Modelling the Messerschmitt Bf 109B/C/D/E

Desert Jabo

Tamiya’s 1/48-scale Messerschmitt Bf 109E kits in the box

Tamiya released its 1/48-scale Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3 kit in 1996. This was one of the first World War II aircraft kits that Tamiya produced after a long hiatus, and it clearly proclaimed the Japanese company’s hallmarks of clever engineering, simple construction and high level of detail.

The shape of the Emil’s nose must be particularly tricky to capture in plastic, because the first run of Tamiya’s Bf 109E-3 featured a flawed engine cowl. By the time Tamiya released its Bf 109E-4/7 Trop kit in 1998, however, the nose had been re-tooled to an accurate profile. All subsequent production runs of the Bf 109E-3 also included the corrected parts.

Indeed, both kits share identical grey plastic sprues, even though many of the options are not used on the 109E-3 variant. 66 magnificently tooled grey styrene parts are included in the box, with a further five in thin, clear, distortion free plastic.

The kits are engineered with a structurally solid fuselage thanks to a ‘blank’ engine block moulded into the nose. This reinforces the forward fuselage, ensuring a positive mount to align the upper and lower engine cowls. Separate slats and flaps are supplied, along with a 300-litre drop tank, 250kg bomb, three styles of spinner, trop filter and separate windscreen armour. Surface detail is by way of crisp, fine recessed panel lines and raised fabric-tape detail on control surfaces. Cockpit detail is not bad, but could do with some extra attention or replacement, especially considering that the canopy is designed to be displayed open. Two stout tabs are moulded to the starboard side to secure the canopy in the open position – a very nice touch.

Tamiya’s Emil is also a pleasure to build. In fact, this viceless kit would be a perfect beginner’s project.

100-hour service

Tamiya’s excellent Emil kits have drawn the attention of not only modellers, but also accessory manufacturers. There is a plethora of aftermarket accessories, conversions and detail sets available for these models.

CMK offers a full engine bay, which includes mounts and cowl machine guns. They also supply a well-detailed propeller assembly with a detailed spinner backplate. I thought it would be interesting to combine these with the Tamiya kit for a maintenance scene.

CMK’s DB 601 engine is beautifully detailed, but comprises relatively few parts as much of the detail is cast in place. Assembly is nevertheless tricky due to the fragile and tiny parts. The instructions are also vague regarding exact placement of various pipes, wiring and even larger items such as the oil cooler. Additional reference is essential.

I further complicated construction when I dropped the assembled and painted engine on a hard floor, sending engine mounts and machine guns scattering into the darkest and dustiest corners of the room. After too long on my hands and knees I eventually recovered all the parts and assembled the engine for a second time.

Tamiya’s kit fuselage was prepared for the engine. The nose was carefully cut off using a razor saw. I was a little too enthusiastic below the gun cowl on the starboard side, also removing a thin slice of fuselage below the panel line. A narrow wedge of plastic was glued in place to correct this mistake.

The cockpit was less traumatic. I used KMC’s 1/48-scale Bf 109E cockpit, which has now been re-packaged by True Details. This is a well-detailed front office with cast-on cushion and harness for the seat, and impressively three-dimensional sidewalls. Construction and painting presented no challenges, and the big casting block behind the resin cockpit lent strength to the fuselage halves. The new cockpit was trapped between the fuselage halves, and the airframe was quickly assembled.

The wings and rear fuselage were painted and weathered before the engine was installed. Polly Scale paints were used – RLM 79 Desert Sand and RLM 78 Light Blue. When the main colours had dried, the fuselage and wings were masked for the white North African theatre markings.

The model was sprayed with Future in preparation for decals, but the floor polish proved to be temperamental. Instead of a smooth gloss, the surface was covered with satin blotches. A coat of Tamiya Clear covered this unsightly mess and provided a glossy base for decals.

Bf 109E fighter-bomber decals are fairly rare, but Hasegawa’s Bf 109E-4/7 Trop kit includes one Jabo option. The unique markings were cut from Hasegawa’s decal sheet. These were quite thick, but the edges eventually settled down with a couple of applications of Mr Mark Softer, a strong decal solvent. The thick decals also were sliced along panel lines to assist conformity. National markings and a few selected stencils were sourced from various Aeromaster decal sheets.

When the time came to bring the completed engine and airframe sub-assemblies together, something was still not quite right. The engine appeared to be mounted a few millimetres too far forward, and the machine guns seemed to be a millimetre or so too far back. I think that CMK’s top engine mounts might be too long. To avoid this problem, I suggest that the resin ammo bins and cowl guns should be installed in the fuselage first, and only then should the engine assembly (including the exhausts and the forward lower cowl) be fitted to the fuselage. That way, the engine mounts can be trimmed to the correct length before they are glued to the airframe.

CMK’s propeller assembly presented no such challenges, and looked great when finished. The front of the spinner backplate and the distinctive pitch collars were painted Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminium and weathered with a wash of thinned raw umber oil paint to impart the impression of oily metal.

A number of airfield accessories were prepared. I wanted to jack the rear of my Emil up, but I did not have any 1/48-scale trestles. I saw a photo of a Bf 109E-7 in Sicily propped up on fuel drums, so I created a similar arrangement. One of the fuel drums is from Verlinden, while the other is from Tamiya. The small jacks were scratch built from brass rod and strip. The ladder and table are from Eduard figure sets, while the bomb trolley was produced by Revell-Monogram.