[completed] Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 and Bf 109 T-1

The models at exactly the same building stage: a general view and a view showing the rear with tail wheel compartment -different in design as I told you, but with very good fit in both cases.

Thanks Leif for your kind words!

I am not happy with part G2a in the T-1, meant to join the stabilizer root with the fuselage. The upper white strip blocks the openings (see a) in the stabilizer. So just cut it away. The lower white part is simply wrong in shape and size. Away with it! What is left is a strip that is ideal to join the horizontal part. Two small self-made tabs glued behind the vertical parts will do the rest. Fortunately, part G2 is perfect in design; the final result is a smooth transition between stabilizer and fuselage.

The rudders under construction and... a picture taken in the magnifying glass mode, showing that the E-4 pilot was an ace: I see shot down Spitfires and Hurricanes, but the fifth from the right? No idea

Thanks Dansls1 and Josve!

....a favorite? Difficult to answer that question. It's like you say: the approach of these models is sometimes very different and with the very solid frames that characterise the Halinski models one feels safer at first, but... until now the final result is very satisfying in both cases. The E-4 has a very attractive color scheme and it's not the fault of the T-1 to have these 'night shade colors'... Sometimes a question mark arises for the presentation of the T-1, for instance: when you chose the option of separate rudder and separate tail planes, you are asked to cut these pieces out of the original parts -a tricky business given the very dark background that shows hardly the outlines. We will see later that this could even become a serious problem for the nose section: no alternative parts for the different options.
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One small mistake in the T-1 instructions: the rudder frame is build from Wf8-->Wf16 (and not Wf10-->Wf19).

Models with mounted rudder, control cables and aerial supports:
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Please note that T-1 part G1b (aerial support) is in the diagrams falsely indicated as B1b.

p.s.: for the unretouched version of pictures please refer to:
www.strangeplace.com/forum/

....working on the horizontal stabilizers....

p.s.: for the unretouched version of pictures please refer to:
http://www.strangeplace.com/forum/

Interesting! It is a pity that this word is indeed hardly readable.If "Halifax" is correct this could mean he shot down a Halifax bomber -as an easy target- but not during a pilot to pilot fight.

Yeeh: a really challenging target ;)...

Yes, Zec, like you, I prefer the E-4 colors..but as I said before, it is not the fault of the T-1 to wear such a dark dress...

Finished tail sections complete with elevators and stabilizer struts. The design of the struts of the T-1, with the built in wires, is far preferable over its E-4 counterparts and results in a more 'slender' and more streamlined look.
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Please note that:
-T-1 strut parts are wrongly numbered 11 L/P,11aL/P and 11bL/P in the instructions; this should be: 12L/P, 12aL/P and 12bL/P.
-parts G3aL/P (not in the instuctions or diagrams) must be folded to fit the shape of the hinges and then be placed at the rear of Wg11L/P.

** unretouched pictures at www.strangeplace.com/forum/

I like your comments -like I said before I am nothing else but an amateur who loves this hobby and I don't have any pretensions about what I present to you in this thread... the fact that so many of you follow it so closely is more then enough reason to go on with it.
Maybe these visible edges (I do paint the edges in what I think to be the matching colors) are partially caused by the artificial/flash light that is indispensable during these dark days. As soon as the weather will allow me to I will return to daylight pictures...But I want to keep learning :]

I have started the wing sections of both models. The center wing section of the Halinski is a puzzle that took me hours to understand (I am not that smart ), in the first place because the part of the diagram that shows its construction is in my view absolutely not clear in this case and in the second place because there are some serious mistakes in the numbering of parts:

-the part that I marked as 'a' is not W23aL but W23 aP.
-the area of W23aL marked 'b' is not the printed side but the unprinted backside of the part; parts W23aL and W23aP must be placed in the frame with the printed side towards the center.
-the part marked 'c' is not W23dL but W23fL

Taking advantage of these hints may save you time...

