Fine Molds 1/72 Bf-109G-6 "Suomen Ilmavoimien'

Another warrior of WWII is the Bf-109 and the most produced version of that is the G model. This introduced the DB 605 engine at about 1,500 hp, enabling the aircraft to overcome most of the additional weight that inevitably gets added onto an airframe as time goes on. Of course, this was at the expense of maneuverability, something that was basically gone by the time that these later planes were built.

The G model is also one that was pretty heavily exported to countries either allied to or friendly to the Germans, including Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Switzerland, and Finland, who operated several hundred over the war years.  The type was even flown post-war and manufactured in both Czechoslovakia and Spain, though with other engines as the DB 605 became very scarce once the war was over.

This is a continuation of the superb 1/72 Bf-109 series from Fine Molds. All these kits are based on at least one common sprue (sometimes two) which includes the wings and most of the general parts like wheels, interior, landing gear and the such. Each kit then gets any specific sprues needed to do the variant being kitted. If you read the G-10 article, you've seen all the bits that this one gets. In addition, there are 'G only' parts, all assigned to their own specific sprues, and these come packed in their own bag. In this case, as you can see by the image, it is the prop, tailplanes and wheels, engine cowling, lower cowling, drop tank, wing mounted 20mm pods, supercharger intake and a number of other smaller bits.

The general molding is quite good. I'd say pretty close to Hasegawa in quality. The wing sprue has some flash thanks to being common to all their F/G 109 kits. The rest of the parts are well molded. Experience has shown that one needs to be a bit careful removing some of the smaller parts from the sprues. It is a good idea to test fit some of the bits. Those parts that attach to drilled out holes have some pretty large attachment points so you'll need to drill the holes larger than you normally do to get a good fit. But once in place, it looks great. It is also nice that Fine Molds makes an attempt and providing engine detail, but frankly, most of us will simply close the cowling sections.

Instructions are quite well done with most of the instructions in Japanese. Tamiya and Gunze paint references are provided with RLM numbers given where appropriate. Construction drawings are quite well done and include any color information needed. Markings for five aircraft, all but one of them basically in RLM 74/75/76. Two of them are pre 1944 markings with the proper grey'd out backgrounds and the other three are later in 1944 markings when the Finns signed a peace treaty with the Russians and had to force the Germans out of their territory. A full set of stencils is provided and for those in places that are squeamish about any showing of a swastika, there are 'blank' roundels for the earlier markings. These instrument decals fit perfectly so use them!

You know you want it. Though there are other 1/72, Bf-109Gs on the market, this is probably the most accurate of the bunch and so would be the one you want if you are into doing the type.

October 2007

My thanks to www.wingsntreads.com for the review kit. Get yours today at a discount.