JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
I am currently on hold in the latest GB (Mediterranean Theater of Operations) as I wait for a canopy replacement on my Fiat G.55S Silurante build. In the meantime, I thought I'd dip into my stash (meager as it is with 3 kits) and start on another project.
This will be a unique build for me personally in several ways. Currently focusing on 1/48 WWII aircraft, I haven't built a 1/32 kit since I was in high school in the early 1980's. So going to this bigger scale will be interesting. I also haven't much experience with the "new" Revell kits. Many of those 1/32 kits that I cobbled together in my childhood days were from Revell but from what I recall, the kits back then were noted more for their gimmicks like moving parts than technical accuracy. Does this box art stir memories for anyone? It does for me!
I'm curious to see how Revell stacks up against the Tamiya, Hasegawa and Eduard kits that I've recently completed. So let's find out! The Revell box is an end-opener... blech! I really don't like these types of boxes, especially if you are engaged in multiple projects. It's so much harder to store and access parts during the build process. I'm going to have to find another way to store this build since I am planning to join in another group build in the near future.
The parts are subdivided into groups of 2-4 sprues and stored in taped plastic baggies, with the clear parts receiving their own bag, appropriately. One step above the Hasegawa method of all sprues in a single bag but a step below Hobby Boss' gold standard of one sprue per bag and the clear parts getting additional foam protection.
I will be augmenting the kit with some aftermarket supplies, which I will be sharing more about later on in the build. These include:
1. Alley Cat Models 109G-10 Erla Correction Set
2. Alley Cat Models 109G-10 Small Wing Bulges
3. RB Productions Luftwaffe Harnesses
4. Quickboost Revi 16B Gun Sights
5. Decals from either BarracudaCal or EagleCal
Here are the two main sprues holding the fuselage halves. Revell has deviated from their earlier 109G-6 release and consolidated the front fuselage assembly into fewer parts... good to see companies be pro-active.
Parts have good detail and molding looks nice and crisp. Curiously, Revell has chosen to include harness detail molded onto the seat bucket and seat back. Given the availability of AM options (photoetch and now fabric-based harnesses, not to mention scratchbuilding your own), it would make more sense to leave the seats bare... cheaper for the manufacturer and easier for most serious modelers. There is a bit of flash on a few parts but it seems to be the exception and not the rule.
The instrument panel faces have no raised details and are meant to accept decal faces. I have yet to inspect the kit-supplied instrument panel but there are some AM options here (Airscale and MDC) as well.
Revell kindly gives us two sets of landing gear doors... one for the gear down and one for the gear up. If the gear up doors fit nicely, they will be used as masks for the gear bays during painting. Big ejector pin marks on the gear down doors but they will most likely be hidden by the gear struts.
Here is the sprue holding the lower wings. It looks like the wings are done in a modular sort of fashion. The lower wings being a three-part affair: center, port and starboard.
The cockpit sidewalls are pretty bare... a good canvas for superdetailers, of which I am not.
The spinner has some nice detail but does not join with the backplate at the natural joint... another strange choice by Revell. Because the prop blades must be added before the backplate is attached, addressing the seam will be that much harder. And the spiral that much more difficult to paint. Luckily, my Alley Cat upgrade kit will address that and so much more! 
Another subset of sprues containing some of the control surfaces, the landing gear, the gun cowling and the upper inboard wing panels.
One feature that differentiates the G-10 from earlier variants of the 109 are the bigger upper wing bulges (to accommodate wider tires). Due to the inconsistencies with the upgrade process during the latter stages of the war, some G-10's had features carried over from older variants. Thus, many G-10's featured the smaller, kidney-shaped wing bulges of the earlier Gustavs, including Hartman's Double Chevron depicted on the box art. It would've been relatively simple for Revell to account for this variation by also including the upper wing parts from the G-6 release but we only get the one style. If you want to model one of the small wing bulge 109G-10's, you'll have to either cannabalize them from the G-6 kit or go aftermarket. I haven't chosen a particular aircraft to model so I went and picked up a set of upper wings from Alley Cat to cover all of the bases. The kit wing bulges look like they have some rather conspicuous sink marks that will need to be taken care of if used.
There has also been some discussion about the inaccuracy of the cowling gun troughs on the Revell kit. From my perspective, they look ok to me but since the Alley Cat kit includes a replacement cowling, I'll make sure to compare the two later on.
A close-up on the landing gear... another "interesting" choice by Revell. The landing gear struts are comprise of THREE parts each! Why you would divide a landing gear strut in halves is beyond me but I guess that is why I am not a model company executive. It's strange but if the parts fit well, it should not be a big issue.
