1/32 Hasegawa Bf109G-14 Hartmann

[jkim]

Hey guys! With my G-6/AS wrapped up and me not exactly enjoying wrestling with the Ta152H build, I thought it would be a good opportunity to start on a new project. I've had my eye on a G-14 and was originally planning on waiting for AMUR Reaver to produce a G-14 cowling for the Revell G-6 kit. But a Hasegawa G-14 kit popped up on EBay with some interesting extras so I pounced on it and here we are!

This is the kit and also a nice painting of the scheme that I will doing: Hartmann's white G-14 (or G-6).


The kit was opened but not started yet and included a nice assortment of aftermarket stuff, which is shown below and will be delved into detail towards the end of this post.


Here are the obligatory sprue shots. The parts bags on this kit were still sealed.







I'm going to use as few of the kit decals as possible. I'll scan the sheet and create custom masks for the larger markings.


Digging into the "extras" that came with this kit we find what looks to be an extra clear canopy part. Always good to have spares when it comes to clear parts!


These cream resin parts came in a Eagle Parts package labelled Fw 190A spinner and wide prop blades. There was no spinner and I can't ID the prop blades except to say that they are not appropriate for my build. The wheels look like the smooth hub late 109 type but I may not be able use them if the flattened part is not in the right spot.


The resin exhausts seem to be a drop in fit for the Hasegawa fuselage so these will be used.


Another surprise is a set of Hasegawa 109G/K wings with the wide wing bulges. I'm pretty sure Hartman's G-14 featured the smaller bulges but it's a good option to have.


This one is a mystery. It looks like a resin cowling and spinner for an Avia S-199?


A very small plastic baggy housed this MDC replacement tailwheel for the 109G. Very nicely molded!



This cockpit is going to be fully loaded because I have TWO great sets for the interior. One is the Eduard Photoetch Interior for the G-14 with a complete, multi-part assembly for the instrument panel.



The other is the MDC G-14 resin cockpit set with lots of extra parts. Only one cockpit floor but I count six sidewalls, three rear sills, and three central cannon breech covers in two styles.


The instrument panel is resin and a decal for the instrument faces is provided.


The resin molding on this MDC product is excellent!



There is a photoetch fret that gives the builder the option of complete seat belts or just the buckles if the modeler wants to use a more flexible material like foil. I may play with that option just to break away from the HGW belts I've been using all the time.


MDC provides a two-page instruction sheet for the cockpit set. Simple but thankfully legible.



First step will be taking a closer look at the Eduard and MDC cockpit add-ons and try to determine which items from which set will be used in this build.

[Floki]

This is going to be a great build! I plan on building Hartmann's G-14 one day too. The resin cockpit and IP look amazing, pair the resin IP with some airscale dial decals and it will be spot on. I wonder what the original owner of this kits plans where for her.

[LyleW]

That is a heapin’ Helpin’ Of pieces parts! Looking forward to it!

[jkim]

This is going to be a great build! I plan on building Hartmann's G-14 one day too. The resin cockpit and IP look amazing, pair the resin IP with some airscale dial decals and it will be spot on. I wonder what the original owner of this kits plans where for her.

Looking forward to seeing your version of the G-14, Clint! With that resin nose, those wide paddle blades and the large wing bulges, I think the owner was going for an Avia conversion.

That is a heapin’ Helpin’ Of pieces parts! Looking forward to it!

I know right? It was like Christmas in April!

One of the intriguing things (at least for me) how the Eduard instrument panel would compare with the MDC resin. As I was looking at it, I was amazed by the resolution of the color printing. There are painted details on this thing like tiny labels above certain instruments that would be impossible to replicate. And it didn't have that odd fabric texture that you often see on Eduard pre-painted panels. Yes, the color is still off but even that looked better than the obviously purple shade I'm used to getting from Eduard. Since the G-14 is an older kit, the question has to be asked... has Eduard's quality actually declined over the years?

My preferred IP representation is PE face layered with separate instrument bezels backed by a clear acetate with the printed instruments gauges. I also like resin IP faces that you populate with instrument gauge decals. My least favorite has been the all-PE approach due to the reasons stated in the first paragraph. But since this one looked different, I was interested to see what the Eduard IP would look put together.


Due to the number of small parts, the Eduard panel took a few hours to assemble. I used Future as an adhesive, which can be a reluctant glue when you're attaching parts that aren't 100% flat. It's not complete as there are a few switches that I've not glued on yet but it gives us a good look at what the MDC panel is going up against. Obviously, the resin still has the physical advantage of 3D relief but I'm very impressed with the Eduard IP!



Just starting to fiddle around with the MDC cockpit. The resin here looks excellent. There is just no way that a photoetch set can match the physical oomph of quality resin.

[Floki]

Again that is a gorgeous resin pit! The Eduard PE IP looks good but I think the resin one will look a lot better all painted up in comparison.

[Medicman71]

Wow! All that resin and PE and they're top quality too!

[speedgraflex]

I really love your photography, John! Beautiful snaps! Insert-worthy production!

[jkim]

Thanks guys! I played around a little bit more with the MDC cockpit. Just getting a preliminary idea of how it might fit into the fuselage. The molded details on the insides of the kit fuselage needed to be removed before I could start dry-fitting.



The two-page instruction don't say how the cockpit tub fits into the fuselage. It simply shows where the resin sidewalls fit into the fuselage sides. I think the assumption is to glue the sidewalls into the fuselage sides and either trap the cockpit tub between the sidewalls when the fuselage comes together OR push the cockpit tub into position from the bottom after the fuselage is glued together. I'm trying to determine if there is a better way... like gluing the resin sidewalls onto the tub first and then putting the assembled cockpit into position from the bottom opening.

As far as dry-fitting goes, I'm able to fit one sidewall and the tub into the fuselage but having difficult keeping everything together and dry-fitting both sidewalls at the same time. Give it some time... I'll figure it out eventually.

[BlackSheep214]

Man.... that’s a whole lotta Rosie of goodies you got going for this build. Looking forward to this build. Yup, Christmas in April indeed!

[Floki]

Man.... that’s a whole lotta Rosie of goodies you got going for this build. Looking forward to this build. Yup, Christmas in April indeed!

Agree, at least 19 stone of extras there lol