Modelling the Messerschmitt Bf-109B/C/D/E

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was built in greater numbers than any other fighter aircraft in history, with over 30,500 Bf 109s produced. Its service started with the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War during the 1930s and it was still in use in Czechoslovakia in the late 1950s under the guise of the Avia S.199. The Spanish postwar Bf 109 powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 engine, the Buchon HA-1112-M1L, did not retire until 1967. However, the Bf 109 is best known for its role with the Luftwaffe throughout World War II, most famously during the Battle of Britain. The Bf 109 was an all-metal, low-wing monoplane that signalled the beginning of a new era for fighter aircraft. Willy Messerschmitt's 'Augsburg Eagle' was arguably the best fighter in the world when it entered service in 1937. His design was flexible enough to cope with continual and often dramatic developments over the next seven years.

download

Modelling the M3-M5 Stuart Light Tank

The M3 and M5 Stuart light tanks make an ideal subject for modelers interested in World War II tanks. The Stuart light tanks saw action in nearly every theater of the war - the deserts of North Africa in 1941, the jungles and islands of the Pacific Theater in 1941-45, the Eastern Front in 1941-45, and the campaigns in Northwest Europe in 1944-45. They served in nearly all of the Allied armies, and captured examples served in small numbers in the German and Japanese armies. As a result, there is a vast assortment of markings and subjects. Likewise, there is a wide range of kits of these tanks, with at least three basic families of kits in 1/35 scale, several more in resin, additional plastic kits in smaller scales and a multitude of aftermarket enhancements. When it first entered production in March 1941, the M3 light tank used a riveted, hexagonal turret. So far, this type has not been released in kit form. The second and more common type of M3, manufactured from April 1941, used a similar hexagonal turret, but of welded construction. This is represented in the Academy M3 "Money" kit. This version was the first to see combat with British units during Operation Crusader in North Africa in November 1941, and a month later by the US Provisional lank Group in the Philippines.

download