martin collins 1 Posted December 27, 2019 Author Share Posted December 27, 2019 I`m sure a number of you who have read this thread from the start have assumed the 109 build had fallen into another of my never to be finished kits. No siree, just a pause for other hobbies, work has recommenced this evening, a couple of new kits have arrived courtesy of Santa, a Cambrian Cassutt racer and a Tony Nijhuis Gnat EDF. So before the Gnat gets started for my participation in the 2020 mass build i must at least get the 109 airframe finished and ready to cover. Tonight i have started attaching the battery hatch and fuselage side sheeting, these need gluing along the bottom edge first so that when it is curled around the curved fuselage side it can be pinned at the top edge and stay in shape. Quickest way would be using the devils glue (thin cyano, which gives me breathing problems) but this build is being done with Aliphatic which i prefer so no more progress in this area until tomorrow when the glue has dried. The wing is strengthened in the join area with a fibreglass bandage, i finally decided on 30 min epoxy to impregnate the bandage and to stop the epoxy binding up the aileron linkages i put some Plasticine around the rods. More updates once i have all the side sheeting on and sanded in a couple of days time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Walby Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 Hi Martin, I had one of these three years ago, nice kit with most of the bits need for the build. My idea was to gain some building experience with a quick build and a model that didn't need any field assembly. There was another motive and that was to have something that was fast to practice with. I had a load of 3S2200 lipos left over from the high wing foam model so that's where I started on the search for more speed. From memory Fit a rudder servo as I did an intro pylon day (great fun at BMFA Buckminister), but you can't knife edge it without! Under hand launch at 3/4 throttle and get on top of the torque roll...beef up motor mount and make the cowl removable ahs it helps when fixing the motor mount! PVA wing bandage and pull insane tight turns and they never clapped, in fact when it finally crashed for the last time the wing is still complete Summary Nice build, but thick wing profile so nice and tame but has high drag Couple of errors in the instructions, but photos very helpful If you want fast this is not the model, I wound it up to 381 W/Kg and it just demonstrated that massive power does not overcome high drag I would try the other funfighter manufacturer next time All the best with your build and keep posting progress Are you intending to go 3S or 4S setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted December 28, 2019 Author Share Posted December 28, 2019 In the interests of keeping it light so i can launch it myself it will be on 2200 3s, i have a kit from the other manufacturer of a KI-61 Hein which will be on 4s, thinner wing on that for more speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan h Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 Good to see this build back. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted December 28, 2019 Author Share Posted December 28, 2019 Ok, left hand side sheeting has now been curved around the fuselage, glued and pinned in place, Top tip in the instructions was to throughly wet the outside of the sheeting and let it soak in for 10 mins, this makes bending rather than snapping the sheet much easier. Minor observation on the sheeting is that in the instructions it says cut 18mm off the 2mm sheet supplied for the battey hatch, having done this it didn`t leave enough on the sheet to get the other 18mm for the other side and leave enough for the bottom fuselage sheeting. It would have been better to just cut enough to cover the hatch sides which would have then left enough for the bottom. Also i am still short of sheet wood in the kit, one sheet would do the battery hatch sides and the underside of the fuz, the other sheet is used on the main fuselage side sheeting, there is not enough to do the cockpit sides and the piece which is forward of that up to the battery hatch. Another 1/2 sheet would have covered it. Luckily i have quite a stock of balsa sheet so a visit to the model shop is not needed! Minor niggle on what is a very nice kit and a fun build so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted December 28, 2019 Author Share Posted December 28, 2019 Wing joint with 30 min epoxy, glue heated to thin and masking tape outboard of joint to stop spread of glue, removed BEFORE the glue sets! Edited By martin collins 1 on 28/12/2019 16:55:23 Edited By martin collins 1 on 28/12/2019 17:05:04 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan h Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 Looking good... I wondered earlier what the green and purple stuff was in by the control rods. I see it is to stop the epoxy getting in there and gluing them up solid.. Have you decided how your going to finish it.... Paint or film? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted December 28, 2019 Author Share Posted December 28, 2019 Still waiting for inspiration on the finish, saw a really nicely painted Hurri on the Cambrian stand at the NATS, i would like to finish it like that, Steve was going to ask the owner what he had used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Crook Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 For a BoB scheme, these are a good decal set for not much money. Out of stock at present though. https://hobbyking.com/en_us/durafly-bf-109e-1100mm-battle-of-britain-scheme-decal-sticker-set.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted December 29, 2019 Author Share Posted December 29, 2019 Thanks for that, todays progress second fuz side sheeting going on, hole at back made for elevator snake exit........... Couldn`t resist adding a few lightening holes, probably a waste of time but it made me feel good Edited By martin collins 1 on 29/12/2019 19:04:28 Edited By martin collins 1 on 29/12/2019 19:08:11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 I have Tomorrow off work and will be spending some of it sanding the airframe to shape, what have others done for cutting the upper fuselage gun ports in the nose? Looks like i will finish mine with tissue and dope before spray painting it. Still considering which scheme to paint it as, there are so many goods ones, i quite like the idea of one from the Battle of Britain but the African theater ones also look great............