Kit: Bf-109G-4/R-6 trop

Scale: 1/48

Kit Number: ??

Manufacturer: AMT/Otaki

Price: $9.99

Media: Injected plastic

Decals : one option

Accuracy: Since it is an Otaki kit, it is probably off somewhere.

Overall: see review

Comments: I've built several Otaki kits and they have been pretty good, especially considering their age. I had a bunch of aftermarket bits (Airwaves brass set, True Details wheels and Aeromaster's decals for Italian 109s) so this kit seemed a natural. I also swiped the spare canopy set from a Hasegawa Bf-109F so I could display the improved interior.

The interior was the first to be built using parts from the Airwaves set that included a new instrument panel, rudder pedals and seat belts. Before the wings and fuselage were joined, the Airwaves set provided radiator screens which required some modification to fit. The dust filter also got Airwaves treatment with a brass screen which really added to the kit. The rest of the kit went together well and the Hasegawa canopy parts actually fit! I also replaced the wing pitot and nose guns with brass tubing. The aircraft was painted (surprise)74/75/76 and the place of the German markings was painted over using primer which seemed to match Italian grey. Of the seven choices on the Aeromaster decal sheet, I used a pre-Sept 1943 marking showing the three gulls on the unit insignia. True details wheels were added as was the requisite pastels for gun and exhaust stains.

It really made a nice kit and is a favourite of mine on the shelf along with several other 109s of various marks and manufacturers. If the kit is still available, it is worth building.