Airfix Bf109 E4 1:72
Discussion
So I bought a new Airfix kit. There, I admitted it. It's their latest Bf109 model, and cost me £4.99. I bought it becasue I wanted to see for myself how these latest Airfix kits build - to me the always looked crude, with particularly bad surface detail on the ones I've seen built up (notably the latest Spitfires, Sabres and Bf110). Am I biased against Airfix? Probably Yes, and No. I spent countless happy hours building Airfix kits as a child. I genuinely want them to produce world class kits.
I make no apology for having acquired a keen eye for detail over 35 years or so of modelling, which I apply as harshly to my own work as I do to kits I've paid hard earned cash for. So here we go:
Nice box art. I want this to be a good kit!
Sprues: The plastic is fairly soft, with a very light matt finish/texture, but opaque. Detail looks to be very good indeed - the cockpit has separate seat, instrument panel, gunsight (transparent) rudder pedals and control column. The rudder even has a represenation of the control wires leading to it. The engine detail is better than the equivalent Tamiya kit, but still pretty much a recangular blob. Personally I can't see the point, and would rather have had the engine cover moulded in-situ rather than having to fit it.
You can see on the wings some form of release fluid/oil which will need washing off before painting.
Sprue gates are extremely thick, and sometimes run onto the surfaces of the parts, which requires very careful work to contour back to shape. The gates are also heavily tapered, meaning you have to slice them with a blade - cutters get deflected into the part with disasterous results:
I can see some of the smaller parts being easily damaged when removed. Here you can also see a thin line of flash around the periphery of all the parts which needs removing with a knife, or sanding.
Transparent parts look OK:
Test fitting the fuselage halves went fine, although the panel lines don't appear to extend all the way around the mouldings as they should. Wing root detail on the stbd side of the fuselage is mising/mis-shapen, which is a shame. The lower engine cowling doesn't fit, and requires quite a bit of scraping and filing:
The wings don't fit either, with a pronounced step at the leading edge:
Cutting off the location pins soon cured that. The flaps can be positioned drooped, which is a nice touch, but again they don't fit properly without shortening their locating tabs. The under wing radiators need very careful fettling to fit in their recesses, but look good once fitted.
Tailplanes and engine cover seem to fit OK. That's as far as I got tonight.
So far - yes, I'm enjoying it. This isn't a kit that's going to fall together, and to get a decent result will require more work than the rather optimistic "skill level" of 1 on the box would suggest...
I make no apology for having acquired a keen eye for detail over 35 years or so of modelling, which I apply as harshly to my own work as I do to kits I've paid hard earned cash for. So here we go:
Nice box art. I want this to be a good kit!
Sprues: The plastic is fairly soft, with a very light matt finish/texture, but opaque. Detail looks to be very good indeed - the cockpit has separate seat, instrument panel, gunsight (transparent) rudder pedals and control column. The rudder even has a represenation of the control wires leading to it. The engine detail is better than the equivalent Tamiya kit, but still pretty much a recangular blob. Personally I can't see the point, and would rather have had the engine cover moulded in-situ rather than having to fit it.
You can see on the wings some form of release fluid/oil which will need washing off before painting.
Sprue gates are extremely thick, and sometimes run onto the surfaces of the parts, which requires very careful work to contour back to shape. The gates are also heavily tapered, meaning you have to slice them with a blade - cutters get deflected into the part with disasterous results:
I can see some of the smaller parts being easily damaged when removed. Here you can also see a thin line of flash around the periphery of all the parts which needs removing with a knife, or sanding.
Transparent parts look OK:
Test fitting the fuselage halves went fine, although the panel lines don't appear to extend all the way around the mouldings as they should. Wing root detail on the stbd side of the fuselage is mising/mis-shapen, which is a shame. The lower engine cowling doesn't fit, and requires quite a bit of scraping and filing:
The wings don't fit either, with a pronounced step at the leading edge:
Cutting off the location pins soon cured that. The flaps can be positioned drooped, which is a nice touch, but again they don't fit properly without shortening their locating tabs. The under wing radiators need very careful fettling to fit in their recesses, but look good once fitted.
Tailplanes and engine cover seem to fit OK. That's as far as I got tonight.
So far - yes, I'm enjoying it. This isn't a kit that's going to fall together, and to get a decent result will require more work than the rather optimistic "skill level" of 1 on the box would suggest...