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 Fuselage is now sanded to the rough shape, cowling has yet to be tackled, i want to make sure the motor is in the centre of the cowl so the spinner lines up nicely and then i will be adding some dowels and magnets to hold the cowl in place. The sanding can then commence! Pretty pleased with the way it is coming along. I have narrowed the colour scheme down to two German, one Swiss and one Bulgarian. Maybe in need to buy more FunFighter 109`s!!! Edited By martin collins 1 on 02/01/2020 15:55:32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted January 5, 2020 Author Share Posted January 5, 2020 Plenty of progress in the last few evenings, elevator snake fitted, bottom sheeting glued on, motor fitted and nose cowling and nose ring glued on, i found i can still remove the 4 motor screws with the cowl fixed in place so there was no need to make it removable. Also fitted was the block bottom to the forward fuselage, the fin has also now been added and the front edge rounded to shape. Hopefully tomorrow after work i can get my teeth into sanding the nose cowling to shape and also the center wing bandage, once done we are coming towards the end of the build phase and i will then start the covering. As a note, there was enough sheeting left to cover the bottom of the fuselage, having looked at the plan again it notes that the grain direction for this should be across the fuselage. This means cutting it into sections to do the job and there was some to spare in the end............ Pictures once the nose sanding has been completed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted January 8, 2020 Author Share Posted January 8, 2020 Sanding phase now complete after a stuttering start, i was using one of those paper masks with an excuse for a filter in the end of it but my breath kept steaming my glasses up when wearing it, not good if you want to see the wood you are removing! Today i swung by Screwfix and picked up a proper rubber one with twin removable filters on it, works a treat, just in from the workshop now as i was determined to finish the sanding tonight. Going to spend tomorrow evening reading up on tissue and dope finishing on a solid airframe before i tackle the covering.............. Sorry about the poor quality pictures, i will take some better ones in daylight Edited By martin collins 1 on 08/01/2020 22:33:12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan h Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Hi martin. That looks really good. I Have followed your build from the start which now seems like it has gone really quick. Im looking forward to seeing the end result Good luck with the tissue and dope I would offer some advice but I havent done that before either I have only ever used iron on film from hobbyking. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 Many thanks for the kind comments Dan, i have really enjoyed the build, getting closer to my favourite bit which is the painting of the model with an airbrush. Still wavering on the scale colour scheme to finish it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Wood 4 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Hi Martin, I have found that a couple of coats of sanding sealer rubbed down between coats on foam wings and sheets fuselage to seal the wood then wall paper paste through the tissue and a coat of dope works fine 😀 I have built the Spitfire x2 Mustang, 109 & 190, my favourite is the 109, but the Mustang is easiest to launch with the intake under the wing. Regards Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 Interesting way of applying the tissue Ray, not heard the use of wallpaper paste before. Do you have any pictures of your planes?................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 Here are the three scale scheme options i am considering, any thoughts from the forum? All courtesy of the wings palette website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Wood 4 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Hi Martin, My fun fighters were back in the late 80's but here's a 68" Brian Taylor Harvard which is completely tissue covered with wall paper paste it dries an disappears , a hang over from Keil Kraft Flying Scale Series in the 60's 😀 Try it on a sample of really works Regards Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Z Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Martin I like the 3rd one with all the blue BUT it may go missing in the air, so I’d go with the middle one I have the same kit to make, but the ic version. I quite like the fighter/bomber colour scheme. S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Wood 4 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Hi Martin, Is the Carvair in you profile picture one your models ? G-ASHZ, always fancied the C54 conversion. Regards Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan h Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Id go for the top one for something different. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted January 11, 2020 Author Share Posted January 11, 2020 Yes Ray, the Carvair is a 100" span control line model built in the 60`s by two guys who ran the Wings and Wheels model shop in Leigh on Sea Essex. It is powered by four diesel engines and was flown at country shows etc, i have a couple of original pictures of it being flown. After it was retired it hung in their shop till it was purchased by a full size Carvair Captain Laurie Rowe and it was then hung in his dining room until his death several years ago. His widow sold a lot of his stuff off including the model and some carvair engine parts and an original prop unit, i purchased all the stuff being a Carvair fan since i was in my teens. It is one piece so was a bu**er to transport and it now hangs in my lobby at the top of the stairs. I have sent you a pm regarding the covering of the 109. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Wood 4 Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Hi Martin, I' m a car ferry enthusiast, spent my childhood holidays at Greatstone watching the Bristol Freighters fly out of Lydd, I had a freighter design published back in 1999 ! That led me to meet loads of ex Silvercity pilots who went into jets. Also the late Pete Lowe & I shared the passion for freighters and were members of the Silvercity Association. Regards Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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