If asked to name a fighter aircraft that served in WWII, most everyone will mention Messerschmitt before they begin counting on their second hand, and they generally are referring to the Bf 109. The Bf 109 actually earned its iconic position in the late 1930s, when the E model entered service with the Legion Condor in Spain, and then went on to etch its place firmly in history during the Battle of France and Battle of Britain. It’s no surprise, then, that the E has been marketed in all popular scales by almost every plastic model kit manufacturer. Now Cyber Hobby (AKA Dragon) has added one more to the list of kits to choose from when interested in building a Bf 109 in 1/32 scale.

When I saw this title become available on the list of items up for review, I thought it might be a good title to review since I was currently working on the new Dragon Ta-152C-1/R-14 kit. I was expecting a softbound book similar to what Squadron or Kagero might do. What I received was a beautifully produced hardbound book of very high quality.

There are 136 pages divided into five sections. The first two sections only comprise four pages and are basically an explanation of what the authors have tried to achieve in putting together this book. The next section deals with camouflage and gives a brief outline of the interpretations of RLM colors used in the book. Contained in this section are five pages of printed RLM color swatches, including two pages of grayscale renditions of the colors. An interesting feature of the swatches is the inclusion of a section that shows each color with highlight and shadow effects.

For those unfamiliar with this magazine, it is to my mind one of the finest general purpose modeling magazines in the world today. It is filled with high quality articles covering the whole gamut of plastic modeling, from aircraft, armor, and ships to sci-fi and figures. The models appearing in these articles are very well built, well photographed, and in color, and the magazine is printed on high quality glossy paper. This issue contains 160 pages and measure 7” x 10”. The modeling articles are interspersed with the odd photo essay, together with numerous advertisements. The one drawback, at least from this reviewer’s perspective, is that it is entirely in Japanese script.

Issue 834, the subject of this review, contains the following:

This is a ‘teaser’ or preview of a full-length article to be published in the IPMS/USA Journal and in the IPMS/USA review website at a later date.

Hasegawa’s rendering of the P-47D Bubbletop in 1/32 scale is impressive, both in size as well as in engineering of the kit. It provides you with 169 parts including optional clear parts for an open or closed canopy. Parts are free of flash without ejector pin marks in any external surface. The final size of the completed model is 346 mm length by 392.5 mm wide. You better make sure it will fit your shelf or display case before you buy it.

Some of the best engineering features of this kit include main wing spars and interlocking tabs for the tail surfaces. That would help ensure perfect alignment of the wings and horizontal tail surfaces to the fuselage. In a model with a wingspan of over 1 foot, it is a very nice feature to have.

Not all Quickboost parts are grey resin. Some are yellow, red and blue! That’s right…among the latest releases from Quickboost are sets of multi-colored aircraft recognition lights. This one, set #QB 48 407, is sized for 1/48 scale models. It includes three sprues; one each of transparent yellow, red and blue resin, which contain three small cylinders that will fit typical bezels found on most 1/48 scale aircraft.

After carefully drilling out the lights that are cast on the underside of an aircraft’s wings or fuselage with a drill bit that matches the diameter of these little castings, each of the cylinders can be placed in their corresponding hole and anchored with a drop of future, epoxy or superglue. It should make an easy job of enhancing the detail in that area of any kit that does not include clear parts to do the job.