Mikester

Is that a Dornier in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

This is probably my favorite to date, Hasegawa 190D-9, just a great kit and one of the coolest paint schemes ever.

Great work, Ralph! You might even shame me into getting back to work on mine!

Outstanding!

Beauty, John!

Looking really good, Kent!

Beautiful, Dave!

Superb!

Nick, Unfortunately I didn't have an Alley Cat set for comparison. For me ordering parts from the USA is usually a little less expensive than having stuff sent from Europe. I still have two EagleParts Erla conversion sets in the stash as well so I'm pretty well covered at this point if I want to do an aircraft with the smaller bulges.

Barracuda Studios Bf 109G-10 and K-4 Oil Cooler Fairing (BR32160) Catalog # BR32160 Available from Barracuda Studios for $5.95 US This set from Barracuda upgrades the oil cooler that is included in the kit, which suffers from being a bit slab-sided. The Erla production G-10 featured several visual cues that set it apart from G-10s produced my MTT Regensburg and WNF. One of these was the oil cooler which was both wider and more shallow than the aircraft produced by the other factories. Erla is purported to have built a small number of K-4s but photos of these are incredibly elusive. I would suspect that this would be the correct oil cooler to use if you were fortunate to come across a photo of one these rare birds and wanted to model it. The two piece set is cast in cream colored resin, with the exit flap being provided a separate part.. Casting, as usual, is sharp and free of any defects or flaws. Unfortunately, the only comparison photo I have to offer is the one installed on my in-progress Revell G-10. Hopefully you can discern the difference in shapes from the photo. So what's the verdict? Another high quality, inexpensive product from Barracuda Studios that will help make your Erla G-10 more accurate. I like it! Very Highly Recommended Review copy courtesy of my wallet. If you found this review helpful and decide to purchase this product, please tell them you read about it at Large Scale Modeller!

Barracuda Studios 1/32 Bf-109G Upperwings with Small Wheel Bulges (BR32169) Catalog # BR32169 Available from Barracuda Studios for $11.95 US When I first opened my Revell Erla G-10 I was a little dismayed at the lack of inclusion of both styles of wing wheel bulges. After all these kits featured a modular design that was supposed to offer the builder the maximum amount of flexibility, at least this was the case with their G-6. When I delved a little deeper into the Erla built G-10s I became even more confused. It appears that most of the the Erla G-10s there are photos of have the smaller wing bulges that were not included in the kit, including the Erich Hartmann's mount that graces the box cover! The Revell 109's overall are pretty darn good kits at a competitive price, although I do have a few complaints one thing I can't complain about is the amount of after-market goodies that have come along to address the areas on the kit that are less than stellar. Barracuda Studios has provided a simple drop in replacement for the wheel bulge issue. Two upper inner wings sections with the smaller style wheel bulge cast in cream colored resin are provided in the set. Details are razor sharp and free of flaws. Here's a comparison of the kit part and the resin replacement. The BarracudaCast part has also revised the shape of the "kidney" bulge on the wing, to quote Roy Sutherland "This section is also a correction for the G-6 kit, as the wheel bulges are molded incorrectly . The cross section of the bulge is reversed, with the high point of the bulge being inboard instead of outboard. This would prevent the tire from retracting into the gearbay. A fine distinction to be sure, but for 109 aficionados, we've done the hard work for you!" So what's the verdict? This set opens up many paint scheme options. Indeed, many of the paint schemes Roy included on his decals sets for this kit feature the smaller bulge so I foresee this being a popular seller. Exceptional quality casting doesn't hurt either. Very Highly Recommended Review copy courtesy of my wallet. If you found this review helpful and decide to purchase this product, please tell them you read about it at Large Scale Modeller!

Barracuda Studios 1/32 Bf 109G-10 and K-4 Intake & Exhausts (BR32156) Catalog # BR32156 Available from Barracuda Studios for $8.95 US Barracuda Studios has provided another simple to install set for the late model 109's. This set is designed for the 1/32 Revell Bf 109G-10 (Erla) but should be easily adapted for use on Hasegawa kits and maybe even Trumpeter if we ever see their long delayed G-10! The parts this set are intended to replace are adequate, but certainly nothing to write home about. The kit provided exhaust stacks are devoid of any detail and are molded solid for the length of the individual tube. The supercharger intake is more or less correctly shaped but is lacking the weld seams and being a two part assembly leaves you with a seam on the inside that can be challenging to get rid of. Lastly, Revell carried over the poorly received, solid molded fresh air scoops on the cowl from their G-6. While you can get away with this in 1/72, it becomes a conspicuous eyesore in 1/32. The parts are cast in a cream colored resin. Casting quality is excellent, free of any bubbles or other flaws. The exhaust stacks feature artfully done hollowed ends and the characteristic weld seam along the middle of the tube. Overall very nicely done, although I might give the Eduard Brassin exhaust set a slight nod in terms of the quality of the detail. The supercharger intake features subtle weld bead detail and is admirably smoothed out on the inside. Note that the late style intakes did not have the rolled lip that was present on earlier marque Gustavs. Nicely done! Six air scoops are provided to replace the solid molded scoops on the kit. Although Hasegawa kits come with scoops that are molded open, their position might not always be correct based on the particular aircraft you're building so these come in handy no matter which kit you elect to use them on. A small instruction sheet is also included. So what's the verdict? Another exceptionally well done set, the casting quality is superb and will be a welcome (mandatory?) upgrade for late model Gustavs and Kurfursts. The extremely competitive price is just icing on the cake. Very Highly Recommended Review copy courtesy of my wallet. If you found this review helpful and decide to purchase this product, please tell them you read about it at Large Scale Modeller!

