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Converting the beautiful Zvezda Bf109 F-.2 into a G-2


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The Russian kit is so beautiful that I couldnt resist converting it into a G-2 which (hopefully) will be a tad more detailed and accurate than the Hasegawa offerings!No need to describe the kits quality in terms of fit and details because its been done a million times in the past.I can only say that the parts click together and the fit is a là Tamiya.Detailing is mindboggling and in some areas is equal to if not better than what can be found in many resin detailing sets.The plastic is very soft, therefore much care is needed when sanding and cutting.There are a few sinkmarks but nothing serious and nothing a little putty and gentle sanding couldnt take care of.

These are the mods Ive done so far:

1)Removed the external reinforcing strips near the tail.

2)Scribed the oval inspection hatch aft of the rear wheel

3)Scribed the small hatch for the primers reservoir on the starboard side.Since I HEARTILY hate using scribing templates I scribed the hatch by glueing an Eduard PE hatch on the bare plastic,scribed around it,and then smoothed the scars on the scribed hatch with Gunze Mr. Dissolved Putty,which in my opinion is the best Putty ever!

4)Fitted an Eduard PE access port to the Fuselage tank on the port side aft of the cockpit.To make a clean job Ive annealed the PE part,pressed it against the fuselage to give it the right curve,temporarily glued it to the plastic and with a PE thin saw I cut around it,then I superglued the PE part on the square opening and hey,prestoa clean port that will be filled in with a scratchbuilt interior.

4)Scribed the panel lines on the upper wings as required.

At first I wanted to rivet the model but I dont think I willIll add rivets in some selected areas with a #0 and a#1 grainers.

I dont know if Ill fit a radio compartment yet,probably not because Id have to scratchbuild the fuselage interior and since Im the laziest modeler around I dont want to be carried away and turn the build into another never-ending odyssey,but I sure will detail the engine compartment.No need to look for resin mills herethe engines beautifully detailed OOBit will only require the obvious changes between the DB601 and the DB605s fitted to the G series and!

Comments,suggestions,hints,tips and constructive critics are more than welcome!

Thank you for watching

Manu

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Next Ive started dressing up the fantastic Zvezda DB 601 with a few resin and PE parts from an FM Details DB605 engine.The kits engine surpasses just about any other AM DB engineit only needs a few details added to turn it into a real gem in its own right!Its so nice that it could be sold alone or even upscaled to 1/32 without losing detail finesseits THAT nice!

The exhaust stacks come from the Vectors resin upgrade set for the F-2.Theyre hollowed at the ends and even got nice welding seams to them,in my opinion they're resin copies of the now OOP Moskits,they're locating point are a bit too small,but if you hit them with a drop of Tamiya extra thin cement,align and freeze them with a tiny drop of superglue the problem's solved!

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I have decided that the 605 is ready!I could have gone on detailing it but I had to stop somewhere and (hopefully) let the painting do the rest of the talking...the ex-DB601 now reasonably looks like a DB605-A!

I left off a few "hoses" and wires, the turbo mesh cover and the "funnel" attached to it that goes into the supercharger intake,the plumbing still looks oversized while it isn't and the red 0.45mm insulated wire is there for visual purposes only...I'll use a thinner one!

I've detailed the firewall somehow but I stopped when I noticed that the part I was working one would have been invisible in the end.

all in all I am pleased and cannot wait to paint it!Comments and constructive critics are welcome and encouraged!

The sixth and last photo shows the engine in its actual size!

Cheers

Manu

P.S.;I know.....I know.....I'll make new handles for the ammo boxes out of aluminum foil and scrape a few parts clean....I've seen that mold lines too!

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It's almost done,apart from a few touch-ups here and there and a few added dashes of color,a little more subtle washes and even subtler dry-brushing......now I only have to find a way to realistically weather the exhaust...

Cheers

Manu

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Thanks Jan and Jay....hope to post more pictures in a few days....working on the pit at the moment.This kit is so nice that the more you work on it the more you appreciate it!

Cheers

Manu

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I'm currently working on the cockpit,which I'll post in the next few days;no PE used there...only scratchbuilding..like we used to do way back when Fred Flintstone used to carve his F18s out of stone :winkgrin: !

In the meantime I've worked a little more on the engine and see how it'll fit inside the fuselage before adding the finishing touches :pray: ......it does PURRFECTLY :yahoo: !

