ZM Bf 109G Hartmann

[Peterpools]

UNDERWAY

With the Revell Spitfire done and in the books, it was time to get going on my Buddy Build with John and of course, with the incredible speed and skills, there is no way I’ll catch up but I will give it go to at least try to stay on the same lap or so.

 My plan is to build the 109 OOB, kit decals and follow the instructions to the Tee, including the painting profile of Eric Hartmann’s aircraft. The only aftermarket I bought with the kit was ZM’s IP and cockpit PE set, which surely looks as it came straight from Eduard. Since the kit didn't include any seatbelts and harnesses, I purchased a set of the new AirScale 1/32 Luftwaffe seatbelts set and of course, smack dab on the PE set were seatbelts. Time to revise my plan and combine the two.

Paints are going to be MRP for airbrush work and brush painting will be Model Air and Tamiya, both lacquer and acrylic. My very first 109, so the ZM instructions are going to be my guide and hopefully easy to follow.

First up is the engine; a BD 605 inverted V12. Basic assembly is standard ZM style right down to the molded in cylinders. I did stray from the course with some of the color call outs. I decided to paint the engine semi-gloss black rather the flat black and all the plumbing either with Tamiya Lacquer Gloss Aluminum, Flat Aluminum and Mr Metal Color Aluminum but none silver as the instructions called for, which I thought would be a bit much.

Right with John in that the plumbing does have a cuss factor all to its own. I followed the instructions step by step, went slower then slow, gave myself a good number of headaches trying to figure out how all the plumbing actually goes on and where. At the start of the plumbing, the engine bears needed to be installed, creating some installation issues with the aluminum pipes. The engine bearers were primer with MRP Black Primer and painted with MRP RLM 02. The details were highlighted with Tamiya Dark Brown, Dark Gray and Black Panel Line Washes. The entire assembly was lightly dry brushed with Tamiya German Gray to bring out the details and add a feeling of use and weathering, without being too heavy and noticeable.

The exhausts and exhaust shields still need to be painted, weathered a bit and added.

After finishing the engine assembly and looking back, the assembly sequence could be improved as not all the steps seem to be in the correct order. Also, while ZM provided a good number of drawings and photographs, larger and clearer three view drawings would be easier to follow. Plumbing attaching points and alignment are at times hard to determine. Photos show I need to go back and paint a few rubber connectors that I missed.

Ready to start the second stage of the build: front office.

 

[HubertB]

Great start on the power-egg, Peter 👍 !

Hubert

[Peterpools]

Thanks Hubert - what a pain for sure but worth all the work. Now onto the front office.

[Martinnfb]

Pretty engine Peter, are you planning to expose it all in the ZM style? 

[Martinnfb]

Bunch of nice pictures here

 

[JohnB]

Nice work on the engine Peter.

[Peterpools]

Martin

Much appreciated and I wish I had these photos beforehand as I can see a lot of differences in ZM paintings instructions and the kits instructions plus a lot of details I could have added.

A few good cockpit detail photos would be very appreciated.

 

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks John

I still have a small headache and I can hear echos of all the 'cuss words' needed to get the engine built. After carefully looking at the photos Martin posted, ZM surely left out a lot of easy details and there are also a lot of differences in the parts colors. 

 

[GazzaS]

Peter,

      The engine looks great!

[Martinnfb]

triple click please

[Peterpools]

Thanks Gaz, very much appreciated. At some point in the build, I'm going to have to decide how much of the engine cowl to add.

 

[Peterpools]

Martin

You're a prince! I triple clicked and saw the phot under it - awesome for sure.

 

 

 

[Martinnfb]

just to enlarge it on a new page for higher resolution , no 3d sorry

here is mock up pit video

 

[Peterpools]

Martin

OMG - perfecto and what an education I'm getting. I've started on the ZM front office and the photos and video are going to work wonders.

Thanks so much.

 

[BlrwestSiR]

Peter, that's an absolutely fantastic job on the engine. This is going to be a great build along with John's to follow. 

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Carl, very much appreciated. The DB 605 was for the most part enjoyable to do but the piping surely tested my resolve more then a few times. In the end, it does make for one good looking engine.

I saw I missed a few rubber connections that Il paint tomorrow and then dive into the front office. John and I have been trying for quite a long time to hook up for a Buddy Build. We came close with the Revell Spitfires and we're getting closer with the ZM 109's.

 

 

[KevinM]

I went Holy Crap on your work to the engine but ALL those pipes!!!!!!!!!!

[Peterpools]

Thanks Kev, a plumber's dream.

