HubertB Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 That is the problem with the Eduard preprinted PE: they use a 4-colour printing process akin to your household printer, and not with a very high resolution on top of it, and the dots associated with this process do show … In this respect, Yahu seems to have a different approach, as, of course, Quinta and Red Fox, with a 3D process on top of it. And, of course, Airscale use a - very fine - silk-screen process. This is why I never use the Eduard printed PE. Just not worth the money IMHO. Hubert 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 I second Hubert concerning most of Eduard's printed PE. The IP's often look rasterized, but I've seen exceptions, where the print was dense and correct color wise. Well, Yahu, they are printed(?) way better, with no visible distortion and they have a good 'glass' effect for the bezels. For my PZL and some other builds, I liked them a lot, but I found them lacking in US panels, like the Corsair and Dauntless, where most of their instruments have yellow printed dials, which should be mostly white. Anyway Peter, you might try, how much of the IP will be seen after installation, maybe you can get away with what you have and use this 'Men in Black device' to forget about it . Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 Peter. Two pages already. The engine is stunning in itself, if the cockpit is half as good I’d be very happy. On ZM, I built the 51D and enjoyed it but with all the internal details I had to keep checking the fuselage panels fitted correctly, which they did but care had to be taken. The one item I hated was the firewall / engine cradle connection, could do better. Their F4 was stunning in every way. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 7 hours ago, Peterpools said: 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 That Yahu IP looks better than the other but it still has a few "speckles". Probably not readily visible when installed, etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 The Kit IP and cockpit is great with the decals provided and some UV gel for the glass gauges. Seat belts is really all you need. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 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. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 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. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 The interior looks excellent, Peter. One of my biggest hates of the model (thanks for reminding me) is the seam that will form once you put the tub into the fuselage. On both sides, just outside of the area you have devoted time and effort to, you will have a seam to fill. Below is what mine looked like after putting the cockpit tub in and gluing on the windscreen. But then... a little too late, I remembered it had to look like this: (don't pay any attention to the red arrow) Note that there is no seam by his left shoulder. This is one of the things I wish zm had engineered cleverly. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 Thanks Gaz, very much appreciated. Looking at both photographs, I can see how you handled the edge seam and where ZM missed the boat on the actually to be seen details. I'm with you and wish ZM would have devoted a lot more time and effort into the correctly replicating the visible details and left almost all the hidden details out - a waste of time and money. I'm almost ready to button up the fuselage, added all the fuselage details, which I painted then RLM 02 only for what little could be seen through the open access panel. I decided to add all the fuselage ribs as they are what align both halves otherwise it becomes one huge unsupported butt join, top and bottom. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 11 hours ago, Peterpools said: Thanks Gaz, very much appreciated. Looking at both photographs, I can see how you handled the edge seam and where ZM missed the boat on the actually to be seen details. I'm with you and wish ZM would have devoted a lot more time and effort into the correctly replicating the visible details and left almost all the hidden details out - a waste of time and money. I'm almost ready to button up the fuselage, added all the fuselage details, which I painted then RLM 02 only for what little could be seen through the open access panel. I decided to add all the fuselage ribs as they are what align both halves otherwise it becomes one huge unsupported butt join, top and bottom. I used the fuselage ribs as well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 Hi Gaz I've gone back, bookmarked your build and refer to it more and more as I find ZM's instructions to be lacking and unclear with certain details, that have led me down the wrong path. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Looking real nice Peter. Check out the perforated tubular frame within the frame of Erla haube, it provided a flow of a hot air to defrost the canopy. But don't worry about that, nobody wants to know the perks of German engineering. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 2 hours ago, Martinnfb said: Looking real nice Peter. Check out the perforated tubular frame within the frame of Erla haube, it provided a flow of a hot air to defrost the canopy. But don't worry about that, nobody wants to know the perks of German engineering. Don't forget that ZM omitted the canopy latch lever and the parts that hold the bulletproof glass to the hinged canopy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Big time ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 30, 2023 Author Share Posted March 30, 2023 Martin Pretty clever way of heating the cockpit at altitude. