SPA Modeler

jeaton1- cool! I’ll check them out!

Floki- I can totally see how that would happen. Aftermarket is what it is, and experience from kit to kit is bound to be mixed. It just seems like the nature of it. Now my resin Spitfire cockpit, Eduard developed it hand-in-hand with the Mk. IXc kit that it’s intended for use with, so that gives me an optimistic attitude about it.

I took some time this morning to wire-up and assemble the lower IP. I also sprayed the redux cockpit with Flat Clear and it seems to have mellowed things out in there nicely.

Looking really good...but i only have one eye that works. Thank you, I'm here all week. But, seriously, that is some might fine work on the cockpit.

That's a great looking bit of cockpit work Kenny!

Well, I finally caught up with this and read through it. Like everyone here, I'm thrilled to see you back and building again. I too have been battling severe depression and frustration so I know exactly what you've been going through. My Faith and my Hobby have been the only things keeping me going.

Your work is stupendous as always Kenny! What a thrill to see it here again! I'm also glad you're delving into my favorite scale as well. As for the continuous threads you have here and in Armor; I commend you for that. Having everything in one Thread as it's built is so much easier; it's why I do what I do with mine. Way to go.

Keep going Kenny! You got another Forum member checking in regularly again.

Thank you guys so much! I appreciate your kind words and encouragement.

On the subject of depression, I feel for anybody who grapples with it. I truly do. As a person who’s struggled with it myself, ever since I was a little kid, I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. So Big Duke, I’m here for you as well if you ever need to vent or just talk.

Stuart and Lyle, thank you guys again. I’m really happy to say that the stock cockpit fit in there beautifully. That more than makes up for the missing detail, in my opinion. A poor fit, to me, kind of detracts from all the the work I put into the resin pit.

I went ahead and sealed it all up in the fuselage, and attached the lower wing half. I had to do some minor filling and sanding/buffing, but it wasn’t bad at all. Honestly, I’ve always had problems with the lower cowling and air intake on these Eduard Emils, but I took my time, test-fit *everything* multiple times, and even went so far as to change around the order in which I installed everything in order to get the most out of the fit. Totally worth it.

I also went off the reservation with the upper wing halves and the struts. Yes, I went ahead and attached those to the upper wing halves. Why? Good question...

See here, I’ve had terrible luck with these Emils and the landing gear, specifically the stance, when I install the legs at the end of the build. The reason for that is, with this kit in particular, the posts are small and the holes they go into are quite shallow. A modeler can install these legs at practically any angle he chooses. It’s crazy how much play and slop is in there when the legs are dry fit. So I took a calculated risk, ostensibly- I’m risking accidentally breaking them off later or ruining the paint somehow, for the sake of being able to install them and adjust them to my liking easily without risking ruining a model I’ve already almost completed.

I’m very happy with how they’ve turned out, shown in the photos with the upper halves dry-fit and taped in place.

Cockpit entombed:


Post fill and sanding up front:


Lower wing half attached:


Sexy joins:




Gear legs installed in top wing halves which are dry fit to lower wing half:





Thank you for your interest in my models.

Ah... you're getting there. I think it's everyone's biggest fear of having struts snapped off early in the build. I've had a few in my younger days where I ended up having them wheels up display.

Looking great Kenny! Nice work-arounds you came up with. This is coming along nicely!

Very interesting approach to the landing gear. I hope it works for you in the end.

Kenny's back! Wow... so sorry to have missed your return. Mixed mojo must be affecting us all! Great to see your work again! I like your approach to the landing gear... sometimes you have to break the accepted build order to achieve your objectives. The 109 legs are hard to get right due to the splay of the legs. Looking forward to joining you with some work of my own.

Many thanks, fellas. I’ve had a few disasters and missteps with a lot of modeling-related stuff. I guess at the end of the day, if a modeler likes a certain subject or kit, he builds a few of them and distills and refines what he’s learned. Me personally? I dislike attaching gear on these kits at the end. It isn’t that the established way of doing things seems incorrect, don’t get me wrong. It’s more that for me, doing a 109 with this kit the standard way just doesn’t work for me. I discovered that I can get that slightly forward and out canter more precisely this way, and it’s worth the risk. Pips’ Emil is in my jig right now and there it’ll stay until completion. This should help minimize the probability of things breaking off.