Mikester

Welcome to our first ever Group/Build Review here at Large Scale Modeller. For our initial installment we'll be doing the new Revell Bf 109G-6 in 1/32 scale. We've assembled a crack team of builders aka "The Knights of the 109 Round Table" including myself (Mike/mikester), Dave J., Matt M. (DoogsATX), Matt L. (Matt_) and Rick. We'll be bringing you a step by step analysis of how the kit goes together, our likes and dislikes and some hints and tips that might you help you out a bit if you decide to tackle this kit in the future. Please feel free to chime in with comments and questions, without further ado let's get this thing rolling! Mike: The cockpit: Pros: - Overall nice level of detail - Smooth IP faces makes using replacement decals much easier - Separate clear fuel line easy to paint and detail - Parts fit together into a nice little "cocoon" which fits nicely into fuselage halves Cons: -Molded on seat belts - Incorrect joystick - Fuselage sidewall detail a little sparse Not much to report here as far as hints and tips other than if you "hypothetically" forgot to put to put the fuel line in you can still squeeze it in with the cockpit assembled, hypothetically! The cockpit deck looks pretty nice with paint applied (Mr. Color RLM 66), I've used HGW seat belts and some lead foil for the straps on the rudder pedals. I've also replaced the kit joystick with a Quickboost part. Port fuselage sidewall: I've added some Airscale and Mike Grant placards for a little more visual interest. Starboard fuselage sidewall: Prior to installation of the fuel line. The gauges for the oxygen panel are from a Mike Grant sheet, the Revell sheet does not include these. I made a cursory attempt at adding some wiring to the fuse panel but I didn't go overboard. Instrument Panel: The gauge decals were cut out individually and applied. The decals are extremely resistant to softeners and solvents. They shrugged off repeated applications of Mr. Mark Softer and Micro-sol. Overall I liked the level of detail and the setup, the completed assembly fits nicely into the fuselage halves. I might spend some more time adding a few details next time around but this looks pretty good right out of the box. Stage Rating 7 Dave: Here is my thoughts from early on - Pro's - Cockpit parts fit together pretty well. Its' not a Tamiya or Wingnut fit, but I have seen worst from other manufactures. I like the way Revell has provided the parts in a workable sub-assemblies that you can easily handle during painting & detail stages.. An extra point for Revell moulding the Fuel Line in Clear Plastic.... But then that point marked off as they have placed one of the sprue attachment points to the only part of the line that needs to be clear. Love the Instutment Panel, as Revell have left all the dial faces blank. I used Airscale & MDC Dials on my IP's. Con's - I don't know what Revell where thinking with the moulded on Harness on the seat parts. If they were to do this again, I rather them not to do it at all, or give you optional parts with harness or without. I filed mine off and replaced them with RB Production Harness. The Revi gun sights are very poor and undersized compaired to the Hasegawa part. Will replace with Quickboost parts. Control Stick is missing a couple of small details.... I have used the part, but I would replace with a Quickboost part if I built this kit again. Revell could have added more details like wiring looms etc.. to some of the parts. I have added some looms to one of my cockpits using .3mm wire and fine wire striped from an small R/C toy car. Parts Layout on Sprues. There is no order to it, they are just laid out everywhere... Revell have added letter codes to their sprues eg (A, B & C...etc) but they don't use the call outs on the intrustion sheet. eg sprue A part 114. I don't like the huge tabs that have been included to fit the canopy... I will address this later in the build when I have to fit them. Stage Rating 6.5 Matt M: Pros: Revell deserves props for attention to detail - the cockpit is a step up from Hasegawa's effort. Providing the fuel line as a clear part was inspired. Instrument panel is rather well done for injection molding, and Revell thankfully leaves the gauge faces blank so gauge decals can be used. Some may list it as a con, but the general lack of molded wiring detail. If it's not there, I don't have to sand it away to add my own. The full tub cockpit subassembly is a welcome change from the typical molded-sidewall approach. Cons: Well, the cockpit's not THAT much better than Hasegawa's effort. Some areas are noticeably better (the fuel line) while others feel like backsteps (cargo compartment door) Several of the details are clunky. Knobs. Molded-on seatbelts. The full-tub assembly could lead to some pain down the road, with seams riding the cockpit sills. Aftermarket Used: Scratched wiring loom with 0.2mm lead wire Replaced control stick with Quickboost Replaced