F 14

 

MESSERSCHMITT  BF 109

Any display shelve of vintage aircraft or in the case of this blog “WWII warplanes” will never be complete without the “BF-109”. This was the first time I built a Nazi warplane intentionally from a regular plastic model kit, although I admired the design of some German “bombers” especially when I saw one that my cousin made, German “fighters” however are shadowy subjects during my boyhood model building days. I don’t know if there will ever be a time that I will cook up a Focke Wulf or a Heinkel bomber model of substantial size, so for the meantime I’ve tinkered with this “Hobby Boss” 1:72 scale Messerschmitt BF-109 (G-variant) not for the “BF” to mean “Best Friends” for the more personally favored models I had already featured; but to give the Mustangs, the Spitfires, the Hurricanes and even the Zeros a run for their place in this blogpage.

Since the model is a regular kit piece, the build is pretty much straight forward with very few parts, the brand’s 1:72 scale single seat fighters are usually like child-play to put together, it’s the painting process that will take days, weeks, or even months depending on your prioritization of such project. I found an old “Badger” bottle-feed airbrush  I used during my Architecture school days, rethro-emo sentimentality kicks-in  so I decided  to use the paint spraying device for the BF-109 considering the fact that its messy and preparationally time consuming because I have to clean the bottle for each paint color and tune-up an old heavy air compressor, to use regular painting brushes would have been much “simpler” but I also wanted to achieve a prebuilt-like model surface finishes …and I don’t know if I did?, as an unbiased comment on the final outcome of the model.

It is nostalgically hearth-warming to work with my basic version airbrush again, although I got it to use for my college days projects, utilizing it for this scale model-kit build is actually like spending some pleasant time reminiscing the good old days with a good old friend.

Also known as the “ME-109” the BF-109 is the most numerous type of warplane that Nazi Germany had ever produced; it dominated the European theater of war when it first swarmed over the air forces of Germany’s subject countries. The 109s is considered one of the most advanced fighters at the time of it’s fielding; feared even by the major “Allied” countries like Britain, France, Russia and the US…which still employ considerable numbers of outdated “biplanes” for their first response air defense strategy this situation specially holds true for many of the minor European countries and colonial states at the time the “Axis” started the Second World War (WW2) for world domination.  

The BF-109’s compact and streamlined design made it an excellent high altitude fighter-interceptor however it has undergone many upgrade and modification through out the war, there are Bf-109 variants for ground attack, surveillance and fighter bombers. In spite that Nazi-Germany have dabbled on fielding more technologically advance warplanes and better allied fighters has been introduced as the war progresses, the BF-109  remained a competitive Luftwaffe  fighter up to the end of  WW2 in Europe.    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

   " 1:72 scale Hobbyboss Bf - 109 with a 1:100 scale unbranded diecast  BF - 109. Note the Different shaped wingtips indicative of the BF 109's varied configuration. "
 

 " found an old bottlefeed airbrush from my Architecture School days"

   " Sizes comparison, 172 scale Bf 109 , 1:72 scale Hawker       Hurricane, and 1:100 scale  BF 109

PS Disclaimer : The scenes and objects depicted in this blog are mainly for the blog authors personnal opinion and artistic expression only and not meant to claim absolute authoritative presentation of actual events and people that are often the inspiration for the subjects or topics featured in this site.

F4U CORSAIR

In my earlier blogpost I already featured an F4U-Corsair or what is left of it; mentionally a half of its fuselage and one of its wings, I originally planned to build another one from a completely brand-new kit but at the last minute I decided to try a pre-built "Hobbyeasy" 1:72 scale F4U-1 Corsair" Instead. Although the Corsair is one of my favorite World War Two (WWII) aircraft I find it unnecessary to spend tedious time for a model piece I already built as a boy.  Its my firs time to purposely get a no assembly needed scale model, and appropriately as what the brand said; its so “easy” …, it was a kind of mild situational dis-orientation when I took out the F4U scale model from its box to be photographed; its seemed so un-complicated; no tools and materials to prepare, no adhesives or paints to mix, its quite clear that old modelers will miss the nostalgia of building a model from a kit and the anticipating excitement as your project slowly take shape, it’s the “build” and aura of participation that appeals some to indulge in this activity and “pre-built” models don’t have this appeal out of the box.