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 30, 2023 Author Share Posted March 30, 2023 Hi Gaz I've been struggling just getting the kit together after fitting and painting the rear interior and details at least RLM 02 for some effect which has caused all sorts of fit issues - the thickness of the paint has affected the precise fit. I also was a bit overzealous in gluing the cockpit to into the fuselage half and now need to fine tune one of the upper bear bracket holes for a better fit. ZM should have gone the route of how Tamiya secures their Merlin's to the firewall and not solely rely on the engine bearers. Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to correct the vertical and horizontal stabilizers fit and look as ZM did a poor job. I've been downloading and studying a lot of photos and have come to the conclusion (hope I'm right) the plate in between the fuselage and the horizontal stabilizer should be attached to the horizontal stabilizer and pivot with it as part of the trim system and it is way too thick. Still looking at photos and trying to understand then entire empennage of the 109, as photos just look different then the kit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 34 minutes ago, Peterpools said: Hi Gaz [•••] I've been downloading and studying a lot of photos and have come to the conclusion (hope I'm right) the plate in between the fuselage and the horizontal stabilizer should be attached to the horizontal stabilizer and pivot with it as part of the trim system and it is way too thick. Still looking at photos and trying to understand then entire empennage of the 109, as photos just look different then the kit. You are absolutely right, Peter: the plate is an aerodynamic fairing that moves with the horizontal stabilator as it is being trimmed. As such, there is a (small) gap between the plate and the fin. The thickness of the plate is a result of molding limitations … and Radu’s interpretation of its width, based on a - IWM, I believe- preserved 109 G. Hubert 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 30, 2023 Author Share Posted March 30, 2023 Hubert, thanks you for confirming my research to this point. I'm going to thin out the plate and leave a small gap between it and the fuselage. Also need to spend a lot of time cleaning up the empennage as there are seams, gaps and steps that for the most part shouldn't be there. After reaching this point in the construction, I completely agree with Rob that the 109 suffers from a lot of the same issues previous ZM kits do: over engineered, way too many never to be seen parts after assembly and the instructions need to be cleaned up where the assembly drawings are a lot easier to understand and follow. I even found what I believe is an interior control rod that goes from the rudder to the tailwheel, allowing the tailwheel to be steerable instead of cables from the rudder to the tailwheel. Why even include such part that will never ever be seen? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 NOSE TO TAIL The rear fuselage interior - Pretty much a total waste of time adding all the detail parts and a quick pass of RLM 02. Only reasons for adding the soon to be nearly invisible details: The internal ribs would add rigidity to the aft portion of the fuselage, help align and support the fuselage halves while being glued to together – a stronger glue joint will result. Leaving the access panel open will allow a bit of a peek inside and thusly the reason for taking some time in painting, but very little detail painting. I even found what I believe is an interior pushrod that goes from the rudder to the tailwheel, allowing the tailwheel to be steerable instead of cables from the rudder to the tailwheel. Why even include such part that will never ever be seen? Once the fuselage halves were glued up and dried, the main gear was attached. Followed the instructions, hope they are on correctly. Planning on painting and finishing them later on. At this point, I re-scribed the panel lines rolling over the top spine of the fuselage as well as re-scribing the central spine seamline back in. Once the gear had dried, it was time to attach the DB 605 engine. With all the handing, I did manage to break off one piece of plumbing on the top of the engine, which is now the bottom and also started to gingerly wear through a bit of the plumbing paint, which needes to be touched up. Why in the world did ZM choose to add the 30mm cannon as just a detail part and just pass it through the firewall? Why not have made it a structural part for attaching the engine to the firewall for extra added strength over the long run, as almost nothing can be seen of it once it passes through the firewall. Up next: tackling the empennage - a few issues that need to be corrected. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 Seems you may of made it over the hump?but by watching it proves the kit is build-able I am glad the only one I added to the stash was the Ki-45. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 Coming along very well Peter. Looking good! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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