Edited by dr_gn on Tuesday 29th May 00:29
Zad said:
To be honest, it looks like the mould halves have been mis-aligned. That really should never have got through QA! Stuff like that should be pretty easy to catch, there is no excuse.
I was going to say that I'd be willing to pay a couple of quid more for a state-of-the-art British kit, but I don't think the issue here is cost, it's poor engineering and attention to detail.Anyway...onwards.
Eric Mc said:
I can kind of see where this is going.
I notice that the build is also being covered on Brit Modeller and it is interesting to see the comments and comparisons being made when matching the Airfix kit with the Tamiya one.
Even if the Airfix one has some faults - so does the Tamiya one. What kit is perfect?
I see that the retail price for the Tamiya is in the £10 to £12 bracket at the moment.
So, you pay £5.99 for an Airfix 109E with some faults or £10 to £12 for the Tamiya 109E with some faults.
Pays your money and takes your choice - as ever.
Please, stop making your own ending up! It'll go wherever it's destined to go...I notice that the build is also being covered on Brit Modeller and it is interesting to see the comments and comparisons being made when matching the Airfix kit with the Tamiya one.
Even if the Airfix one has some faults - so does the Tamiya one. What kit is perfect?
I see that the retail price for the Tamiya is in the £10 to £12 bracket at the moment.
So, you pay £5.99 for an Airfix 109E with some faults or £10 to £12 for the Tamiya 109E with some faults.
Pays your money and takes your choice - as ever.
I can't see I've been particulaly harsh about the kit so far, indeed, as I said I'm enjoying building it; details are excellent and it shows every sign of building into a very nice model. The problems so far are not insurmountable, but they are there. I've illustrated my observations with photographs - it's not as if I've made them up.
Not sure what your obsession with the Tamiya version is - this is not a comparison. Since you bring up the 'faults' with the Tamiya version, I'd love to know what they are: one hardened reviewer called it "the best kit he had ever built", another said "The kit goes together so well its not even worth discussing". Is that worth the extra £4? Probably, but who cares - this is about the Airfix version.
Personally I'm not particularly bothered by form errors unless they are blatantly wrong. I can't see a problem with this kit in that area. OK it doesn't match the Tamiya version apparently, but, so what?
Eric Mc said:
All I was saying was that no kit was perfect - even Tamiya ones.
It was the Britmodeller chaps who were comparing it to the Tamiya version anyway - because someone noticed some similarities. I've not seen the Tamiya model in the flesh so I can't really comment from personal experience.
I've not knowingly seen the Tamiya version in the flesh, never mind built it. It will probably be the benchmark, but I'd estimate the Airfix version will be close.It was the Britmodeller chaps who were comparing it to the Tamiya version anyway - because someone noticed some similarities. I've not seen the Tamiya model in the flesh so I can't really comment from personal experience.
Sooo another 3 or so hours of preparation work tonight.
I started by double checking the wing fitting issue. I thought today I must have made some kind of mistake yesteday while dry-fitting. I've cut the locator pins off already, so I measured the centres of the holes/stubs; they are definitely out. It was easily sorted and the fit is indeed spot on without the pins.
Here is the side-to-side issue with the wing root surface detail (the raised riveted strip fades away on the port side):
Here are some pictures of the cockpit (instrument panel not shown):
More than enough detail there for this scale, with the canopy closed at any rate.
Then I test fitted the pilot:
Somewhat confused, I read the instructions, and saw that to fit the pilot you first, bizarrely, have to cut the rudder pedals off:
This is Vintage Airfix
IIRC the last two Airfix kits I built (1950's era Sunderland and the 1990's Tucano) the pilots would. not. fit. This made me chuckle. I'll leave the pilot out.
All three tyres are pre-flatted, which is a nice touch, and the u/c legs have spigots which will hopefully assist in getting the distinctive Bf109 compound angle stance correct:
This is the engine:
Hopefully one day someone will produce a resin replacement - this would have the potential to look very impressive I think. Notice the exhaust stubs are separate strips fitted in a recess - this is good becasue it ensures an easily achieved sharp paint demarcation between the fuselage and the stubs.
I was putting off fettling of the smalled components until last - in fact I still havent finished them:
As you can see I broke the antenna already, and damaged a mass damper. Why these parts can't be fed from one end I don't know.
Final thing is this:
It's the head armour for the canopy. It doesn't appear anywhere in the instructions though as far as I can see. I'll leave it off.