Barracuda Studios Bf 109G-10 & K-4 Prop and Spinner (BR32123) Catalog # BR32123 Available from Barracuda Studios for $9.95 US Roy Sutherland of Barracuda Studios has followed up on his two beautiful decal sets for the 1/32 Revell Bf 109G-10 Erla (see the SPAR review here) with some resin upgrade sets. The first of which I'll look at is a new spinner and propeller blade set. The Revell kit is a little lacking in this area for a couple of reasons. One, although the spinner is pretty much the right shape, it's marred by a lack of details and funky engineering which splits it in an area where there is no natural join line. Secondly the propeller blades, while not terrible, are not quite correctly shaped. The VDM 9-12159 propeller blade was a little more "paddle" shaped than it's predecessors, this shot of a Bf 109G-14/AS gives us a nice view of the overall shape. The set contains a new spinner and three propeller blades cast in a cream colored resin. The casting quality is outstanding, details are sharp and free of bubbles or other imperfections. I always like to do a comparison of the products under review with the competition if it's feasible and in this case I had an EagleParts and an MDC spinner in the stash. Please note that I've applied a wash of Tamiya Dark Brown Panel Line Wash to the spinners to help accentuate the details. Additionally you'll note that the BarracudaCast spinner sits slightly higher owing to the fact that the small pour stub on the back of the spinner has yet to be removed. Left to right we have the EagleParts, BarracudaCast and MDC. I think the clear winner here is BarracudaCast, you'll note the finely done rivet detail, data plates, correctly shaped "tear-drop" openings for the propeller as well as capturing the unique shape of 109 spinner correctly, just superbly done. On a side note, I'll point out that a quick dry fit of the MDC spinner on the Revell G-10 revealed that it is slightly too small in diameter to be used on the kit. However in fairness to MDC the part was designed for the Hasegawa Bf 109G . Examination of the propeller blades next to the kit parts (painted silver) reveals that the BarracudaCast blades are much more accurate in shape. From the improved shape at the base to the more rounded contour at the end of the blade it just looks much more the part. A small instruction sheet rounds out the package. So what's the verdict? The set is exceptionally well done, the casting quality is superb and the shapes appear spot on. I don't think most 109 enthusiasts would balk at paying twice the price for this but at $9.95 it's a no-brainer. Since the Hasegawa kits are lacking in this area as well, this set will be a staple in my after-market goodies stash for years to come. I suspect I'm not the only one! Very Highly Recommended Review copy courtesy of my wallet. If you found this review helpful and decide to purchase this product, please tell them you read about it at Large Scale Modeller!

Looks great!

Nice start!

Nice! That's a brute of an airplane!

What he said! ^^^

Please refer to the instructions for posting photos here: http://forum.largescalemodeller.com/topic/1464-how-to-post-photos/

Nice to see some progress again!

Ouch! Man that sucks, any hope of recovery?

OK, I've had had this one in the stash for a while and I've got all the aftermarket goodies I need lined up so this seems like the logical candidate. Plus, I really like Tigers. This might expand into a diorama if I stay motivated. This will be a a Tiger of Schwere SS Panzer Abteilung 101, operating in Normandy in June of '44, I'll try to depict as it looked during the fighting around Villers-Bocage. I spent a few hours yesterday getting the hull together and applying the Eduard PE zimmerit. I was surprised how easily this went on. I used some GP household glue I picked up the local variety store and it worked out very well. I wanted to the exhaust covers to look like they'd been beat up so I carved up the plastic with a razor knife and then applied lead foil over the top. I'll probably use this same technique to ding up the fenders when I put them on as well.

Great work, Tim! This one's on my to do list.

That's a great looking build! How did the Alley Cat conversion set fit?

Very impressive!

Ben, actually a new photo came to light fairly recently. There's the well known pic of Hartmann in front of an Erla built machine, unfortunately all you could see was the heart with "Usch" inscribed in the middle and the Gruppenkommandeur chevrons and then there's the recently discovered photo showing the front end of the aircraft complete with the tulip on the nose: Also see Anders' notes on his Blog: http://theprofilepaintshop.blogspot.jp/2011/09/erich-hartmanns-bf109g-10.html And take a look here: http://falkeeins.blogspot.jp/2011/09/erich-hartmanns-last-bf-109-g-10.html Unfortunately it's very difficult to ascertain what style wing bulges it has from this photo, although if I had to venture a guess I would say small bulges. My quandary is I've already built the kit up with the larger bulges but I'm not sure if they're appropriate for this aircraft.