! Full Review

HGW Models

Messerschmitt BF109E-7 Trop

1:32 scale

with Mick Stephen (March 2021)

Copyright www.scalemodellingnow.com 2021

Introduction… It is always nice to see some of the smaller aftermarket companies expand their portfolio into bundled kit packages and this is certainly the case with HGW. You will find a review of the kit and it’s extras here.

I won’t dwell on any background of the subject, nor on the plastic as it is the Dragon/Cyber Hobby offering that has been well reviewed in the past, let’s just dive right into the build.

My intent here is not to provide a blow by blow account of each step, instead to capture the major milestones, problems encountered, how they were fixed and to demonstrate any techniques that are particular to this kit and it’s aftermarket extras. I will do my utmost to keep the build OOB and resist the temptation to fiddle 😊

Let the build commence… Beginning logically with the cockpit floor, bulkhead and instrument coaming, I have to admit I like the way this all assembles, certainly the alignment of the fuselage halves will be exact with those slotting into the wing spars and a very positive tab on each side.

Minimal clean up is required on the parts and fit is excellent.

Luftwaffe paint schemes were dictated by the Reichs Luftfahrt Ministerium (RLM), however as the paints were produced by many manufacturers, the majority had differences in shade, which begs the question which colour is correct? That is an argument for another rainy

day, I guess.

For the cockpit colours the painting guide gives us a choice of two, RLM02 and RLM66, a lighter and darker shade of grey respectively. I am using Mr Color range of paints, so will follow the callouts for these.

I am opting for the darker colour, which is close to a German Black Gray, Mr Color 116.

The kit has raised detail instrument panels should you wish to paint up your own, however the pre-painted photoetch HGW supply from Yahu of Poland is very impressive. Coming fully assembled the dials even have a glassy look, which makes a nice change from having to add that effect with other manufacturers.

I will leave the gunsight for now, to aid masking and to avoid it becoming a victim of the dreaded carpet monster.

The fuselage halves need a little clean up where the sprue gates were and there are some injection pin marks, however don’t lose any sleep on these as they will be totally obscured.

Sidewalls are well detailed and a little research indicated the small starter motor fuel tank was Yellow with Brass caps and the map compartment a Dark Forest Green, matching the seat.

Bearing in mind the subject is in a Desert theatre of war, weathering was kept light and dusty using Mig Ammo products.

The fuselage halves fit perfectly, although I would suggest not gluing the wing spars, the forward fuselage to the cockpit floor or the wing roots at this stage.

The side frames in the cockpit walls need a little help to attach to the fuselage sides, however they align perfectly on each side into their slots.

Problems arise…

This is the point where we can see a well documented problem on this kit.

The fit of the L shaped cowling forward of the windscreen and the windscreen itself is poor. I have read many fixes to this, ranging from major surgery to omitting the internal details completely, but it is worth taking the time to look at what the problem really is.

Quite clearly the cowling and windscreen parts are too narrow, or the fuselage is too wide in this area?

Here is my take of the situation…

Everything stems from two small tabs located on the fuselage halves (arrows in orange) that appear to have two purposes. Firstly, to locate under the instrument panel and secondly to then make a standoff for the sides to create a gap (arrows in yellow) for the cowling tabs (arrows in red below) to slot into.

By carefully removing those tabs the fuselage sides can be drawn together, which narrows the whole area. You will need a clamp for this action and plenty time for glue to set.

The cowling tabs need to be removed as the gap is now gone.

One problem solved…

However, one solution usually leads to another issue, in this case the fitting of the machine guns.

They will sit a little high, so remove by sanding a small amount of the top of the ammunition feed and remove the link chutes (tiny parts that you won’t notice or missing anyway).

A nice flush fit ensues, windscreen matching the L shaped cowling and both flush with the fuselage sides, just what the doctor ordered. Just as an aside, if you are planning fixing the cowling in place, an alternative is to chop the main body of the machine guns at the fixing point to the mounts and just have the barrel portion glued in place, this works just as well.

A Daimler Benz 601 engine… The kit engine is multipart and reasonably well detailed, however in my view it has scope for more details, especially hydraulic and fuel piping and electrical wiring. A super detailer could go to town here, but I will resist the temptation and stick with my OOB pledge.

The main engine block is painted Semi Gloss Black, then adding the air filter and water tank which I have painted in RLM66 and Steel respectively.

The engine mounts are RLM02 Light Grey and various pipes are picked out in a Rubber Black with the oil sump return pipe in Blue. This may not be the correct period colour, but it stood out on a restoration example and as it will be on top of the engine I thought it gave a nice contrast.

