Wumm

I hope this isn't meant to be the "other series of test shots" that Brett Green expected to be released soon... http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/message/1365320195/Test+Shot+Build Because nothing much has changed from the errors evident earlier. The port-side cockpit vent is still too far back. The kompressor intake is still mis-shapen at the base and the MG bulges appear either too small or too high up on the fuselage. It looks to me as if Revell have studied the G-4 airframe at the Technikmuseum Speyer... This airframe has no cockpit side-wall air vents and also has the kompressor intake base with the straight top trailing edge because there is no bulge for it to form around. Revell have made a guess for the position of the outside vent and the corresponding lever inside the cockpit, and would have us just attach the bulge onto the side of the airframe where they think it belongs, rather than have it sit up close to the intake which is then designed to then form around it. As Revell put it: "The area above the supercharger air inlet: With or without bulge." Yes, but the side-wall with bulge has a different intake... No word yet as to whether it's short either. Still really, really hoping to be proved wrong... S

Hey Nick, Yes... The vents can be rescribed. But should you have to do it at all on a model kit in 2013? The supercharger intake can be replaced with aftermarket, but where's the advantage over the Hasegawa kit in that? The Buelen are either too small, or the intake is too low; which may mean the thrust line is too low as well... See Hasegawa above. Bf109G length in 1/32nd scale is 281.8mm. The Hasegawa kit is actually a tad long, despite most people' opinion that it's short. But 2mm in 1/32nd scale is a lot to be short. Revell seem to have taken the Handbuch length measurement (8.94 metres)as gospel, despite it being innacurately carried over by Messerschmitt until the G-10 variant. The shorter length stems from the original measurement of the 109F prototype, which had a blunt spinner much like that of the E-4/E-7 variants... This was never changed in Messerschmitt documents for some reason, carried right through the F and G series. Which means, that if Revell sticks to that 280mm, that they probably never actually measured a 1:1 scale Bf109. As for the price, £19.99 is pretty good value for a 1/32 scale kit... If you're in Europe that is, with no Customs charges or import duties between EU countries. Start sending them abroad, and you run into the same price factors that Europeans encounter with Japanese or other Far East kits, and pricing suddenly becomes a significant factor. For instance, the Revell AG re-boxes of the Hasegawa Bf109K kits can run anywhere from $80-100 Au in my neck of the woods. So from my perspective (and I'm happy to stand corrected), there appear to be no significant detail advantages, no dimensional improvements, and no price advantages over 12 year old Hasegawa kits that I already have in the stash. I was really hoping for much more... S

Yeah Grant, I'm all for improving the breed, each successive release should at least be a little better than the one before it. But I don't see the merits in yet another innacurate Bf109 kit, which has glaring errors that the model companies should really be aware of by now. The inclusion of positionable control surfaces shouldn't trump basic detail errors that the average enthusiast can pick. But, I guess we'll just have to wait and see with this one. Hope I'm wrong... S

Yes, there was an example on their stand... And It showed, amongst other things, some puzzling details; Such as a thin compressor intake without the characteristic screw holes for the tropical filter, a too-large gap between the intake and the port-side Buele and the lack of cut-out in the rear of the intake base that reflects this proximity, the cockpit air vent positioned so far back it would almost be unreachable from inside the aircraft, and the port-side fuel fill hatch positioned right on the seam between station 2 and 3, instead of in the middle of the third section. I have been assured on another Forum that this was a rushed build, to be able to have an example to exhibit for the show. And as such, some of the details may or may not be present on the actual kit when it's released... I really hope this is the case. The kit was originally to have engine detail, however this was later revised to no engine; Who knows whether this may have prompted Tamiya to choose the 1/32nd scale Corsair instead of what IMO would have been the more popular choice in the Gustav. Similarly, the initial parts count, around the 200 mark, has since been taken back to 170. I also note from the Revell site, that the release date will now be June. Combine the glaring errors shown above with their continued adherence to this 280mm length, and I'm more than a little worried about this kit's accuracy. Steve.

A good, honest review there Nick. But a question, if I may... You spelled Nowi's name phonetically... Are you starting to think in German now? Steve

Aw, thanks guys... Considering, as this time year ago I wasn't sure if I'd see another birthday, this year was a very special celebration for me. And I even managed to jag a kit as well! Cheers, Steve.

Richard, all... The forthcoming Revell 1/32nd scale Bf109G-6 is supposedly a new-tool kit, utilising different moulds from the Hasegawa kits that Revell shared common sprues with during the past decade. Originally rumoured to include full engine detail, this was later denied in an online interview with a Revell representative hosted by Hyperscale's Brett Green. However, the parts count of 170 attributed to the kit is significantly higher than the Hasegawa kits, which may indicate that all of the different parts required to make any G-6/14 variant are included in the kit, along with perhaps extra weapons including the Werfer Gerät rockets shown in the publicity shots. But... And it's a big BUT too... All along Revell have been consistent in showing this forthcoming kit as being 280mm in length. 280mm equates to 8.96 metres in 1/32nd scale, whereas the Bf109G-6 variant was 9.02 metres long in actuality (281.8 mm in 1/32nd scale). This difference of almost 2mm is worrying, given the many accuracy issues found on Revell's !/32nd scale He219 kit. I guess only time will tell on this one... Steve