Peterpools Posted April 1, 2023 Author Share Posted April 1, 2023 Thanks Kev, very much appreciated. Not quite over the hump yet but getting there. Both Gaz and John's build show the kit is quite buildable - just way too much work adding all the never to be seen parts and details. The overly busy and at times hard to decipher instructions don't help either. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 1, 2023 Author Share Posted April 1, 2023 Thanks John Slow but steady progress. Working on the wings and fingers crossed all the panels will fit as tight as yours. Just seems to be creating parts for the sake of parts. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 Well Peter, you made a huge step in your build and everything looks good to my eye. Hopefully the wing attachment isn't providing more unwanted obstacles. Cheers Rob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 1, 2023 Author Share Posted April 1, 2023 Thanks Rob Fingers crossed - working on both wings and of course, loads of internal parts. I understand ZM philosophy of all the lower wing panels but in my opinion, they should have molded the underside panel as a single piece instead of four pieces and if the builder wanted to remove a panel to show off the interior, just cut the wing panel. For those not selecting to show off the interior of the wing, the single panel surely would have been a cleaner fit with not butt joints to play with. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 7 hours ago, Peterpools said: Thanks John Slow but steady progress. Working on the wings and fingers crossed all the panels will fit as tight as yours. Just seems to be creating parts for the sake of parts. The wing panels did fit well on mine although I had to use a little plastic putty along a couple of seams. Not a big deal. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 1, 2023 Author Share Posted April 1, 2023 John Agreed but why not just make the top and bottom panels one large part each and cut them if needed? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted April 2, 2023 Share Posted April 2, 2023 Looks awesome, Peter. I like seeing your painting skills shine through. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 2, 2023 Author Share Posted April 2, 2023 Thanks Gaz. very much appreciated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 Looking good Peter, everything looks refined and pristine……. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 3, 2023 Author Share Posted April 3, 2023 Thanks Phil, much appreciated. Still plowing ahead, making slow progress but it's progress in the right direction. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 Exceptionally clean work Peter, the kit is fighting you a little, but I know already that the end result will be spectacular. I also like the level of research, patience and your determination to get it right. Joy to follow. Gonna add your obligatory, : "Keep them coming" Cheers 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 3, 2023 Author Share Posted April 3, 2023 Thank Martin for the very kind comments. Finally test fitting the wings and an update later today. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 3, 2023 Author Share Posted April 3, 2023 MAKING PROGRESS The Empennage I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to correct the vertical and horizontal stabilizer issue as it seems ZM missed the mark depicting the empennage. I've been studying quite a few photographs and have realized (hope I'm right) the aerodynamic plate (thanks Hubert) in between the fuselage and the horizontal stabilizer should not be attached to the fuselage and only attached to the horizontal stabilizer as it is part of the trim system and a bit too thick for scale appearance. This led to fit and appearance issues. I thinned down the aerodynamic plate as best I could and cleaned up the balance of the assembly … not perfect but at least appearing a bit better. ZM should have molded the aerodynamic plate as a separate part and the modeler could have thinned it down to whatever thickness was desired. Seems to me to be a better solution and at the same time molded a more tradition tail. The wings – what can I say, nicely done and molded in ZM’s normal style, there are a lot of parts that need to be very carefully assembled or the wing skins will not fit properly. The upper skin is one piece plus the wing tip and the lower skin is three parts plus the lower wing tip. What took time again trying to understand the isometric drawings as to what is actually being shown for parts orientation and location was a chore. The wheel wells were a nerve-racking experience. I gave up following the instructions for this assembly, added the lower wing panel, directly under the wheel well and the assembly was then easy as pie. Geeze if I could figure that out as a much easier method, why couldn’t ZM? Here I deviated from the construction sequence, first adding the front and upper wing fairings, which helped align and locate the wings. The wing fairings had now dried for a good 24 hours and time for cleaning up all the seams and test fitting the wing – not bad at all. What made this portion of the assembly finicky was the need for so many parts to work together and of course, a good portion of the underside detail parts were now closed up and hidden away. Just so much work goes into all these parts and not knowing what will actually be seen and not seen, adds to the uncertainty. I'm not sure how much progress I’ll be making this week as I have surgical procedure scheduled for Thursday and as we get closer to the date, just too nervous to do any work. