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.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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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
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