Hi, well, I'm not great enthusiast of Messerschmitts and I passed the F-2 but this time I'm affraid I'll get the F-4. Although I was sceptic about the quality of the F-2 I hope it will be fun to build the F-4, especially in some African colours which i really like).

I agree, the MTO seems underrepresented. It is my personal favorite! Question to all, wasn't the F model a pilot favorite for Luftwaffe pilots? Cheers Jim

It was certainly the favourite of Adolph Galland. It outperformed the Emil and didn't have to cope with all the weight that the Gustav was saddled with.

The Gustav climbed much faster, so the weight for that was quite irrelevant. For the turn rate there does appear to have been some difference with the G-6 from the F, but a slight one despite the roughly 400-600 lbs difference. For the G-2 there appears to have been little difference at all with the F, so the advantage of the retractable tailwheel and nose bumps might have played a more significant role. Relative to the opposition, the best overal performance in battle seems to have been the G-2, with quite a noticeable gap in turn/climb performance with contemporary Russian fighters, a gap which does not reappear quite as obviously with later or earlier models. One should keep in mind that well over ten times as many Gustavs were built as Fs, especially G-6s, in probably 20X more varied schemes than the F. So the sales incentive of Zvezda to come out with Fs for the first four years of this new release seems rather murky to me, hence my comment... A fantastic kit in any case. Gaston

More than happy to be proven wrong about this, but wouldn't the reason the G performed better than the F be down to an improved engine? Hence it would outperform the earlier models, in the same way the F outperformed the E. The F-4 was the aircraft that saw a great deal of use in 1941-42 over the Western desert and also over Russia. The F-4 was the bridge to the G series and was never going to be in production for long.

Hi Jessie The Friedrich is often described as the best balanced Bf 109 variant in terms of power and aerodynamic refinement, but Galland also considered it seriously under-armed (especially for the average pilot) - hence his personal "specials" with extra clout. In answer to Michal's worry over quality - Zvezda's Bf 109F is an absolute beauty - and, echoing Gaston's sentiments, if Zvezda ever do a Gustav to the standard of their 'F, it should deservedly outsell it by a similar margin to the production figures of the full-sized versions. You could put me down for a half-dozen straight off. All the best Rowan

I am sceptic about sceptics. Especially if the do not have factory info. On monday I have got first sprues from the factory and well they are what we have designed. Additional mold will have gun pods, trop filter, bombs, tanks, extra tail without stiffeners, large oil cooler, large props Mansur

Hello Mansur, Well, I am actually building the F-2 and though you have to do some more clean up than on a Tamiya kit, the detail ist outstanding! You did a great job on this kit!! Many thanks! all the best Steffen P.S. I just hope Zvezda will also do the Su-2 announced some year agoin a not tooo distant future...

Here are the sprues and instructionLINK