1:32 Bf 109K-4

The last production Bf 109

The Bf 109K-4 reached the units at the close of 1944 as an attempt to unify fragmented production into a single standard. The Daimler-Benz 605 engine with higher boost pressure, a cannon firing through the propeller hub and cleaner aerodynamics gave the machine performance the earlier versions did not have, except that trained pilots were running out faster than aircraft. Externally it is recognized mainly by the relocated filler point and the reworked landing gear covers.

The smallest saving of all the Bf 109s

The canopy of the late versions is a lightened structure with large clear areas and only a few frames. Such a cockpit is masked by hand fairly quickly, so the main benefit of the set here does not lie in hours saved but in the frames coming out the same width along their whole length. Paradoxically that shows more on simple glazing than on a divided canopy, because the eye has nothing to distract it.

When to take the mask off

Leave it in place through the whole paint job, the clear coats and the weathering. Exposed glazing is easily soiled during those steps and cleaning a clear part tends to be worse than the whole build put together.

The clear part and dust

The worst enemy is not paint but dust settled on the glass before the mask goes on. It stays trapped under the paper and once the mask is lifted it shows up as a dark speck in the middle of a transparent area. Blow the part with compressed air, then, and run a soft brush over it right before application.

What the set does not deal with

Mask the wheels, the gun muzzles and the exhausts by your own means. A disc punched out with a hole punch suits circular shapes, and liquid mask applied with a brush suits rounded surfaces.