Gunboat Gustav

Historical Background

The Bf 109 has its origins in the 1933 study by the Technisches Amt (C-Amt) department of the Reichluftfahrtministerium. The study outlined four broad categories for future combat aircraft. One of them, Rüstungsflugzeug III, was for a single-seat fighter/short-range interceptor. The new fighter was to have a top speed of 400km/h at 6,000 meters, with a flight duration of 90 minutes. Power was to be provided by the Junkers Jumo 210 engine of 700hp. Armament would consists of a single 20mm MG C/30 engine-mounted cannon, firing through the propeller hub, or two cowl-mounted 7.92mm machine guns, or a single lightweight MG FF 20mm cannon with two 7.92mm machine guns.The aviation companies Arado, Heinkel and Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW), who was headed by Willy Messerschmitt, received the development contract in February 1934 whilst Focke Wulf received theirs in September of the same year. A proviso was made that the Jumo 210 engine would be interchangeable with the more powerful Daimler-Benz DB 600.

All participants were asked to deliver three prototypes for testing in late 1934. Messerschmitt's design, the P.1034 was begun in March 1934 and the first prototype was ready by January 1935. However the Jumo 210 engines were not yet ready. In order to get the competing prototypes into the air, the RLM acquired Rolls-Royce Kestrel VI engines allowing the P.1034 (given the RLM type designation Bf 109) to fly in May 1935. The Jumo engines were finally available in late summer 1935, allowing prototype V2 to be completed in October 1935. The Bf 109 eventually prevailed against its rivals, especially the Heinkel He 112; being faster, and having superior climb and dive performance. The Bf 109 was first shown to the public when prototype V1 was flown during the Berlin 1936 Olympics.

The Bf 109A was the first production version, powered by a Junkers Jumo 210B or D engine and armed with two cowl mounted MG 17 7.92mm machine guns. This was followed by the serial production Bf 109B, armed with the same armament although some aircraft were fitted with the engine mounted machine gun. Prototype V8 was fitted with two MG 17s in the wings and in prototype V8, 20mm MG FF cannons were fitted. Both Bf 109A and B models were tested under combat conditions during the Spanish Civil War. The A and B models were followed by the C, D and a major redesign in 1938 resulted in the E model. A second major redesign in 1939-1940 resulted in the F series. The Friedrichs have a streamlined nose with a half-elleptical spinner. The type also omitted the stabiliser support struts while all weapons were concentrated in the forward fuselage.

This was followed by the G ('Gustav') model, introduced in the middle of 1942. The initial variants (G-1 through G-4) only have minor differences with the F model but most notably the use of the more powerful (1,455 hp) Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine. Other modifications to the G included a reinforced wing structure, an internal bullet-proof windscreen, heavier and welded framing for cockpit transparencies and additional armor for the fuel tank. Odd-numbered variants were designed as high altitude interceptors with pressurised cockpit and GM-1 (nitrous oxide) boost while even-numbered variants were unpressurised air superiority fighter and fighter-bombers. Later variants (G-5 to G-14) were produced with uprated armaments and provision for factory-supplied equipment/weapons package known as Umrüst-Bausätze (adding the suffix '/U' to the aircraft designation). Field modification kits known as Rüstsätze were also available.  

Armament initially consist of a pair of 7.92 mm MG17 on the upper deck and a 20 mm MG 151/20 Motorkanone firing through the propeller hub. From G-5 onwards, the MG 17s were replaced with 13 mm MG 131s. As the latter has a larger breechblock, resulting in a bulged fairing, the Gustav was nicknamed Die Beule (the bulge). Additional Rüstsätze kit for bomber-destroying missions include R5 (two 30 mm MK 108 cannons in underwing pods) and R6 (two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons in underwing pods). While increasing the Bf 109's lethality, it has an adverse effect on handling qualities, reducing its performance in fighter vs fighter combat. The G-6 can also be armed with a pair of Werfer-Granate 21 rocket system, intended to be employed at a stand-off range against Allied bomber formations.

While faster than the 'F' model, the Gustav was less maneuverable and its introduction into service coincides with the reversal in fortune for Germany, mainly fighting a defensive war. More than 10,000 Gustavs were built, making it the most numerous of Bf 109 variants. Apart from the Luftwaffe, the Bf 109G was also used by Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Romania. Spain also built licensed copies as Hispano HA-1112 while Czechoslovakia built copies as Avia S-99 and S-199.

