Hasegawa's 1/48 Bf109K-4

By Tom Cleaver

The Aircraft

The Bf109K-4 was the last series production sub-type of Messerschmitt's famous fighter to see combat with the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Unlike the other DB-605AS-powered sub-types, which were often reconstructed from other Bf109G airframes, the "Kurfurst" was all new-production airframes. It was the most heavily-armed, with a central mounted Mk.103 30mm cannon as standard, and was among the fastest of the 109 variants.

The Kit

The parts breakdown will be familiar to any modeler who has seen the earlier Bf109G-6 and G-14 releases. Out of seven grey plastic sprues, four are common to the Bf109G-14 kit. This does not imply Hasegawa has skimped on engineering; it represents a sensible use of readily available, high quality parts.

The three new sprues contain all the parts that characterize the last of the 109 line. These include: an all-new fuselage; a separate top cowl cover; outer doors for the main landing gear; a revised instrument panel and starboard sidewall; larger supercharger intake; deeper oil cooler; larger mainwheels (660 x 160mm with raised tread pattern); new tailwheel with long leg; large upper-wing wheel fairings; and a new windscreen.

The fuselage is specific to the Bf 109K-4 variant. The radio and filler hatches are all in the correct positions, so there is no need to fill or rescribe lines on the fuselage. The tail has been re-engineered, too, with the rudder trailing edge thinner than earlier releases; it now includes the small triangular antenna mount on the top of the fin.

Hasegawa molded the tailwheel doors open on the fuselage halves, which simplifies construction. However, most Bf109K-4 ground shots show the tail wheel doors closed. The marking instructions illustrate both aircraft with the tailwheel down and doors locked shut. The determined modeler can always cut the doors off and reposition them; if the doors are left open some extra detail may be needed, as the closing mechanism was quite prominent. It is also simple to cut them off, glue in a plug made from thick styrene sheet, and file to shape.

The new outer gear doors are a bit basic. There is some doubt as to whether the doors actually featured the "bulge" on the outer surface and, if so, whether it was as pronounced.

A strange box shape is molded on the panel behind the pilot's head; the K-4 did not feature this bulge and it should be removed.

The shape of the conformal cowl has been the subject of much discussion in recent years, and Hasegawa has evidently been listening. An accurate asymmetrical cowl has eluded other manufacturers, but it looks as if Hasegawa has this fundamentally correct. The round bulges at the lower forward corners of the cowl (required to accommodate the Fo987 oil cooler) also look good. The upper part of the cowl is very well done, with a crisp hinge down the center and deep gun troughs.

A new windscreen incorporates the appliqué panels and reversed "scoop" typical of the type.

The cockpit - as usual with the Hasegawa 109 series kits - is basic; the main features of the Bf109K-4 are there with the exceptions of the control switch and fuse panel for the MK103 cannon, plus some boxes, switches and instruments on the starboard-side cockpit floor. The modeler concerned about this will likely use one of several after-market sets already available from Cooper Details, Aires and CMK.

The wing sprue is the same as has been featured since the Bf109F releases. This means some minor scribing and cutting is necessary to modify the wings to the later standards. The instructions clearly mark the required modifications. These generic wings feature separate slats and flaps. The bigger wheel bulges are admirably thin and the locating holes in the wings have been positioned so they will not be visible when looking in the wheel wells. Ejector pin marks are, in the main, restricted to the unseen inside surface of parts, but a modeler should check for the marks on the mainwheel hubs.

There are currently several aftermarket decal sheets available for the Bf109K-4 (see reviews elsewhere in this issue), and with the new camouflage coloring information that has become available in the past few years, you can make a "109-Thingie" that looks distinctively different from the others on your shelves. Recommended.