What went wrong in the design of the center section of the T-1 ?(??
Wire X16 must be 'sandwiched' between three layers. On my picture, the bottom layer is already in place and it is obvious that the demarcation lines ('a') for the wire are totally wrong, just like parts W19a and 19b ('b') that will form the middle layer, the one where the wire passes through. (The diagram is also wrong: W19a must be placed to the rear of the wire, W19b in front of it.)
Now all this is very easy to correct (all you have to do is change the dimensions of the two rectangular middle parts) but... how can this happen? Maybe the location of the wire (which is exact compared to the connecting wing parts) was changed during the designing process?

On the second picture: working on the E-4 wing frame (that I discussed already; sorry for all this criticism :().

I know exactly what you mean, Dansls1, and of course it was, like you, my first thought too that the colouring had everything to do with the control surfaces and would have to be on the outside... It is a pity that you do not own the kit, because you would see like I did that nothing will fit with the colour facing to the outside.
-W23aL/P must be on the inside of the sandwich: the slots (a) on their insides (that would otherwise be covered) are meant for W23t** (b) that will form a bridge between them and I have already checked that in my construction the distance between W23aL/P is now exactly right.
-The profiles for the oil coolers (c) between the first and second former are in the right position and facing towards another as they should.

As far as I can see it now, the colouring could have something to do with the oil coolers that will be built in at these locations - I can't check it out yet right now or it is an error and it that case I can add the colouring very easily.

One final possibility is that I am totally wrong myself

By the way: thanks for studying my thread with so much attention.

No, it is not too late! I will show the result soon. I should have been studying these parts more thoroughly. This diagram clarifies everything. It is so clear that is could (or should?) have been part of the instructions. Thanks, Awot and Dansls1!

Look how everything fits perfectly now: it is not the wire for the wings (a) that will be sandwiched, but the wires for the landing gear (b); and the third layer of the sandwich (c) will be placed under the wing wire :]!

Yes... it is me again!

Does anybody know why this slot (see a) is there in the wing frame of the E-4? At that location the tiny part W23iP (see b) must be glued to the rear of the frame, but is has no tab. (At the left (see c) W23iL is already in place).
A small bug, or am I doing something wrong?

One last picture before leaving you for a short break. It shows the differences in design of the two models; a box-like middlesection with a wire to slip the wings on for the T-1 and a more traditional frame (far from beeing finished!) that will in the next step become part of the the fuselage frame for the E-4.

***see you all back soon!***

Now that I am back in Holland I took up again the work on the T-1 wingframes. Please note the clever design where the straight, unbended wire (a) assures the V-position of the wings:

Both wing frames together with the outer frames of the T-1 temporary slipped onto the center part and the E-4 frame ready to be "filled in" with the remaining parts.

-You can now see the considerable difference in wingspan of the two versions: 11,08m. for the T-1 (the T-1 being a carrier based aircraft the longer wings were needed for a safe approach) and only 9,90 m. for the E-4.
-The model of the T-1 has many extra options to choose from apart from the basic version; we have already seen the cockpit interior and the separate control surfaces.
Another option is to add the inside of the oil coolers, therefore a section in the frame must be removed (see "a"). You can also build in the wing machine gun compartments between the two indicated ribs. (see "b"). Therefore a part of the frame must be removed over the complete width and replaced by the compartments. Unfortunately it is not clear at this stage where to cut and how to cut. I suppose this has to be done when covering the frames, otherwise my frames will fall apart..

p.s. where the T-1 instructions state that "marked parts of ribs W 23, 24 and 26 should be cut off" when choosing the separate control surfaces version, one should read "W 23, 24, 25 and 26".

Thanks Dustin!
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I just discovered a serious bug in the Halinski E-4 frame. The indicated areas in W23** must be removed!! They are slots for W23uL/P**.
I must now try to remove these slots from my finished frame...this is much, much more difficult then cutting them out on a flat surface

Perfect hint: I found an old wooden levelling ruler. Placed on my desk in a vertical position is was an ideal support for the small portion of cardboard that I had to cut away. So no more fear for the progress of one of my two babies...