Bf 109 F-2, F-4, G-2 Wheels and Weighted Tyres

North Star Models, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

Eduard's 1/48 scale MiG-23 Wheels are available online from Squadron.com

North Star is a Latvian-based aftermarket company I first heard of in relation to its upgrades for Great Wall’s 1/48 Fw 189 kits.  A quick look at North Star’s website reveals a wide range of accessories in all major scales:  aircraft, armour, car, ship and figure modellers are catered for, with resin and photo-etched brass the media of choice.

This simple upgrade set of 1/48 Bf 109 F and early G series wheels is not kit-specific.  The set is cast in dark grey resin and contains two mainwheels, each with two separate hubs, and a tail wheel, also with two separate hubs.  The mainwheels have spoked rims and ribbed tyres.

Casting has been engineered to allow the parts to be easily removed from their pour stubs; I was able to snap the mainwheels off their stubs and clean them up in a matter of seconds.  A nice touch here is that North Star has cast gaps into the rebates between the wheels and their stubs that correspond with the ribs in the tyres, which means you don’t need to touch up the ribs in this area after removing the stubs.

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The mainwheels have been cast with a thin saucer of resin in the centre, which can be pushed out with a finger to make room for the hubs.  I needed to smooth the inside rim of each wheel with sandpaper before the hubs would fit, but be careful not to over-sand or the hubs will fall through the gap.  Once everything was cleaned up, the hubs and wheels locked together snugly.

Given the above, it will be no surprise to hear that casting quality is good, with no pinholes or other defects.  However the set does have some idiosyncrasies.  Compared to similar products from manufacturers such as Ultracast and Eduard, detail is a little soft – although likely still better than that on most equivalent kit parts).  I’m also not sure about how convincingly the tyres have been weighted:  the tyre on the tailwheel, particularly, looks a little flat.

The small instruction sheet is almost superfluous, given the simplicity of assembly, but it is well executed and leaves no room for error.

This set is a simple and inexpensive way of dressing up your 1/48 Bf 109 F-2, F-4 or G-2 kit.  It is well engineered and can be recommended to anyone regardless of experience in working with resin detailing sets.

Thanks to North Star Models for the review sample.

Reference

Lynn Ritger, The Messerschmitt Bf 109 – A Comprehensive Guide for the Modeller, Part 2:  ‘F’ to ‘K’ Variants (SAM Publications, 2007).

My thanks to North Star Models for the review sample

Review Text Copyright © 2014 by Brad Fallen
Page Created 1 July, 2014
Last updated 1 July, 2014

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