Cool Hand

I'm sold. Let's just hope that someone from Revell Germany or Zvezda read's this and can get the ball rolling.

I was really hoping that they would finish off their 1/72 MiG-29 line with a 9.12. I really want to build an in-flight German MiG and I'm not about to deal with trying to make that happen with a Trumpeter kit.

RLM 02 does have a greenish tint to it. Not much, but it's there. It will look beige when placed adjacent to bolder greens like RML 70 and 71. But when used with a RLM 74/75/76 scheme, you will see the green in it.

A6M5's were painted in the factory with a green over gray scheme. There are differences in the scheme which indicate the factory a particular plane was produced in, Mitzubishi or Nakajima.

Another thing to consider, The E model does not have a cannon breech between the legs of the pilot. Their figure probably is not molded with enough space to clear the breech cover in a 109F/G/K.

Yes. Two MG 131 12.7mm machine guns in the cowl and one MG 151/20 20mm cannon firing through the engine was the base armament. The U4 modification replaced the MG 151/20 with a MK 108 30mm cannon. 20mm cannon gondolas could also be mounted to any G-6 or G-14.

I'd need to see pictures to make a decision.

It was an attempt to consolidate all the variations in equipment over the G-6 production into a single standard. This was less than successful as these variations continued to be seen in the G-14 line. For example: some G-14's with short tails and standard(non Erla hood) canopies. The only thing that seems to be universal in the G-14 was the tank for MW 50 and the corresponding move in battery position.

this is most excellent.

A late G-6 was identical to a G-14. Really just a change in designation.

Jon, here is some info on Hartmann's plane, in case you have not come across it yet. http://falkeeins.blogspot.com/2016/05/hptm-erich-hartmann-bf-109-g-6.html

Very cool.

On to the main landing gear and speed brake bays. Academy engineered this kit with a center section between the main gear bays with the lower doors molded in place. You can see the center section along side the speed brake assembly. Dryfitting the speed brake and center section after some minor sanding to improve fit. Careful cutting was requited to separate the doors and leave them as usable parts. Unfortunately, Academy's decision to mold the lower doors to the center section resulted in front edge of the doors having a bevel and being off angle to the corresponding notch on the center section. After gluing the center section and speed brake to the fuselage, I test fitted the door to check fit and to troubleshoot the inner door problem. I will probably replace the inner doors with plastic card doors. Same for the rear auxiliary doors.

Very nice build here.

Ok, so the fuselage is all buttoned up and the brass pipe can be inserted/removed with no issue and is lined up properly. Success. While I waited for the glue and Milliput to cure, I assembled the main wing assembly. The kit features separate leading edge slats, the outer portions have no locating pins/tabs so attaching them to the wing in less than ideal. My results were fine, but not perfect. Once the glue dried, I decided to close up the nose gear bay. Instead of using the doors from the kit. I decided to simply use a single piece of plasticard and scribe the lines into it. The lines were added before I attached the piece, but they do not show in the photos.