Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 in Swiss Service

Swiss109LEFT

Vital Stats

Manufacturer: Hasegawa
Scale: 1:32
Aircraft: Messerschmitt Bf 109G-14 (representing a G-6 with tall tail and Erla hood)
Markings: J-704 | Swiss Air Force | 1946
Aftermarket: Eduard Zoom Interior | Eduard masks | Scale Precision Paint Masks | RB Productions Seatbelts | RB Productions Radiator Grilles | Quickboost guns | Aires wheels | Master Detail stabilizers
Paints: Gunze Sangyo Mr. Color

Mini-Review

Here’s the deal. The 1/32 Hasegawa Bf 109G-14 is an entirely competent kit. And I hated it. The entire thing just felt very antisepctic, spartan, and devoid of any imagination or ambition.

The best way I can describe it is…imagine that you got to get behind the wheel of a high-end sports car, and it turned out that the steering felt as disconnected as playing Pole Position and the thing drove just like a Toyota Camry (i.e. sleep-inducing). That’s the feeling this kit gives me. Next time I do a Gustav, I’ll be giving one of the Trumpeter kits a workout.

Still, if you need a tall tail and an Erla hood…well…this is your option.

Aftermarket Verdicts:

Eduard Zoom interior: On realizing how spartan the cockpit was, I’d have sprung for the full interior PE set.
Scale Precision Masks: Simply outstanding. It’s going to be hard to ever use decals on a 1/32 kit again…
RB Productions Seatbelts: Microtextile seatbelts are the bee’s knees.
RB Productions Radiator Grilles: The wing grilles are invisible if you position the radiator flaps the way the kit wants. I would skip these next time.
Quickboost guns: Cheap and a HUGE improvement over the kit parts. Buy them.
Aires wheels: Nice improvement over the kit wheels, press-on fit. Recommended for those who care about footwear.
Master Details stabilizers: These are drop-in replacement for the kit stabs, only with separated elevators. I’d use them again.

Detail – 3

In some regards, this Hasegawa kit is quite good. I’m looking at you, control surface treatments. In others, it goes very spartan to the point of looking plain. The landing gear doors, cockpit, and flaps are all perfect examples of this. The lack of fine detail is in part a mark of when this kit was produced, but its inconsistent application also gives a sense of a kit that could have been far more impressive.

Engineering – 4

Overall, the engineering of the Hasegawa kit is hard to fault. It’s lack of imagination frustrates, but then I bemoan other kits for overcomplicating things by popping open every panel. One area that did gall me, however, was the design of the wings, which are a weird five-piece affair that relies on a very floppy wing spar to ensure dihedral.

Fit – 5

The fit is good all around with nothing worth complaining about.

Instructions – 4

Hasegawa’s manual is straightforward and workmanlike. You won’t be blown away by it, like something from Wingnut Wings, but you won’t be slinging expletives at it, either.

Markings – 1

Likely due to age, but the kit decals were absolutely useless and I ultimately had to scavenge stencils from another Hasegawa, a G-6. Those were slightly better.

YOUR BEST – AND ONLY – BET FOR A TALL-TAIL GUSTAV IN 1/32