Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; “12+I White” of VII/JG1; Leeuwarden, 1943

[Dizzyfugu]

This Frankenstein creation was inspired by my recent Westland Whirlwind conversion: what could a German counterpart have looked like?

The only comparable aircraft had been the Fw 187 Falke, but it was only built in a small pre-serial batch and did not see wide use. Any other German counterparts had been two-seaters, bigger, and rather multi-purpose aircraft than dedicated fighters. Only the late Ta 154 would conceptually come close, but it ended up as a two seat night fighter.

Time to spin the saw and create a personal interpretation and answer to this question. My idea was to use a Bf 109 as basis, since it is rather small and sleek, and convert it into a twin engine design. BTW, that's not as far-fetched as it sounds: a very similar concept had actually been planned for the P-40 in real life!

My choice fell on the elegant Bf 109, the F or early G models, since the aircraft was supposed to enter service right after the Battle of Britain, around 1943. As basis I used two Hobby Boss kits, one of them was severely sliced up and re-arranged, together with some external donation parts. The second kit just donated the engine and the propeller.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


From both kits, the engines were cut off. One pair of Bf 109 wings would be used as outer wings, the inner wing parts come from a Matchbox P-51D (from the scrap box). The engine nacelles are actually nose sections from two PZL Iskra kits (Master Craft, ex KP Models), the engines and propellers are transplants from the original Hobby Boss kits, and they fit very well in size and shape.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


For the landing gear wells, the old wing openings in the Bf 109 and P-51 parts were faired over and new opening under the Iskra noses opened. The main landing gear comes from a Matchbox Vickers Wellington, sliced up and mated with wheels from a Matchbox P-51. The respective covers were taken from the scrap box.

Back to the fuselage: instead of the DB engine a new nose was fitted, donated from an ESCI Ka-34 'Hokum', plus a 6mm plug for added length. Cockpit and canopy were taken OOB, just a voluminous Airfix pilot added that covers much of the interior's bleakness.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In order to compensate for the bigger wing span and overall size a bigger and deeper fin was implanted: the upper section of a Revell Me 262 fin. Using the original Bf 109's fin root position, the new, deeper fin lengthened the fuselage by maybe 5mm. In total, this would be enough to keep length/span proportions balanced. The stabilizers come from a Heller P-47, but they were reduced in depth and span in order to match the slender wings.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Once the basic arrangement was settled I had to look for a decent place for the radiators. The original Bf 109 arrangement had to go because of the engine nacelles, so I placed the new ones under the wing roots. These were built from scratch.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The armament is based on the state-of-the-art of the contemporary Fw 190 A-8, also with four cannons and two heavy machine guns.

Amazingly, the resulting aircraft reminds a lot of the Japanese Ki-45 and Ki-46, and slightly of the D.H. 88 Comet race plane (due to the cockpit position)?

As an addendum: NO panic - this is not yesterday's work, rather a complaition what happened last week... 

More about painting and markuings to come soo.

[Wardukw]

I am liking this mate 
Always been a fan of the twins and this is pure cool .. will be keeping a close eye on this one and the more i read these posts the more tempted i get to build something wiffie with wings or blades or ...ummmm both


Phill

[Dizzyfugu]

Thanks a lot - and here's more from the paintshop:

The aircraft was supposed to enter service around 1943, so I settled for a typical ,,Type 5" splinter scheme of that time in RLM 74/75/76. The paint scheme was inspired by contemporary Bf 110 aircraft, and I used Humbrol colors. 245 and 247 (RLM 74 and 76) are IMHO very good representations of the Luftwaffe tones, especially the RLM 74 is nice because it has a recognizable greenish hue that most other offerings lack. Only Humbrol's RLM 75 (246) looks a bit fishy to me - it is IMHO too dark, it almost looks like German Panzergrau. Even British Extra Dark Sea Grey (164) is better, or Modelmaster's Authentic tone. I used Humbrol 176 (US Neutral Grey) as replacement, it is lighter than RLM 75 but this just emhances the color contrast with the RLM 74.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


RLM 76 was taken high on the fuselage flanks and the fin, and large blotches with RLM 75, 74 and 02 added – this time not a finely mottled finish, but "art brut".

