 |
| Barry Numerick amazing BF-109 |
OK, I'll chime in here.
V-1: prototype - MPM is the only game in town. Libor Jekl made an excellent model from this kit in the Valiant Wings publication on the 109 A-T series, so it can be done.
A-D: At this point I would use the Heller kit. Its main drawback being a too-skinny nose. I've often wondered about slicing off the chin radiator, building up the lower fuselage profile with epoxy putty and reattaching the radiator, but that may not be necessary in the near future. AMG has done a very nice job on 1/48th Jumo powered 109s and promises to release them in 1/72. Sword, Avis and AModel are not worth the effort required to make them acceptable.
E: Tamiya is the only game in town for me. ICM may have fixed the fuselage dimensions in the opinion of some, but I wonder if the whole issue is a matter of canopy placement, not length of the fuselage. I had done a review comparing the Tamiya & Airfix E's on the 72nd scale aircraft site, but Photobucket (@#(*&)_!@$*&^...) lost over 1,500 of my photos. Some of them may have been linked to that thread. I'm rebuilding them using Flickr, but that will take time. The Airfix kit looks short in the nose to me, but again, this may be canopy placement. Considering that the Tamiya kit is, well, a Tamiya kit, everything clicks together and makes a more that acceptable model.
F- G: Fine Molds. Period. The Zvezda kit is very nice. One the plus side is a very reasonable price and good outline. The scribing is fine...very fine. On the negative, the prop is just wrong,as is the spinner. The canopy is wider than the fuselage at the rear end and is made from a plastic that really doesn't like the Bare Metal Foil that I used for masking. Oh, and since much of the wing is a single piece, there is a nasty sink mark mid way along the wing uppersurface. Curiously the German national insignia is precisely located there and tends to distract the eye from the problem.
Late G and K: Again Fine Molds, hands down. AZ has made a valiant effort and their wing is nice, even including open inspection holes in the wheel well. The cockpit is also good. But the nose is unacceptably undernourished at the point of meeting the wing. I posted my corrections in a thread here, inspired by suggestions from my good friend, Woody Straub. Woody is an excellent builder and superb researcher.
http://z15.invisionfree.com/72nd_Aircraft/ar/t4611.htm
Also the fit is challenging to say the least, particularly in the cockpit area and fine details are fuzzy in comparison with Fine Molds. There are a number of areas where the AZ is, let's just say "inspired" by the Fine Molds effort; we'll leave it at that...(wheels).
H: MPM made an effort at this one years ago and I combined their wing with a Hasegawa G-6 and Hawkeye Designs detail set, which actually worked. AZ has recently released this variant and if I were ever to do another one, I would combine their wing with a Fine Molds G-6.
K-4: (see F and G) FINE MOLDS. Another beautiful effort with excellent outline, proportions and fit. There probably was no K-14, although some of the distinguishing characteristics (four blade prop and wing mounted 30mm cannon) may have been tested on K-4 variants.
Me 209: For the V-1 and V-4 the Huma kits can be done up nicely. Special Hobby has promised one. Search Google for a superb Huma V-1 model by Woody Straub. The V-5 is another matter. I'm not pleased with this Huma kit and the resin kit from Kora has its own set of problems. I'm tempted to try a conversion of a Fine Molds G.
S-199: Here the AZ kit is significantly better. I've built one and have several others on the way. Reduce the prop blades to a scale 10 Meters, taking off a little more than 1/16" from each.
Buchon: There have been many terrible models of this one over the years, ranging from awful to Gawd-awful. The Special Hobby kit is just OK, but the upper cowl rocker covers are undernourished.
So to sum up. To whomever did the Fine Molds 109 masters, a profound Thank You. It was a labor of love and it shows. Small details like the differences between the F, G & G-10/K props are perfectly represented as are the different oil coolers under the cowls. Some have said that they are too short in the nose or that the curves of the rear fuselage offend them. Hogwash. This model quite simply looks like a 109, from any angle.
Here is one I recently finished:
