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George R Blair Jr
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A and A Models 1/48 Me-209V4

July 28, 2021 · in Aviation · · 23 · 2.3K

Hello everyone. I built this unusual plane for the Luftwaffe Group Build. This plane was designed from the start to break the speed record, which it did in 1939. The Me-209 held this record until 1969. As the war progressed, the Luftwaffe tested this plane to see if it could be transformed into a fighter. By the time they had extended the wings and added machine guns and ammunition, it actually had poorer performance the Me-109. The Luftwaffe tried to get some propaganda mileage out of the plane by naming it the Me-209, hoping to convince the British that a high performance successor to the 109 was coming on-board. Apparently the propaganda didn't work very well, either.

This kit was fun to build. I thought this would be a limited run kit, so I approached it with caution. It is quite complete, with some really nicely molded plastic parts, as well as some photoetch and canopy masks. The plane went together very well and required very little filler and sanding. My biggest complaint is that A and A Models somehow trained the small parts to jump into my carpet...never to be seen again. As you can see, this problem was entirely self-inflicted, and easily corrected with some thin plastic strip to replace the missing parts. As far as paint schemes, you can paint this plane in a number of schemes, as long as they are overall RLM02. I painted the plane using the early war shade of RLM02 from AK Real Colors. The minor weathering was done using artist oils and odorless Turpenoid.

If you would like more info on the build, please drop into the Luftwaffe Group. A and A Models, which I understand is part of Modelsvit, has also produced a C-141A in 1/144. I flew C-141s for 20 years, so I already have this model on order. Everyone stay safe. Cheers.

Reader reactions:
19  Awesome

6 additional images. Click to enlarge.


23 responses

  1. Very unique aircraft. You did a great job constructing it and it looks like you chose the most interesting markings for it too !

  2. I enjoyed following your build, George, and it's great to see it here in headlines, definitely liked.

  3. Thanks, Jay (@ssgt). I usually like to build things that have several different paint schemes to choose from, but the snake gives some nice contrast to an otherwise monochrome scheme.

  4. I just got done reading through your progress report on this build, great job! The overall look is amazing.

  5. Thanks, Bob (@v1pro). I appreciate your kind words.

  6. That’s cool, George. Hot rod model! I’m looking forward to seeing your C-141. I always liked those and was extremely envious of a friend who received the old Aurora kit for his birthday back around 1971-72.

  7. You created a beautiful unusual aircraft, George. @gblair
    It was a real pleasure to follow your build.

  8. This is a most aesthetically pleasing result, George! Your build was excellent!
    By looking at the model (and at the pics), the plane does look kind of short, fat, lubber. By its looks, I would risk to say that it would not offer better performance than the 109...
    As a model, it is an extremely interesting subject, we are lucky to have a nice quarter scale kit of it.
    Looking really forward to see your 141! This would be an awesome build!

  9. Interesting! Well done, George.

  10. Thanks, John (@j-healy), John (@johnb), Spiros (@fiveten), and Gary (@gwskat). I appreciate your kind comments. The new C-141 will have to wait until we get the move to our new house done. It is a lot easier to move unbuilt kits. I also have the old Aurora C-141, but that one will also have to wait until later.

  11. A very sleek-looking aircraft and your build and finish do it proud. Great work, George.

  12. Thanks for your kind words, Bob (@bails).

  13. Looks like a Bf-109 mated with the Bee-Gee racer. Impressive build.
    BTW, I hate losing small parts on the floor too.

  14. Thanks, Dan (@dbdlee). I was really wondering for a while about MIA parts. The first two pieces I tried to place in the cockpit flew into oblivion, as did the last two pieces I tried to place. Like bookends.

  15. Really cool looking build, and nice work on a limited run kit. Well done and you have really turned out a good looking plane here.

  16. Looks really nice. I was going to buy one of these kits but the boring paint scheme turned me off. You did a great job of making this scheme look good.

  17. Great result on a challenging short run kit, George. It was fun watching it come together (and quite quickly too). I love the snake art on the side. The RLM02 is a nice warm color that looks good as an overall finish, typical of German prototypes. Your subtle weathering techniques add further interest to the color scheme. To throw in my 2 cents worth on what the Me 209 resembles, I would have to say the MiG 3. Interesting that the Germans committed to such a design when they held Soviet aircraft types in such disdain early in the war. I think the Mig-3 is underrated and is one of my favorites, design-wise (must get to my Trumpeter version in 1/32 soon or maybe the ICM in 1/48).

  18. Thanks, Walt (@luftwaffe-birdman), Dale (@dtravis), and Colin (@coling). I agree with your choices about what it looks like. I thought it looked like the child that would result if a Mig-3 mated with a Gee Bee Model R. In my reading about this plane, I discovered one of the many reasons it never became a fighter had to do with the fact that you couldn't see the runway when you were landing. Experienced test pilots could land it, but squadron pilots who tried it had a lot of problems. I almost didn't buy this plane because it had only one paint scheme. As Henry Ford used to say: "You can get a Model-T in any color you want, as long as it is black." I used AK Real Colors for this build, and they had two different RLM02s: one early war that was more green than gray, and a late war shade that was more gray than green. I used the early war shade.

    Colin: From my reading, the Germans built this plane and broke the speed record in the late 30s. When the Luftwaffe failed to obtain air superiority in the Battle of Britain, they were trying to find something that would outfly the British, and later, the American planes. They turned to the 209, but found it was unstable (much like the Gee Bee). They extended the wings and tail to give more control. They also added 2 machine guns in the nose. They would also have liked to put guns in the wings to give it more firepower, but the entire wing was filled with coolant for the engine. After they made all of these changes, the 209 actually had lower performance than the existing 109s. In 1943, they built a heavily modified "super" 109, which was also called the Me-209. It was a direct competitor for the FW-190D. This second 209 turned out to be much slower than the 190D, and the project was cancelled.

  19. Great build of a relatively unknown subject! Looks great! (good luck with the move - that is never fun...)

  20. Thanks, Greg (@gkittenger). If I recall correctly, you recently moved also. Thanks to the pandemic, it will probably be almost a year between our buying the house in November, and the estimated completion in October. First they had trouble getting wood, then shingles, and now plumbing fixtures. The prices of new homes has skyrocketed here. It has gotten so bad that the builder is sometimes walking into closing and offering the buyer huge sums to walk away from the deal so they can sell the house at the new, higher price. Crazy times. Stay safe.

  21. Nicely done and unusual, resembles a little of the Curtiss P-37.

  22. Thanks, Robert (@roofrat). I hadn't thought about the P-37. Another plane that visibility over the nose must have been near zero.

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