FROG F192, Messerschmitt Bf109F, Rovex industries ltd, 1969
NEW to YOU?
A MONTHLY REVIEW OF NEW ITEMS CONDUCTED BY BOB JONES (I.P.M.S.)
Latest addition to the range of FROG 1/72 scale aircraft kits will delight Luftwaffe enthusiasts, being a Messerschmitt Bf.109F. Price (UK) 3/-. Kit includes optional tropical or standard filters. Decals offer alternative markings representing either an aircraft flown by Adolph Galland, of JG.26 in European theatre decor or Hans Joachim Marseilles' 109F Trop of JG.27. Assembly is quite straightforward, although we would recommend reference to photographs to ensure that the undercarriage legs are set at the correct angle and track, as unless this is done the model will not 'sit' correctly. Box art provides a very accurate guide to painting.
Scale Models 1969 OCTOBER
NEW AND IN VIEW NEW AIRCRAFT KITS
FROG. Messerschmitt Bf. 109F. 1/72 scale. Price 3/- (U.K.)
It is perhaps surprising to realise that this is the only kit in 1/72 scale of the 'F' variant of the Messerschmitt fighter, and Frog are to be congratulated on their choice of model.
On opening the box, one is immediately struck by the very fine surface detail, a feature of Frog kits which in the past has been much criticised but which now is approaching near-scale accuracy. Assembly is straightforward, but the joint along the centre of the wing leading edge requires some sanding, as does the wing/fuselage joint just aft of the nose intake. Apart from these slight corrections, the kit is very accurate indeed. It includes both standard and tropical intakes, a bucket seat with armour-plated back, and the most exquisitely-detailed wheels and hubs we have yet seen to this scale. The cockpit canopy is superb, and the fit of this is near-perfect.
The decals, as with all this company's kits, are excellent. Very accurate markings are given for Adolf Galland's aircraft when he served with JG.26 in France in 1941 (94 kills) and Marseille's Bf.109F (Trop) Werk No.5237, at Gazala in 1942 (101 kills). Personal markings are included, along with oil and fuel triangles etc.
The only real criticism is that the aircraft shown in the dramatic box art (as opposed to the profiles) is more like a cross between an MC202 and a Hurricane than a Bf109! Despite this, the kit inside is really delightful.
The IPMS magazine, JANUARY 1969 VOL.6 No.1
Scale Models 1970 FEBRUARY
NEW to YOU?
MONTHLY REVIEW OF NEW PRODUCTS CONDUCTED BY BOB JONES OF I.P.M.S
We are still receiving for review new items obviously designed to fall in with the Battle of Britain film and its attendant publicity.
FROG have introduced some of their kits in two-some boxed sets: These being the Spitfire/Ju 88, Blenheim Mk. l/Bf.lO9F and Hurricane IIC/Ju 87D, each set retailing at 10/6d.
For the extra value over the combined price of the two kits, one receives a most attractive box, the front of which features an excellent action painting featuring the aeroplanes provided. One is given a plastic picture frame into which this box top illustration is placed and two display stands which also fit on to the frame. The models may then be mounted on these and the whole hung on the wall of one's den or office etc. The frame is a sturdy unit moulded in polystyrene with a faked wooden 'grain' and colouring, which from a distance looks like an expensive picture surround. The kits for the aircraft are, of course, identical to those which one may buy separately. Taking into account the value of the kits plus the very high quality of the decals, together with the frame and stand mounts at 10/6d. this is good value for money and provides a new and unique method of display.
