Jump to content

Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6, Royal Hungarian Air Force, AZ 1/72 scale


Recommended Posts

This Bf 109G-6 (part of the AZ Joypack I bought) is an aircraft of the Royal Hungarian Air force (Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő (MKHL)), W.O+21, of the 101st Home Defence Air Wing (101. Honi Légvédelmi Vadászrepülő Osztály), known as the "Red Pumas". Post war, the success of the Red Pumas against the Soviets was not an acceptable topic, and many of the pilots were severely punished for their actions during the war. However, the unit was reborn in 1988, and has since then proudly flown MiG 21 and 27 fighters and is now moving onto Saab JAS39's.

 

40176194252_cad2e31d9e_k_d.jpg

 

The Red Pumas were considered an elite formation, and their successes (albeit at high cost) fully support this designation. This aircraft, W.O+21 was the mount of Lieutenant Lászlo Dániel. His aircraft is unusual in that it sports kill marks. Where the display of victories on aircraft was pretty much de rigeur on USAAF, Luftwaffe and even Soviet aircraft, it was almost unheard of in the MKHL.

 

40176165742_bed694b28a_k_d.jpg

 

The bars on the tail show Dániel's early kills against the USAAF in the period of June and July 1944: a P-38, plus another shared, two shared B-24's and a further individual P-38, claimed but unconfirmed. He went on to score a further six kills against the Russian in 1945, and survived the war.

 

40176159732_c468b52009_k_d.jpg

 

As I said, this was an AZ Joypack kit – I’d recommend these with no hesitation, except for the fact that there’s only one early canopy in the set. Fortunately, vacform canopies such as Rob Taurus easily fill the void.

 

26336486478_2b9c9a33a0_k_d.jpg

 

Paints are the usual Tamiya mixes (RLM 74/75/76), and in this case I avoided panel washes and the like, just putting on a bit of smoke from the low-quality fuel that plagued late-war Axis operations. The decals are from a set by Print Scale: the decals themselves are superb, and although the instructions are a bit basic, the research is pretty good and all the profiles of the subjects can be traced to photos!

 

40176206502_85604f5aa6_k_d.jpg

  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice indeed & an interesting bit of history. Bought a Puma beer glass when the squadron were at Fairford flying MiG-29s, probably about 20 years ago now. It’s still giving good service!

 

Pete

Edited by Buzby061
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...