Summary

Revell has been producing some very nice 1/32nd scale model WW II Luftwaffe aircraft that have been combining a very basic build with nice and crisp details and a very reasonable price tag. Their 1/32nd Arado AR196 A-3 floatplane was the first model in this series that I bought and I had a very enjoyable 4 weeks building it, so when I read that their next aircraft would be the Bf109G-6 I could hardly wait to get my hands on it. Now, after having had a good rummage through the box and having looked at the parts and instructions I can only say that I consider it worth the wait.

That doesn’t mean it is without pimples and warts, there is room for improvement and some details I will most certainly replace with the ubiquitous after-market odds and ends but for the price of half a lunch with your wife you can’t go far wrong here.

Contents

I bought this little gem for €26,50 which I consider cheap for the quality of the model.
The box has the obligatory awe inspiring artwork on top and is of the diabolical Revell side opening design instead of the nice old box with a lid design, (can’t have everything I guess). The box contains 5 polythene bags of sprues, a sheet of what would appear to Cartograph decals and the instruction book.

The decals are in register and provide the options to build either Hauptmann Franz Dörr’s G-6 late version or Hauptmann Karl Rammelt’s G-6 early version, (I am about 90% certain I will be going for Rammelt’s mount as the build of choice). Swastikas are not included with the decal sheet so you will have to source these yourself, they are easily obtained so it is no big issue for me.

Parts are supplied to build the Gustav with either the “normal” tail or the “tall” version,
the early square shaped hood is supplied along with the Erla hood, early and late cockpit breech covers are supplied, late and early cowling bulges are supplied, two different types of gun sight are included and you can choose between the early and raised tail wheel. There are several more differences between the early and late models so you must decide at a very early stage which version you are going to build.

Tyres with and without profile are included and a very smart looking drop tank can be mounted under the fuselage. Flaps, ailerons and rudder can be posed as you like. The wheel wells are nicely detailed, adding to the overall feel of the build.

The seatbelts are moulded onto the seat so the choice is yours: sandpaper them off and replace them or paint and use them. I actually left them on in my Arado build and they turned very nice so I might just leave these on as well.

The exhaust pipes are moulded closed so they will either have to be drilled out or replaced.
The only major omission is the engine itself, so you will have to source that yourself if you want to display the Gustav with the engine covers open. Mind you, you can’t really expect that level of detail for the retail price asked can you?

The sprues show next to no flash, (the engine covers have a little flash around the exhaust openings but that should be removable with a few swipes of a sanding stick), and look very crisp. Detailing is reasonably sharp so should be ideal for painting and the panel lines are nicely engraved, subtle, not the “trenches” that some manufacturers put on. I can’t say much about the fit of the parts yet being still at work on the Trumpeter 1/200th scale Bismarck at this moment in time.

The canopy parts are crystal clear and it should be possible to remove the parts from the sprue without marring the beautiful finish. Also included is a clear cockpit fuel line so that you can have the clear inspection tube visible in the cockpit.

I treated myself to the 2 Lifecolour RLM paint sets so that I could incorporate the beautiful Graugrun and Violetgrun colours used late in the Second World War.

Conclusion

I read some threads somewhere on-line a couple of weeks ago written by some gentlemen who evidently considered themselves to be 109G-6 “Experten” and who had seen the preproduction photos of model and sprues. They had some very serious gripes: the model was 2 millimetres too short, the compressor intake lips were not thin enough, the cockpit vents were too far aft and the cowling bulges were not pronounced enough. To add insult to injury the propeller blades did not have an accurate enough profile and a fuel filler cap had been placed on top of a fuselage joint instead of next to it.

Now I am not an expert on the different versions of the Gustav so maybe these gentlemen are completely correct in ceremonially sticking their knives in this model before it even hit the shops. I am not and never will be that most fanatic of builders: the rivet counter. I build to have fun and eventually produce with a varying level of success something resembling what at the moment was the Holy Grail of modelling to me, meaning I want to have fun and enjoy myself after a day at work.

To me Revell’s latest offering looks remarkably like a Bf 109G-6, it has a nice level of detail and two nice build versions for me to choose from. The moulds are evidently new, producing nice crispy parts and the decals are beautiful.

Combine this all with a very reasonable price tag and you have sold me a Gustav.

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