COBI Messerschmitt Bf 109 G Set 5761

COBI's Messerschmitt Bf 109 G is a 1:32 model built from 350 blocks, 26.5 cm long with a 30.5 cm wingspan, in tropical camouflage. The propeller and ailerons move, the wheels extend and retract on rubber tires, and the canopy opens for the pilot figure. A display stand and a nameplate are included. No stickers.

Look at how the wheels lean

The Bf 109's undercarriage is attached to the fuselage, not the wings, and the legs splay outward so the wheels sit at an angle. Willy Messerschmitt did it that way so the wings could be removed without the aircraft falling over, and so that damaged wings could be swapped in the field — sensible for a wartime fighter.

The cost was a track of barely two metres, which is extremely narrow, combined with legs angled in a way that made the aircraft want to swing on landing. A Bf 109 that started a ground loop was difficult to stop.

The Luftwaffe lost around 1,500 Bf 109s in take-off and landing accidents — roughly five per cent of all those built, destroyed without an enemy anywhere near them. Novice pilots in 1944, arriving with a fraction of the training hours their predecessors had, suffered worst.

The Gustav

The G of 1942 was the most-produced variant: a more powerful DB 605 engine, pressurised cockpit on some versions, up to 690 km/h, and bulges over the gun breeches and wheel wells that earned it the nickname Beule, the bump. It was built in more variants than any other Bf 109, adapted for interception, escort, ground attack and reconnaissance.

Specifications

Pieces: 350 · Figures: 1 pilot · Scale: 1:32 · No stickers
Model dimensions: 26.5 × 30.5 × 12 cm (10.4 × 12.0 × 4.7 in)