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 43 minutes ago, Peterpools said: MAKING PROGRESS The Empennage I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to correct the vertical and horizontal stabilizer issue as it seems ZM missed the mark depicting the empennage. I've been studying quite a few photographs and have realized (hope I'm right) the aerodynamic plate (thanks Hubert) in between the fuselage and the horizontal stabilizer should not be attached to the fuselage and only attached to the horizontal stabilizer as it is part of the trim system and a bit too thick for scale appearance. This led to fit and appearance issues. I thinned down the aerodynamic plate as best I could and cleaned up the balance of the assembly … not perfect but at least appearing a bit better. ZM should have molded the aerodynamic plate as a separate part and the modeler could have thinned it down to whatever thickness was desired. Seems to me to be a better solution and at the same time molded a more tradition tail. The wings – what can I say, nicely done and molded in ZM’s normal style, there are a lot of parts that need to be very carefully assembled or the wing skins will not fit properly. The upper skin is one piece plus the wing tip and the lower skin is three parts plus the lower wing tip. What took time again trying to understand the isometric drawings as to what is actually being shown for parts orientation and location was a chore. The wheel wells were a nerve-racking experience. I gave up following the instructions for this assembly, added the lower wing panel, directly under the wheel well and the assembly was then easy as pie. Geeze if I could figure that out as a much easier method, why couldn’t ZM? Here I deviated from the construction sequence, first adding the front and upper wing fairings, which helped align and locate the wings. The wing fairings had now dried for a good 24 hours and time for cleaning up all the seams and test fitting the wing – not bad at all. What made this portion of the assembly finicky was the need for so many parts to work together and of course, a good portion of the underside detail parts were now closed up and hidden away. Just so much work goes into all these parts and not knowing what will actually be seen and not seen, adds to the uncertainty. I'm not sure how much progress I’ll be making this week as I have surgical procedure scheduled for Thursday and as we get closer to the date, just too nervous to do any work. Looking really good Peter! The wings look like they are "just right". I had good luck on my build as the wings fit without and hassles. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 3, 2023 Author Share Posted April 3, 2023 Thanks John and that is surely reassuring to know. Hoping by the weekend to being close to priming and starting for me, the fun part of the build - painting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 If someone had told me that I - of all people - would one day advise another modeler on the whereabouts of a Me-109 😂 … Nice progress, Peter. Some small gaps still to fill around the rear fin / plate junction on the left side, no ? And good luck for the surgery 🤞 ! Hubert 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 3, 2023 Author Share Posted April 3, 2023 Hubert Still looking and finding those small gaps but eventually, Mr Surfacer 1000 should do the trick. Thank you for your well wishes on Thursday procedure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 9, 2023 Author Share Posted April 9, 2023 PREPPING FOR PRIMING TEST FITTING AND MORE TEST FITTING Not much modelling this week as I had a hospital surgical procedure and needed a good few days of rest at home. What alignment worries I imagined I might have from the very early stages of the build are now the cause of some fit issues. My guess is I wasn’t brutally careful enough at the very early stages, most likely when building and installing the front office and surely this is the cause of needing a lot of test fitting and adjusting. Thinking back, adding all the ZM PE to the IP seemed as a good idea then but has caused some fit issues as well – just should have gone with the included panel, painted, added the decals and moved on. The engine bay wasn't perfectly square and required some work and a bit of 'builder’s license' to square up the assembly up as best as possible. I wanted to display my engine cowling a bit differently then John did, so I decided to have the lower engine cowling closed, while leaving both of the upper cowling panels open. The instructions again were vague for me as how to install the cowling hinge bracket and a few emails to John, helped work out a solution. Radiator flaps are going to be left open, the flaps will be in the lowered position and the ailerons slightly offset. There are four combinations of hinges to pick from depending on the control surfaces positions and care needs to be taken to choose the right set. Exactly how they fit into the rear of the wing is a bit of a guessing game. Slats were installed in the closed position – as they just look better. The remaining lower fuselage panels were added, sealing off forever the last of the interior details. The prop and spinner assembly were built up, look good and ready for primer. Checking for any obvious re-do’s and now it’s priming time. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted April 9, 2023 Share Posted April 9, 2023 Looking good Peter! 🖕 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 9, 2023 Author Share Posted April 9, 2023 Thanks John Getting there slowly but surely now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted April 9, 2023 Share Posted April 9, 2023 Beautiful work as always Peter. 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 9, 2023 Author Share Posted April 9, 2023 Martin, Thank you - getting there slowly but surely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM Posted April 9, 2023 Share Posted April 9, 2023 Get on the mend and get back to work!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted April 9, 2023 Share Posted April 9, 2023 Looks good there Peter. Seems like you've cleared the big hurdles now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted April 9, 2023 Author Share Posted April 9, 2023 Thanks Kev Sure hope so, as I'll the results of my lung biopsy procedure on Thursday and then know the whole story. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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