1:48 Bf 109K-4

A pair of thirteen-millimeter barrels above the engine

The K-4 version reached the units in the autumn of 1944 as an attempt to unify the fragmented production of Messerschmitts into a single production form. Above the engine it carried a pair of MG 131 machine guns of 13 millimeters caliber. Their bulky breeches would not fit under the smooth cowling, and so conspicuous bulged fairings grew above them. The late machines are recognized by those two bulges even from a distance and builders take them as the recognition sign of the whole line.

The package brings two different crafts together. Pre-cut self-adhesive films follow the shape of the cockpit glazing outside as well as inside, so after spraying the framing comes out with a sharp edge and nobody has to outline it with a brush. The enclosed set of masks for the national insignia makes it possible to spray the crosses with paint, which on a rounded fuselage looks more convincing than a decal. The metal part contains two turned tubes for the machine gun muzzles and a separate Pitot tube.

The difference between an injected and a turned part is noticeable at once precisely at the muzzle. A mold will not make such a thin cavity, so a blind stub projects from the cowling which the builder has to drill out himself. A metal tube already has the opening and takes careful sanding as well, without collapsing or losing its circular cross-section.

It pays to reverse the order of the work compared with the usual habit: the paint first, then the matte coat and the turned parts only right at the end. Metal is hard to mask over and a careless grip bends it so that nobody will straighten it back onto its original axis.

The contents are cut to the dimensions of the Hasegawa kit in 1:48 scale. The plastic model itself is obtained separately.