Despite all the seemingly unsatisfying  traits that a pre-built models offer to an old-school modeler I don’t consider it too bad of an idea, foremostly I am a single middle age man which have to do battle with single-blessedness and creeping gray hair, coupled with lessened “senses” capacity I know at some point in the near future I will probably have to solely resort on “pre-built subjects” whenever I feel the need to reminisce my childhood pastimes and writing about them whenever my personal or economics `situation can still allow it..

Sea Pirates of the Caribbean and the Atlantic are traditionally classified as “Buccaneers”, while pirates that operate mainly in the Mediterranean area known as “Corsairs”. The Chance-Vought F4U Corsair is a World War Two (WWII) single seat fighter originally conceived to meet America’s need for a new “Aircraft Carrier-Based” machine that can over-match “Japanese” warplanes that “shamed” United States (US) armed forces in Land, Sea and Air. Introduced at the middle of the war in the Pacific (1941-45); the Corsair did have some early operational problem mainly because aviators have to adjust on the characteristic  of it  distinctive “inverted gulwing” and long-engine configuration which for some seemed inappropriate for a flying machine intended to be used primarily on carriers, this utilization problem however was overshadowed by the F4U’s durability, speed and maneuverability;  it can operate on roughly prepared and even muddy “land-base” runways, eventually further modification of the planes controls surfaces and adaptive piloting techniques led it to be used  as a formidable fighter of the “US Marine Corps “ for their “carrier-based" operations.

The F4U Corsair  saw action in almost all theaters of the war but it was on the U.S. push to retake the “Central-South Pacific” from the Japanese Imperial forces is where the “Corsair is famously noted  for.  The legendary status of the Plane in WWII folk history was enhance when a maverick marine officer named “Gregory Boyington” trained and then led a team of young airman called the “Blackship Squadron” using F4U Corsairs in the campaign to harass Japanese forces in their island strongholds at the start of America’s island-hopping campaign to reclaim the Pacific Islands from the enemy.

During an “air–raid” on Japan’s major logistics and airforce base at “Rabaul” (Papua New Guinea) Boyington was shot down and captured by the Japanese Navy, he remained a Prisoner of War (POW) throughout the  remainder of  WWII. Occasionally reputed by social and institutional critics for his alledge unconforming public lifestyle and maybe because of his involvement as a U.S. sanctioned “volunteer” pilot for “Nationalist China” against Japan (even before America and Japan was officially at war); Boyington became a controversial  figure in America’s “on war” and post war social opinion landscape, nevertheless he is a recipient of official service awards (Medal of Honor, Navy Cross) for his part in turning his outfit from a once apprehensive members of a liberation force into a high morale and well motivated squadron thus contributing greatly to pan the tide of victory by deed or by opinion to the “Allies” favor during the conflict.

Battle of Guadalcanal, Liberation of the Philippines, Invasion of Iwojima are just three of the many notable battles the F4U-Corsair saw action in, the airframe continued service well after the war thus it had different numerical designations for every variant. In the Korean War it was superbly used as a “fighter bomber” (primarily the F4U-4 variants) equipped with rockets and fire-bombs.; the F4U was also flown to battle in the “French-Indochina” conflict of the 1950’s, Great Britain and New Zealand also have F4U Corsairs in their Air Forces during WWII.

               

1:72 F4U-1 Corsair ( foreground: “Jolly Rogers” cowling ) with a 1:72 F4U-4 Corsair ( background: “White Serpent” cowling ).

                                  




                                                                                           1:72 HobbyEasy F4U-1 Corsair  in size comparison with a 1:72 Academy A6M "Zero".       





        




" In my earlier blog post I already featured an F4U-Corsair or what is left of it; mentionally a half of its fuselage and one of its wings,"                                                                                                    

    

PS Disclaimer :  The scenes and objects depicted in this blog are mainly for the blog author’s personal opinion and artistic expression only and not meant to claim absolute authoritative presentation of actual events and people that often the inspiration for the subjects featured in this site....

