Peterpools

Hi John Nice progress on the paint work and it's so easy to see you're using Xtracolor, as the finish is so smooth and glossy. Yup, completely agree that all the interior details just disappear by this stage of the game. I'm close to closing up the fuselage on my build and all the interior detail is so quickly vanishing except what can be seen through the small access panel.

Hubert Looking forward to your Cutlass build as time allows.

THE FRONT OFFICE With the PE IP completely repainted and, in all reality, turned out to be a waste of time and money, it was time to tackle the front office ZM style. I know I have been somewhat critical of the kit and the same issues with the DB 605 applies to the front office. Wonderfully detailed parts, assembly in spots a bit more then finicky and the over complicated instructions were surely not a plus. As careful as I could be, there were some fit/alignment issues, especially with the two side panels and no matter what I did, the front end of the assembly suffered. While part fit for the most part is good, it’s not rock positive and tight. Like Tamiya, paint needs to be removed from all mating surfaces as it greatly effects the part fit. I test fitted the cockpit assembly into the two fuselage halves and all seems to fit well. My biggest gripe and frustration were the two key landing gear attachment parts; how and when they are added to the 109 could be a lot better. They are absolutely critical parts and with hindsight, surely could have been added much earlier, as I tend to follow instruction assembly sequences and this is way too late in the build process. The bulkhead had already been painted and glued into place, making for the chance and likelihood of error an alignment error a strong possibility. Why didn’t ZM just mold these three parts as a single piece, insuring everything would be straight, true and of maximum strength. Tackled just the seatbelts portion at this stage and decided to use a combination of the AirScale Luftwaffe WWII set and the ZM PE sets. A solid two hours were needed but they do look good. The repainted IP and cowling are just being test fitted and seem to be OK. The aux fuel tank line/gauge came out well and I was very careful to use Model Air RLM 04 Gelb Yellow as most yellows in the stash are way too bright and the wrong shade.

John Absolutely so - ZM needs to keep in mind that when so many parts are needed, all depending on each other for the alignment of the next or it's trouble in paradise, less is more. critical alignment parts such as the two parts that the gear attaches to the cockpit bulkhead, should have been one part for all the obvious reasons and not three. Detail is one thing but critical detail - something way different. Thinking back on Carl's 109, he had trouble with these two parts and it derailed his build.

Carl Awesome video and yes, it does wonderfully show the diversity of aircraft being flown by the Navy in that era.

Gaz and John I'm in your camp John with my feeling on the kit. I've been working as carefully as I can and still struggled with some of the cockpit parts. I have my reservations on how well I did with the landing gear attachments parts at this stage - surely there has to be a better way of molding those two parts in place, so they are spot on the money and so key to the build. Mine look good (❓) but I won't know for sure how I did until later on in the build. Absolutely way over engineered with way too many never to be seen parts after assembly and while the instructions are very detailed, the isometric drawings are way more confusing then a help and even a good number of the plain drawings show way too much of unnecessary details for locating the parts being worked on.

Looking so good 👍

Right with Hubert

Thanks Gaz and I agree, I should have used the kits IP and not purchased ZM's PE set, which was way more work then it was worth and I wound up painting it anyway. Front office is nearly complete and test fitting the entire assembly right now into the fuselage halves - so far so good.

Rob Wonderful progress on the Arizona as this stage of weathering added an amazing amount of life and interest to the hull, shafts and the propeller assembly - lightly and delicately done.

Just like Harv said - nothing but the best!

Thank Carl, just can't tell you how grateful I am for going the extra mile for me; solved a huge problem as the New Zealand Postal System didn't recognize my zip code and prevented me from pre-ordering the kit, Carl to the rescue. AWESOME! What a few days: first the Revell Hurricane and now the Kotare Spitfire. I'll be knee deep in RAF WWII Day fighters for a good long while.

Absolutely! Money and time on ZM's part could have been better spent on working on part fit, better instructions or even, now here is a shocker: a lower price!

Mark Hlad to see the Big Sikorsky is back on the bench and in your capable hands

John Making terrific progress and I would say you are over the hump with the ZM 109 but I don't want to jinx you. I finally finished the main front office and spent a full day doing the seatbelts from a combination of AirScale and Eduard sets. Still swimming through a sea of parts that will never be seen - what a waste of time for sure.

Thanks Oliver, your way to kind. I only wish I have a tenth of your talent.

John most likely and a good reason why 3D vinyl cockpit sets have risen to the top. I'm pretty much staying now with my IP, having completely re-painted it and wasted so much time on money for nothing. I could, no should have done right from the start.

Thanks Phil, I'm finding the exact and just can't understand how right they got their F4's and all the issues their 32nd scale aircraft have - just too much over engineering, I guess. I'll be checking and checking as I go.

Mark Nice birthday present and I'll be waiting for your build thread. Enjoy!

Carl You and the boys had a great day at the show and surely bought some kits at terrific prices. The museum absolutely added to the day and enjoyment.

Rob Completely agree and I've bit the bullet and repainted the panel and the RLM 66 is just fine now. Way too much work rescuing Eduards PE when it should have looked that way in the first place.

Thanks Hubert for the explanation and lesson learned. I repainted the IP. looks so much better and in the end didn't save any time. Not knowing very much about Bf109G's, will this Yahu panel work: Yahu 3203? 1/32 Yahu Models Me-109G - Instrument Panel - Squadron.com

Gaz Agreed, Martin is King and Grand Pooh -Bah (From the Honeymooners Show staring Jackie Gleason from back in the 50's). Just can't get any better then that.

Thanks John , much appreciated.

Thanks John. After reading your comments and seeing your photo, Eduard's PE IP is off the mark and I just finished repainting it. I should have known how their IP would look before buying the PE set.