1/48 Airfix Bf109F-4

Gallery Article by Gregor de Ste Croix on Dec 6 2013

 

 

Here is the old Airfix Bf 109F built straight from the box. For a 1970’s 1/48 Airfix kit this model provided a reasonable amount of nice detail. There is a mixture of raised and recessed panel lines but they are fairly restrained and I built it up without any rescribing. My aim with this model was a straight forward build with as little fuss as possible as my more recent efforts have found their way into the bin before completion L. Airfix provide 2 decal options and I elected to go for the JG27 one with desert finish, which I think turned out quite well. With the exception of the white areas the model is brush painted using Humbrol and Aeromaster acrylic paints.

 

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There was a fair bit of silvering from the decals despite a couple of gloss coats prior to application. This is perhaps due to the age of the decals?? Anyway there was plenty stencil data provided in the kit and they went on without breaking up, which was surprising given their age. In the end it all turned out ok for me and has reignited some of my enthusiasm.

I think the Airfix offering looks quite good overall, and it captures the lines of the 109 admirably. Not bad for a 1978 issue that cost less than a tenner, when you compare it to a “Tamigawa” equivalent. Well worth a punt if you are modelling on a budget, and with some extra work/aftermarket could be a good basis for a very nice model.

Gregor de Ste Croix

      

Photos and text © by Gregor de Ste Croix