Underneath the air filter box is White with the filter faces metal and weathered with dust. The filter exhaust scoop should be fitted, but trust me leave it off for now.

HGW supply replacement resin exhausts, which are very nicely cast and far better than the kit parts. The casting block attachment is very thin, so no need for much sanding after removal.

Final construction… The instructions would have you assemble the wings first before attaching to the fuselage. I would recommend attaching the upper wings first to ensure a gap free seam at the wing root.

Clamps are needed to hold the wing spars into their slots firmly.

On the lower wing surface the flexible resin wheel bay surrounds are attached with cyano. As they are flexible you need to attach them firmly to the oleo leg trough, let that set and then work your way around the edges, ensuring the walls are located in the slot in the wing undersurface.

The kit wing cannon are very nicely detailed with a separate ammunition box. This fits neatly

into the wing, prior to joining the wing halves.

That wraps up the main body construction, a quick mask of the cockpit and it’s on with some primer.

Let’s talk about rivets… Somewhat of a controversial subject in our hobby, there are many schools of thought on how rivets contribute to a finished model. This ranges from the old days of the mad raised riveter, an example of which that comes to mind is the original Frog Shackleton MR3 in 1:72 scale, to the now more modern and accepted recessed rivet detail seen on the majority of kit releases today.

Firstly, lets define exactly what I am talking about here, flushed riveting detail on a stressed metal skin aircraft surface. In my mind flush riveting is exactly that, nothing raised above the surface of the skin to impede the airflow and add a drag component to the design. Now take that definition into scale modelling and by rights neither recessed rivets or raised detail would be accurate, however in most cases from reference photographs, the panel lines on the skin show up where the riveting is present, the question is how best to represent that and to what degree.

Recessed rivet detail works well in my opinion once primer and top coats are added in sufficiency to reduce the depression into a ‘hint’ of the rivet line, pre-shading or post-shading then complements the effect. I am certainly not in the school of thought that then adds a surface wash, filling the rivet lines and making them stand out.

Raised rivets, although uncommon on modern kits except where they truly exist e.g. tail area of a BAe Hawk? …are also acceptable, as long as they are sanded down to the degree of that elusive ‘hint’ mentioned earlier.

So, what about if we have NO rivet detail on an older kit, this BF109 subject being a case in point. This may be a re-release from 2015, but the kit itself dates back way earlier, so fuselage and wing surfaces are smooth, only recessed panel lines are represented.

The choices are clear, break out your old faithful riveting tool and spend many a happy hour masking and adding that recessed rivet detail, or as offered as an alternative by HGW, positive rivet transfers.

Before I go on to cover these positive rivets in more detail, let me add that the opinions expressed are my own, not up for discussion, as everyone is free to choose their own school of thought and in my view the comments section of this review is not the forum to enter into debate, there are plenty other places on the web where that can take place. Agree or disagree I do not intend to be drawn into lengthy discussion and will not be making any reply. I wish all success in any method they choose or school of thought they follow.

Soap box speech over, let’s get on with the build…

Positive rivet transfers…

I noticed in the in-box review that the two A4 sheets of rivet detail transfers did not come with a guide of any sort. Not that it would take a rocket scientist to work

out where each transfer section would go, I thought it incumbent to reach out to HGW and ask their advice. Within 24hrs I had a reply to my email attaching a specific guide sheet to placement, now THAT is customer service in my opinion, Kudos to Martin at HGW for the extremely fast and helpful response.

These are wet transfer decals, so there is no adhesive backing or transfer film involved, they are also not pre-cut so the approach to applying is a little different and slightly more time consuming that the usual decal sheets. Here is what you are going to need:

•Alcohol wipes to clean the surface •Sharp scissors to cut out the section required •A fresh blade in your favoured scalpel •A wide dish for warm water to soak the transfer •A softening or setting solution to apply to the surface PRIOR to the transfer •A flat brush and cotton buds (Q-Tips

to our Colonial cousins) to get any fluid out from under the transfer

• Time and patience in bounds.

The secret here is to have ensured your surfaces are final, all preparation complete, sanding material put back in the drawer and surfaces clean of all dust, smear’s or fingermarks. A pair of surgical gloves at this point wouldn’t go amiss. The aim is to apply the transfer in the exact position you want it and ensure the rivet detail is in direct contact with the surface, leave no fluid underneath.

