New Bf-109F review

[hworth18]

I received my NEW Desert Scheme Bf-109F today and I have to say that 21st has done a GREAT job with this particular plane.. I do have a couple of small issues with it, but nothing to keep me from buying more..

The look of the plane is fantastic with the paint and pilot figure both top notch.. I was surprised to see that the Luftwaffe pilot is all new, with features and articulation like the recent Corsair/Zero pilots, not the old 190 pilot with that "Oh Sh*t" look on his face..
I don't know how hard it would be to get the pilot out, as I haven't tried because he is wedged in pretty good but as far as I can tell, the cockpit is very well done with opening canopy and all the gauges are silver highlighted for even more detail..
Upon assembling the plane I noticed that the fit of the wings to the fuselage is rather tight with my only real complaint being that one wing was not glued all the way at the wingtip (I will glue it myself) but I was happy to see the dive slats on the wings leading edges work although none of the other control surfaces do (not really expected on a $15 plane anyway)..
The landing gear is one of my other concerns as they are really tight to move up and down, almost to the point that I am afraid I'll snap one off if I mess with it anymore, but the landing gear has an accurate stance and the rake is close to being correct which is a BIG plus for me..
The options that came with the plane are a single drop tank, a bomb, and 2 underwing cannons (I don't know how accurate the cannons are for this version, because I think they came later, but I put them on anyways just because I like them)..

Overall, I would give this plane a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars on a 32x rating, with this release being just as good as the Corsair, which is pretty tough to beat..

[flpickupman]

Very nice. Thanks for the review.

As far as the underwing cannon are concerned, that's a G model feature. I've actually gone to the point of pulling the wing cannon and feed chute bulges off of my 1/18 109G-6 for a custom piece.

[Airman001]

The Me-0109 F could be equipped with under gun pods like the Me-109G (see
http://www.xs4all.nl/~tozu/me109/family/109F.htm)
Quote - "From the F-series, aircraft could be fitted with "Rüstsatze". These were field modification kits that could be fitted by mechanics in the field.

Rüstsätze
R1: 2 x MG 151 in gondolas under the wing.
The representation of the Me-109F with this mod is accurate.

[tmanthegreat]

I'd have to share in the positive sentiments regarding the new 32x Bf-109s

I have an example of both the F and the G versions. These 32x planes are starting to get a level of detail comparable to the 1:18 planes, especially in the cockpits! 21c did a great job at highlighting the various differences between the F and G models: streamlined cowling vs the gun bulges, spoked wheels vs the stamped wheel plate, different canopies & antennas, etc. The pilot figures and cockpit details are the same in both planes. The painschemes are also well done, though I would have prefered 21c to have done a scheme other than the Hackl one for the 109G to give collectors some more variety - not that I dislike that particular scheme, however!

As with Hworth18, my biggest gripe is the landing gear - there is just something that gets in the way of the strut hinge and makes them somewhat difficult to extend. 21c did get the landing gear to sit in the correct "splayed" position, though.

All in all, these are great planes and finally do the ME-109 justice in 32x. Now only if they would scale down the retooled P-51

[tko211]

I would have to agree 1000% that the P-51 needs to be redone in 1:32! Though I would guess it can't be too far off. They did it in 1:18 I can easily see them doing it again in 1:32!

[rose4472g]

GOt my TROP this week. I too am pleased. I too have a couple minor beefs and one almost major one that may be unique to my model. With the gear down the leading edge seem opens a bit and can't be closed. Are the crosses on the top of the wings in the correct place? mine seem more than a bit inboard of what I've seen in the past (could be unique to this plane?). Finally the canopy is to narrow on my model. On the port side it sits flush with the side of the fusalage, starboard it's about a sixteenth in from the side. This leaves a VERY obvious ledge where one does not belong, anyone else see this? It's not easy to see in the box because you'ld have to look straight down on the model to see it. The port side is the more interesting with the graphics and filter on that side so I'll just display it port side out. Love the paint scheme, Love the F-TROP Are we going to see "Yellow 14"? PUT THE TAIL MARKINGS ON

[tmanthegreat]

I have the Trop Bf-109F (and another 109F and 2 109Gs) The gap in the wings with the landing gear extended seems to be a production-wide issue. Some of my four planes exhibit it more than others when the gears are extended. As for the canopy gap on your Tropical 109F, that may be a problem specific to your particular model.

When I came across these planes in the stores, I was lucky enough to have several to choose from, most having one minor defect or another (as is to be expected with large 21c production runs) but none of which really hindered the look of the plane. The most serious issue I encountered occured with a "Schilling" 109G - half of the yellow under the engine was left unpainted. I returned that plane and picked up a correct example.

All in all, the Bf-109F and Bf-109G are my favorite 32x planes to date, besides the Corsair and Stuka. They are one of the few 32x aircraft releases where I like all the paintschemes instead of only one or two

[Sentinel]

I concur with all the great mentions about both the F and G 1/32 109 models. The level of detail and quality of overall (and specific) paint is especially noteworthy. I certainly do not wish that my following comments overshadow 21st Century’s great effort on these planes.

After checking many (40+) of these planes over the last few days (and buying my share!) I did find some other minor problems, two of which also gave me the exact same concerns with the 1/48 versions.

First is the “hood” piece that basically covers the top area of the plane from the front glass to the spinner. In my search, only about one in five planes had what could be considered to be a great fitting piece - that is, one commensurate with the quality of the rest of the plane. Maybe three out of five could pass if one wasn’t too picky, but quite a few had an unsightly gap, with a few even sporting a really noticeable dab of dried glue.

Also, several planes had a bad glue-down-job of the front-most cockpit section. His created a gap between that clear piece’s bottom painted section and the body of the plane.

The last visible hitch was the occasional misalignment of the painted fuselage band halves near the tail. I noticed this on at least the Trop F model, which is painted white. I would guess that about three out of five of those planes got that portion correct.

I love 109's and these versions are greatly appreiated.

[tko211]

The new 109's are indeed a signal that the 32x line is getting very serious! The Zero, Macchi, Stuka, and Corsairs are all excellent products but the first time I busted a 109 from it's box it was immediately clear that 21c is going after 32nd with serious gusto! Rumor from 21c HQ is that we haven't seen anything yet! I am ready to start pulling back the blanket of secrecy on 2007 previews, I think 21c might be just about ready as well!

[der Vogelfänger]

The new 109's are indeed a signal that the 32x line is getting very serious! The Zero, Macchi, Stuka, and Corsairs are all excellent products but the first time I busted a 109 from it's box it was immediately clear that 21c is going after 32nd with serious gusto! Rumor from 21c HQ is that we haven't seen anything yet! I am ready to start pulling back the blanket of secrecy on 2007 previews, I think 21c might be just about ready as well!

Great news...thanks....glad I discovered 1/32 and how cool it really is.

dV

[rose4472g]

I figured some of this was "My Specific". The Canopy thing is odd as it really looks as if the the glassed parts are slightly too small for the plane! I get it that we'll see an occasional missalignment of parts or paint but this is a case of a miss-DIMENSION of parts. I love the plane, as I noted above it, displays just fine from the port side Gona get a G-6 this week!

David

[chunks]

Here's a review of the new kit version of this from HyperScale.

http://www.hyperscale.com/reviews/kits/ ... ewbg_1.htm