MESSERSCHMITT ME-110

One of the few remaining "salvageable" sample of the  secret stash of  model kits my "old man" stored between the nook and crannies of the overhead book shelves, this Machbox 1:72 scale Messerschmitt ME-110 survived decades of mishandling by a "boy" who regarded it more as a toy rather a static model piece. Never got for myself a Nazi warplane kit  when I was a kid simply because movies and television strongly implied that those hyper-motivated Aryan armies are the villains of an armageddonic event called World War II (WWII), and some of their “wonder” aircrafts for a toddly ignorant simpleton mind looks like disproportional flying greenhouses, when your young you are impressionistic and during those times I still though that Rudolph is one of Santa Clause’s "Eight" regular reindeers as this is what is often heard on radio. Moving on to "21st century" online books and tele-documentary, many war historians acknowledges that Nazi German aircraft Design during the war while many are impractically eccentric, some did make it in the category of innovative and ground-breaking, to the artfully inclined; they are visually exotic.

In the carton-box where my mother indiscriminately packed all my models in when I entered college is where this 1:72 scale ME110 was re-discovered; only the fuselage was intact; most of the small exterior parts like the landing gears and propeller blades where missing   and had to be “scratch-built” from scrap materials,  its not painted as to emphasize the original “Machbox” two-color “parts spruce” for the kit and to avoid replacing the stock decals;  I however did some touch-up painting to hide excess glue stains and to give it some crude weathering effect of a real warplane in field action. Also known as the “BF-110” for which “BF” means (by Wikipedia, I will probably not recall this) “Bayerrische Flugzengwerke” (Bavarian Aircraft Works), later on the company was acquired by Messerschmitt.

The German ME-110 is one in the line of  twin-engined multi-crewed type warplanes introduced in the mid 1930’s who's primary mission was to be a “long range bomber escort fighter”. In the “Battle of Britain” the aircraft failed to demonstrate its multi -crew, two engine and large-caliber armaments advantage as it was grossly out-maneuvered by British Spitfires and Hurricane fighters. Despite the performance flaws realized after the cross-channel air campaign the Me-110 was kept into service up to the end of the War because its replacement aircraft cannot keep up with the demand, although the Me-110 fell short in the aspect of air superiority warfare for which it is intended to become, the plane’s configuration because of its weapons, ordinance and crew capacity did proved to very well suited for ground-support and as a night-fighter.

The Messerschmitt ME-110 saw commendable action in the role troop support in North Africa, as night fighter-interceptors during allied bombing raids in Germany and during the early phases of “Operation Barbarossa” (Germany’s surprise attack to conquer the Soviet Union) the 110 had been well suited in disrupting Russian mechanized defense formations. Coincidentally in May of 1941, “Rudolf”, not the reindeer; but “Rudolf Hess” Nazi Germany’s Vice Fuhrer disillusioned by the constant German defeat against the nation of “shopkeepers” flew an ME -110 alone to “Scotland” without “Hitler’s” approval in the hopes of brokering peace terms with the British, he was promptly arrested  and imprisoned up to the end of the war, he faced the “Nuremberg court” and was sentenced to life incarceration. The ME-110 was also used during WWII by the air forces of  Hungary, Italy and Romania.

    

                                            

                                       

"In the carton-box where my mother indiscriminately packed all my models in when I entered college is where this 1:72 scale ME110 was re-discovered; only the fuselage was intact; most of the small exterior parts like the landing gears and propeller blades where missing"




                                        







 A 1:72 scale "Messerschmitt ME-110" with a 1:72 scale "Hawker Hurricane", both are "Lesney Machbox" model  kits.



                       



 

                                                                                                

PS Disclaimer :  The scenes and objects depicted in this blog are mainly for the blog author’s personal opinion and artistic expression only and not meant to claim absolute authoritative presentation of actual events and people that often the inspiration for the subjects featured in this site.