Another enjoyable evening's work overall. No issues that would particularly trouble an experienced modeller, but skill level 1? This is an inexpensive kit presumably aimed at younger modellers, but I don't think this will be a simple kit to assemble well.
I started by double checking the wing fitting issue. I thought today I must have made some kind of mistake yesteday while dry-fitting. I've cut the locator pins off already, so I measured the centres of the holes/stubs; they are definitely out. It was easily sorted and the fit is indeed spot on without the pins.
Here is the side-to-side issue with the wing root surface detail (the raised riveted strip fades away on the port side):
Here are some pictures of the cockpit (instrument panel not shown):
More than enough detail there for this scale, with the canopy closed at any rate.
Then I test fitted the pilot:
Somewhat confused, I read the instructions, and saw that to fit the pilot you first, bizarrely, have to cut the rudder pedals off:
This is Vintage Airfix
IIRC the last two Airfix kits I built (1950's era Sunderland and the 1990's Tucano) the pilots would. not. fit. This made me chuckle. I'll leave the pilot out.All three tyres are pre-flatted, which is a nice touch, and the u/c legs have spigots which will hopefully assist in getting the distinctive Bf109 compound angle stance correct:
This is the engine:
Hopefully one day someone will produce a resin replacement - this would have the potential to look very impressive I think. Notice the exhaust stubs are separate strips fitted in a recess - this is good becasue it ensures an easily achieved sharp paint demarcation between the fuselage and the stubs.
I was putting off fettling of the smalled components until last - in fact I still havent finished them:
As you can see I broke the antenna already, and damaged a mass damper. Why these parts can't be fed from one end I don't know.
Final thing is this:
It's the head armour for the canopy. It doesn't appear anywhere in the instructions though as far as I can see. I'll leave it off.
Another enjoyable evening's work overall. No issues that would particularly trouble an experienced modeller, but skill level 1? This is an inexpensive kit presumably aimed at younger modellers, but I don't think this will be a simple kit to assemble well.
Edited by dr_gn on Wednesday 30th May 00:31
kenny Chim 4 said:
Oi, dr_gn, what happened to the 1/24 Kouros Sauber C9 that you promised us?
I ask as I fancy modelling the Revell version with the running Michelin Man decals and hoped to pick up some tips
The Sauber and the Porsche...I got modelling fatigue after the Jaguar, and I thought a simple OOB build of this Bf109 would be just the thing to get back into it.I ask as I fancy modelling the Revell version with the running Michelin Man decals and hoped to pick up some tips
Still building it, just painting the sub-assemblies. More pics tomorrow hopefully.
Despite this being specifically about the Airfix build, the question so far turning over in my mind is "How does this new Airfix version add to what's already been available for many years?"
Price? You can get the equivalent (and by all accounts pretty much perfect) Tamiya version for around £3-£4 more than the Airfix version, which unfortunately despite being brand new, is flawed.
OK, £4 is a significant percentage of the Airfix base price, but does anyone really care about £4 these days? It's the cost of a couple of tins of paint, of which you need 12 to complete this kit according to the instructions.
Onwards...
Despite this being specifically about the Airfix build, the question so far turning over in my mind is "How does this new Airfix version add to what's already been available for many years?"
Price? You can get the equivalent (and by all accounts pretty much perfect) Tamiya version for around £3-£4 more than the Airfix version, which unfortunately despite being brand new, is flawed.
OK, £4 is a significant percentage of the Airfix base price, but does anyone really care about £4 these days? It's the cost of a couple of tins of paint, of which you need 12 to complete this kit according to the instructions.
Onwards...
Edited by dr_gn on Saturday 2nd June 00:09
72twink said:
Just found this (too much time in the garage on the Sunbeam Lotus), I received one of these on Tuesday for my birthday and the couple of hours I spent fettling uncovered the same issues as you but as my yard stick for enjoyment is the "pint of beer" theory - a pint is £3.50 say - am I getting a pint and a halfs entertainment ....... Yes! Compare this to a FineMolds 109 which at £20 (yes still 1/72) has very weak cockpit sidewall detail and it becomes even more of a bargain.
I'm off to Britmodeller to bookmark your build over there, keep the updates coming Dr!
It's not on Britmodeller - It's on Scale Plastic & Rail. I was asked to write a build review of the kit for them. I think it will be linked from their 'official' in box review.I'm off to Britmodeller to bookmark your build over there, keep the updates coming Dr!
Eric Mc said:
My viewpoint too. I don't seek perfrection - just satisfaction.
