Messerschmit Bf 109G-6

It's been said that "The best book has yet to be written and the best song has yet to be sung." However, if you've been waiting for the best 109G kit, look no further Hasegawa has produced it. Is it possible for another manufacturer to make a better kit? Probably, but it's unlikely that another manufacturer will spend the money that will take to make a better 109 kit. However, the individual modeler can always add labor as well as after market items to make the basic Hasegawa 109s better.
Because the kit is engineered to allow a number of variants to be built by using small parts molded on the sprue you must be careful to use only those parts for the variant you wish to build.

Hasegawa has released their Bf 109G-6 in a variety of boxes, all are the same excellent kit with minor differences usually different markings.

The entire cockpit is painted Schwarz Grau and dry brushed with light gray to bring up the details. The instrument panel is black and again dry brushed with light gray to bring up the bezels, knobs and levers. Red, yellow, green,and white are used to add color to the dials knobs and levers. When the interior was dry the fuselage halves were glued together and installed the cockpit and instrument panel.
Before gluing the wing tops to the lower wing be sure to install the two radiator screens. The wing to fuselage joints are extremely tight and to my non-contest standards required no putty. However, if you are building for competition you might make a different decision. The wing bulges are a little angular on the side facing the fuselage, but a few swipes of a sanding stick took care of it.
The protruding plastic representing the gun tube barrel was drilled outon the spinner and replaced it with a short piece of metal tubing. One of the finer points of the Hasegawa 109s are the individual cowl mounted machine guns. After drilling out the barrels they were painted with Gunze Stainless (NAMC213) and dry brushed with Testors silver and set aside.

Than the landing gear legs were painted with RLM 02 with Testors silver shock absorber sleeves and after using a wash of dark gray on the joints they were put aside. The wheel hubs were painted with RLM066 Black Gray and dry brushed with Testors silver. After that the tires with AeroMaster Tire Black and using shades of brown dried mud on the tires was simulated.

Hartman's aircraft carried the standard fighter scheme of RLM 76/74/75; Light Blue/Gray Green/Medium Gray.with yellow code letters and yellow theater markings. Gunze Sangyo paint were used for this model for all colors and each color was lightened by 25%. This colours on this model were applied with Badger 150 double action airbrush with a fine tip and first was sprayed Medium Grey 76 and than RLM 75 was added. At the and when the kit was dry the 74 was airbrushed. After the kit was dry(after one day) the kit was sprayed with . When the three colors were dry mottling the sides and tail begun. Then after few days when the kit is dry the kit was sprayed with kit overall with Future in preparation for applying the decals. As usual Hasegawa has supplied a magnificent decal sheet containing two different aircraft that Hartman flew.

German Colors...................Gunze Sangyo
RLM 02 RLM Grau...............MAH070
RLM 66 Schwarz grau...........MAH339
RLM 74 Graugrün..................MAH068
RLM 75 Grauviolet................MAH069
RLM 76.Hellgrau....................MAH062
RLM 27 Gelb...........................MAH004

Messerschmitt Bf 109G series

....The Messerschmitt Bf 109G series of fighters had a number of variants: fighters, bomber interceptors with a variety of armament options, two-seat trainers, fighter-bombers, and - the subject of this article - reconnaissance-fighters. Like other Bf 109s, the reconnaissance version also had variants within variants. Some of the research material tends to be a bit confusing.
...The Germans apparently assigned the Rüsatz (R) numbers two through five for aircraft with a number of different types of cameras and mounting combinations. These 'R' numbers could be applied to nearly all models of the BF 109G series. Some of these 'R' numbers were also used to denote other optional equipment, such as drop tanks, guns, bomb racks, etc.
....The most common camera carried by reconnaisance aircraft was the Rb 50/30 - a large camera mounted behind the pilot and pointing straight down. Access to the camera was via the small baggage hatch behind the pilot, or by removal of the camera fairing on the belly of the aircraft. This camera had been mounted on Bf 109E and F series as well.
.Another camera used by the Bf 109 was the Rb12.5/7x9 or the Rb32/7x9 carried in the aft fuselage and pointing down and slightly out to the side. These cameras were normally mounted in pairs behind the fuselage access hatch on the port side of the aircraft. Some references indicate these two cameras could be carried in concert with the Rb50/30 camera, while other references leave you with the distinct feeling of an 'either/or' situation. Some Bf 109Gs also carried a small camera, known as a Robot 2, in the port wing leading edge.
....Camera controls were mounted in the cockpit. There is a single, small panel centered beneath the main instrument panel, while two additional switch boxes were mounted on the right side wall.
....Bf 109 reconnaissance fighters routinely carried a single centerline 300 liter drop tank. The R-4 variant in particular is discussed as carrying two such tanks - one under each wing. A drawing of this.....