Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4 trop WNr. 10266 Gollob

Hi everybody, I preordered the double boxing from Aviation Megastore and some (...) Overtrees from Eduard , that came first.
I started one nearly imediately and I am fascinated by the progresses made in injection molding by this company!
I leave all the comments about accuracy to the "Experten", saying simply that this kit is a pure joy to build.
I am posting just a couple of photos but will take some more and update here soon...
Thanks for looking!
Andrea 

The only extras I am using in this build are the Super Fabric Eduard seatbelts (please note that their attachment point is not as per instruction, but beside the seat back plate) and the Exito decals.
 

The brush painted IP in the kit; you have the option for a flat one to be used with PE  

I am progressing fast....
When using the bottom wing with the squared wheel well, there is a plug to be glued to close the two ejection chute for the MG 131 mounted in the G version: I didn't dry fitted it and didn't managed to have it flush, in order to minimize filling... As an option one could use the round well wing (that don't have the two holes) but will have to square the two well opening 

 

Ready for RLM02 

RLM02 on.
I preferred to glue in place the bottom wing without the top ones, because in this way I have more control over eventual wing roots gaps: dryfitting tells me that it could be possible should I have worked the other way, as per instruction 

This one the best thing of this kit: here the undercarriage legs are only dryfitted, but stay still and firm in the right position.
No more eyeballing!!!
By the way, the well is one of the best and simpler to paint I have ever found 

Revi and tailwheel painted.
Of note is that we have all the potential carpet monster's food doubled, just in case... 

Here is the only point where fit wasn't 100% perfect : I had to shave some plastic from the tail to slot the tailplane in, but better to have some more than too little... 

Here one point where the panel lines aren't accurate, I uploaded the plan where can be seen the correct lines to be inscribed, if you are on the mood... 

Here you have it! 

Finally my Wunderschöne boxes arrived and I borrowed the canopy mask for my current build.
Just be careful because for some reason Eduard's side and top panel masks are for a G version, F canopy doesn't have a middle frame; I used the kabuki little pieces between the single, wrong mask.
It is curious that Eduard didn't get this but get the rear canopy frame right: the top frame that runs to antenna mast is on the inside of the canopy only, there is an appropriate frame to be painted inside part # H5 

Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 on.
Need only a little polishing and then I will finally start the paint job!!!
I really DO love this kit!!! 

Tropical coat on! Gunze Mr. Hobby RLM79 on RLM78.
Now preparing for the Crimean summer dress... 

A smear of Gunze RLM75.... 

... and then some criss-cross with Tamyia RLM70 

Just a few touch ups and then will go to the next stage, clear cote-decaling etc. 

Decaling phase finished, Exito decals printed by Cartograph are the best!
Stencils from the spare box, still missing some but I am ok like this... 

Now I will leave the Pledge cure for a day or two and then will matt clear coat everything 

This time I haven't done any pre-shading or paneling, I wanted to progress as quick as possible and I tried to do some subtle oil rendering before the matt clear coat: I used some black to underline the moveble parts, and some dark brown and earth for rivets and other panel lines.
Not easy to photograph but I hope you can see it.... 

Undersufaces received just a little treatment, I will see if enhance it after the matt coat. 

Finished, better photos in a few days with a little recap and some more notes 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will take some more outside photos in the future, but for now this are my latest random notes about this kit and its build:
I used just a small amount of Tamiya Liquid Surface Primer on the engine cowling joints, top and bottom, and did the same in my F-2 ongoing build (here you will have to remove the locating pins too), and have to file down some plastic in the stabilizer-to-tail junction, but the fit in all the other part of the build was excellent.
In my F-2 build I shortened the tail wheel leg a bit because I feel it looks better.
To have the main wheels sit closer to the legs I shortened the two undercarriage axles too (by the way, the axles are a loose fit with the wheel hub, take your time and some slow setting cement to have them in the right position) and in my F-2 I sanded and thinned the two UC covers because they are really too thick as from the box: I think Eduard here want us to buy their next Bronze aftermarket legs and wheels...
You don't have a locating pin for the antenna mast, I glued mine with Tamiya Cement and a steady hand but maybe next time I will add a metal pin in the mast and drill a hole in the canopy before painting.
My first two build are Overtrees edition and I haven't used any of photoetched provided in the dual Limited Edition box, but I feel that some of them are really useless because they will not be seen, like the ones for the front of coolant radiators.
Do not waste time painting the propeller hub as I did, because it will be totally covered by the spinner.
Some modellers complained about a rough surface textures in the fuselage top and bottom, but nothing that could not be solved with some fine sandpaper if you cannot live with it: there are two very light shrinks in the wing tips but they will not be noticed once the paint job finished (at least, I cannot notice them anymore).
P.s. : I forgot to mention that the canopy clear parts are quite thick, I didn't pose it open for this reason 

I left the nose radiator off because I did not want to glue the nose guns until all the painting was done: I know it's not that easy but still nothing very difficult, and the radiator is a perfect fit and will not be noted if fitted afterwards.
In conclusion I think this is a superb kit, not for the absolute beginner because it require some skill and attention (dryfitting and cleaning of the mating surfaces are mandatories) but almost all can easily obtain a beautiful scale replica of one of the icon of WW2 aviation.
About my particular build, I wanted to replicate the F-4 trop flown by Maj. Gordon Gollob, Kommodore of JG 77, between June 2 and 6 1942 in Crimea: Exito's decal sheet provide lots of information about this machine, WNr. 10266, and point to some references that for once I have! In the two colour photos in the book "Mit der Kamera an der Front" only some parts of the airframe can be seen, leaving the remaining free for interpretation: mine differed from the Exito's and the book's ones because for me, the RLM70 lines were larger and denser than the one in their profile and I airbrushed them this way.
Nose, port and most starboard wing and fuselage are conjectural, even the yellow rectangle are a guess but was present on his reserve aircraft WNr. 10263, which was flown by Gollob after he had lost WNr. 10266 on June 9, 1942; the starboard horizontal stabilizer and elevator are a replacement parts finished in standard RLM74and 75 greys, while the remaining airframe was one of the several F-4 trops with desert camouflage sent directly from the factory to the Eastern Front and field modified.
In the two colour photos in A. Urbanke's book, only the point of what it looks like a double chevron marking is visible, but in a low quality photo in Mombeeck's "Luftwaffe Gallery Special Unit Album n. 2" a triple chevron is shown and lead to the more accurate markings in the Exito sheet.
P.s. : I forgot to mention that the canopy clear parts are quite thick, I didn't pose it open for this reason 

Today I found some spare time to take some photos outside in the garden, hope you will like them!