I am currently building the ancient Airfix P-40 Kittyhawk. By modern standards, it is a dreadful little kit. But I'm still enjoying the build.
If I'd had my sensible head on I would have bought the Academy kit (which is the best around in 1/72) but this was an impulse buy and it'll look like a 112 Squadron P-40 when it's finished.
I couldn'tagree more - satisfaction at having achieved the best you can with a model does not depend on the kit itself in any way.I am currently building the ancient Airfix P-40 Kittyhawk. By modern standards, it is a dreadful little kit. But I'm still enjoying the build.
If I'd had my sensible head on I would have bought the Academy kit (which is the best around in 1/72) but this was an impulse buy and it'll look like a 112 Squadron P-40 when it's finished.
What I can't accept is a great British name like Airfix (probably the strongest brand in plastic modelling full stop) producing second rate kits like this. I'm looking at these new Airfix kits from a manufacturing engineering perspective, and I find the obvious quality control issues totally unacceptable. This "it'll do" attitude is part of the reason British manufacturing is in the s
thole it's currently in. We are not going to improve our situation by producing anything other tham the very best quality at the very best price.Airfix are so close to achieving this with this kit that it hurts. The kit is engineered probably to 95% of what could reasonably be called perfect, and the last 5% seems to be missing due to someone accepting something that is clearly wrong, but failry easily fixable. They chose not to.
I am thoroughly enjoying building this model - I'd probably recommend it to the experienced modeller over the Tamiya kit, purely becasue it's British and the errors are fairly easy to correct. Maybe not for a beginner though.
I wondered whether to e-mail Airfix and ask what's going on, but I'm not sure they'd listen.
Anyway I should really leave the conclusion to the end, but all the above I believe is valid based on what I've seen so far.
72twink said:
I'd come to the conclusion it was elsewhere as my hunt was fruitless - I'll have a another look armed with the correct info!
The SP&R thread is an exact copy of what's here in terms of building the kit, but just with different contributors opinions mixed in. ETA the SP&R guys are as intolerant of mediocrity as I am (if not more so), so I'd advise you not to read that thread if you're of a nervous disposition...
Edited by dr_gn on Saturday 2nd June 13:25
72twink said:
Cheery bunch aren't they - are they modellers or just assemblers who need spoon feeding low effort shake and bake?
Have you seen their work?The guy who started that site (initially purely for reviews rather than a forum) - is a consultant for Zoukei-Mura in Japan. His speciality is Luftwaffe aircraft and resin conversions - spoon fed he aint! His Mistel Composite aircraft conversion had to be seen to be believed...
72twink said:
dr_gn said:
Have you seen their work?
The guy who started that site (initially purely for reviews rather than a forum) - is a consultant for Zoukei-Mura in Japan. His speciality is Luftwaffe aircraft and resin conversions - spoon fed he aint! His Mistel Composite aircraft conversion had to be seen to be believed...
No I haven't but if that's his staple why is a pocket money model that can be corrected with a few passes of a scalpel and a length of evergreen causing him such problems. The model is a "series one" and as always, aimed at the bottom end of he market as a simple introduction and for kids to have something to shoot down with their Airfix Spitfire. The guy who started that site (initially purely for reviews rather than a forum) - is a consultant for Zoukei-Mura in Japan. His speciality is Luftwaffe aircraft and resin conversions - spoon fed he aint! His Mistel Composite aircraft conversion had to be seen to be believed...
Along with mine I hope they sell thousands, swell their coffers and use that resource to keep upping their standard and pop out more of the fringe subjects they've taken a brave punt on of late!
Eric Mc said:
The general consensus in all the reviews I've read is that they are.
My main beef against Airfix is that fact that they continue to sell elderly models, like the P-40 I am building, in starter packs. An old stager like me can bash together an old clunker and make it look reasonable. A kid will get fed up if he has to spend too long cuting away flash etc and it may put him off buying any further Airfix kits - or any kits at all from any manufacturer.
The new Airfix Series 1 releases are aimed at this market and are just about right for the skill levels required for beginners. Hopefully some of the old moulds will be binned for good as the new releases continue.
Re. your last paragraph, surely you'd agree from the photos I've posted, this latest release couln't be easily completed by a beginner? I doubt I'll be able to use the aerial mast, guns, pitot tube or balance weights, and if yuo assemble the wings without modification they won't match the fuselage. My main beef against Airfix is that fact that they continue to sell elderly models, like the P-40 I am building, in starter packs. An old stager like me can bash together an old clunker and make it look reasonable. A kid will get fed up if he has to spend too long cuting away flash etc and it may put him off buying any further Airfix kits - or any kits at all from any manufacturer.
