Preview: More of the "Old Mans Blog" & shots from Zoukei-Mura's new Bf 109G-14
Bf 109 G-14
From Zoukei-Mura
1/32nd scale
Cartograf-printed exclusive decals
1 figure included in first pre-order
Zoukei-Mura's test build of the 1/32 Bf 109 G-14 which has passed the prototype mockup stage and the initial stage of injection molding, with the“test-shot #1,” from the tooling factory. The team from Kyoto have checked all of the details and adjusted the finer details to get to this advanced point in the process. This gradual improving and adjustment process will continue over and over until “test-shot #5.” If that design, shape and detail passes our final inspection, then mass production will begin. Following are the mock-up photos from the ZM's blog.
From this angle you can get the greatest sense of the actual aircraft, as only an SWS kit can give you. The connection between the fuselage and wings reveals the structure of this aircraft. The replication showing the operation of the main landing gear and its structure is an incredible wonder to behold. The connection of the engine to the fuselage shows painstaking effort of the SWS team to replicate the real thing in plastic. The structure of the radiator flaps, which may have contributed to the aircraft’s revolutionary performance improvement, the propeller mounting and the small fuel tank, which carried only 400 liters.
Shown below is the test-build prototype. It will also be used as a sample model to check the assembly process for the instruction manual included with the kit, and to test the included decals, so it is already very close to the final product.
Limited edition pre-order bonus:
To commemorate the first release in the 1/32 Bf 109 kit series, a special limited-edition pre-order version will be available, featuring the G-14 piloted by Erich Hartmann, the WWII Luftwaffe ace who shot down the largest number of aircraft in the history of air combat. In addition to the Cartograf-printed exclusive decals featuring the famous black tulip, a resin figure of Hartmann himself by Master Box will also be included with each pre-ordered kit. This bonus will only be included with the kits pre-ordered during the designated period.On the right below is the resin model of Captain Hartmann (as he was ranked in 1944) that comes with the limited-edition kit commemorating the kit’s release.
With a compact fuselage structure that retains the cross-sectional area of the DB 605 engine, the wing structure and internal construction of the Bf 109 is recreated in a way that only SWS kits can. Furthermore, the operation and structure of the radiator flaps and ailerons is clearly understandable from the faithful replication.
The heart of the Bf 109 G-14! The nose of the DB 605 is equipped with an MG-17 machine gun, and the Bf 109's unique cockpit, neatly configured like one big mass of rationality revealing the genius of Messerschmitt. You can feel the true sense of unity between the aircraft and the pilot, who had to cram his body into that confined cockpit.
The Bf 109 was the only Luftwaffe fighter aircraft that continued to fight valiantly from the start to the very end against the surging Allied aircraft that filled the sky. From Africa to the east and the west, to central Europe and the homeland air defense of Germany, the Bf 109 flew over many skies with the loud roar of its DB 605 engine.
From the outbreak of WWII in 1939 to the end of the war in 1945, the Bf 109 gave way to many ace pilots until it finally disappeared into the yonder. Still, its brave form is still burned into the mind’s eye of all aircraft aficionados.
Don’t forget to check out the “Old Man Blog” from Zoukei Mura and the musings of their very passionate modeller president – it’s great reading and sometimes he drops a hint in there about what is to come…