new Airfix Emil build

more progress - 'semi-snap' fit so easy to get this far without using glue! Gear legs, flaps. slats, lower cowl etc etc just plug in. However this leaves a 'stance' that is a little too wide IMHO. This is not very 'scientific' but I'm sure you get the idea. Forget about displaying it next to a Tamiya Emil on the shelf...or fill in the gear locating holes, shorten the legs a touch and then pin with fuse wire at a slightly better angle than here ...I think..






..the gear legs plug in very firmly indeed - all in all the kit fits brilliantly - so there was no scope for 'bending' them here. They do splay a little as well because they are too long IMHO. I've gone and trimmed a couple of millimetres from them and opened up the locating holes so I can 're-position' them a little. I'm a lot happier with the resulting 'sit' ..although I might have 'over-corrected'. I guess opinions on this will be pretty subjective ...(ie 'divided' !)


gear has been shortened and re-positioned to give a much better sit..




another 'inaccuracy' that my 'in-box' review elsewhere didn't pick up on - I blame the cellophane packaging -and which has been commented on is the later E4/7 canopy in the kit - the centre section has some very heavy framing and a 'mid-panel' frame that shouldn't be there on an Emil canopy. This is not an issue if using the canopy for an E-1/3 as supplied in the box but it will make an accurate E-4/7 tricky - I'm doing an E-7 so will have to get with the sanding stick and toothpaste...

Airfix Bf 109 E

..well it's not a Tamigawa ..but its a pretty decent model and a bargain at the price. 107 parts, some moulded with finesse but there's some trademark Airfix 'clunkiness' here and there too. Parts break-down almost exactly follows that of the Tamiya Emils. However Airfix have provided a much greater range of options OOB. Fuselage/wings line up perfectly with Kagero's 'Top Drawings'. (some more pics on the Luftwaffe blog) Some things I don't like - the plastic is well thick and quite hard which makes it difficult to get the small parts off the sprues without damaging them. Some of the small parts are a little thick as mentioned ie the control column. I think the canopies look just a tad 'squarish' too. Fuselage /wings just clip together - no gaps at all - but the locating pins are so thick it's almost impossible to get them apart again. Trimmed mine down. Some filler required especially around the leading edge cannon inserts. Flaps just plug in at what must be their maximum angle of deflection and there is also scope to position the ailerons which you don't get in a Tamiya Emil. Note the underwing cannon bulges are separate parts enabling the early Emils to be built..
Impressions vs. the Tamiya Emil which I've just finished are very positive though.

Tamiya Bf 109 E-3 JG 52 Battle of Britain

A Battle of Britain E-3 flown by the Adjutant of I./JG52 Helmut Benneman who finished the war with about 90 vics- easy Tamiya build right ?.. err.. no .. I must be the most cack-handed modeller blogging since I managed to break off the gear legs (twice!), crack the canopy while polishing it (wish I hadn't bothered), snap the tailplane struts and then fog the windshield with thinners...oh and the Tamiya stencil decals shattered in the water. Promodeller wash, fuse wire brake lines. I need a drink ...

Airfix Emil build

Some progress on the new Airfix Bf109 E. Cockpit OOB except for some foil belts. Detail is OK, ordnance panel under the instruments is a separate part. Plastic a little thick and difficult to get the smaller parts off the sprues without damaging them..

new Airfix, Eduard, Trumpeter, Zvezda Bf109 kits

Cleared the shelves of my LHS, difficult not to at the price ..and a few other of the new 109s by way of comparison ! Most expensive was the Eduard Profipack at £37, the Zvesda 109 F was £14, same price as the Airfix Emil, while the Trumpeter 32nd Emil was £29...my excuse, I'm not having a summer holiday this year..

and some work on the current build, a Tamiya Emil. This one is being built for the Aces II GB on aeroscale.co.uk. Painted with White Ensign Luftwaffe colourcoats. Didn't like their Grau 02 at all I'm afraid - it came out looking almost 'tan' in colour, so I've had to mist some green over it. The mottle was hard to do 'right' as well..

Bennemann's Emil

pre-shading and and a coat of Xtracolour Hellblau for my Tamiya Emil E-3, which will be finished as 'Black 5' as flown by I./JG 52 Adjutant Helmut Bennemann during the Battle of Britain, when I./JG52 was based at Coquelles on the Channel coast. The Batailles Aériennes special (part 1) on JG52 has profile artwork and photos of this a/c

Tamiya Emil - Bf109 E-3

...a quick build ahead of the arrival of the brand new Airfix 1/48th Emil

more Mustangs !

This is not a Luftwaffe modelling blog - just thought I'd make that clear. I build everything and anything...even armour. Here's some more P-51s for now..'Bud' Anderson' 'Old Crow' from the Academy 'B/C' kit in 72nd using the kit decals, although with plenty of white glue and Klear to keep them on, and the Italeri 1/72 P-51 in the colours of Gordon Graham of the 355th FG..

more small-scale Fw 190s - MPM Fw 190 V-1

MPM Fw 190V1 prototype D-OPZE



late-war JG300 machine with some Verlinden etch and resin




Academy 1/72 Fw 190D-9 of 14./JG 26, Varrelbusch, Germany March, 1945, Oblt. Hans Dortenmann, Staffelkapitän




one of my favourite JG1 schemes. Revell A-8









Academy A-6 in 72nd scale - very poor kit, so two examples posed together. III./JG 11, Oldenburg, Germany April 1944, Major Anton Hackl, Gruppenkommandeur




Hasegawa A-8 in 72nd scale. Not as nice as the Revell kit. Finished in the markings of Gf. Walter Wagner of 5.(Sturm)/JG4

Revell Me 262 (1/72nd)

Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a of III./JG7 parked off the runway at Brandenburg-Briest.

Posing models in flying attitude

...some experiments in 1/72nd scale posed in flying attitude. Metal rod & blu-tack stuck into a piece of painted hardboard. Avoiding shadow is a problem. Aside from a hairdryer to spin the props does anyone have any helpful tips for improvements ?

after getting airborne with the setting sun, an anonymous Ju188 of KG66 turns onto a heading that will bring it over England for another bombing sortie during the 'mini' or 'Baedecker Blitz', early 1944. (Matchbox 1/72)
Dornier Do 217s of KG2 also participated on the same raid (Italeri 1/72)


















Revell Hurricane in 1/72 - same back board...