I'm having a blast at it and I hope my humble efforts will pay dividends at the end!The big nuts that secured the engine mounts to the firewall have been painted white and tiny strips of red decal added.Everything that had to be unlocked/loosened BEFORE even thinking of taking the engine out of the airframe was painted white with red warning stripes!

Just a little update and hope you'll keep your comments/critics coming...I need them...they're definitely motivating :thumbsup:

Cheers

Manu

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Edited by Canuck63
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Awesome work once again, looks beautiful with all these small and simple additions. Just a few requests, could you please upload pictures in bigger (and same) size? And it is better to appreciate your work with pictures from other angles rather than same angle, but 5 pictures. :thumbsup: Nothing to comment on the model itself so far, looks perfect.

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Awesome work once again, looks beautiful with all these small and simple additions. Just a few requests, could you please upload pictures in bigger (and same) size? And it is better to appreciate your work with pictures from other angles rather than same angle, but 5 pictures. :thumbsup: Nothing to comment on the model itself so far, looks perfect.

Hi Berkut,

thank you very much for your kind words....the reason why I'm posting pictures of this side of the engine is just because it'll be the side that will show...I'll button up the other side!

If you let me know what ou mean by "bigger and same size" I'll be more than happy to do that! :D

On the other hand you're right...the pictures show the same subject and five are too many! :(

Cheers

Manu

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Ah okei, must have missed you are closing the other side. Anyway, look forward to more. :thumbsup:

PS: What i mean is this size is very good for example:

DB605F5.jpg

This however, is just too small for one too see any detail:

actualsize.jpg

Edited by Berkut
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Ok...I got your drift about the pictures' size then!The small picture shows the actual size,but if you think bigger pictures may be more useful I'll be more than happy to do that for you and the rest of the lot!

Thank you,Berkut! ;)

Manu

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  • 5 months later...

Just started working on this project again...a little update before moving to the cockpit.Please forgive the cr##py pictures...they were taken with my cell phone IIRC...but I'll post better ones tomorrow!

Cheers

Luigi Emanuele

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Edited by Canuck63
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Doughboy,Chip and Chuck...thank you very much for your kind words guys....much appreciated and motivating!I hope to post more pictures in the next few days!

Regards

Luigi Emanuele

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  • 2 years later...

Good morning one and all,

here I am again after exactly two years!Not much progress on this build which I've just resurrected after a 24-months hiatus.I've made a first try to weather the exhaust, added a few cables to the cockpit a couple more on the engine, and test fitted the latter to the fuselage.Fit of parts on this kit is nothing short of stellar but it must be approached with care if you want to change thing around a bit like I've done.For example you can either build it "buttoned up" or with the engine exposed.If you build it even with just one panel open and add details to the engine test-fitting is mandatory!In order to accomodate the "new" engine I've had to scrape off the right small reservoir,remove the right engine mount,cut off the best part of the rocker covers,thin the inside of the right panel and scrape off the beautiful internal detail on the lower panel,the one the oil radiator is mounted on!

A little more "butchering" is awaiting the poor DB605 but I think everything will fit perfectly in the end!

Sorry for the cr@##y pictures!

Cheers

Manu

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Next I've added a little detail on the starboard side of the cockpit adding the sicherungkasten and a few electrical conduits.While I was at it I swapped the undernourished breech cover that comes with the kit for a resin part from an Aires set and checked the fit of the cockpit "module" and the engine..it looks ok!

Cheers, :D

Manu

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A couple more hours of work while it was raining outside brought me to this.I've added the shaft for the radiators flap handle,

the oxigen hose made with a 0,6mm dia.spring with a copper core a few bits and bobs and the oxigen reegulator.Since the Zvezda part is correct for the F-2/4 but wrong for the G-2 I was about to scratchbuilt one when it occurred to me that Roy Sutherland included one in an old Jaguar detailing set for the Hasegawa Bf 109 G-6!A few more things must be added to this cockpit wall before I can call it a day and keep on working on the portside!

I'm having a great time with this little Russian gem and I can't wait to see the G-6!

Cheers,

Manu :wave:

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Edited by Canuck63
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At first all this work may look like a lot of entangled spaghetti and a cockpit encrusted with all kind of things,it's not complete and not 100% accurate but it starts to look busy enough.Everyhing will be blended under a coat of RLM66 in the end and dabs of colors here and there will add interest to an otherwise dark,boring cockpit!It's sorta amazing to look at the pictures of the real cockpit and see how it was crammed with all kinds of levers,electrical bokes,cables,wires and so on.

Cheers

Manu :thumbsup:

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