet soft” edge to the colors by using a paper mask
attached to the surface using double-backed drafting tape.
This way the paper was lifted off the surface just enough so that when
the paint was sprayed on, the result was a soft edge.
The pattern on the fuselage sides (RLM 71 over 65) was achieved by using
a coarse, short-bristled brush dipped into the paint and then dabbing it onto
the sides. Don’t use an expensive
brush to do this, as the brush I used was totally destroyed when I was finished.
A picture in the Squadron In
Action book says that the paint was sponged on, rather than sprayed
on.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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The
panel lines, engine, guns, tires, and underside were all given a wash using
Polly S Midnight Black. Drybrushing
was done by using the respective base colors mixed with a little bit of white.
Fuel stains were done by using Gunze Sangyo Oil mixed with a little brown
thinned with water. As old as the
kit decals were, they weren’t too bad and I decided to use them, although the
wavy line on the rear fuselage side is a little large compared to photographs.
The
model depicts a machine of JG 2 ‘Richthofen’ based at
Le Havre
,
France
, in the summer of 1940.
I really enjoyed building this model, and, although it’s been out of
production for awhile, you may be able to find one in the older models section
of your favorite hobby shop. Plus,
I know some modelers who have the kit in their stash, so ask around; someone may
be willing to sell you one for the right price!
Happy
Modeling!
Rick
IPMS St. Louis
References:
- Messerschmitt
Bf 109 in action Part 1, Squadron/Signal Publications Aircraft No. 44 (1980)
- Aerodata
International Fighters of World War II, Squadron/Signal Publications (1980)
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