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The codes and markings are based on a real Bf 109 from VII/JG1 and represent a machine that was just marked in the newly introduced Reichsverteidigungcodes with fuselage bands in different colors and compositions. The simple red band was allocated to JG1. Only the white fin rudder is a personal addition. All markings  were puzzled together from various aftermarket sheets (e .g. from Printscale), the red band was manually cut from a generic red TL Modellbau sheet which offers a perfect, dull red.

A bit of shading was done through dry-brushing and a light black ink wash, but that was all - no soot stains or chipped paint. Finally, the kit was sealed with acrlyic matt varnish.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Almost looks like a Luftwaffe aircraft...? 

[Gondor]

Just one comment Dizzyfugu, the real Battle of Britain finished in 1940! Other than that it's a fantastic build 

Gondor

[NARSES2]

Right firstly I've always liked the Falke ever since I saw an artists impression in my 1945 edition of the Observers Book of Aircraft. Secondly with different engines that just screams Italian at me. Thirdly.....wow ! 

[Dizzyfugu]

Stuck in snow, so instad of going to Sunday training I rather cooked up the rest of the Me 205's dish... Concur with the Italian impression - the nose reminds a lot of the Breda Ba.88 Lince - unintentioanlly, but so it goes...

Anyway, here's the story behind the Me 205, as well as some beauty pics:

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Some background:
In the early to mid-1930s, developments in airframe design outstripped available aircraft engine power, allowing large aircraft to be built that existing engines were unable to sufficiently lift or propel (at least not alone). A period ensued in which multi-engine designs mostly outperformed aircraft designed with just one engine. In air racing in Europe, the Dornier Do 17 outran every single-engine fighter it competed against. In Germany, this led to the idea of the "Schnellbomber", fast bombers that were expected to fly right past the defensive fighters. Although this period of twin-engine superiority would be short-lived, it also led to many air forces considering twin-engine fighter designs, resulting in the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Westland Whirlwind, Grumman XF5F Skyrocket, and the Fw 187.

>1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


This eventually led to the Messerschmitt Bf 110, which was intended as a heavy fighter ("Zerstörer") – but as soon as WWII broke out and especially during the Battle of Britain the Bf 110 showed its weaknesses: it was too big and too heavy to compete with single engine fighters. Losses were high.

In the meantime, alternative programs were on the way, namely the Me 210 as direct and improved successor. The first examples of the Me 210 were already ready in 1939, but they proved to have poor flight characteristics from serious, unanticipated design flaws. A large-scale operational testing program throughout 1941 and early 1942 did not cure the aircraft's problems. The design eventually entered limited service in 1943, but was almost immediately replaced by the next generation, the Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse ("Hornet").

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The development troubles with the Me 210 led the design team to look into a different solution which could be realized on short notice and might be based on existing components – this led in 1940 to the idea of a twin-engined Bf 109 with higher range and performance and a heavy cannon armament.
Internally the project was designated P.1020 and it was soon approved by the RLM and received the official number "205".

The Me 205 was a slender and compact aircraft of conventional layout, based on the latest version of the Bf 109, "Fritz". From this basis, about 50% were taken: most of the fuselage as well as the wings, which were added outboard of the engine nacelles. The heavy armament comprised four 20mm cannons plus two heavy machine guns.

Powered by two DB 601E engines with 1.350 hp (992 kW) each, the Me 205 was a fast aircraft - the first prototype easily reached 650 km/h (400 mph), and later service machine often broke the 700 km/h barrier (435 mph) in level flight. Compared with the Bf 109's limited range of ~700 km (435 ml), the Me 205 could, on internal fuel only, reach 1.200 km (745 ml), even more than  the Bf 110 but considerably less than the Me 210/410, which had a range of up to 2.400 km (1.490 ml).

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


A wet hard point under the fuselage allowed the carriage of a 300l drop tank or a single bomb of up to 500 kg (1.100 lb) caliber, two more hardpoints under the outer wings could be used for ordnance with up to 250 kg (550 lb) each, including bombs or launch tubes for Wfr.Gr 42 unguided air-to-air rockets, which were introduced in early 1943, too - two pairs could be carried, and together with the massive gun power of the Bf 205 this posed a serious threat to Allied bombers.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Serial production started in winter 1942 and the first serial machines (A-1 variant) arrived at the Reich Defence Staffeln in Spring 1943. Anyway, serial production did not last long: In late 1943 all efforts concerning the Me 205 were stopped, because of several reasons. The RLM still preferred multi-purpose aircraft, and when the Me 410 finally overcame its teething troubles it received priority. Another factor was the Me 262 - the jet fighter showed much promise, it was even faster than the Me 205 and offered more firepower, so that this new "Wunderwaffe" was politically favored, too. The final blow was then the decision to save material - namely engines - and allocate these to single engine fighter production.

