Small Scale Military Headquarters

just announced item number JSI 60005
they are taking pre orders now
http://merit-intl.com/item/JSI-60005/

Fantastic that what's essentially a 13-year-old original 1:18 aircraft tooling can still get new life... Changing that canopy pretty much did it in terms of the looks of the aircraft. Goes to show that 21c wasn't too far off the mark with some of their items, even from the beginning. I have the original 21c "Galland" Bf-109 (which I'm not getting rid of) but I'll get this one as it looks like it will display much better with the better 21c and BBI Bf-109G toolings.

AMERICAN_GRENADIER wrote:just announced item number JSI 60005
they are taking pre orders now
http://merit-intl.com/item/JSI-60005/

Any idea on the price?

The Cat has it on presale for $94 and a 1/18 88mm Flak gun as a kit!! for $50!!



http://www.badcattoys.com/tbfavlsq3121.html

Diecastairplane.com has it for 89.95

http://www.diecastairplane.com/store/p/ ... ecastemail

Well $ 50 isn't bad for a 1:18 88 Flak gun kit. I've seen prices on Tamiya's 1:35 go from $23 to $50.
I wish the 109 was a $50 kit.

It does look pretty good, and definitely better than the original Galland release, which I have.

Galland is a smart choice, and think the price is reasonable.

Hope it does well, but probably not for me, at least at this time. I already have probably 8 Me 109s, so have a mess of Messerschmitts.

Again, I wish Merit success with this release.

Merit should hire me to come up with their paint jobs. The Galland is cool but its been done and 21st didn't do such a bad job that collectors are chomping at the bit to replace theirs.

I would have picked something much cooler



There is something about JG54 that gets me every time

Looks like Academy covered up the swastika with a mini-Kreuz so as not to hurt their sales in the German market.

It does look nice. Have the original, but I'm tempted.

Other than perhaps the paint job, is the canopy the only improvement to this mold?

The numbers on the bottom for each segment of the fuselage, was that a common practice?

Looks pretty good, shame they can't get pilots to put in these things.

I have a Tulip 109, splinter Stuka, 262, but don't know if I'll pick this one up. Still awaiting the Butcher Bird.

The original Galland was the only 1/18 aircraft that had a pilot that actually resembled the actual pilot ,Adolf Galland. They just put a mustache on the 109 pilot.

I wonder what it would take to get a bunch of those new canopies to modify all my existing 109Es in my collection...they really make a world of difference on that mold...

Barbarian333 wrote:The original Galland was the only 1/18 aircraft that had a pilot that actually resembled the actual pilot ,Adolf Galland. They just put a mustache on the 109 pilot.

I always got a kick out how 21c did that. Doesn't look too bad, either. The carded version of the original Bf-109 pilot figure is still easy enough to find and usually pretty cheap. One can put a moustache on that figure with a little black paint or a fine-tip sharpie pen. We also got a "Pappy Boyington" figure that looks a lot like him, save that it was a crewmember that came with the TBF Avenger.

The heavy and even panel line weathering kills it for me. Step back Merit, and look at what you're doing. This weathering looks like markings or camouflage. The early 109's were babied, kept clean by the crews. I have never seen Galland's early rides look like this.

Ara wrote:The heavy and even panel line weathering kills it for me. Step back Merit, and look at what you're doing. This weathering looks like markings or camouflage. The early 109's were babied, kept clean by the crews. I have never seen Galland's early rides look like this.

An excellent point Ara. It is hard to be a collector in this scale. On one hand we want every project to be successful so that more will be made and the scale will progress and at the same time the size and cost of each piece forces us to be critical and meticulous with every piece we own. I want this 109 to do well so that we will someday get an Fw190a or other new planes but it wont be on my wallet... as Mr. Wonderful would say "I'm out".

I want Merit to be successful as well. I'm sure Galland's 109 will find its market. I happen to be a fan of the early war, fairly clean 109E look. The yellow nose days, with the heraldy, emblems, and an overall cleaner look than what came in the later years. This, coupled with, 1/18 scale is very in your face.