Scale Models No.5 1970 FEBRUARY Vol.1 No.5
MODEL ENTHUSIAST
Transparently obvious
This month's colour subject
As long as military aircraft exist, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter will be remembered. Its claims to fame are numerous, quite apart from the fact that it was manufactured in larger quantities than any fighter before or since, and it has always exercised a fascination for the modeller, and this fascination is unquestionably engendered in no small way by the infinite variety of marking and finish that may be applied to models of this famous warplane. Built in immensely greater numbers than any sub-type of the Bf 109 was, of course, the Gustav — the Bf 109G, and our colour page this month, which reveals some of the interesting insignia that this fighter carried in service, comprises a selection of colour profiles reproduced from The Augsburg Eagle — The Story of the Messerschmitt 109 by kind permission of the publishers of this new book, Macdonald & Co (Publishers) Limited. This book contains 24 pages of full-colour illustrations by John Weal which depict examples of the Bf 109 in the finishes and markings applied throughout its long Luftwaffe career as well as those applied by the many other air arms with which this distinguished warplane served.
Among several quite good kits are those to 1/72nd scale by Airfix and to 1/70th scale by Hawk, the latter being the more accurate but appreciably cruder than the former. The principal shortcoming of the Airfix kit is presented by the nose which is both incorrectly shaped and too short, and to put this right it is necessary to insert a section 3/32 in (2,38 mm) wide at the rear of the cowling, which is no simple task. Perhaps the best answer for a Bf 109G model in the 1/72nd range is to convert Frog's very good Bf 109F kit to Gustav standards which is easier than correcting the Airfix kit. Revell issues a generally good kit of the Bf 109G to 1/32nd scale, and those with a penchant for the larger model will undoubtedly choose this, but there is an obvious gap to be filled by a kit of a Gustav to 1/48th scale, and there are rumours that Fujimi intends to produce just such a kit. There are many modellers who will be delighted if these rumours prove to be fact.
Dornier and Grumman from Frog
We have found it necessary to criticise some recent Frog kits-rather harshly; some of this company's kits have fallen far short of the standards established by their predecessors. This decline would now seem to have been arrested by the Dornier Do 17Z and Hellcat now issued as these, happily, revert to the standards of former years. Both are accurate and neatly moulded to 1/72nd scale, and their component parts fit together well, though the Hellcat is the better of the two in this respect as some of the joints of the Do 17Z demand some work from the modeller. Both display a mass of fine straight-line surface detail and have excellent thin, crystal-clear transparencies. The superbly-detailed engines provided with both kits are particularly worthy of mention, though the power plant provided for the Hellcat is in error in one respect: the two rows of cylinders line up incorrectly, those comprising the rear row lining directly behind those of the front row instead of being staggered. Fortunately, this error is simple to correct.
The decal sheet of the Do 17Z is excellent, offering markings for an aircraft of I/KG 3 operating over the UK in 1940 and for an aircraft of Finland's PLeLv 46. The decal sheet accompanying the Hellcat kit, which offers the markings of two British-operated aircraft, one from No 800 Squadron operating in home waters and one from No 1839 Squadron flying from HMS Indomitable in the Jndian Ocean, is definitely weak on colour, and there is an ugly black line separating the red and blue portions of the roundels of the No 800 Squadron aircraft. It may be that this weakness in the colour is deliberate, representing an effort to simulate the weathered effect sported by the markings of many naval aircraft, but if so, the result is not very successful.
Both kits include the usual all-drawing style instruction sheets which serve their purpose adequately. These are certainly excellent products and are to be recommended highly, being the best 1/72nd scale representations of their subjects on the market today, and at their UK prices of 47p for the Do 17Z and 20p for the Hellcat they offer good value. □
W R MATTHEWS
RECENTLY ISSUED KITS
| Company | Type | Scale | Price |
| Frog | Dornier Do 17Z | 1/72 | - |
| Otaki | Lockheed C-5A Galaxy | 1/144 | — |
| Fujimi | Spitfire MkVB | 1/50 | 350 Yen |
| MCCNE | Yak-40 | 1/125 | - |
Air Enthusiast 1971-12 vol.01 no.07
|
|
|
|
|
COVER COMMENT
MODIFICATIONS TO THE REDOUBTABLE ME Bf 109 KITS TO 1/72 SCALE
by John R. Beaman I.P.M.S./U.S.A.
