1:24 Bf 109K-4

The last production version

The Bf 109 K-4 was the culmination of the development of a fighter that had been built since the middle of the 1930s. It reached the units at the close of 1944 and was to unify production that had fragmented into dozens of sub-versions. The DB 605 D engine could be boosted for short periods by injecting a water mixture, a 30 mm cannon passed through the propeller hub and the cockpit canopy was smooth, without the dense framing of the older machines. A taller tail wheel that retracted into the fuselage and a relocated filler neck on the left side are recognition features as well. The combat value of the machine was already running up against a shortage of fuel and of experienced pilots. This single sub-version alone went into production, although plans for several more were ready.

Contents of the envelope

The film in the envelope carries the outlines of the armored windscreen, the hinged part of the cockpit and the fixed cover behind the pilot. This is the variant with covering from outside as well as inside, so parts for both faces are in the envelope.

What covering from both sides means

The outer masks protect the glass while the camouflage is sprayed; the inner pieces serve so that the frame can be sprayed in the cockpit color as seen from within. Without them the frame stays light and transparent when you look through the glass, which on a model the size of a hand is glaring. The inner parts are therefore applied before the fuselage is closed, while the glass can be reached freely from both directions and nothing gets in the way of tweezers. The set offers no crosses and no numbers; those have to be dealt with by decals or by a separate sheet of masks.