<p>RS Models - Me-309 V-4</p>

- Konstantine Malinovsky

Despite the huge modernization potential of the famous Bf 109, after years of use and combat experience Dr. Messerschmitt better than anyone realized its shortcomings and made practical steps to address them. The Me 309 was such an attempt to integrate the latest innovations in aviation technology of that period. But sometimes too many good things do not result in an increased performance.

The Me 309V-4 was a prototype of what was supposed to be the Me 309A-2, a heavily armed replacement for the role the Me 110 was supposed to play, and it was the only Me 309 airframe that actually carried weapons. The results of the tests were not convincing enough for the RLM to warrant the production of the new fighter and the program was abandoned. The only Me 309V-4 was destroyed in 1944 in the allied air raid.

RS Models have continued their line of rare and experimental types by finally giving us a family of Me 309 kits. All of the boxings share the same plastic and as far as I understand the difference between the options is the box, instructions and decal sheets. It is a very sound approach to production, but it leads to extensive use of the moulds and their subsequent wear. In my case this was evident in a larger amount of flash on the parts than is usual with this manufacturer and a little less definition in the panel lines than we have come to expect from RS Models.

As usual the short run kit construction begins with thinning the trailing edges of the wings. Quite a bit of plastic needs to be removed, not only for the sake of a realistic presentatio

This story is from the February 2018 edition of Scale Aircraft Modelling.

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