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Revel Bf 109G


Hagar

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I was eager to get my hands on this kit and got two when they first came out by ordering from the UK.  Unfortunately, one is in the stalled build category and the other resides in the stash.  This kit looks like it should build into a nice 109, with a little work.  A few observations follow:

First, the negative. The cockpit looked very nice to me in the previews I saw, but you're going to want to remove the molded belts and replace with aftermarket and use some good instrument decals on the panel.  The fuel line is molded in clear, and while its nice to be able to mask the clear part off and spray yellow, the clear plastic is a little brittle...mine broke cutting it off the sprue.  And speaking of breakage, the tail wheel piece was broken in one of my kits, straight out of the box.   Probably due to the fact that there are multiple sprues thrown in to each bag.   Which leads to another issue...there is no common sense parts designation in this kit.  No sprue X, part Y...just random part numbers scattered across sprues.  You're going to need to hunt for parts here.  If you want to do a gun boat, you're going to need to use spares from your Hasegawa stash...no 20mms are included.   The drop tank is molded almost exactly the same as Hasegawas, that is in an upper and lower half, resulting in some seams to clean up.  One would think modern mold tech could have produced something a little better here.   The exhaust stubs are molded solid, and need to be opened up for a better appearance.  For whatever reason, these need to attach from the inside and simply swapping them out with the current quickboost offerings probably isnt an option.  The MG beule look to be a little off.  While the cowl is molded solid in front of the canopy, there will still be a joint to fill on the nose between upper and lower halves.  If you built a Hasegawa F you'll know what I mean.   The landing gear is molded in multiple parts that will require some clean up instead of a solid strut.    Finally, if you build a machine with an Erla hood, this kit has no detail on the rear bulkhead for the Erla...same as Hasegawa in this regard, but they do offer option parts for the baggage bin latch or battery box. 

 

The positive now.  For the price, it's a good deal...when it came out you could get almost two for one the going ebay/web retailer rate on Hasegawa 109s...not sure what the current market is as the moment though.   Add to that the fact that you get both tall and short tails, a framed or Erla hood, early solid or late armor plates for the canopy, optional 20mm or 30mm nose cannon breaches, and an optional battery box for MW 50 birds and you have a lot of options to play with.  Much more than the Hasegawa kits which would make you choose or kit bash between the 'early' G-6 and a 'late' -14.   The cockpit actually is a self contained module with sidewalls like a resin kit, as opposed to the simple detail molded inside the fuselage halves on the Hase kits.   The gear bays look much, much better than the Hasegawa kits and halve sidewall and internal detail, and no annoying holes to drill and fill for the bulge.  Probably the highlight of this kit.  The spinner looks to be closer to the right shape, but has a nasty join line.   Furthermore, you have options for the MW-50 tank panel (just fill it if you don't want it) and there is a late tall tail wheel included in the kit.   I never got to flaps on my build, but they look to have more positive fit, albeit with exaggerated detail on the skin.     

 

You should be able to get a nice 109 out of this kit as it stands.  However, if you want something real nice there is the Eduard cockpit and exhausts, or the Alley Cat conversion for you.  I intend to get some of these updates in the future to complete one of my kits.   Throw some Radu B or other belts in there and it should look great.   I guess at the end of the day, this one delivers bang for buck on the options, but falls short when one factors in the amount of aftermarket and/or scratch needed to bring it up to par with one's AMS standards.  

Edited by EvanAugust
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addendum to the above-

The kit seems to be designed for future G-10 boxings that I look forward to.  However, this means the forward fuselage consists of panels that will join on an unnatural break point, requiring some filler and sanding.   This also probably explains the multiple part wing, as new inner wing inserts could be tooled for the large bulge on -10s and Ks.   There are multiple tail wheel cover options, though I am unsure if any would be exactly right for an 'open' tail wheel on early -6s.  

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