Before painting, I added some extra detail by way of radiator cowls, super-charger intake, magazine bulges and gun recesses in the cowl. I also cut some card and glued to the rudder to give the impression of a built-up structure.

The rudder is normally fixed on these models, but I decided to hinge it so that I could trim out any minor construction mis-alignments using a rod attached to the side of the fus.

To finish off the front end, I purchased a 3-bladed prop and spinner that was then 'blunted' and drilled for a cannon prior to painting.

Work also began on the construction of an instrument panel.

Eventually, the time came to apply some paint, originally I had not wanted to do it the popular Battle of Britain colors, but I couldn't be sure any of the others would be accurate for a 109E, plus there were quite a few slight variations in the references that I found on the web.

I used Flair Spectrum paints and had to mix a few colors to get the desired shades which were then applied using a small cheap airbrush powered by a gas cartridge.

For the yellow, I used some Solarlac which was fine on the rudder but nasty on the cowl. The first coat peeled off, requiring it to be stripped, primed and done again. Second time around, some of it reacted, so these areas were stripped and repainted. Eventually it turned out ok.

Panel lines were drawn on the wing using a pencil and some decals were applied. The cowl and other inlets were painted in matt black along with the wheels in their retracted position. Next, several coats of Flair satin fuel proofer were applied.

Some machine guns were made out of short lengths of brass tube and painted before being glued into position in the cowl and the wings, and then some final detailing of panel lines and first aid box were applied to the fusalage before a final coat of fuel proofer was applied.

By now it was really beginning to look good, the only thing missing was a pilot, come on Pete, three days till the competition!

Cockpit detailing was enhanced with the construction of a fuel tank that sits behind the pilots seat and the instrument panel was kitted out with some home made dials. I found some photos of actual instrument panels on the web, the number and layout of dials varied, so I just kind'a made up my own arrangment, but did include the targeting gizmo.

The closer I got to the end of construction, the more I was dreading the thought of having to hand launch it. Whilst there are some very good hand-launchers and trim-out pilots in the club, hand-launching an untrimmed model puts it in a very vulnerable position, as I have witnessed many times. A 'dolly' is looking like a very sensible and desirable option!

Finally she was completed and ready to go! Just as well since the clubs scale competition is the following day. The original pilot ordered from Petes had not arrived, so a quick visit to the LHS turned up a 1/10 female pilot, not exactly WWII Luftwaffe, but with using a bit of filler to mould a mask, a bit of paint and a balsa body, she/he was soon ready.