anj4de Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 Hello all I was in a Shopping mood yesterday and purchased kits and stuff for a little diorama in 1/48: -Zvezda BF109F-4 -Life Like decals yellow 14 and OTTO Kübel -Quickboost sets for above kit...ailerons, engine parts and exausts -Tamiya Kübel Afrika version with figures Now I have some Questions for the experts... 1. Did the F4 already have the later bucket seat ala -G model or do I need the earlier seat? 2. Which of the Yellow 14 versions fit to the OTTO Kübel time wise? Any other useful hints and tips and links to Infos are also highly appriciated. I always wanted a Yellow 14...especially after seeing Marseille's 158 kill marks rudder in person at the Berlin Gatho LW Museum. thanks a lot Uwe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
G.R.Morrison Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 (edited) As you will likely read on the Life Like decal instructions (they do a good job with their research, and also usually mention external references/sources), his 'last' 109F-4/Trop (used in September 1942), WNr.8673 of the 3./JG 27, is the one to go with the Kübelwagen. The vehicle continued in use after Marseille's fatal mission, being photographed in Tunisia with pilots of the II/JG 77 (BA photo 101l-421-2075-24, and others). I cannot comment on the seat, although this was an older, refurbished machine. Note that while the fuselage cross is of the later '109G' style, without black trim, those on the wings were the conventional earlier style used on 109Fs, with black trim outside the white angles. My only other suggestion would be to look at photos of the real bird. The desert was hard on machines, and as you will observe, the paint on the rear face of the propellor blades is 'sand-blasted' to a significant degree (Sorry for the low-resolution image, but we're restricted to only 100K). Good luck in your project, GRM Edited October 2, 2018 by G.R.Morrison Edit: image didn't appear on first attempt. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
anj4de Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 16 hours ago, G.R.Morrison said: As you will likely read on the Life Like decal instructions (they do a good job with their research, and also usually mention external references/sources), his 'last' 109F-4/Trop (used in September 1942), WNr.8673 of the 3./JG 27, is the one to go with the Kübelwagen. The vehicle continued in use after Marseille's fatal mission, being photographed in Tunisia with pilots of the II/JG 77 (BA photo 101l-421-2075-24, and others). I cannot comment on the seat, although this was an older, refurbished machine. Note that while the fuselage cross is of the later '109G' style, without black trim, those on the wings were the conventional earlier style used on 109Fs, with black trim outside the white angles. My only other suggestion would be to look at photos of the real bird. The desert was hard on machines, and as you will observe, the paint on the rear face of the propellor blades is 'sand-blasted' to a significant degree (Sorry for the low-resolution image, but we're restricted to only 100K). Good luck in your project, GRM Thanks a lot for the detailed answer. With 8673 being a refurbished plane now the G-Style prop starts to also make sense. I wonder where it was refurbished, back home or somwhere in Afrika. 8673 also shows the white wall tail wheel tyre but I have not yet found a picture to prove the same for the main wheels. Too bad the Picture you shared has all those red markings in it, will serach around for it in an "uncensored" version… thanks Uwe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
G.R.Morrison Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Uwe, You're welcome. Happy to help when I can. The Luftwaffe's maintenance facilities in North Afrika were minimal. Aircraft needing significant work or inspection were sent to Greece or Italy, the ULTRA radio intercepts have many instances of a unit being advised that the following listed airframes were now ready to be retrieved. WNr.8673 was an older machine, perhaps 'remanufactured' in Germany. The whitewall tire of the tail wheel was common, it was an indicator that this tire had copper filaments, to enable static electricity discharge. The white (paint) on the mainwheel tires was just that, paint. It is rarely seen in photographs. Instead, aircraft were equipped with loose-fitting covers, often with the Werknummer of the machine applied, to provide for protection against the fierce sun. Temperatures could fluctuate widely. My Dad was in North Africa during the war, and experienced temps from 40°F at night to ~120°F during the day (5°C - 48°C). The photo was from an old eBay auction, and probably 'disappeared' into a private collection. GRM Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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