Manufacturer: Hasegawa, distributed by Marco Polo Import, 532 S. Coralridge Pl., City of Industry, CA 91746, 626-333-2328.
Kit: No. JT63
Scale: 1/48
Price: $23.98
Comments: Injection molded, 73 parts, decals.
Pros: Accurate dimensions, correct asymmetrical upper cowl, correct horizontal stabilizers with leading-edge guards, excellent fit, good decals.
Cons: Loose fit of landing gear struts, tail-wheel doors should be shut, missing cut out on rear of canopy, confusing color recommendations

Produced as a high-altitude interceptor in response to the intensified Allied bombing campaign of mid-1943, the Messerschmitt Bf 109K-4 was an improvement over the G-10. The K-4 had a pressurized cabin and was powered by the DB 605ASCM/DCM with MW 50 methanol injection that boosted take-off power from 1,550 to 2,000 horsepower. Top speed was increased to 452 m.p.h. at 20,000 feet. It first saw service with III./JG27 in October 1944.

Although only 73 of the more than 90 included parts are used to build Hasegawa’s new Bf-109K-4, they are precisely molded, flash-free, and have perfectly scribed panel lines. The landing gear doors are a bit thick when compared to aftermarket photoetched items, but the canopy and windshield are crisp, clear, and nearly as thin as those produced by vacuum forming.

Hasegawa’s instructions include black and white photos of a completed model supplemented by a color photo on the box cover, a brief history of the type, error-free assembly drawings, and parts maps. Parts needing identification are named.

Assembly was easy and straightforward following the 12-step drawings. Parts fit was so tight that I had to lightly file the front edge of the windshield part to make it fit down on the cowl. The wing/fuselage joint was tight, too, and I had to bevel the front edge of the opening in the fuselage.

There are a few modifications that need to be made to the kit parts, and these are shown in the instructions. In step three, you need to engrave an extra panel line in each upper wing surface. Since the K-4 has outer landing gear doors, the circular wheel well openings in the wing must be modified to fit the doors.

I made a few more corrections. In step 8, I added a stretched-sprue weld seam to the supercharger air intake. In step 10, I removed the molded-open tail-wheel doors and replaced them with a curled piece of sheet styrene. These doors were open only when the gear was cycling. Since the pilot could pivot the gunsight out of his line of vision when it wasn’t in use, I mounted it flopped over to the right.

Resist the temptation to remove a “molding flaw” found at the bottom left of the windshield frame. That’s the windshield misting tube that permitted the pilot to wash his windscreen during flight.

Getting the split inner flaps to align with the trailing edge of the wing depends on getting the upper and lower wing panels glued together properly. I removed the locating pins from the upper wings to make that happen. Don’t forget to open the holes in the upper wing panels for the add-on wheel bulges, and in the lower left for the antenna.

The system Hasegawa uses to mount the propeller spinner doesn’t work well. To allow the prop to spin, you insert (but don’t glue) a keeper (D31) inside the fuselage. It projects through a hole in the nose. You have to glue the tip of the keeper’s pin to the spinner backplate (D19). To hold the keeper in place, you need to press a finger against it from inside the fuselage, and that means you’ll have to do this before attaching the wing to the fuselage. See? It’s just as hard to do as it is to explain. I miss the vinyl grommet used on many other Hasegawa kits.

Though it’s not mentioned in the instructions, I added the provided auxiliary fuel tank, as photos show them mounted on K-4s.

While the marking and painting guides appear accurate, the suggested colors for the JG 27 are questionable. Hasegawa recommends Mr. Color 123 (RLM 83 Dark Green) and 304 (FS34087 Olive Drab) for the upper camouflage colors. The Official Monogram Painting Guide to German Aircraft 1935-1945 indicates that day fighter schemes in 1944 and ’45 were either RLM 75/82/76, 81/75/76, 74/75/ 76, or 81/82/and some shade of gray. I used the latter scheme, referring to a photo in Monogram Close-Up No. 16.

The well-printed decals provide markings and complete stencils for two aircraft: Yellow 4 of II./JG 3 in March 1944, and Yellow 1 of II./JG 27. The white-cross national markings for the fuselage and upper wing surfaces have clear centers, while the instruction sheet and available photos indicate that these areas should be RLM 82. If you’re careful, you can mask the decals with Post-It note paper and airbrush the color while they are still on the sheet. You could do the same to the decals after they are on the model.

I used AeroMaster and Floquil RLM colors on my model. The canopy was masked with frisket paper, then sprayed first with RLM 66 for the interior color and then RLM81 for the exterior color. The decals went on fine with a little Micro Sol, but there are dozens of stencils and they take hours to apply.

Working time on my Messerschmitt was just over 21 hours, about normal for me. The model scales close to the measurements in William Green’s War Planes of the Second World War – FIGHTERS – Volume One, and to John Beaman’s 1/48 scale drawings in his The Last of the Eagles. If you can paint with an airbrush, you’ll enjoy building Hasegawa’s Bf 109K-4.

– Al Jones