Revell Bf 109 G-6 in 32nd

 

This model blog has just finished a Revell G-6 in 32nd scale OOB - a first build of this kit that has been in the stash for some 13 years now! It's a decent kit, goes together reasonably well - except for the horrible spinner arrangement - and is here finished in AK Real Colors. The spinner spiral was masked and painted as were the fuselage 'Bauchbinde'. As usual I bought some Quick Boost add-ons (bulges, charger intake) and then decided that really the kit parts were just as good so the model was finished OOB in the kit markings - this is a late-war machine with the tall tail and Erla Haube to represent the machine as flown by the Gruppenkommandeur III./JG 5 ace Franz Dörr. Dörr achieved around 120 victories, his last in late October 1944 in the Eismeer Geschwader flying over the Far North. 

below;  essentially the same kit - in the G-10 version - as built by Auguste Kleinpeter to represent 'yellow 8' of 9./JG 300

A look in the box - Airfix new-tool superkit Bf 109 G-6 unveiled at SMW Telford (2025)

 

Gary from 'Gary's Stuff' dives into the box and shows us some of the plastic along with a detailed overview of the instruction manual  - this is the new-tool Airfix Bf 109 G-6 unveiled at SMW 2025. There is more on this kit on my 'FalkeEins -Luftwaffe blog' with photos of the 'real' airframe but when the model arrives I shall most likely build it here. A single click on the 'red triangle' to view here..

Also announced at Telford SMW 2025 was a new Kotare Emil in 32nd and Revell have added some new parts to their 32nd Me 262 for the 'one-off' 'Pulk' destroyer variant of the Me 262. Designed by Radi Brinzan - responsible for the Kotare K-4- the Kotare Emil was 'lidar-ed' from the Bf 109 E at RAF Hendon and is due out in Q2-A3 of 2026.

Fujimi 1:48th Bf 109 G-6/AS

 

Sixth completion of 2025. This one of the Fujimi Bf 109 Gustav boxings ('G-6/AS Special Escort') finished as 'Green 5' of I./EJG 2, the Ergänzungsnachtjagdstaffel (night fighter replacement training unit), in overall (semi-) gloss back finish. Pilots for this special Moskito hunting Staffel were drawn from the ranks of the Ergänzungsnachtjagdstaffel instructors and tasked specifically with 'Moskito-Jagd' as described by Joachim Geier in the German-language "Jet & Prop" magazine issue 3/03. Decals were a mix of the AIMS 'Monotone Me's' sheet and those issued by Start Verlag (see Luftwaffe im Focus #4). Note rather unusually, for a Luftwaffe machine, the painted prop tips. Seen on the table at model club night. Has subsequently been given a coat of 'satin' Galeria varnish to tone down that glossy finish a little..

 

Rolf Pingel's Battle of Britain Kommandeur I./JG 26 machine - Hasegawa Me 109 E

 

Fourth completion of the year!

Hasegawa Me 109 - is there an easier build out there? Not sure though that I'm 100 % convinced by the shape of the nose. Decals from Kagero. Pingel's Emil was photographed during November 1940 - the blue of the fuselage now heavily mottled, although the machine still has large areas of yellow.  I used Xtracolor enamels. 

of course, once again the aerial isn't right. I've since replaced it with something a little more acceptable, although I hate wrestling with EZ Line. The trick here is to zap the super glue with accelerator ..

AZ Model Bf 109 V-13/14 in 72nd

My second completion of 2025  - a straight forward build of the Emil prototypes from the AZ kit as flown by Udet at Dubendorf during 1937. A little disappointing that AZ do not provide a 'new' cowl piece aside from the large intake - the modeller has to do all the work here, filling, sanding and filing those gun troughs into a nice smooth part. Some additional cooling slots need to be drilled too, especially the one aft of the intake on the port side. The only other issue is the poor fit of the canopy which needs some work to achieve a neat fit. On the plus side the decals worked flawlessly. I used BMW red from a can for the finish..who knows if it is the 'right' shade - at least its not blue as is sometimes suggested. 

