Replicast 1/48 Bf-109v1

In September of 1935, the first prototype of a new German aircraft took to the air. The first of a long line of thoroughbreds was making its debut under the control of Flugkapitain Knotzsch. In irony this particular aircraft was powered by a British Kestrel engine, Jumo and Daimler Benz powerplants as we know would power later models. The v1 (v for versuchs or experimental ) model was typically unarmed and had a wooden two bladed propeller.

This was the first of over 30,000 + Bf109s. The Bf-109 in all its variations accounted for 60% of all the single seat fighters produced by Germany during World War II Interestingly, it relied on a British engine for its initial flights as the German engines were not yet ready. This prototype first flew in September of 1935 and was soon followed by several others. Though not really superior to the He-112 against which it competed, the 109 was able to be built for less money than the 112. It only goes to show you that the best is not always what is bought when it comes to armaments!

The prototype has, other than its engine, several items on it that were done away with in following prototypes. The most noticeable is the large wing bulges for the wheels. These would disappear until the late war Bf-109G-10 brought them back into widespread use. Also done away with until the 109K versions were the full wheel well doors, though these only lasted a flight or two on the prototype before the smaller doors were removed. The third items were the panels next to the windscreen. These were a single piece. On the next aircraft, they were subdivided into two bits with the lower one being a triangular shape. The newer shape offered better rigidity and was cheaper to make!

This Replicast kit is labeled as 48001 and understandably so after taking inventory of the tan colored resin pieces. Most are quite well cast as with most Czech firms' products, but some differences appeared once test fitting started. All major components are cast resin, the one-piece wing, two piece hollow cast fuselages has interior details softly cast in, and all other bits are in a resin wafer pool. White metal gear legs, tail wheel and control stick are direct knock-off of Hasagawa parts. As I was to find out the wing and the fuselage, from the front of the canopy back, was a copy of the Hobbycraft Me-109B kit, as were the tailplanes. For some reason the rudder unit was cast separately, which was the major problem. The rudder was a victim of mold shift and was twice as wide as originally planned. It couldn't be fixed without loosing all the detail. What to do?