Few aircraft have provided so much material for controversy as the ME Bf 109 and despite the number of kits which have been produced to date the modeller still lacks a really accurate basis for a "straight from the box" model. In the following article I.P.M.S. Member John R. Beaman, late Editor of the excellent U.S. Quarterly Magazine, has endeavoured to provide our readers with an analysis of existing kits, together with detailed drawings and descriptive notes as to how to go about improving the accuracy of any model (s) of this famous German fighter.
John Beaman is noted for his expertise in the field of technical research and drawings and the Editor of the U.K. Monthly is indebted to both John and the "MAJOR GEORGE E. PREDDY CHAPTER of I.P.M.S." for allowing us to bring this feature to the attention of the Society Membership through the pages of the Monthly. This is based upon an original article John Beaman produced for the Chapter. Newsletter "CONTRAILS" which is now available to any member of the Society who wishes to place an order. Write to Don Inman, 3712 Manor Drive, Greenboro., N.C. 27403 U.S.A. and enquire for subscription and postage rates—we cannot recommend this little publication too highly and with John Beaman as a regular contributor the "MAJOR PREDDY CHAPTER" must be grateful that John relinquished his position of Editor of the Quarterly. To boost I.P.M.S. Publication sales, one way in which Members can assist is to subscribe to other Branch publications such as "CONTRAILS". We will publish shortly a list of all Branch and similar publications available to members over and above the regular I.P.M.S. Monthly and Quarterly or "RANDOM THOUGHTS" or "MODELCRAFT" etc.
R.C.J.
This article and drawings relate solely to the 1/72 (or near) scale kits—for those who prefer to work to larger scales, see the I.P.M.S. Quarterly 3Q2 for 1/32 scale drawings and data.
There are four 1/72 scale kits. They are: the REVELL Bf 109E-3, the FROG Bf 109F, the AIRFIX ME 109G-6 and the HAWK ME 109G. You will note the nomenclature change. In 1943 Bayereich Flugenwerk, A.G., of which Messerschmitt was a part became Messerschmitt, A.G. Thereafter, all subsequent 109's and the 163, 262 etc. had the abbrevation ME rather than Bf. The HAWK kit is the most accurate of all the post-109E kits. It does happen to be 1 /70 scale. If that is accurate enough for you as it is for us, then fine. If not, then you will have a problem.
I have not shown anything on the 109E as the Revell kit leaves little to be desired in the way of accuracy (aside from the gross rivets). If you want a later model E with the squared-off canopy, try vacuforming from a Frog F canopy. This is necessary as the Frog canopy is slightly too narrow for the Revell fuselage (this in itself is an error since the E and F fuselages were the same width at that point, but it is hardly worth correcting). Now to the drawings. The first one is of a Bf 109F-4/Trop. We show it because the F-4 had the armoured windscreen and the Frog kit does not. F-2's and F-2/Trops did not have this, so you do not have to add one if you do not want to. A thin piece of clear plastic, glued only at the bottom would simulate this. The basic errors in the Frog kit are:
(1) The upper cowl line is too shallow and has a flat curve profile. The first cowling section forward of the windscreen is horizontal and straight. From there, the next section (which is removable) breaks down towards the nose and is straight in profile and not curved as many drawings show. The reason is simple; that whole section of cowl had a piano type hinge at the top. Therefore, it must be straight as you cannot have a continuous hinge and a curve at the same time. At the last panel line, note the steeper slope down to the spinner; only the Hawk kit has got it almost right. This upper cowling profile applies to all F's and G's, regardless of the bulges.
(2) The oil cooler on the Frog kit is too large and deep for an F or even a G. There were two depths of coolers. The DB 601 engines of the F had the shallow type and the various DB 605's of the G series had a deeper cooler as shown in the G drawings.
(3) The rudder hinge line is incorrect. You may or may not want to fool with this.
(4) All F's had retractable tailwheels. In practice they were rarely used as dust and mud clogged them up but the hole and cut-out were there. Frog has made only a poor indication of this.
