SPA Modeler

pzl66 wrote:

That looks superb - very nicely done!

One almost done... one humming along....

Looks awsome and again thanks for all the great advice on building a closed up Eduard 109

No problem! We all learn from each other and that is how we avoid certain mistakes.

Tip:

The seam along the spine and belly of the aft fuselage (behind the cockpit) is supposed to be there! So don’t go sanding it away, it is like that on the real aircraft! Granted a lot of people already know this but for those that don’t, you lucked out and it’s one less thing to sand!

Ok now is the time to install the lower engine radiator assembly into the lower engine cowl. This method and at this time provides the best fit, you will need to trim and sand the sides of the assembly, I made it almost flush with the PE on the sides but the part drops in with no fighting at all. (Note: the PE part on the cowl is a new Eduard piece. Eduard, if you are listening, you need to include it with EVERY Emil kit you make!!)



Nice fit!



Well gents, that is gonna be it for now. The next step (pulling an Eduard here) can be found on an earlier page in this thread. Cut the cylinder heads off the engine, mount the exhaust stubs to the heads, insert one side first, added some thin cement to the inside (non visible area), attach the other, AND then you are ready to mount the cowl to the fuselage with pain free ease! Just REMEMBER to install the closed upper cowl gun assemble to the upper cowl BEFORE installing the cowl to the fuselage, it’s not fun if you forget!

Another tip I will add here: leave about an inch to an inch and a half of sprue attached to the front of the cowl. This little piece comes in handy when you are painting so you can grab from there. Works better when applying a gloss coat!

As far as guidance and tips... That’s all folks! CAUTION the writing below in this post is intended for those who are just stepping out of the beginner stage of modeling and are jumping into the intermediate realm. I cannot give you a refund on the time lost reading information you more than likely already know. Proceed at your own will, you have been warned!

Buuuuuut, I will go on to some BETTER ways to spruce up this kit at this stage in the build. Let me get it out of the way now, this kit really is a gem. I love it and have enjoyed each one I have made. Now compared to the Accurate Minitures TBF/TBM Avenger kit (which I highly recommend you build one if you have not already) which has great detail but the most important was the amazing fit with very little cleanup. The Eduard Emil is more challenging as you have to really plan out how you are going to build if but you are gaining a significant amount more detail out of the box.

I do have a few gripes: the PE part I put on the cowl should (as in “they should have”) be included with all the kits. Removal of the seam removes the access panel details and unless you are skilled with a scribe (for which I am not) you are screwed. The other alternative is the have the lower cowl be a one piece. So moral is, unless you happen to be lucky to have that PE part, you are in for a tedious treat. Second gripe: the wing radiator cowls, ultra cast was able to make a “more correct” cowl in the wings and this small detail can further add more pop to the model. This can be corrected by trimming down the extra thickness on the flange that is cemented to the wings BUT this leads to my real gripe about this, the strut. I think PE has it’s time and place, the strut is not one of them. This should be a proper shaped strut that can be cemented in place, again something that make the model pop and adds to the illusion factor. The Emil has beautiful lines but yet every kit manufacture drops the ball here. I give Eduard props for giving the PE part but it is PE... you need a steady hand and the right kind of super glue for it to sit in the right place and not make a mess in the process. But all that valiant effort goes in the trash because even sneezing within a city block of the part makes it fall off. So realistically you are better off not using it and instead using .020 / 0.5mm styrene rod (or if you are really good a stretching sprue to the perfect size) to at least have the illusion of having the right strut. Last part, don’t make us drill a hole in the pilot seat (where the shoulder strap goes through), that should be there already! But that is it, those are the only real issues with the kit, everything else works really well!

Ok that took a turn down the side road... Anyway, back to the point. There is a time and place for PE, and then there is where you just need to avoid it. But I have a solution and (some of you probably already have this items) where Eduard supplies PE for the rudder cables, save yourself the trouble and pick up some brass .010 / .025mm rods (or equivalent) at your local or online hobby store. I will show you the difference of how they look and the brass rods not only look better (to me anyway) but they install waaaaay easier too. The nice thing is you need very little and you can have one package serve for many many builds (unless you do a lot of scratch building).

The other real upgrade is the brake lines on the landing gear, don’t even bother with the styrene part. It’s too thick and doesn’t sit right. Grab some copper wire and find the strands that are the thicker of the thin kind, the kid that is rigid but can be shaped with tweezers and hold the shape while being touched. (Some where in this thread I posted the set up and size). Also if you don’t alreay have Tamiya tape, get some! Those are what the bands that hold the lines to the gear will be made from!

Bear with me on those tid bits as I will now need to get this build to that point so you can see a comparison of before and after, yadda yadda.

Again very informative, thank you for sharing.

This is straight forward, the first picture shows the PE used for the rudder cables and it is “ok” but it adds thickness to the rudder attachment point and doesn’t look too great. Mind you it is also a pain in the ass to deal with, and it is also flat. I picked up some .010 / 0.25mm brass rods and glued them one at a time in place at the forward attachment point on the fuselage, allowing them to rest on the rudder attachment point until the glue set (second picture). After set, trim the rod to proper length so it is even and flush with the edge of the rudder attachment and wha-la l, you have a better rudder control cable/rod!

Ran into a small issue, dry fitted the canopy and all was well until cementing time and the rear piece decided to give me a slight gap. I didn't want to mess the great alignment I had with the other two parts so I gave some stretched sprue a shot:


The other side had no gap at all, well as far as I could see anyway... And yes, I finally remembered to i stall the armor plate on the canopy! (This is from two builds ago )

Combo of my first time ever making stretch sprue (how did I go this long without doing this?!?!?) and some Tamiya extra thin (another item I cannot believe I went this long with out) and using the back side of the tweezers to push the sprue into the tiny gap. Applied the cement along the gap and pulled the sprue lightly but tight into place, using the tweezers on the now soft sprue to flatten it. Worked like a charm! Will see what minor sanding, if any, that I will need to do after a base coat of Mr Finishing Surfacer.



Didn’t have this issue with the two prior kits, but I swear I am having to jump in and try new techniques on this one (due to the guy typing this up!).

Very nice touch with the cable. I'm gonna have to go check my 1/24 scale 109 to make sure I put that rudder cable on that thing. It'd be ashamed if I didn't do it in that scale. Very impressive progress so far Kevin!!

Beautiful touches of detail work, and a very nice repair on the hairline gap.