Bf-109F radio compartment 3D-printed

The real subject

Behind the pilot's compartment of the Messerschmitt Bf 109F was a compartment holding the radio set, accessible through a hinged cover on the side of the fuselage. In period photographs it is often seen open during maintenance on an airfield, and modelers like to open it on their own machines, because it breaks up the uniform surface of the spine and gives a view inside the fuselage. On an ordinary kit in this scale the place is hollow, and once the cover was opened there would be nothing to show in it.

What the set offers

According to the name the parts are made by three-dimensional printing. Printing manages shapes and fine edges that could not be drawn out of a mold, so the inside of the compartment comes out in more detail than injection-molded plastic. The printed sections are held on print supports; these are cut off before the build and the marks left by them are sanded away. The range of the parts and the kit the set fits are given in the manufacturer's instructions.

Building and painting tips

The parts are not polystyrene, cement for plastic has no effect on them, so use cyanoacrylate glue. Before painting, wash them in lukewarm water with dish soap and degrease them, so that no print resin residue stays on them, under which the paint would flake off. The cover of the compartment has to stay open, otherwise nothing of the work will be visible; how big an intervention in the fuselage this calls for differs from kit to kit and is guided by the instructions.

• the radio compartment for a Bf 109F model in 1:72 scale
• parts made by three-dimensional printing
• the print supports are cut off and sanded away before the build
• glued with cyanoacrylate glue; degreasing is needed before painting

Terms of supply

The aircraft kit, paints and glue are not part of the delivery, unless stated otherwise.