Manufacturer: Hasegawa, distributed by Marco Polo Import, 532 S. Coralridge Place, City of Industry, CA 91746, 626-333-2328, www.marcopoloimport.com
Kit: No. ST17 Scale: 1/32
Price: $39.98
Comments: Injection-molded, 123 parts (4 vinyl), decals
Pros: Excellent surface detail, great fit, accurate presentation
Cons: Canopy, flaps, and slats have to be modified to close

Although it’s widely known as the “Me 109,” the real designation of the famous Messerschmitt fighter was Bf 109 (the Bf stood for Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, the main factory where Willy Messerschmitt’s design was built). It was a sleek and highly adaptable design. Serving with almost every Luftwaffe fighter unit, the dreaded Bf 109G was also the type used by the most successful German aces. Not as sleek as the earlier models, the G was covered in bumps and bulges to make room for more performance and firepower. More than 10,000 G-6 (or “Gustav”) models were built.

Until Hasegawa’s new kit was released, the only 1/32 scale Bf 109G was the Revell kit from the late 1960s. Hasegawa’s is molded in neutral gray plastic featuring crisp recessed panel lines and fine details. The cockpit is adequately detailed, leaving room for aftermarket companies to make improvements. Extra parts are provided for optional windscreens, underwing gun pods, cowl panels, cockpit armor, a drop tank, and a pilot figure. Features include separate leading-edge slats and wing and radiator-cooling flaps. The slats and flaps are molded in the deployed positions, so if you want to show them retracted, you’ll have to modify the parts.

Assembly begins with the cockpit. Some detail is molded on the fuselage side walls, but most of the major components attach to the floor. The separate stowage compartment door behind the cockpit deck is a nice touch.

The fuselage comprises four pieces – the forward fuselage halves and the two-part tail section. Hasegawa has already announced a G-14; the separate tail section will allow for the tall tail featured on that model. The tail section has a huge boxlike tab that fits into a receptacle in the forward section, virtually eliminating the possibility of builder-induced twist.

After gluing the fuselage parts I cleaned up the seams, then rescribed the panel lines on the top and bottom. Otherwise, the overall fit of the kit was excellent.

The kit instructions point out a couple of access ports on the right fuselage that need to be removed for this model. I quickly filled them with gap-filling super glue and sanded them away. There are two small air intakes on each side of the nose. Hasegawa has the front intakes noticeably lower on the nose than the rear pair, but photos of Gustavs show they were nearly the same height.

The horizontal stabilizers have interlocking tabs, and a bit of pressure is required to lock them in place. Once in, though, they fit well and provide perfect alignment to the fuselage.

You will find two small bullet-shaped fairings below the windscreen on the left fuselage. These cover mountings for a sun umbrella and were usually found on “tropically” equipped Gustavs. Check your references and remove the fairings if necessary.

The front windscreen features a separate part for the armor glass panel. Take care when gluing it in place to avoid marring the clear plastic. I painted the inside and outside of the lower triangular panels to make them opaque. (On earlier 109s, these panels were transparent, but on the Bf 109G-6, they were replaced with metal panels with small fresh-air vents.) The canopy hood is designed to be installed in the open position, so to close it, you’ll have to sand off the mounting strip.

Hasegawa provided a solid construction base for the main components. An H-shaped structure is added to the lower fuselage section. The arms of the H are wing spars which provide firm attachment for the wings and set the proper dihedral – clever! The wings have stiffeners molded in to prevent warpage.

The wheel wells have circular openings (a hint of an “F” model to come?) that need to be modified by carving out square corners for the Gustav’s correct shape. Most of the remaining wing work involves adding the radiator cores and upper-surface tire bulges.

Since the leading-edge slats were generally deployed only in flight, I cut off the slat arms and installed them in the closed position. There are a few ejector-pin marks on the inside of the radiator flaps, though they are concealed after the flaps are installed.

While installing the aileron mass balances I noticed small indentations had been molded in them, just like the real thing! Landing gear detail is very good with separate parts for the oleo scissors. The brake fluid line is molded onto the gear legs.

I painted my Gustav with a combination of Polly Scale and Gunze Sangyo Luftwaffe colors. Hasegawa provides decal markings for the two top Luftwaffe aces, Erich Hartmann and Gerhard Barkhorn – I chose Hartmann. An extensive selection of stencils is included. The decals applied well over a gloss coat using a small amount of setting solution.

References on the Bf 109G are plentiful. I settled on Aero Detail 5 Messerschmitt Bf 109G and Mushroom Model Magazine Special Vol. 1 No. 6101 Messerschmitt Bf 109G by Robert Peczkowski. The kit scales out well, though it may be a couple of scale inches short in length depending on which reference is used. Most importantly, it looks right!

I finished my Bf 109G in 30 hours, and I was impressed with the outcome. This kit would be a perfect choice for your first 1/32 scale model.