To Be Continued...
This will be a unique build for me personally in several ways. Currently focusing on 1/48 WWII aircraft, I haven't built a 1/32 kit since I was in high school in the early 1980's. So going to this bigger scale will be interesting. I also haven't much experience with the "new" Revell kits. Many of those 1/32 kits that I cobbled together in my childhood days were from Revell but from what I recall, the kits back then were noted more for their gimmicks like moving parts than technical accuracy. Does this box art stir memories for anyone? It does for me!
I'm curious to see how Revell stacks up against the Tamiya, Hasegawa and Eduard kits that I've recently completed. So let's find out! The Revell box is an end-opener... blech! I really don't like these types of boxes, especially if you are engaged in multiple projects. It's so much harder to store and access parts during the build process. I'm going to have to find another way to store this build since I am planning to join in another group build in the near future.
The parts are subdivided into groups of 2-4 sprues and stored in taped plastic baggies, with the clear parts receiving their own bag, appropriately. One step above the Hasegawa method of all sprues in a single bag but a step below Hobby Boss' gold standard of one sprue per bag and the clear parts getting additional foam protection.
I will be augmenting the kit with some aftermarket supplies, which I will be sharing more about later on in the build. These include:
1. Alley Cat Models 109G-10 Erla Correction Set
2. Alley Cat Models 109G-10 Small Wing Bulges
3. RB Productions Luftwaffe Harnesses
4. Quickboost Revi 16B Gun Sights
5. Decals from either BarracudaCal or EagleCal
Here are the two main sprues holding the fuselage halves. Revell has deviated from their earlier 109G-6 release and consolidated the front fuselage assembly into fewer parts... good to see companies be pro-active.
Parts have good detail and molding looks nice and crisp. Curiously, Revell has chosen to include harness detail molded onto the seat bucket and seat back. Given the availability of AM options (photoetch and now fabric-based harnesses, not to mention scratchbuilding your own), it would make more sense to leave the seats bare... cheaper for the manufacturer and easier for most serious modelers. There is a bit of flash on a few parts but it seems to be the exception and not the rule.
The instrument panel faces have no raised details and are meant to accept decal faces. I have yet to inspect the kit-supplied instrument panel but there are some AM options here (Airscale and MDC) as well.
Revell kindly gives us two sets of landing gear doors... one for the gear down and one for the gear up. If the gear up doors fit nicely, they will be used as masks for the gear bays during painting. Big ejector pin marks on the gear down doors but they will most likely be hidden by the gear struts.
Here is the sprue holding the lower wings. It looks like the wings are done in a modular sort of fashion. The lower wings being a three-part affair: center, port and starboard.
The cockpit sidewalls are pretty bare... a good canvas for superdetailers, of which I am not.
The spinner has some nice detail but does not join with the backplate at the natural joint... another strange choice by Revell. Because the prop blades must be added before the backplate is attached, addressing the seam will be that much harder. And the spiral that much more difficult to paint. Luckily, my Alley Cat upgrade kit will address that and so much more! Another subset of sprues containing some of the control surfaces, the landing gear, the gun cowling and the upper inboard wing panels.
One feature that differentiates the G-10 from earlier variants of the 109 are the bigger upper wing bulges (to accommodate wider tires). Due to the inconsistencies with the upgrade process during the latter stages of the war, some G-10's had features carried over from older variants. Thus, many G-10's featured the smaller, kidney-shaped wing bulges of the earlier Gustavs, including Hartman's Double Chevron depicted on the box art. It would've been relatively simple for Revell to account for this variation by also including the upper wing parts from the G-6 release but we only get the one style. If you want to model one of the small wing bulge 109G-10's, you'll have to either cannabalize them from the G-6 kit or go aftermarket. I haven't chosen a particular aircraft to model so I went and picked up a set of upper wings from Alley Cat to cover all of the bases. The kit wing bulges look like they have some rather conspicuous sink marks that will need to be taken care of if used.
There has also been some discussion about the inaccuracy of the cowling gun troughs on the Revell kit. From my perspective, they look ok to me but since the Alley Cat kit includes a replacement cowling, I'll make sure to compare the two later on.
A close-up on the landing gear... another "interesting" choice by Revell. The landing gear struts are comprise of THREE parts each! Why you would divide a landing gear strut in halves is beyond me but I guess that is why I am not a model company executive. It's strange but if the parts fit well, it should not be a big issue.
To Be Continued...
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