Cyber hobby 1/32 Bf 109 E-4

[stona]

Thanks.

The kit provides little decal numbers to apply the werknummer to the engine. This is fine if you know it. Luckily the man who wrote the "Crashed Enemy Aircraft Report" on von Werra's machine noted it for us.

"Fitted with DB.601A engine made by Mercedes Benz werk nr. 10598."

No excuse then!

Cheers

Steve

 

[Centurion3RTR]

You know, i'm sure "The One That Got Away" was on tv a few weeks ago. Looking good so far Steve, as always. I have a request, can you build it like this photo lol?

View attachment 46520

Have fun, John

View attachment 49522

 

[stona]

That's a nice photo of Von Werra. He certainly wasn't publicity shy! There's a whole series of photos of him with the imaginatively named "Simba",the lion cub.

He was a bit older than many of his contemporaries (26 in 1940) and liked the lime light. He was very creative with his claiming and has been described as "the greatest liar of the Jafdwaffe aces" which is saying something because there were quite a few outright fraudsters.

On 28 August 1940 he claimed,and had accepted,four aerial victories as well as five Hurricanes destroyed on the ground. They were all false claims.

Anyone know where I can get a 1/32 lion cub

Cheers

Steve

 

[treyzx10r]

You never cease to amaze Steve, its looking slendid. And nice touch with the engine#!

 

[Pete Mac]

Steve, Your build speed leaves me deep in the shade and your depth of knowledge astounds me. I wonder if Von Werra knicked that cub off Goering as I believe he had one too. I can offer you a delightful German shepherd pup but unfortunately he will be a tad off scale (1-1) No slacking now. Cheers, Pete

 

[stona]

I'm able to build the thing "full time" at the moment but I won't get it anywhere near completed before my next job takes me away for a while.

It really goes together very well. I did have a bit of a jostle with the oil cooler and associated pipework,flaps and other gubbins which gets built up and attached to the bottom of the engine but I got the better of it in the end! It's a lot of lovely detail which is unlikely to get seen again. Also the fit of the exhaust pipes is to the lower cowling rather than the engine manifolds which is a bit weird.

Cheers

Steve

 

[mobear]

but the details in it are better than the revell 109 1/24,especially the super charger inlet which on the 1/24 is a solid block of plastic,and you build a thousand times better than me,cause your build is awesome mate top notch

mobear

 

[stona]

Hi Ole,do you mean the old Airfix 1/24 109? I think Heller did a boxing too. If so that's a really old mold from the 1960s IIRC. This Cyber-hobby jobby is virtually brand new,hence the quality of the detail (and fit).

Cheers

Steve

 

[mobear]

i dont know when it was made i did a small build blog on here with it

mobear

 

[stona]

i dont know when it was made i did a small build blog on here with itmobear

I remember you doing Schopfel's aircraft. That was the old Airfix mold I think. It's over forty years old!

Cheers

Steve

 

[mobear]

explains alot then lol

mobear

 

[stona]

I first built one of those when they were relatively new, probably in the late seventies, and made a right dog's dinner of it. I built another one about ten years ago which came out better,not because the kit was any different,just that I'd had more practice

I won't be venturing up to 1/24 anytime soon!

Cheers

Steve

 

[Pete Mac]

Hi Steve. Re the exhausts, Iknow what you mean. however, I chose to glue them straight onto the block and slid the cowls on from the front in the hope that the cowls can be completely removed to display the complete engine. I agree with the headscratcher oil cooler baffles. I am now tackling the wings/flaps with those teeny weeny P/E hinges choosing to fix the pins to the wings first then slot the control surfaces in after otherwise they would have succumed to the carpet demon never to be seen again. Great to have a comparison. I still hav'nt finally decided which example to finish mine in. For some reason the telescopic sight of the Galland mount puts me off as it seems a bit 'Heath Robinson' but that's probably me being quirky. Good luck with your trip away and look forward to your return soon. Regards, Pete.

 

[stona]

I'm not looking forward to that bit!

Galland had a telescope fitted in order to see enemy formations before they saw him. It wasn't a sight as such.

And yes,5966 didn't always have the Mickey Mouse!

Cheers

Steve

 

[treyzx10r]

Never knew that about the scope really intresting info Steve thanks for sharing it! The mill is looking great!

 

[stona]

Early start means I've got the engine mated up to the oil cooler assembly and have fitted the exhausts and lower cowling (which actually hinged down c/w oil cooler on the real thing)

I suppose I'd better start thinking about some wings for this thing!

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

I've given a lot of thought as to the best way to tackle the photo etch hinges for the flaps and ailerons.

This is a way that works,not the only way I'm sure

Fit the little parts MA15 and MA16 to the end of the aileron and flap respectively.

Fit MA1 and MA6 (complete with the MA2/C37 sub assembly) to the BOTTOM half of the wing. NOT the top as per instructions. This allows for more accurate alignment,checked with a bit of dry fitting.

Once the two halves of the wing are mated the two control surface can be hung on the hinges. I've not glued this up yet but it works fine dry fitted.

I'll attempt some photos once I get both sides done.

I did away with the little plastic bit C37. I pushed a bit of stretched sprue through the hinge until it was wedged.

I then cut of the "thin" end close to the photo etch hinge and then flattened it by applying a hot spatula. I then cut off the "thick" end and repeated the process. Result? A neat plastic hinge.

Be careful how you pose the two surfaces. This 109 had a linkage between the flaps and ailerons.This is often missed by modellers.

When the flaps are fully retracted the ailerons have a droop of 1.2 degrees,barely visible. As the flaps were wound down,using one of the two large wheels to the pilot's left,both ailerons also drooped progressively. With the flaps fully lowered (42.5 degrees) the ailerons have a droop of 11 degrees which is very noticeable,even on a scale model.

Cheers

Steve

 

[treyzx10r]

Wow Steve that is incredible work with the hinges! Great tech info too, another nugget saved away for later,thanks!

 

[flyjoe180]

That is very interesting info about the flaps and ailerons Steve, I did not know the Bf109 had such a system. This would have been used to lower the stall speed on landing, and to reduce the landing distance needed. I used to fly a Cessna 180 that had a Robertson STOL kit fitted. The ailerons drooped with the flap as in the Bf109 case, except at full flap they retracted to the setting for the first notch of flap. This was to provide increased aileron authority at low speed. It also helped in crosswinds.

 

[stona]

Thanks for the info Joe. I figured the linkage was to increase lift at low speeds and wondered if having the ailerons drooping 11 degrees would affect their authority. Judging by the later system you describe on the Cessna it probably did!

You'll know that the Bf 109 wing was highly loaded and I think the Messerschmitt aerodynamicists found themselves jumping through all sorts of hoops to make the aircraft more easily controllable at low speeds. Those flaps occupy 51.8% of the wing span. They also fitted a lot of what could be described as high lift devices. Even the ground attitude is high,17 degrees at the wing root.

Cheers

Steve