Hobby Boss 81750 Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 (Günther Rall)

Kit#: 81750.

Price: Can't remember.

Decals: Two options.

Notes: Nothing.

History:

From the LET LET book about the Bf 109G: "The Bf 109G "Gustav" was the most important variant of the Bf 109. It was also built in the largest numbers, in particular during the last years of the war. The Gustav was fitted with the new Daimler Benz DB605 engine, giving 1475hp.

Externally the (early) Gustav was similar to the preceding "F" model. The most visible differences were the lack of the small triangular cockpit window and the addition of small air openings on each side of the nose."

The Kit:

The kit has 78 pieces moulded in dark grey/clear plastic, and comes in four sprues of grey plastic and three clear ones (one has a solid canopy, the other one has a separate canopy, and the third one has a windscreen and the armoured headrest).

The kit has recessed panel lines, no flash, and is covered with tiny rivets that may make some people leave this model aside and go for the Hasegawa offering.

The instruction sheet comes as an 8-page booklet with 12 steps in black and white.

There're two decal options included:

1) Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 "Black 1", Walter Nowotny, 1/JG54. Painted in RLM 70.

2) Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 "Black 13", Günther Rall, 8/JG52. Painted in RLM 74/75/76.

Construction:

I began by painting all the cockpit parts in RLM 66 (Revell 78), the instrument panel was painted flat black and the rudder pedals in steel (Revell 91). When the paint was dry, I removed some from the contact areas so the glue could have more grip in those areas. While the cockpit was drying, I set out to work on the fuselage and the wings. The fuselage halves need to have the exhausts glued first, so I did that, and glued the throttle controls to the left fuselage half. After all that, the cockpit was trapped between both fuselage halves. It was also at this time that I glued the engine cowlings and the oil cooler to the lower part of the fuselage.

For the wings, Hobby Boss tells you to open holes for the underwing cannons. Check your references, because the cannons may not be appropriate for the version you're building. My option didn't have the cannons, so I didn't open any holes for them. I'm also not really sure if the G-2s carried the fuselage fuel drop tank, so check again your references. After doing all that, I glued the wings to the fuselage.

Colours and Markings:

Günther Rall's aircraft was painted in RLM 74/75/76, with the rear half of the fuselage painted entirely in RLM 74. I first painted the rear fuselage half in RLM 74 (Revell 69), and then I painted the front of the aircraft in RLM 76. Some mottling was requiered in this area, which was painted in RLM 75 (Revell 47). The wings were painted following this article: http://www.modelingmadness.com/scott/axis/luft/me/109/48g2.htm

The nose and wingtips were painted in yellow.

After painting the aircraft, I glossed it to place the decals, which worked really well.

Final Construction:

I painted and added the landing gear, the gear doors, the tailwheel, the clear parts and the propeller. With those parts on, the aircraft was finished.

Conclusions:

Another fun kit from Hobby Boss. The cheapness (but no quality control issues and great fit) make them great kits for those who want to jump into scale modeling.

References:

http://www.letletlet-warplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Bf109G.pdf

Hobby Boss 81751 Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 (Gerhard Barkhorn)

Kit#: 81751.

Price: Can´t remember

Decals: Two options (Erich Hartmann and Gerhard Barkhorn).

Notes: Easy assembly Bf 109G-6.

History:

From the LET LET book about the Bf 109G: "The Bf 109G "Gustav" was the most important variant of the Bf 109. It was also built in the largest numbers, in particular during the last years of the war. The Gustav was fitted with the new Daimler Benz DB605 engine, giving 1475hp.

Externally the (early) Gustav was similar to the preceding "F" model. The most visible differences were the lack of the small triangular cockpit window and the addition of small air openings on each side of the nose.

The Bf 109G-6 was the most important Gustav version, and was built in the largest numbers. It could be fitted with a DB 605AM/AS or ASM engine. It was armed with two MG 131 machineguns in the nose and one MG 151/20 cannon firing through the propeller hub (this part wasn´t in the LET LET book). The Bf 109G-6/U4 was armed with a single MK 108 30mm cannon firing through the propeller hub, and had two MG 151/20 cannons fitted under the wings as the Bf 109G-6/R6.

This combination was regarded as the most suitable for daylight bomber interception, although it lacked the performances to meet Allied fighter escorts on even terms. 