gunsight with Quickboost Revi gunsight Replaced molded belts with RB Productions microtextile belts. Used Airscale Luftwaffe gauge decals on instrument panel (NOTE: I found I needed 1/48 scale) Built Notes The instructions and the parts layout are just awful. Sprue letters aren't called out in the instructions, but that doesn't matter because the part numbers are completely randomly placed. Like...part 19 next to part 83 next to 41 next to 16 next to 133. HUH? My go-to solvent glue, Tenax 7R, has had problems with the Revell plastic. Others using Tamiya Extra Thin have been in the clear. I found it most useful to start by mounting the wing spar to the cockpit floor, then use the fuselage as a jig for fitting the seat/rear bulkhead and sloping cargo compartment parts together. The sidewalls were added later. Install the clear fuel line to the floor/bulkhead first. When you install the sidewall, a dab of PVA glue and a quick push will seat the fuel line right into place. Overall, at the cockpit stage, Revell's 109 does a lot of things right, but makes a few head-smackingly ridiculous choices that detract somewhat from the otherwise really solid effort. The cockpit definitely rates an improvement over Hasegawa's G-6, but not so much of an improvement that I'd recommend the Revell on that factor alone. OVERALL STAGE 1 RATING: 7 Matt L: Overall for me a big thumbs up for this part of the kit. Pros: Excellent basis for super detailing, whilst being pretty good looking OOB and will satisfy most; Nice instrument panel which looks good after kit decals or Airscale additions; Clear fuel line - inspired and effective... Cockpit-module (like most resin replacements) is a good approach (though needs care fitting into fuselage); Good enough spar, seems like it'll do the job, not quite as elegant as Hasegawa's I like the fact Revell left off most wiring, saves removing it to do more realistic job of one's own Cons: Moulded on seatbelts; Instrument decal too thick and solvent resistant to use as a single piece over panel without removing all surface detail; misplaced left hand air vent (minor pick really); Gun sights (along with 99% of other IM attempts) are pretty poor. Overall stage 1 rating 7.5 Aftermarket used: Radu Brinzan's fabulous harness set Scratch: Removed and replaced in correct position the left side cockpit air vent; Straps on rudder pedals; Beefed up throttle with slice of rod; Flattened lead wire to represent the chain linked to hand wheels; Brake line from rudder pedals; Wiring loom from lead wire; Revell dials punched from panel decal and placed into bezels. Removed canopy attachment 'lumps', scratch hinges later. Build notes I also used the fuselage to set up the correct angles for the rear bulkheads. Spar is a useful handle once you've started painting. Whilst I like the modular design of the cockpit, It will leave a seam to be filled once the fuselage has been closed up. Matt Low Rick: I have yet to build a Trumpy or Hasegawa Bf109G so my benchmark is limited. That said, overall the real issue is the "Instruction Call Outs", bad, really bad. Stage 1 worked well for me. So far an enjoyable build. I will give a RATING OF: 7 Pros: Nice sidewall detail parts Sidewall construction allows for easy scratchbuilding, wiring looms, etc Pit tub assembly allows stand alone upgrade construction before insert into fuselage Cons: IP is chunky Not too great molded seatbelts Cockpit tub construction can be tricky and should use fuselage as a jig (thank you Matt) Canopy hinge is huge Gun sights poor shape Instruction call outs. Incomplete reference to sprue letter with part number. Always an epic search for a part Random placement of part numbers Aftermarket Used: Eduard 109G10 cockpit for IP and sidewall detail. Center console must be removed HGW Luftwaffe textile belts Quickboost Revi 12 gunsight Quickboost control stick Scratchbuilt wiring looms and cannon cover/detail with 0.2mm and 0.3mm lead wire Scratchbuilt pedal straps with 0.3mm flat lead wire IP details sanded off for PE IP Eduard 109G10 IP secured on original IP. Center console will be removed, light sanding on PE near both notches of IP for tight fit. Pedal straps made from flat lead wire. Wiring looms from 0.02mm and 0.03mm lead wire. 0.03mm lead wire wrapped around cannon cover and 0.02mm lead wire for latch detail. Following Mr. Surfacer 1500 primer the pit is painted Vallejo RLM 66. Wiring looms and other detail picked out. After balance of detail picked out and weathering the front and rear bulkheads are glued (not glued to fuselage). Fuselage is used as a jig to assure correct position of bulkheads. Thank you Matt for this tip. Fuel line attached to side wall and rear bulkhead. Thank you Matt for this tip. Sidewalls ready for fit and glue. The fuselage will once again be used as a jig. Sidewalls taped just forward of IP is to assure tight fit. Glue is cured pit tub complete. Revi 12 gunsight will be added later.

