Italeri 1/72 Messerschmitt Bf 109F2/F4

ITALERI 1:72 MESSERSCHMITT BF-109F-2/F-4
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Myself (rec.models.scale)

Kit Details: Italeri 1/72 No.053 Messerschmitt BF-109F2/4

Aircraft History: Somehow I think this is one time I can skip a bit of aircraft history as the Bf-109 is one of the most famous aircraft of all time.

Kit Parts: This kit has been out for just over a decade now and was quite the buzz in the modelling world when it was released, not all of it good. The new style of Italeri boxing houses this kit with the banner at the top including a note that a figure is not included - perhaps they think it is false advertising to show a pilot in the cockpit in the artwork but not in the box? The cosmetics might have changed but what is inside hasn't much with the two sprues floating loosely in the box. However, I was pleased to find that the clear sprue was bagged by itself and the decal sheet had a protective paper over it. There are just under 50 light grey crisp injection molded parts that have no flash but very nicely done engraved panel lines and detail. There are a couple of very minor sink marks on the wings and fuselage but but other than that any small ejector pin marks are on the interior side of parts and out the way. There are four clear parts of which three will be used and the main canopy section is nice and clear.

Instructions: Although this has been updated a little in 2005 being the new style of Italeri, it still pretty much follows the renowned Italeri style. Brief history, sprue map, model master paint range with alphabetic labels and FS number references (no RLM though), 8 relatively easy to follow assembly steps then four view diagrams for the three versions the kit allows. Assembly keeps you informed of the parts to use depending on the end version you want to replicate (F2, F4 and F4/Trop). While the shading used to depict the paint colours for the planes is an improvement over previous italeri instruction sheets, it is still a little difficult at times to tell the shading apart.

The bottom of the box provides colourful artwork for Version B (F4) that the kit provides and it looks very nice, even has RLM numbers stated but again even with colour paint chips, the dunkelgreen, black and lichgreen almost look identical on the chips! I'm presuming it is RLM71/74 over RLM65.

Colour Options: There are three examples that can be chosen from the kit, two being French based and the third African based. An F-2-JG-26, France 1941, and F-4/R-1 JG-2 "Richthofen", France 1942 sport the standard RLM 71/74 over 65 splinter and mottled camouflage. Be wary and check your references as Italeri quote FS36375 as the undersides in the instruction sheet which is wrong, should be RLM 65 (which it correctly shows on the bottom of the box). The third example is an F-4/Trop JG-27, North Africa, September 1942 in upper Sand over Hellblau undersides. This is the version I am eyeing off as I write this to do, and again I will be checking my references before painting. Bf 109s certainly carried single upper "sand" schemes but many were mottled.

Decals: After a brief period with the renowned and my favourite kit decal firm, cartograf, Italeri have gone back to Zanchetti. Decals are thin and in good register with a matt appearance and should go onto the model quite well, although I find these decals can be stubborn once they hit the model surface but will look "painted on" when they cure. Swastika's are not included.

Cockpit/Wheel Bay Detail: Wheel wells are nicely boxed in and the wheels should fit with the doors over them (for us wheels up modellers) but of course that's something I will need to find out when I build it. The inside of the wheel bays have a barbecure grill plate effect which is pretty poor when you consider how the real aircraft have plumbing, boxes and other structural stuff. The cockpit is okay, better than what you get in most other kits in this scale, but still could be improved. Generic console detail is supplied on the main instrument panel and also on the sidewalls, vaguely representing a Bf 109 cockpit, with a seat containing molded seat belts and a control stick glued to a cockpit tub (without the walls) that has a floor box and generic rudder pedals molded.

Optional components: Various alternative components are included in the kit such as wing mounted cannons for the F2, bulges depicting the F2, external armoured windscreen, Air filter for the F4/Trop, drop tank, bomb, different air coolers and the ability to display the canopy open.

On the Sprue Impressions: This is an updated new tooling kit that really looks superb even on the sprue. There are quite a lot of parts considering the size of the aircraft (most Bf-109 kits will have you assemble less than 30 parts) which is due to the tail section, rudder and engine hoods being separate components as well as the propeller blades. I must admit I am not a fan of prop blades having to be assembled individually but looking at the instructions and the sprue, this looks like a reasonably easy task. Obviously the engine hood and tail are partly the reason for the changes in the F version, which enables this kit to be reissued with other parts to make other 109's, particularly the Gustav - whcih of course Italeri have done. I have that kit also and one sprue is exactly the same as this F kit.

There's virtually no flash on any parts, but there are the very most minor areas where the hobby knife needs to have a scrape on the underwing radiators, tail and fuselage behind the cockpit (and yes that is really having a nit pick). The wings are the standard upper halves onto a single lower wing piece, with holes needing to be drilled out for the underwing bulges and fuselage tank/bomb for the F2. The air filter for the F4 Trop is made up of three parts, enabling you to paint the filter before installing it inside its manifold.

Accuracy: I haven't yet seen a build review of this kit but I have heard quite a few murmurings that it is slightly undersized particularly the wings, has a bit of an inaccurate canopy particularly the framing (mind you Italeri have long been criticised for their depiction of the canopy and this one is much much better than earlier kits), has an oversized wheel bay, badly depicted landing gear doors (the part that goes against the gear legs) and panel lines which are scribed rather badly. It's also apparent that the wing tips are too rounded and the underwing radiators are too far forward and not shaped correctly. With separate cowling components it is difficult to make a judgement on the shape of the nose. Checking a couple of parts against plans, the slight undersize and panel lines out of synch are probably the main areas of concern. Of course then there is the colours in the instruction sheet but we won't go there for now will we.

Conclusion: Probably the best looking Bf 109F in this scale in the box that I have seen, it is a nice little kit let down by a bland interior but it certainly does look superb in the box. I've been disappointed with the poor fit when putting together some other newer tooling models (Hawk, C.202 etc) that also looked superb in the box so I am a little apprehensive to suggest this kit is going to fall together easily. But in all other respects and if you can live with the inaccuracies, this should be a very nice kit to put together. There are better and more accurate F's on the market, the more recent Fine Molds kit is probably the pick of them.

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