Only a mere 230 Bf 205 A-1s were eventually built, most of them used by the Luftwaffe, but some were also handed over to Slovakian, Croatian and Romanian forces.

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr





General characteristics:
   Crew: 2
   Length: 9,58 m (31 ft 4 in)
   Wingspan: 13,32 m (46 ft 7 1/2 in)
   Height: 3.49 m (11 ft 5 1/4 in)
   Wing area: 30.40 m² (327.22 ft²)
   Empty weight: 3,700 kg (8,157 lb)
   Loaded weight: 5,000 kg (11,023 lb)

Powerplant:
   2× Daimler Benz DB 601E 12-cylinder inverted-V piston, 992 kW (1.350 PS) each

Performance:
   Maximum speed: 695 km/h at 4,200 m (431 mph at 13,780 ft)
   Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
   Rate of climb: 1,050 m/min (3,445 ft/min)
   Wing loading: 164.14 kg/m² (33.62 lb/ft²)

Armament:
   4× 20mm MG 151/20 cannons with 200 RPG in the lower forward fuselage
   2× 13mm MG 131 machine guns with 350 RPG in the upper forward fuselage
   Three hardpoint under central fuslage and outer wings for an ordnance of
   up to 1.000 kg (2.200 lb)



1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 205 A-1 'Wirbelwind'; aircraft "12+I White" of VII./JG1; Leeuwarden/Netherlands, mid 1943 (Whif/Bf 109 Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



And, finally, the attempt to show a size comparison between the Me 205, the Me 510 (O.K., is supposed to be a 410, but I did not have one at hand...) and the Whirlwind:

Size comparison: Me 205/Me 510/Westland Whirlwind Mk.II by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[kitbasher]

Very smrt build indeed - very nicely proportioned aircraft.

I did somethng similar with a Spitfire a few years ago (http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,17698.msg249282.html#msg249282, http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,17859.msg251509.html#msg251509).

[Dizzyfugu]

That "TwinFire" is cool! I also saw a P-40 conversion some time ago - rather ugly due to the big radiators, and remember seeing drawings of a two-engined Zero, which also looked very nice...

The Bf 109 turned out better than expected, more elegant than I thought. Keeping proportions more or less right is IMHO the trick - the wing span will rise, and that has to be compensated at thze fuselage. I used the Bf 110 as benchmark, calculating the span/length ratio, and transferred it onto my build. Worked well! 

[PR19_Kit]

That Thomas, is blooming BRILLIANT! 

You have the proportions dead on, as you say it's very important to the overall look of the model. The nose spacer is a case in point, without it the Wirbelwind would look very blunt.

[sandiego89]

Great surgery job!  Great idea on the radiators.   Well done

[Captain Canada]

How do you do it ? So fast and so good ? What is that brown putty again ?

Very nice. Love the look of it. As the boys already said, very well proportioned....looks like the real thing !

I love the view from the side. Had to do a double take on that one. With a different tail it would look exactly like the single engine 'real' one.

[Dizzyfugu]

Thanks a lot, to everyone! Especially for the Whiffies nomination, highly appreciated.  

BTW, the brown (it's rather green, not unlike RLM 02) stuff is a nitrous compound putty called "Presto", actually intended for car body work, but perfect for styrene.

[PR19_Kit]

BTW, the brown (it's rather green, not unlike RLM 02) stuff is a nitrous compound putty called "Presto", actually intended for car body work, but perfect for styrene.

And it's BRILL stuff too, just impossible to get in the UK. Even an email direct to the factory failed to produce a reply, but I have a 'Good Friend in Germany'........... 

[Ifor]

Sorry to be a pain, could you tell me which Presto?
Ifor

[Logan Hartke]

My goodness that is lovely, and it looks "right".

Cheers,

Logan