My recommendation is to complete the transfers in sections, undersides first then each fuselage sides and tail, then finally the wing upper surfaces, pausing between each section to allow the decals to dry and NOT removing the protective film at this stage.

Cut out each numbered panel from the appropriate sheet, trimming around the edge as closely as you can, but leave one side with a little bit extra overlap of film, which will make it easier to remove when dry.

Some panels will need cut outs to allow raised fuselage detail to pass through.

Ensuring the area is clean with the alcohol swab, a coat of the softening or setting solution is applied and the decal soaked in warm water for 10 – 15 seconds. It will then side off the backing paper and you can then align it in position.

Then using the wide brush and cotton buds, carefully extract all the fluid from underneath, spending time to ensure each and every rivet is in direct contact with the surface.

Then it is a waiting game - consider at least 6 – 8hrs for the transfer to dry completely, please don’t be tempted to rush this step.

The small overlap on the protective film is where you can then peal back and slowly reveal the rivet lines securely mated to the surface.

You can now use another alcohol wipe or damp cloth to wipe away any excess film marks or setting solution residue, leaving a perfectly riveted surface.

Let me assure you at this stage that the rivets are very securely attached, the model is now perfectly handleable, no need for a sealing coat, but don’t let your sanding material near them, the time for sanding is over, hence the reason all preparation in the earlier stage is paramount.

The results speak for themselves, some very discreet rivet patterns.

Next on the ‘to do’ list is the control surfaces. The kit supplies some photo-etch hinges that fit snuggly into the pre-prepared notches for them, just follow the instructions carefully as each pair have specific alignment.

I would recommend these are clamped in place till the glue sets fully as there is a lot of strain on these very small hinge parts.

Onwards to painting… A slightly different approach this time with the positive rivets to consider. I am choosing to not pre-shade prior to a base colour coat, but apply that coat first and then post shade.

After post shading a number of lightened and thinned top colour is applied until the panels are faded sufficiently.

It’s not an easy task to photograph with my limited happy snappy skills, but look carefully and you will see the ‘hint’ of the positive rivets alongside some recessed ones.

Undersides and fuselage sides painted we continue on with the upper and top surfaces in the desert sand, once again a topcoat layer, then post shading, before overshooting a lightened and thinned blending coat.

The Leopard Spot camouflage pattern I used some self cut masks with random sizes and shapes, completing the larger spots first then infilling with smaller ones.

The lower engine cowl gets a base coat of Yellow, I opted to not have the complete yellow nose, in any case the finished model will be displayed with the top cowl removed and engine exposed.

The white tail band and wingtips are masked up and painted at this point. Note a coat of high gloss ready for the decals and stencils.

Once again these are waterslide transfers, so the same method of application as the rivets. If you wish some weathering to the decals, then a little blu-tac will lift

the surface. You will need to do this before sealing everything in with a matt surface coat.

The undercarriage and tail wheel are pre-painted and simply fit into their respective location points.

Final completion… Time to fit that glorious engine. What I did find is that the alignment is a little tricky, especially on the lower engine mounts, I suggest removing the two small tabs shown.

The engine frame mounts are all that is supporting the main block to the fuselage, so propping this up and letting the glue set fully is highly recommended.

Also ensuring the frames are aligned perpendicular to the airframe centreline. The propellor and upper cowls are painted, although I do not intend to fit the main top cowl.

The seat is pre-painted in a Dark Green and some aluminium weathering applied, before tackling the HGW Fabric Seat Belts.

The seat belt set comes with photo-etch buckles and a small reference photograph.

Instructions to assemble the seat belts are clear and concise, just a little finicky.

HGW’s recommendations on how to finish the fabric speak for themselves.

I have to admit, in comparison to belts made from Tamiya tape or photo-etch, these look absolutely fantastic in this large scale.

Lastly comes the windscreen and canopy components, where HGW supply a set of masks from Miryoku of Japan.

Accuracy of the masks both inside and outside is excellent.

Before fitting the canopy parts I added some desert weathering and some exhaust staining, plus a little behind the gun ports on the wing upper surfaces.

I am calling this one DONE!

Conclusions and Gallery… Let’s be honest, this is an old kit but what HGW have done to pull together all the necessary extras and re-box this with their own enhancements, makes for a superb package. I am particularly enamoured to those positive rivets and the fabric seat belts are sublime.

Congrats HGW, I will certainly be doing another one of these.

Mick S.

SMN Quick summary Star rating out of 5

Quality of molding ****

Accuracy ****

Instructions ****

Decals *****

Subject choice *****

Value for money ****

Overall ****