The new Airfix Series 1 releases are aimed at this market and are just about right for the skill levels required for beginners. Hopefully some of the old moulds will be binned for good as the new releases continue.
As I said previously, there's no way its a 'skill level 1 kit'; it's priced for the beginner, but is really suited to the experienced modeller.
So a bit more progress. Wheel wells have a circumerencial gap around them that needs filling - it's tricky but do-able. Hopefully a coat of RLM02 will see it right:
Went to a bit of trouble to paint and weather the cockpit (not sure if I'll leave the canopy open or not yet. I thought the instrument panel decals loked pretty good...until I came to apply them. It then became apparent that they are totally the wrong scale, approaching 1:48 I'd guess:
So, no choice but to apply Microsol followed by cutting with a scalpel, and repainting the damaged areas. Even now I've got some 'wrap around' instruments.
SORT OUT YOUR fkING QUALITY CONTROL AIRFIX.
Went to a bit of trouble to paint and weather the cockpit (not sure if I'll leave the canopy open or not yet. I thought the instrument panel decals loked pretty good...until I came to apply them. It then became apparent that they are totally the wrong scale, approaching 1:48 I'd guess:
So, no choice but to apply Microsol followed by cutting with a scalpel, and repainting the damaged areas. Even now I've got some 'wrap around' instruments.
SORT OUT YOUR f
kING QUALITY CONTROL AIRFIX.SlipStream77 said:
That decal is not a good fit is it?
I would have been inclined to cut the instruments out in blocks and attach them separately.
The Airfix Canberra is nearly ready for some primer now, although I had to build up one side of the fuselage as the canopy didn't fit.
Even in blocks, they still wouldn't fit. Anyway, I'm fine again now I would have been inclined to cut the instruments out in blocks and attach them separately.
The Airfix Canberra is nearly ready for some primer now, although I had to build up one side of the fuselage as the canopy didn't fit.
Gave all the weathered bits a coat of XDFF to seal them:
TBH the instruments look OK - a bit HD perhaps, but at least they'll stand out:
Difficult to see, but there is a tiny reflector gunsight on the instrument panel which is a nice touch. I painted the leather crash pad on the front of it brown which you might be able to see:
Minor details:
Instrument panel and wheels are marked as painted equivalent to RLM02 (Light Grey/Green), this is incorrect, the wheels should be Black Green or Black, and the instrument panel should be Black Gray or Black (unless this specific aircraft differed from standard. These areas were not flagged up as non-standard in the official crash report so I assume they are errors).
ETA, The aforementioned head armour with no reference needn't be fitted; Von Werra had had his removed his by the time he crashed.
Edited by dr_gn on Saturday 2nd June 23:09
It's looking aircraft shaped now. Weathered the wheel wells, fitted the radiators, wings, tailplanes & lower engine cover, and detailled the tailwheel and part of the spinner assembly:
Will need some Mr.Surfacer 1200 on some joints, but nothing serious:
And then we take closer look at the underside and lo and behold, the tailplane strut holes are totally out side-to-side:
I'll not bother to comment.
Will need some Mr.Surfacer 1200 on some joints, but nothing serious:
And then we take closer look at the underside and lo and behold, the tailplane strut holes are totally out side-to-side:
I'll not bother to comment.
Red Firecracker said:
I'm guessing they are (in real life) mirror images of each other with no significant differences? If that is the case, that really is poor, as surely there is just a requirement to flip the artwork on the CAD screen, which also saves work.
I've stayed out of the Airfix versus A. N. Other arguments, mainly as some of the kits I build are far more expensive and far worse than anything seen here, but that just strikes me as bizarre from a design and produce point of view.
Yes. I've stayed out of the Airfix versus A. N. Other arguments, mainly as some of the kits I build are far more expensive and far worse than anything seen here, but that just strikes me as bizarre from a design and produce point of view.
It's....inexplicable.
Zaxxon said:
Bet you can't wait to get started on your SE5A
I still need to finish my Albatross wires and then I can crack on with the Brisfit.
Hannants had a stack of W-W models at their stand at Duxford last week.I still need to finish my Albatross wires and then I can crack on with the Brisfit.
Boy was I tempted!
I got the Airfix '109 from them instead. When it's finally done it will look good and remind me of a great day out.
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