I normally remove all the parts from the sprue for the assembly I'm working on, spend hours trying to see all the tiny mold lines (never, ever seem to find them all) and then it's air brush time. Of course, that was the easy part - trying to figure out which pipe was which was a chore unto itself. Someday, I'll remember to label those types of parts as I remove them from the sprues  

[DocRob]

The engine looks great Peter, very crisp and neat. I thought about buying the ZM-109 too, initially, but luckily I've read the different build threads. I would have enormously disappointed by the kit and I cannot understand, what ZM is doing with some of their 1/32 offerings. I built the TA-152 and didn't like the kit at all, with the fit of the cowlings and the engine strut / wingroot section as the biggest areas of concern. ZM hasn't learned from that, it seems. The same probs with the same basic layout (single inline engine fighter).
I have some more ZM kits in stash, namely the Horton and HE-219 and the Mustang IV, which follows the above mentioned line. I'm disappointed with the ZM's LS approach to a degree, which is only equaled by Italeri, whose kits I ignore, because what I've seen from them is unworthy for a big company. ZM claims quality and they fail way to often for my liking with the exception of their especially well made 1/48 Phantom, which I had the pleasure to build.

Rant off and back to your great build Peter.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Very much appreciated your comments on the DB 605 engine build.

For the most part, I do agree with your and thought feeling about ZM kits. Some of the detailing is amazing such as their engines and cockpits. Negative side for me with ZM in general has been their over engineering (engine internals?) and all the detail parts that will never be seen and some fit issues. ZM instruction are very good, sometimes not so good and for me the reliance isometric drawings for determining part location and orientation are more difficult and vague then helpful. Their three view draws are actually a bit too detailed and some of what they show could be left out helping part location and orientation. Yes, I do like their color callout system. All in all, I do feel their kits are well worth the cost, I have a number in the stash that I want to build and yes, their F4's are awesome. 

I did see the next version of the Bf 109 is going to be list for around $130 while the original release was $94 - why the hefty price increase? 

 

 

 

[Peterpools]

THE FRONT OFFICE

THE IP

Starting the front office and the first assembly to accomplish: the IP. ZM offers two ways to build the instrument panel; a solid gray panel and a clear plastic panel. There are instructions on how to do both. When I purchased the kit one of the two AM items I bought was the ZM PE 109 Interior set which offered now a third way of constructing the IP and my choice. The ZM PE 109 Interior Set, was made in the Czech Republic and surely by Eduard. There is a good deal of PE parts on the single fret which aren’t used and must be for the next version on its way plus a seat belt set as well.

After using the Quinta 3D decals for five builds now, you do get a bit spoiled. Application is much faster, easier then PE and the 3D look is a huge plus. A solid hour plus was needed to remove all the details from the solid gray plastic IP, which would also be required if using a 3D vinyl decal panel. Carefully removing each piece of PE as needed, filing off the attaching nibs and gluing into place with CA or Micro Krystal Klear; nerve racking at least. The biggest two negatives with PE; chipping the paint off when handling with tweezers and very carefully applying the CA to the second layers which are a lot of the instrument bezels and add to the 3D effect.   

Biggest plus for PE: much sharper details, painted details appear crisper and cleaner and edges are sharp and not rounded.   

 Back to the front office and learning more about RLM numbers and what is what.

 Yup, I broke my unwritten rule about macro and paid the price. The IP PE has all the hallmarks of an Eduard IP panel and after reading Johnm comments and viewing his image, I went back and repainted any of the area on the IP that was RLM 66 for a smoother and more uniform appearance. 

[JohnB]

59 minutes ago, Peterpools said:

THE FRONT OFFICE

THE IP

Starting the front office and the first assembly to accomplish: the IP. ZM offers two ways to build the instrument panel; a solid gray panel and a clear plastic panel. There are instructions on how to do both. When I purchased the kit one of the two AM items I bought was the ZM PE 109 Interior set which offered now a third way of constructing the IP and my choice. The ZM PE 109 Interior Set, was made in the Czech Republic and surely by Eduard. There is a good deal of PE parts on the single fret which aren’t used and must be for the next version on its way plus a seat belt set as well.

After using the Quinta 3D decals for five builds now, you do get a bit spoiled. Application is much faster, easier then PE and the 3D look is a huge plus. A solid hour plus was needed to remove all the details from the solid gray plastic IP, which would also be required if using a 3D vinyl decal panel. Carefully removing each piece of PE as needed, filing off the attaching nibs and gluing into place with CA or Micro Krystal Klear; nerve racking at least. The biggest two negatives with PE; chipping the paint off when handling with tweezers and very carefully applying the CA to the second layers which are a lot of the instrument bezels and add to the 3D effect.   

Biggest plus for PE: much sharper details, painted details appear crisper and cleaner and edges are sharp and not rounded.   

Job done, drying and very pleased with the results.  Back to the front office and learning more about RLM numbers and what is what.

 Yup, I broke my unwritten rule about macro but it's tiny. The IP PE has all the hallmarks of an Eduard IP panel and I was thinking of going back and brush painting out the RLM 66 for a smoother appearance. But in reality, it's so tiny and looking at it 1:1, you just can't see the background finish that well.

In my own very humble opinion Peter I'd either paint over the 66 on this one or do another one using one of the other kit parts. That speckle pattern just doesn't look right even though the panel is small.  On my build I used the gray kit panel, painted it overall 66, then applied gloss black on the dials. Then I dry brushed the raised detail. Just a suggestion.

[Peterpools]

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.

 

 

[JohnB]

33 minutes ago, Peterpools said:

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.

 

 

I'm glad to have been of some help Peter.

[Peterpools]

Thanks John , much appreciated.