KP Avia S-199

[Duncan B]

I know what you mean about the old Mr. Masking Sol, I have a 410 nearing completion and am dreading removing the stuff as I'm not sure it'll al come off

Duncan B

[109 fan]

For the moment I'm calling this one done. The white glue is still drying on some parts, which will still need attention to set up straight. The wing cannons are Albion Alloys aluminum tubing and the Maraine Mast is the stretched plastic tube of a generic Q-tip. All in all, I'm pleased with this kit. The nose is a bit narrow, which on subsequent builds I will try to widen. Also I am a little suspect of the shape of the spinner and the prop could be a bit more broad. Finally, the canopy cries out for a vacformed replacement. There are several on the market; I'll have to do some research to see if any can be used. This is by far the best Avia S-199 on the market and an improvement on the bf 109 variants. I'm very much looking forward to the upcoming G-10 series.

[Hamden]

Very nice - superb paint work

Roger

[woody37]

Lovely build, but I can't help thinking that the real aircraft looks like an inflatable 109 that's been over inflated

[109 fan]

Addendum.

Something bothered me about the finished model photos of the Avia. I use a super Macro setting, which tends to distort the perspective, but still something was wrong. Then it hit me...the prop is too big. I knew it had shape issues, but in the photos, it looked much larger than it should. So I grabbed another kit from the stash and did some measuring. The Avia's prop is the same diameter as the Bf 109's, 3.00 meters. With dial calipers and scale drawings in hand, I went to work.

In the end you have to make the prop on the left look like to prop on the right.

You do it by removing only this much.

Then simply round the corners and do some subtle reshaping. The effect is dramatic.

To my eye, this small change captures the shape quite well. So there is another S-199 lurking on my bench. I'll make further changes, including widening the nose, which has an oval instead of circular cross section. Also, I'm on the lookout for a good vacformed canopy. Watch this space...

[Bonehammer]

Hard to believe this is 1/72. Congratulations!