Hasegawa 1/72 Bf-109G-6

BUI A mThe 109G-6 was the most produced variant with over 10,000 aircraft produced between February 1943 and August 1944. It saw action in every theater of operations and many were subsequently rebuilt or repaired. It was fairly fast and while its maneuverability wasn't as good as earlier versions due to increased weight, in the hands of a skilled pilot was a danger to Allied pilots who faced it.

The 109G-6 has been kitted by a fairly large number of companies, including Hasegawa in the early 70s, and when this one was released in 1993, it was very popular and probably the most accurate representation in this scale until the Fine Molds release in 2005.

Hasegawa kits generally have a fairly Spartan cockpit with floor that has a molded in seat. There is no detail on the sidewall and only a control stick and instrument panel (with decal) for additional parts. Throughout the build, the modeler will need to either drill holes or remove details.

The kit provides a separate tail section in order to provide other variants and the upper cowling is separate. Offered as an option is a sand filter for the supercharger intake. The prop has separate, keyed blades. The exhaust and shrouds are also separate and can be installed after painting. Wings are full span lower section with separate upper pieces. Landing gear legs have the oleo scissors molded in place. For things under wings you have a drop tank and 20mm cannon, though neither has to be installed depending on the markings options. Note that if not using the cannon pods, the mountin lugs will need to be removed from the wings. The canopy is a single piece and oddly, the included head armor piece attached to the fuselage rather than the canopy.

Instructions are standard fare with Gunze color references. All three options are in RLM 74/75/76 with fuselage mottling. These are for Erich Hartmann, Gethard Barkhorn, and Heinrich Bartels. The first two are eastern front planes with yellow lower cowlings and underside wing tip. The fuselage bands for all are provided with decals. These decals are old school with off-white whites but otherwise look nice. Stencils are also included.  

Though no longer the latest and greatest, they can be found at a reasonable price and are generally more accurate from newer kits from Academy and Airfix. They are not short run like the more detailed AZ kits and build up into very nice models.

June 2022