Messerschmitt Bf 109 T

A & A Models, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Floyd S. Werner Jr.

Until recently, the only way you could get a Bf 109 T was by building the MPM kit, or by using the Hasegawa kit with the new resin parts inside, or by using the Hawkeye conversion kit.

The MPM kit was very basic and lacked detail with poor fit.

The Hasegawa and the Hawkeye conversions requires you to cut the kit and graft on resin wingtips. Not ideal but doable. I built a Hawkeye one like this that was easier than the Hasegawa.

Enter a new, to me at least, company A&A Models.

This kit comes out of Russia or possibly the Ukraine, I’m not quite sure.  Packaged in a sturdy cardboard box with beautiful cover painting.

Inside the box is a ziplock bag that contains four sprues of light grey plastic.

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Thumbnail panels:

The plastic does seem a little brittle but the truth will be in the building. The detail is very nice but I did notice some flash here and there. The parts themselves all look good. Panel lines are recessed and crisp. The prop may have slightly rounded tips but not bad. All control surfaces are separate. I love the detail in them. Nice and restrained. The wheel well are also separate pieces.

The left fuselage features for the first time I’ve ever seen the GM-1 system access hatches scribed into the right fuselage. Both types of air intakes for the Toni are provided.  Cockpit sidewall details are separate as well, which should help if you want to replace the interior with an aftermarket set. I don’t think you’ll need to though. The fuselage halves also have the engine molded in place. Engine bearers are provided as well for those that want to super detail this area. The exhausts look a little narrow but not objectionably. An arresting hook and catapult attachments are also provided for carrier versions.  The wheels are split in halves, but look nice enough.

The wings are a three-piece affair.  No need to cut the tips off and fill the seam.  They have the correct dihedral molded in.  This is the first time I’ve seen the spoilers scribed on top of the wings.  The wingtip lights are separate clear items. A very nice touch. The drop tank and ETC rack looks okay. Not great but better than most. The wheel wells are also separate items to be added to the wings. 

Inside of a separate baggie is a clear sprue that has two and one third canopies. It has a closed canopy, a three-piece canopy for posing open and a unique canopy with what, I think, is a rear view mirror mount.

Also in that bag is a ‘brass’ fret of photo etch. It has the pulleys and seatbelts. All crisp detail and it is all protected with a cardstock backing and separate ziplock. Things like control cables for the rudder are also included.

Canopy masks are also included. Decals for five aircraft printed by Decograph out of the Ukraine are provided. They are flat finished but are in register with good color saturation and look useable. Again it will boil down to putting them on the model.  There are decals for two T-1s and three T-2s.

The instructions are printed on high quality paper in full color. Color callouts are in the Mr. Paint and AK paint ranges with the appropriate RLM number if you don’t use one of those paints.  Assembly is easy to understand. 

The assembly sequence looks easy enough and is a traditional breakdown and includes decals and photo etch options. There are some parts that are broken down into assemblies that appear unnecessary, however, they are not difficult to assemble.

The boxtop alludes to future releases of a Bf 109 Zwilling and a Me 209 V4. If this kit is any indication of the quality from this company, I’m looking forward to those releases as well.

This is the best example of the Bf 109 T that I’ve seen out of the box or even with aftermarket options. This is a one stop shop for this airplane.  Is it an Eduard/Tamiya kit? No but it certainly looks to be a good kit of an often overlooked airframe. Great first release (at least for me) by A&A. I look forward to building it up and seeing how it fits. 

Highly Recommended

This in-the-box review was provided by my wallet and obtained from Hobby Link Japan.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2020 by Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Page Created 25 November, 2020
Last updated 25 November, 2020

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