(5) These scoops were not on the F's, but were on the G series.
One other minor point concerns the thin fairing at the rear of the rudder. This is drawn as a solid line right above the navigation light. Also I have shown only those panel lines that Frog included but in their correct position. Note, too, that the exhaust stacks come out of a rectangular opening in the cowl. This is best simulated by black paint. Lastly note the centre frame on the main canopy. This is a thin interior frame and not a heavy outside one as produced by Frog which actually applied to the G's.
Now, the G-6 below the F. Just for the fun of it I have shown the Airfix G outline. You can see where the faults are. They are correctable and that is why I have shown the "add" section on the drawing. The whole nose is too short and this includes exhausts, scoop, oil cooler, bulges etc. which is why the "cut" line is where it is. It means you would have to rework the wing roots and the lengthened nose would require considerable filling and putty-work to get things right. The Airfix canopy is rather poor but is usable. Note the correct shape of the rack for the belly tank—both Airfix and Frog have it wrong. Note, too, that the tailwheel well is solid. Basically, it was like an F but was faired over with sheet metal and a non-retracting wheel was installed. The wheel had a leather or rubber dust cover on the oleo etg. If, from all this, you conclude that it would be far easier to make a G from the Frog or Hawk kit, you are correct. The earlier "Gustav's did not have the bulged circular breech covers but from the G-5 up, just add the bulges to both kits. For the Frog model, again make the oil cooler more shallow and delete the extra quarter window in the windscreen. Leave those small nose scoops on and that middle canopy frame as it is. The Hawk kit requires only a slightly shallower oil cooler. The rudder is slightly undersize but hardly worth messing with. Of course, you will need the wings, gear, wheels etc. from either the Frog or Airfix kits.
Next are the G-10 and G-14/U-4s and the K-2 or 4. Apart from the tailplanes and the Galland canopy, the G-10 and G-14 are the same as the rest of the G series. The tail surfaces are the big differences. These enlarged tail units were used as far back as the G-5 on a limited basis and some were sent out to units as field modification packages. Not only was the fin and rudder enlarged, but the horizontal tailplane was increased in width and had rounded tips. This difference is shown in the sketch. Not all G-10's and G-14's had them, in fact, the majority did not. These enlarged surfaces are denoted by the suffix/U4. The late models also had a short radio mast and the FuG 16 D/F loop. Some of the 10's and 14's were fitted with long-stroke, retractable tailwheels but the vast majority did not have this feature.
All these little changes were supposed to be incorporated in a "standardized" production model, the K. In addition there was some aerodynamic cleaning-up of the bulges. (See I.P.M.S. 6Q2 for further comments on this.) These bulges were very streamlined and one should study the drawing in the Quarterly closely. Other than that the K had all of the changes of the various G series as standard; long-stroke, retractable tail wheel, Galland hood, short mast and D/F loop. Lastly, the FuG IFF had a whip antenna below the port wing as shown in William Green's WARPLANES OF THE THIRD REICH which states that the K had a slightly longer spinner. However, I know of no photographs that substantiate this. A word of warning—you will see many G's labelled as K's so look at such photographs very carefully. Conversely you will see an occasional K labelled as a G. I also took Dennis Punnett's drawings of the K, seen in Green's books, and enlarged it to 1/32 for comparison to Bruce Culver's drawings that appeared in a Quarterly several years ago. The result is amazing—those in Green's books do not even look like a 109!
Final notes: All the various kit spinners are too blunt. All the horizontal tailplanes need reshaping to varying degrees. The Frog wingtips are too pointed and those on the Airfix too rounded. Hawk's are about right—too bad they aren't usable.
To those who say that I am being to pernickety, I say "each to his own". The ME/Bf 109 had a very distinctive appearance that no kit has yet captured. With a little work you can go a long way towards achieving this but without it the kit model looks like a model and not Willie's redoubtable fighter.
The IPMS magazine, AUGUST 1971 VOL.8 No.8
|
|
|
| 14.04.2023 |
|
