Unusual Swastika???

[waterman]

Hi,

The Bf 109K-4 I'm building did not come with any swastika decals, so I snatched those from my Zvezda F-2 kit. The Zvezda swastika decal is made up of 2 parts, one laid on top of the other. Each half of the swastika has a white border outlining its entire area. When the last one is placed on top of the other, the white borders are visible through the center of the decal. All the swastikas I've seen have entirely black centers. Did Zvezda get this detail wrong, or is this a swastika unique to "F-2" versions?

 

[stona]

That is a mistake by the decal manufacturer in an effort to get around legislation governing the use of the swastika in some territories.
It's nothing a fine brush and a drop of black paint won't fix.
Cheers
Steve

 

[michaelmaltby]

After a stiff drink for courage ..

 

[waterman]

Great, thanks for the confirmation! I'll take the advice and correct the issue with black paint.

 

[N4521U]

After thinking on this for a while. I have a feeling they shouldn't cross. Trimming the top one to the black would have been the go. Take the width of the black out of the one crossing over the top. Next time we will all know eh. You'll be okay tho.

 

[Wayne Little]

That is a mistake by the decal manufacturer in an effort to get around legislation governing the use of the swastika in some territories.
It's nothing a fine brush and a drop of black paint won't fix.
Cheers
Steve

Yep, nailed it !

 

[Airframes]

They're normally printed, in two halves, and designed to be joined without the overlap of white.

 

[stona]

They're normally printed, in two halves, and designed to be joined without the overlap of white.

They are often. I do quite a bit of Luftwaffe and have several sheets of swastikas of different sizes and styles. I rarely if ever use those that have to be made up. I understand why it's done,and for someone who doesn't make a lot of Luftwaffe subjects it's better than no swastikas at all. At least they then have the option of whether to apply them or not.

Incidentally I nearly built that 11./JG 3 machine a while back but went for a more exotic example found at Munchen-Riem at the end of the war! The swastika is the same style.

Cheers

Steve

 

[waterman]

Yes, I think trimming the top decal would look the best. Unfortunately, with my poor eyes, the risk in cutting too much is too great to bear. Perhaps I'd try that with 1/32 scale. But at 1/48, touch up painting is much easier for me.

It's strange why Zvezda wouldn't do their decal like the other 2 part versions; especially when they went the extra distance to get other details right. Something tells me they probably produced this error intentionally; perhaps in respect to its offensive nature. Whatever the case may be, it's better than none at all. German aircraft without the swastika is similar to a person with no eyebrows...it might not appear evident at first, but something looks strange.

Steve, that's one fine looking 109! Do you have more photos posted somewhere?

- Carl