aligned with each other and that the fuselage centre line is straight before wicking CA into the rear joint and
around the formers ‘F9’ and ‘F10’.
4.
Check that the tabs on ‘F8’ and the sides are fully seated against the fuselage sides and stick into place.
5.
At the front of the fuselage, check that the balsa fuselage sides are correctly located on the former tabs and
that they are in full contact with the plywood inner box. Wick CA into all the joints, tabs and along the top and
bottom where the balsa and plywood sides meet.
6.
Remove ‘F5’ from Sheet 4 and stick into the slot on ‘H5’ at the front of the cockpit opening.
7.
Locate and remove keel formers ‘K1 and ‘K3’ from Sheet 1. Insert ‘K1’ into the top centre slots on formers
‘F1’ and ‘F2-C’ and stick into position. Stick ‘K3’ into the top centre slots of ‘F3’ and ‘F5’.
8.
Remove nose longerons ‘2’ x 2 and ‘3’ x 2 from Sheet 4. Insert longeron ‘2’ into the slots on ‘F1’ and ‘F2-C’
either side of ‘K1’ and longeron ‘3’ in the remaining two slots on ‘F1’ and ‘F2-C’ and stick into place with CA.
9.
The fin is an integral part of the fuselage and needs to be assembled before proceeding. The fin is made up
of 4 parts located on Sheet 4. Carefully assemble the parts noting that when correctly assembled there should
be a slot for the tail plane to fit into. Using a protected flat surface (use grease-proof paper or thin plastic film)
hold the assembled fin together whilst wicking CA into all the joints and allow the glue to fully set. Hint: to
ensure a good fit lightly sand off the remains of the ‘tabs’ that hold the parts in the carrier sheet.
10.
Give both sides of the fin a gentle sanding and at the same time round the leading edge of the fin.
11.
Two slots need to be cut in the trailing edge (TE) of the fin to take the Mylar hinges. It is easier to do this
now than when it is attached to the fuselage.
Measure 15mm from the top of the fin and make a small mark on the TE edge. Make another mark 13mm on
the TE from the bottom edge of the fin. Then draw a line across the TE 5mm from either side of both the
marks. Draw another line along the centre of the trailing edge between the two lines at the top and at the
bottom of the TE. You should now have two lines along the centre of the TE 10mm long. Using a sharp knife
cut two slots along the 10mm lines approximately 13mm deep keeping the knife vertical to the edge to avoid
the blade from cutting through to the surface.
12.
Place the fin onto the rear of the fuselage locating the tab at the bottom of the fin into the slot in ‘F10’ with
the front of the fin inserted into the slot at the top of ‘F9’. Ensure the fin is vertical and aligned along the centre
line of the fuselage. The etched guide lines on ‘F10’ should be used to help get the correct alignment. When
satisfied that everything is aligned wick CA into the joints along the bottom and front of the fin.
13.
Remove rear keel part ‘K4’ from Sheet 9. Assemble ‘K4’ onto the formers ‘F6’ to ‘F9’ locating the slots onto
the tabs at the top of the formers and slotting it around the fin. Wick CA into the joints and also along the join
with the fin.
14.
Sand ‘K4’ to a rounded shape following on from the profiles of the formers ‘F6’ to ‘F9’. Then sand the front
of ‘K4’ to make it flush with the angled front face of ‘F6’.
15.
Add the six
3
/
32nd
sq. rear stringers (three each side) from ‘F6’ to the rear edge of the fin. Cut each stringer
slightly longer than required and taper the stringers where they attach to the fin. Dry assemble all the stringers
so that at the fin they can be positioned symmetrically from side to side before sticking them into position. At
‘F6’ sand the stingers so that they are flush with the angled face of the former.
16.
Cut to length and stick the four
3
/
32nd
sq. stringers at the front of the fuselage running from ‘F3’ to ‘F5’.
Battery Hatch Construction
Balsa Basics Messerschmitt Bf 109 Vintage Model Company
2
