I was in my "new" local hobby store last week, and saw this new kit by A and A Models. We are moving to a new house in the near future, and this hobby store will be near our new house. I am really trying not add more built kits that I need to move to our new house, but this looked like it might be fun. I have previously purchased the C-141A model by A and A Models which looked pretty good, so I figured I would give the Me-209 a try.
Aircraft Background
The Me-209 is an interesting aircraft. It was designed from the start to be a high speed plane that could break the existing speed record. Although the 209 was never meant to be a combat aircraft, Hitler's propaganda machine named it the Me-209 to closely associate it with the Me-109. Designed in 1937, it broke the speed record in 1939 with a speed of 469 mph (756 km/h). This record lasted until 1941 when the absolute speed record was broken by an Me-163A jet aircraft, with a new record of 624 mph (1004 km/h). The Me-209 held the speed record for piston aircraft until 1969, when it was broken by Conquest I, a modified F8F Bearcat owned by Darryl Greenamyer.
When it became obvious that the Me-109 wouldn't be able to obtain air superiority over England during the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe wanted to take a look at using the Me-209 as a fighter to replace the Me-109. This proved to be problematic. The wings on the 209 contained the cooling system for the aircraft, so there was no room for wing armament. The engineers put two MG-17 machine guns and ammunition in the nose, firing through the propeller arc. The performance and handling characteristics were poor, so the engineers increased the wingspan and redesigned the tail surfaces to fix the problems. During this period, Hitler's propaganda machine hoped to make the British believe there was a new high speed Me-109 coming by renaming the plane the Me-109R. It didn't take long to learn that all the changes made to the Me-209 V4 had actually made it slower than the Me-109, and the project was cancelled. The fuselage of the record-breaking Me-209 still exists in the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow. There was another experimental plane named the Me-209 that popped up in 1943, but it was a completely different design than this plane.
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1. Me209V1 in Polish Museum. Downloaded from Wikipedia.
The Kit
A and A Models is a new manufacturer, but their kits appear to be pretty nice. The kit has some nice detail, and it includes photoetch, a canopy mask, and some nice-looking decals for two paint schemes. Although the first look at the kit is positive, it does have all the characteristics of a limited run kit. The panel lines are very shallow, and inconsistent in places. There are no pins or tabs to help in the alignment of the various parts, so it will be important to test fit, test fit again, and then test fit some more before applying glue. I anticipate problems with the main gear, where the pin that attaches the struts to the wing is very small. I have no faith that the struts will securely hold the weight of the wings and fuselage. I will figure that out later. Possibly the biggest drawback for me is that there are only two paint schemes available for this plane. Basically you can paint this plane any color you wish, as long as that color is gray. I know this is heresy, but I may devise a "hypothetical" paint scheme for this plane. By the way, you can't build the early, record-breaking version of the 209 with this kit. It contains the extended wings and the nose machine guns of the V-4, making it totally different than the V-1 version. The model is engineered so that you can get a V-1 by replacing the wings and the top of the nose, so I suspect there will be a V-1 version at some point.
More to follow. Everyone stay safe.
13 additional images. Click to enlarge.