 Photo of the V-14 scanned from the Van Ishoven archive. Click to view full screen.

Hasegawa 1:48 Marseille 3./JG 27 F-4/Trop

 

Another Hasegawa 48th Friedrich finished as perhaps the best known and documented machine of one of the best known Ritterkreuzträger of the Luftwaffe. H-J Marseille flew this 3./JG 27 F-4/Trop 'ge 14 +' WNr. 8693 during February 1942. An Erla-built machine that likely arrived in North Africa during January 1942. In fact Marseille was on home leave that month and may well have ferried it back on his return to the front. He flew it consistently during February 1942 and gained victories 37 through 52. 

 - standard F-4/ Trop

- no armour glass windscreen

- deeper 'G' style oil cooler

- flat plate head armour with no curved section

- both upper wing Balkenkreuze had flaked

- no white wingtips -upper or lower- and no whitewall tyres

- solid white spinner and oil tank section

- rudder repainted in a dark colour. Possibly red-brown primer (possibly red, possibly dark green)

- open-style 'figure '4' and standard factory-applied tropical scheme of sandgelb 79 over 78

 

first completion of 2023 - another Eduard Bf 109 G-6 Heinz Bartels 11./JG 27

 

now that the house-move and the latest book project are out of the way I can get back to building some models. If only the airbrush would work 'properly'..

Here's my first completion of 2023, another of the 'old' new-tool Eduard Bf 109s, this time in the markings of 11./JG 27 ace Bartels. IV./JG 27 were at Kalamaki, Greece in the autumn of 1943 and intervened over Kos and Leros during October as German forces pushed out the British from these Dodecanese islands following the Italian 'change-of-sides'..

A couple of the images of the finished model show the 72nd Academy G-6 in the 'same' scheme as well, although as Gary Hatcher put it, how can Luftwaffe modellers be satisfied knowing that their mottling is always so 'hit and miss'? I mean all of the known images of this machine show the port side - not one shows the starboard side AFAIK. Upper surface 'saw-tooth' finish was a feature of some Erla 1943 production, re-created here easily enough with a P-Mask mask. The underwing 'R6' MG 151 cannon gondola have been opened up to display the Eduard resin cannon..

AZ Bf 109 G-6 'White 15' of 1./JG 300 - wilde Sau Limited Edition

 

Recently finished another 72nd AZ Gustav in the markings of 'White 15' of 1./JG 300 flown by Otto Leisner out of Bonn Hangelar during the summer of 1944 in the 'defence of the Reich'.

Aero Legends Battle of Britain air display, Headcorn aerodrome, Kent, 25-27 June

 

Went to an air display this weekend - something we might have taken for granted up until 15 months ago, now seems rather exotic. The crowds were out in force at Headcorn - in fact you have to wonder how Aero Legends manage to do this - putting on a 3-day event -when everybody else cancels. Shame about the weather on the Friday; especially as it forced the Red Arrows to 'curtail' their display - it was very grey and drizzled intermittently throughout the day. Saturday was much better, with warm and sunny conditions. There were still plenty of highlights - five Spits and a Buchon in formation, nine Spitfires and a Hurricane on the flight line, two C-47s airborne alongside a B-17, the aerobatics of a Bucker Jungmann and the magnificent finale as 10 Spitfires (yes, 10!!) were scrambled one after the other to chase a marauding Bf 109 attacking the aerodrome. (Buchon). On the Saturday Sqn Leader Mike 'disco' Discombe at the controls of the BBMF Spitfire XVI (TE 311) absolutely stole the show with a magnificent exhibition of display flying. Photos courtesy of myself and friends - Sonja Bailey, Ashley Paine, Martin Davenport..(Below; Alison Jane Miles photo..)

Jay Geer images of the Buchon caught by the Spit and Mike Discombe in the BBMF Mk XV (taken on the Saturday of the show..)

Two more from Jay Geer!

Ashley Paine G-IRTY and Harvard

here's 39 minutes of video footage by 'Bannistator' - a little shaky but didn't detract from my enjoyment! Otherwise click forward to minute 35 and the massed Spitfire finale!