Funny. although the fuel filters are present in the picture of the part, they're not actually on the part. Just a some riveted panels. Probably nearly impossible to see once it's installed anyways.

Probably seems like just yesterday when you were a young guy watching the Wright Brothers build that new-fangled flying machine. I'll hoist a can of swill in celebration tonight!

OK, my plan for dealing with ridiculously shallow cockpit is to raid the spares box. A couple of years ago I built the Azur (Special Hobby) Hawk 75. It contained a complete resin interior which left me with some left over plastic parts for the cockpit. The Hawk 75 and 81 (P-36 and P-40) were pretty similar. The cockpit is not an exact match detail wise but it's fairly close and once painted I think it will be an improvement. The kit parts were not really accurate either so it's win/win as far as I'm concerned. I shaved off some of the side wall detail and transferred it to the new parts. The aft bulkhead is the upper part of the kit part grafted on to the lower part of the new one. I still have to modify the IP to sit at the correct height and work out a couple of minor details but that shouldn't be a big deal. I don't think I'll have issues with it interfering with the wing fit but need to do a dry fit just to make sure. The seat was a "Plain Jane" so I added some plastic strips to represent the ribs. You're pretty much forced to partially assemble the engine even if you're not going to display it. I'm not big on the exausts pipes but nobody seems to make a resin replacement so I may have to live with them.

Steve, You 'da man! Thanks!

I'm shocked!

Is the circled part supposed to replace kit part A8?

Brad, the Hasegawa bulges are not a perfect fit but with a little filler on the forward edge they look fine. I've installed them on the one I'm working on now and it's a definite upgrade over the kit parts. Will post some pics next week.

Hehe...I'll be there in November, Dave, we'll see how that works out!

190 Euros! Ouch! May just have to hope that Revell gets around to doing it eventually. http://www.aviationmegastore.com/messerschmitt-me410a-1-hph32023r-hph-models-hph32023r-scale-modelling/product/?shopid=LM4d169ed0318e464c36fd7caf8a&action=prodinfo&parent_id=212&art=116149

Looking forward to the review of the CMK set for comparison.

Nice job, Nick! These look like a nice upgrade.

The Hasegawa kit is one of their older efforts and it's getting rather long in the tooth. It can be made into a decent looking kit with some work but the Trumpeter kit is superior in every aspect and will build up nicely right out of the box.

Nice work, Paul!

Great review, Dave!

Gorgeous! How do achieve that chipped paint effect?

I like those wheels in PM kit, they appear to be a bit wider to portray the 660 x 160 tire mounted on the spoked hub. Those North Star wheels looks really nice!

Uwe, thanks for the input, I was afraid that this might be the case. And welcome to the forums!

Nice work!

That really looks sweet!

Nice work, Dave!

From the Urban Dictionary: sick 1)crazy, cool, insane 2)what one is on a test day 1)man, that trick was sick yo 2) I played sick on my big bio test day

Really looking good!

The problem you run into with trying to document a G-14 is there was as much variation there as a G-6! For instance WNF production G-14's didn't use the tall tail, although they did use the Erla canopy and the MK 108 cannon. The G-14 was more of a goal rather than a production aircraft. Fortunately all the bits and pieces are in the kit to portray these differences accurately. (Although some G-14's did have the long tail wheel, can't recall if that's included in the kit or not)

When I move back home in 2015 you'll be getting the full court press on 109's!!!