1/48 Tamiya Bf-109E-7 Trop.

by Jeff Brundt

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This is my cure for AMS. If you want a model that is well detailed and builds quickly OOB then this is the one. No putty needed. Everything fits perfectly. Panel lines are nicely engraved and there is lots of molded in detail in the wheel wells. The cockpit is adequately appointed and unless you’re going to crawl up in there you’d be hard pressed to tell if a resin pit was in there if you were looking at this thing from 18” away. The only addition I added was CE’s posable seatbelts. In my opinion, you need these or PE ones if you’re going to display the office area open.  The only real difference between the tropical version of the 109 and the standard one is the dust filter extension on the supercharger intake. The kit includes both versions so you can make a non-tropical version if you so desire.

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This was my first model entirely painted with acrylics and I can report it was a very rewarding experience. I used PollyScale RLM colors (76/79/81) to duplicate the mottled desert cammo scheme. These are excellent acrylics and I used them straight from the bottle with no thinning needed. Once the paint was dry I highlighted the panel lines with a mix of enamel wash and a mechanical pencil. The model was then clear-coated with gloss lacquer in preparation for decals. I used the kit decals which are very nice. A little Micro-Sol was needed to get them to settle in the nooks and crannies. This particular plane represents ‘Black 8’ of I/JG-27 based in Libya, ca. 1941. (reports vary if this was Werner Schroer’s or Franz Elles’ plane). After the decals were dry I added exhaust stains with Floquil grimy black. This was followed with a final application of Testor’s dullcote lacquer. From there on it was just a matter of installing the final bits like canopy, antenna, landing gear, etc.

And there you have it. All told it took a week to finish (and that included wait time for paint from Squadron). If you have AMS and need a quick cure then this is the kit for you.

Jeff

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Photos and text © by Jeff Brundt