Hasegawa + Aires 1/32 scale
Messerschmitt Bf 109F-2

by Matt Grove

Hasegawa's 1/32 scale Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 is available online from Squadron.com

This is the Messerschmitt Bf109F-2 of Hannes Trautloft, JG 54, Russia 1941. I used the Aires set to convert Hasegawa’s 1/32 109G to the F version.

I used the nice resin cockpit pretty much as-is.

The other main piece in the set is the resin upper cowl. I felt the gun troughs on this piece weren’t shaped correctly in outline, and on the real aircraft they were inserts that sat slightly proud of the surrounding surface. I spent quite a bit of time cutting new outlines from .005 plastic sheet and blending them with the inner portions of the gun troughs using Milliput and Mr. Surfacer. I think this captured the distinctive (but subtle) appearance of the troughs as they appeared on the F and early Gs. Looking back, it probably would have been easier to do that using the upper cowl insert from the G-4 kit (which has incorrectly shaped gun trough outlines as well) instead of making the Aires cowl fit the kit fuselage, which was a bit dicey.

 
The Hasegawa kit has a slight but noticeable dip on each side underneath where the separate rear fuselage section joins the forward section. I used Bondo to fill these; the stuff takes a scribed line surprisingly well as long as you’re not too heavy-handed.
 
I used the Aires set’s nicely done vacform canopy, adding framing to the interior using plastic strip. I found the key to getting the front and rear portions of the canopy to fit properly was to add framing around the edges with plastic sheet so they could be attached to the fuselage just as they were on the real aircraft.
 
I also did quite a bit with the wheel wells, adding the canvas liner and visible structure. Getting the shape of the .005 sheet plastic liners correct took a lot of trial and error, and getting them in place was tricky. I embossed the plastic to depict the lacing and zipper on the liners. I also reshaped the lower portions of the landing gear legs to duplicate the gear legs used on the Fs and early Gs and added separate brake lines.

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger images:

The Aires tail wheel is a bit oversized, so I may replace it when I can get a better one.
 
There were a number of items unique to the F to be added, including various hatches and the strengthening straps on the rear fuselage.

I used Polly Scale acrylics for the yellow, underside blue (76), and topside brown (79). The green is Tamiya Olive Green.
 
The decals are from Aeromaster. The Stab markings were incorrectly proportioned, so I did a lot of cutting and trimming to reshape them. The heart is painted.
 
This airplane had quite a sheen, so I finished with Polly Scale Satin and Flat mixed about 50-50.

 
I’ve always been impressed by Ian Robertson’s outdoor shots, so wanted to try a few myself.
 
As I look at the airplane now, it seems a little too clean. I’ll try to work up the courage to add some shading and weathering on the next one!
 

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Model and Images Copyright 2005 by Matt Grove
Page Created 27 April, 2005
Last Updated 26 April, 2005

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