Like the Bf 109G-5, the G-6 could be fitted with WGr 21 mortar launchers under the wings."

The Kit:

The kit has 78 pieces moulded in dark grey/clear plastic, and comes in four sprues of grey plastic and three clear ones (one has a solid canopy, the other one has a separate canopy, and the third one has a windscreen and the armoured headrest).

The kit has recessed panel lines, no flash, and is covered with tiny rivets that may make some people leave this model aside and go for the Hasegawa offering.

The instruction sheet comes as an 8-page booklet with 12 steps in black and white.

Construction:

I began by painting with Revell 78 all the cockpit parts and the fuselage of the aircraft. When the paint was dry, I began building the cockpit.

The cockpit is more or less detailed. I first attached the seat and the rudder pedals to the floor and then the trim wheel and the control stick. 

The control panel is the final step for the cockpit assembly, and it´s a three piece construction. It was build and left to dry before being glued to the cockpit floor.

Before adding the cockpit to the fuselage halves, one has to add what a small part of what I guess is the throttle to the left side of the fuselage. I glued it on, left it dry, and then added the cockpit. The cockpit didn´t fit. So I removed the little piece and put it on the box. You also have to glue the exhausts and make a hole for a circular antenna before closing the fuselage halves.

Step 3 is where I brain farted (too early, yeah I know) and, instead of glueing together pieces B8 and A17 to make the rear bulkhead (part B8 had two small notches for the headrest), I glued the incorrect part D8 (a single rear bulkhead piece) to one of the fuselage halves. 

With that added, I went ahead and glued both fuselage halves and left them to dry.

Step 4 deals with the addition of the horizontal stabilizers and cowlings, which maybe the easiet step of the entire build. I also glued the air intake at this time. The inner part of the cowlings (the ones that surround the exhaust) are some milimitres longer than the area where they have to be glued, so trim them a bit and test fit.

I skipped step 5 and went straight to 6, adding the oil cooler and the tailwheel cover at this time. I also built and painted the propeller assembly with the colours for Hartmann´s aircraft.

Steps 7 and 8 have you build the wings, and the instructions tell you to open holes for the underwing cannons and for the two kidney shaped pieces that allowed for the installation of bigger wheels in the real aircraft. The first ones weren´t opened because there weren´t any underwing cannons on Hartmann´s aircraft, and the latter ones were already open, so I glued those two pieces without hesitation. Do not glue piece D10 (I guess it´s a fuel tank), it won´t let the wing assembly seat flush with the fuselage.

I jumped above steps 9 to 11 because they dealt with the installation of the fuel tank (again, not applicable for Hartmann´s aircraft) and the landing gear, and went straight to painting.

Colours and markings:

Instead of using the inaccurate painting instructions of the kit, I chose to use the ones that came on the Eduard Bf 109G Royal Class kit, which has decals too for Barkhorn's aircraft. Since the aircraft was built by Erla in 1943, the place was painted with the saw-toothed camouflage pattern. I first painted the fuselage with RLM 74/75/76, and after it had dried, I painted the wings entirely with RLM 75, and then I traced with a pencil the saw tooth RLM 74 camo. Since the RLM 74 is darker than the RLM 75, I was able to cover those areas in three coats, leaving no trace of paint ridges on the wings. With the painting stage completed, I glossed the aircraft for the decals.

I used the kit decals, following the instructions of the Eduard kit. They performed well without using Microsol, but I used a bit just to be sure.

Final construction:

With the aircraft decalled, I brused two coats of Revell´s flat varnish and left it to dry.

The landing gear came next, and it doesn´t have a very positive attachment point, only a pin over a hole, so you´ll have to hold it until the glue sets. Once both gears were dry, I glued the tailwheel, the main gear doors, and the propeller.

The canopy was the last part to be added. It was painted in RLM 75 and later glued with clear glue to the cockpit opening.

The small aileron mass balances were left on their sprue because I didn´t want to lose them, should I ever move my model from my shelf.

Conclusions:

Another easy assembly 109 for the collection. I really like these Hobby Boss kits, one can build many of them at the price of one Tamiya 109G-6 (even though the Tamiya kit is far superior).

References:

http://www.letletlet-warplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Bf109G.pdf