Converting Me 109E to Me 109F
Preparing for my Eastern Front game that I will be running at Marscon later this month, I ordered four Me 109E's from AIM. I also found paint schemes for some JG54 planes that flew in the northern sector. The trick was that these are 109F's. When I ordered them, I was unaware of the differences between the E and F variants (according to the AIM website, the F models are not yet released). This is where several Aerodrome threads came in handy.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sho...highlight=109F
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sho...highlight=109F
Taking advantage of the relatively soft materials of the AIM models, I put my hobby knife, sandpaper, and (formerly my wife's) nail file block to work. I made four modifications to the model, and you can, too.
1. Convert the square wingtips to semi-elliptical wingtips. I used my knife to clip off the corners of the wing edges. Based on drawing and photographs, I decided to clip more off the back of the wingtip than the front. I then sanded sharp points left on the wingtip to round them off.
2. Remove the wing mounted guns. This was the easiest because in some cases I had already accidentally broken them off. For the ones I hadn't broken off, I clipped off the guns with my knife and sanded the area smooth.
3. Make the the tail wheel semi-retractable. I cut off the tail wheel, leaving behind a lump that will then become the semi-retracted wheel. I sanded the lump smooth so that it appears round. I am least sure about this modification. I have seen models and illustrations of F's and G's both with a tail wheel not showing and others with a tail wheel showing as in the E models.
4. Round off the nose so that it is less boxy looking and more aerodynamic looking. I used my knife to shave off bits from the top and bottom of the nose. I only shaved off a little because I didn't want to lose the molded details of the gun ports and other items in the nose. The end result isn't as aerodynamic looking as the 109F, but I was able to change the curve in the nose of the model.
These modifications took me about 30 minutes with each plane. I like the results. Here are pictures that compare the 109E to the 109F.
Top View. 109F (rounded wingtips, no wing mounted guns) on the left and 109E on the right)
Side View. 109F (smoother nose, semi-retracted tail wheel) on the left on 109E on the right). Both planes are resting on top of a nail file block, available at your local beauty supply store.
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A solid conversion. 
Originally Posted by OldGuy59
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