1:24 Bf-109G-10

The Erla Haube on the last Gustav

The G-10 version was produced from the autumn of 1944 and it combined an older airframe with the more powerful DB 605D engine. The main external change against the sixth is the smoother outline of the upper cowling, because the breeches of the machine guns fitted under it without conspicuous bulges, and a taller wooden vertical tail surface. A larger oil cooler was added under the nose and the machine also received an enlarged tail wheel.

The glazing took the shape known as the Erla Haube. The hinged section is conceived as a single molding with large side areas and only a few load-bearing strips, because the rear armor plate was replaced by a thick pane of transparent glass. The view to the rear improved markedly and at the same time the whole layout of the frames changed, so shapes cut for the earlier divided canopy will not fit here even approximately.

Sheet contents

The set contains two sets of shapes. The outer will cover the clear areas while the top camouflage goes on, the inner copies the same layout from the opposite side and serves for painting the frames from within. On the large side panes of the Erla the inner side is unusually clearly visible, so that step pays off more than on the older versions. The four masks of national insignia then replace decals in the places where the carrier film would be perceptible.

It helps to reckon with the fact that on large models the hinged section tends to be supplied as a separate molding and can therefore be painted apart from the fuselage. Painting then goes faster and there is no risk of scratching fresh paint on the spine while handling it. The set is bought separately from the kit; it holds no plastic and no resin parts.