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Messersschmitt Bf 109G-4 through K-4
Tail Strut & Tail Wheel Set

 

MDC

 

S u m m a r y
Catalogue Number and Description CV32032 - Bf 109G-4 through K-4 Tail Strut and Tail Wheel Set
Price: £2.50 (Post-Free Outside EU) available online from MDC
Scale: 1/32
Contents and Media: 5 parts in grey resin
Review Type: FirstLook
Advantages: Separate wheel and strut is an improvement over Hasegawa part; excellent detail; fixed standard short or long tail wheel assemblies may be depicted from the one set; simple replacement for kit equivalent; nice radial tread on tyre.
Disadvantages: Probably advisable to reinforce join between mount and strut/boot parts
Recommendation: Recommended

 

Reviewed by Brett Green


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FirstLook

 

Hasegawa's 1/32 scale Bf 109G-10 and K-4 kits come equipped with the long tail wheel strut typical for these variants, but the strut is moulded with the wheel as a single part. With careful painting this area does not look too bad, but MDC has an alternate solution.

MDC has released a 1/32 scale resin tail wheel with separate white metal extended strut. The resin wheel is very well detailed, and features a radial tread pattern on the tyre The hole for the axle is well defined with an indentation on each side of the wheel. I would suggest drilling this hole through prior to assembly.

For the long fixed tail wheel option, the wheel yoke and strut are cast separately. The resin strut is hollow at the bottom where it attached to the wheel mount. I would recommend drilling this hole out a little deeper and reinforcing the join with some brass wire. Alternatively, the resin strut could be replaced with some telescoping lengths of fine brass tube, as the resin strut will be quite fragile under the weight of the model.

MDC also supplies a "canvas" boot section, also cast in resin. For this option, the wheel yoke is simply glued to the canvas boot instead of the long strut. Once again, I recommend drilling out the top of the mount and reinforcing this join with brass wire for additional strength.

My sample was supplied with two canvas boots, but I think that this is a packaging error as the parts appear to be identical.

This accessory will also be welcomed by modellers who want to build a 1/32 scale Bf 109G-4 through to the Bf 109K-4.

Recommended.

Thanks to MDC for the review sample


Text and Images Copyright © 2004 by Brett Green
Page Created 25 November, 2004
Last updated 24 November, 2004

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