German Aircraft Question

Gip - The prefix "Bf" is for the German words for (I believe its "Bavarian Aircraft works"). The Me is just an abbreviation used for later aircraft (Me 210/410, 163, 262). The 110 was also "Bf."
The Hasegawa Bf 109 kits are, in my opinion, some of the finest kits made today. Nice detail, and the fit is superb. I'd highly recommend the Hasegawa kits.

styrene,

For some reason, Mr. Messerschmitt wasn't well-liked by the German high command, so his aircraft designs were built by a company called BayersFlugzeugwerks (or something similar to that, as I ain't a German), hence the "Bf" instead of "Me". But, Me-109 can be used just as well as Bf-109. Sounds like someone was just being extremely picky.

As far as the best kit, I like the Taliya offering. I have the Bf-109E-3 (called the "Emil", for the E after the 109). But, that's just my opinion.

I sure hope that I spelled that German company's name correctly. I'm sure someone else out there will correct me.

The original a/c was designed and built by the Bavarian Flugwerk, or some such spelling, so they were refered to as Bf's. Later, Messerschmitt's work was acknowledged, and they were refered to as Me's. Can't recommend the best, as I haven't played with too many.

I forgot to mention:

Later in the war, Willy Messerschmitt was allowed to produce aircraft under his own name, which is why the Me-262, Me-163, etc. were designated as such.

As far as I am concerned, nothing beats the Tamiya offerings. I have just completed the ME109, the FW190 and now working on the ME262. Just incredible details.

Not a stupid question at all, it's an old argument, one for the ages.

Both would be correct for the 109 and any other aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt under the auspices of the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke. The 109 was conceived, designed and built while the firm was still known as BFW. (Willy joined BFW upon a merger with his own company, Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau.)

In 1938 BFW incorporated the company as Messerschmitt AG. All aircraft designed before this period carried the prefix of 'Bf', while those designed after carried the prefix 'Me' before the design number.

The two prefixes were used interchangeably on all levels within the Luftwaffe as well as the German aircraft industry during WWII.

For a more detailed explanation go to the 109 Lair and click on 'Articles', then 'Bf or Me - An explanation'.

As to good kits in 48th, you can't beat Hasegawa or Tamiya, although the latter offers only Emils.

If you want a complete collection of 109's, Hobbycraft is the only decent manufacturer which produces the early 109 variants; Berta, Clara and Dora. They all have fit problems of some kind or another, but they're definately workable. Their G isn't too awful bad, the only problem I ran into was with the canopy, the hood itself would not fit between the windshield and rear portion. Hence one of my rare excursions into the world of vacuform canopies...

If you're really brave, you could tackle Falcon's Bf 109G-12. They're the only manufacturer, that I know of, which produces a 48th kit of the 2-seater. But it's an ugly kit.


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blackwolfscd,

Interesting. I had read somewhere that Willy Messerschmitt wasn't well liked by some of the German higher-ups, and, consequently, they wouldn't buy any planes with his name on them. So, that other German company, whose name I can't spell NOR pronounce, built them for him. Or, am I thinking of another German aircaft designer? I get things mixed up at times.................

I have seen WW2 German documents that refer to the 109 as ME and BF within the same paragraph. Both designations are correct.

Thanks for the information, gentlemen. It is appreciated. I'll look at the Hasegawa and Tamiya offerings and see which I like better. I am also debating on whether to purchase the Me-262 by Tamiya. I really like both the 109 and the 262. Pretty strange for an armor modeler, huh?
Gip Winecoff

styrene,

We'll have you converted in NO time!! Once you've done a plane, you never go back!!

For the best 109 kits in 1/48
B,C,D versions: Hobbycraft
E version: Tamiya
F,G,K, T versions: Hasegawa
Avias and Hispanos: Hobbycraft
Hope this helps
Bernie the K
St. Paul, MN

the Fujimi kits have good Box art
(are the kits any good, i bought some becouse the pictures on the box were great)

The Fujimi kits are okay but they suffer from unforgivably thick clear parts.

Also, Fujimi approached the mold maximizing theory in a slightly different and quite annoying way than most; each kit has all the panel lines and access panels on the wings and fuselage for EVERY Gustav or Karl variant. You have to fill in the non-relevant lines for whichever bird you're building. Some see this as a marvelous thing, I see it as a royal pain in the a**.

The upside, though, is that each kit also includes a buncha extra parts such as tires/wheels, prop blades, rudders, horizontal stabs etc... And for a guy who'd like to do a 'Luftwaffe graveyard' diorama someday, that's enuff to make me keep all my Fujimi 109's.

I forgot about the Bf 109T. I wish someone would release one of these that you can build SOB without any resin, surgery, etc. I'm getting lazy in my advanced modeling years!


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Gip: Academy also makes a 1/48 "G" model of which you can make several versions- included in the kit- it's not bad at all although a photoetch interior helps a lot.
G.L.

Ah yes, the Academy 48th 109's. They're all Hobbycraft kits and probably won't be available too much longer. IDEA (the mold maker) sold a buncha molds to Academy, only they were molds which were owned by Hobbycraft and not by IDEA. (Took HC long enuff to figure it out! )

Anyhoo, all the kits in question have been taken off of Academy's website; so, if you're a collector, get 'em while you can!


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