The Kit

Hasegawa kit JT47 was a 1998 version of their 1997 'Bf 109G-6 'Hartmann'' kit which in turn was a modified version of the earlier G dan F series in Hasegawa's 1/48 stable. The parts were spread among nine grey and one clear plastic sprues with a number of parts being marked as 'not for use' (belonging to other marks of the Bf 109). Sprue B is absent as it represents the F/early G cowling with the smaller openings for the MG17 machine guns. The parts display Hasegawa's usual quality of nicely done details whether raised or engraved.  Decals provide markings for two kanonenvogels (Bf 109G with the R6 field modification kit):

1. Obersleutnant Alfred Grislawski, J.Gr.50; and

2. Oberfeldwebel Heinrich Bartels, 11./ JG27

The kit can also be made into a plain G-6 simply by leaving the MG 151/20 cannon pods off and using aftermarket decals (well, thank you, Capt. Obvious). 

Construction

As always, construction started at the cockpit. Hasegawa's cockpit consists of 10 parts; detail is so-so and I felt that more could be done by Hasegawa here (like the seat for example). The parts were painted RLM 66 Schwarzgrau using Tamiya XF-63 German grey whilst still on the sprue and were touched up after assembly. No decals were provided for the instrument panel but they do have raised detail here that can be dry-brushed to 'pop-up' the details (I didn't do it - I just dab white paints here and there as 'instrument faces'). The fuselage was joined using Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. Afterwards the instrument panel and the completed cockpit were cemented into place. Certain access hatches on the starboard fuselage were puttied and sanded as per the instructions. The upper nose cowling was put in place although the machine gun barrels were left off for the time being. The supercharger air intake was assembled and cemented but the sand filter was left off as I have not decided which markings I intended to do at this time. There is also an errata sheet as the original instruction had the 'plain' beule placed on the right-hand side of the fuselage. 

Next, the wing assembly. I first painted the inside surface of the radiator cooler intake RLM 76 (the fuselage colour) and the grills in Mr Color 28 Steel. As the Gustav uses larger tyres, bulges were present on the upper wing surface and Hasegawa has you drill holes in order to accommodate the said bulges. This however resulted in marred wheel wells which need to be puttied over; I just let it be as nobody is going to lift the model up and peer underneath it! Extra panel lines were also needed to be engraved on the upper wing surfaces. There are faint lines at the area required so I placed a Dymo tape and engrave the new lines. The elevator trim tabs also needed modification and I simply place the tailplanes against the drawing in the instructions (they are in 1/48), mark the area and cut the excess plastic off.

Painting and Decalling

Both marking options have the standard Luftwaffe mid-war camouflage of RLM74/75/76. The model was painted overall RLM 76 at first, using the Tamiya mix of 7 parts XF-2 Flat White, 1 part XF-23 and 2 parts XF-66 Light Grey. By this time I really have to decide which marking to finish the model. I eventually chose Grislawksi's Gustav simply because he scored more kills than Bartels! With the selection process out of the way, the 74/75 pattern of Grislawksi's can be applied to the model. I originally wanted to use Vallejo Air but reverted to using Mr. Hobby RLM 75 as the Vallejo version is way too dark. I however think that Vallejo's version of RLM 74 is close enough and used it. As usual with mottled Jerman camouflage pattern, I tried to recreate the illusion of airbrush-applied mottling by varying the viscosity of the respective paints and from six feet away, it looks good enough! About the mottling - the instructions did not correspond with the box art and the finished example PLUS photos of the real plane! I should have followed my head!

As the kit dates back to 1998, the whites of the decals has that ivory shade and for my copy, suffers from some yellowing due to age. The former was left as it was but leaving the decals in direct  sunlight for several days helped cure most of the yellowing. Also, probably also due to age, the decals took a bit longer to come loose from the backing paper. There is also a mistake with the instructions as it has the skeletal Balkankreuz for Grislawski's plane (the photo on the box side has the black and white one). I simply Google for photos of the particular plane where it shows it having the Black-and-White Balkankreuz upon which I acted accordingly. The port wing Balkankreuz however flipped upon itself a bit and I was unable to flip it back correctly. I therefore had to retouch the cross with white paint and to make them look symmetrical, retouched the Balkankreuz on the starboard wing too!

Finishing

The model received some wash into the panel lines at first. This was followed by adding some weathering effects specifically some residue marks, exhaust soot and some paint chipping; the last were made mainly on the port wing root, leading edge of the wing and the propeller blades. I originally anted to add fuel spill effect on the drop tank but eventually decided not to. The smaller and more fragile parts were then cemented onto the model such as the gun barrels, the pitot tube, the radio aerial and even the gunsight (I prefer to cement the latter during the finishing process to avoid mishandling and loss inside the fuselage; besides, the cockpit opening is large enough to handle the part). A few more finishing touches aere like....painting the flying lights (which sometimes I forgot to do!). A final coat of Flat Clear finishes the build.

Conclusion

Hasegawa's Gustav 109s can still hold its own despite the introduction of the more modern kits from Eduard and Tamiya. The build is simple enough that novices can try their hand although more advanced modellers might want to dress up their model with aftermarket parts or use the newer kits. My issues with the kit  is concerned with the off-white colour of the decals and the lack of details in the cockpit. Oh, also don't trust the instructions 100%!