1:32 Messerschmitt Bf 109K-4 (for Trumpeter kit)

Messerschmitt Bf 109K-4 in 1:32 scale — a 3D textured interior on decal paper

The set is not a kit and not a glued part. The interior elements are printed in a 3D texture onto decal paper, so you get them complete in color and apply them to the model as a wet decal. Red Fox Studio also offers a version for another kit under the same name — this one is cut for the Trumpeter kit.

A late variant with a reworked cockpit

The K-4 was the last version of the Bf 109 built in series and its cockpit differs from the earlier ones in a number of details. The layout of the instrument panel was modified, the make-up of the radio and oxygen equipment changed, and later machines had a lightened canopy with a large rear section under which the interior is even easier to see. The seat remained a simple metal shell — and it is there that you notice how much the belts do for the cockpit.

Seat belts on decal paper

Printed belts are surprisingly convincing in this scale, because they have the stitching, the hardware and the shading printed on. They are handled differently from the panel: cut them out with a minimal margin, after soaking let them rest for a while on a smooth surface and only then transfer them. Lead them across the shell of the seat in sections — first stick down the end at the anchor point, then press the belt on gradually with a soft brush so that it follows the transition from the backrest to the seat pan. You can leave the free end slightly rippled over the edge so that the belt does not look like a painted line.

Who the set is for

• Builders of the late Bf 109 version in 1:32 scale
• For those working with the corresponding Trumpeter kit
• As a quick replacement for photo-etched belts
• For modelers who build with the canopy open

An accessory to a plastic kit, not a model. Paints, varnishes and glue are not included in the package.