Me 109E-1 with skis

[HOG]

Hoyhoy`Al
Since I continued breathing, the hospitals had to let me come home and I`ve been looking through the stash for inspiration. I found the Tamiya 109E-3 that donated its undercart to the 109X build and had considered building it as the spurious 109W (floatplane) but remembered this and have hit a brick wall 


This another German plane that seems to have very little info on it. I`ve scoured the web for hours, contacted the Luftwaffe Experten Message Board and have only found these two pics of varying quality and that it was flying in 39/40 and made around eighty flights before it crashed. As to my fairly large ref library, W.Greens Warplanes of the Third Reich mentions it  as does the old Patrick Stevens book on building the Airfix 1:24 109. Also this has a half scale (1:24) plans of the floats, perfect for 1:48. And basically that's it. So in time honoured fashion I`m hoping some of you might be able to shed some light or maybe answer some of the things that's holding me up.
Generally info has it that the original was a 109E-1 and the absence of under wing bulges seems to confirm this, but look at the wing gun ports. They seem a bit big in bore for the small 7.62mm rounds, or perhaps the blast tubes have been removed?. Any thoughts.
Now the big problem-colours. I hate having to look at 1/2 tone B&W pics and trying to decide what the colours are when I know that some photos give yellows and reds in a near black tone due to the type of film used. Take the cowling for example. I`m assuming that the prop blades are in the usual black-green RLM 70, so what colours the cowling when compared to the black exhausts?. As the planes sitting on snow lights reflecting on the underside so I'm assuming that the wheel well blanking plates are natural metal, the struts and floats are primer RLM 02 grey with the removable panel between the struts also in natural metal from just behind the oil cooler housing in front to the trailing edge of the wing. So whats happened to the RLM 65 under wing light blue. As this is 39/40 I`m assuming that the aircraft is finished in the standard 65-70-71 paints with the demarcation line quite high up near the cockpit sill and on the top of the fuselage towards the rear to tail, the high dark line at the back of the canopy seeming to suggest this. Now this gives me the tone for the lighter 65 colour just under the cockpit and coresponds with the tone under the wings inboard of the radiators. Could the rest of the wing underside or at least the one nearest the camera be painted to match the cowling? Or as the bottom photo shows a definite difference to the upper and lower wing colours and am I just reading this wrong.
As you can see I`m going round and round here not knowing which way to go, so any input you have will be a big help. I`ve started the model and have the pit detailed and painted and the wheel wells filled and ammo blisters removed, but have reached an impasse. If all else fails I`l build it as a floatplane but I really would like to add this to my 109 collection.
Cheers 
Gary

[Lord Sidius]

Hello, HOG,

I'm new in this forum, and was checking all the old posts and I just did read yours. I'm working on the Bf 109 with skids too. As far as I know, this plane was flown by a veteran Messerschmitt test pilot and technical inspector, Hans Fay. (the same that flown to the Americans on March 30, 1945,  at the controls of  a Me 262, Wr. Nr 111711,  the first 262 captured intact by the Allies). Hans Fay tested the Me 109 fitted with snow skis and faired leg struts at Gardemoen, Norway, during the winter of 1940-41. I remember I have a picture where Fay, following a test flight, steps from the cockpit of this plane. Excepting  this picture, I have the same shots posted by you. I think the camo pattern of the plane is 65/70/71, but I think the wheel well covers and the skis are natural metal. Some part painted in RLM 02 would result a bit darker than the colors showed in the picture. Also, I noticed there is a bulge on the cowling, just o atop of the supercharger  air intake, and a white lettering was applied too. For that reason  I think this plane was used for gun tests too. When I discover how to add images to my message, I promise you that I will post the picture mentioned above....:-)

Cheers!

LS