Hasegawa 1/32 Bf 109G-6
By Greg Ferguson
CAPT Aviator (R) Constantin Cantacuzino
CAPT Cantacuzino was the leading Romanian Ace of World War 2, scoring 69 skills.
The aircraft depicted in this build was his Bf109G6 that was hastily repainted with American insignia for the purpose of transporting LTCOL James Gunn (the highest ranking US POW) to negotiations for the release of American prisoners. The decals come from a set released by Radu Brinzan containing various schemes for CAPT Cantacuzino's aircraft at various stages of the war (see the review of this sheet elsewhere on LSP). A colour profile and history of this aircraft and its famous pilot is contained in Modellers Datafile Bf 109 Volume 2, an essential series of references for any 109 build. Readers familiar with CAPT Cantacuzino will have already noticed an error in my build - the actual aircraft was fitted with an Erla Haube canopy, not the standard canopy. Unfortunately one is not provided in the Hasegawa kit, and I didn't have one readily available (RB Productions produces an etch canopy that solves this problem). As this aircraft was just going to sit on my shelf anyway, I was happy enough to let this historical inaccuracy pass in favour of having a 109 with this striking scheme.
The decals performed well with Micro Sol and Set, but took a few applications to get them to sit down fully. I will admit to being caught out by the aircraft serial number on the fin - I cut the decal out as one square, assuming the six numbers would be all together on one backing sheet (as they tend to be on many decal sheets). They are actually all separate, so once I placed them in the water most went their separate ways, whilst others frustratingly overlayed and stuck together. If I had inspected the sheet properly before cutting this wouldn't have happened, but I was fortunately able to rescue them. Be warned!
I added Quickboost Exhausts, True Details wheels and Eduard Etch belts to this build to smarten things up.
It was painted with Gunze and Tamiya Acrylic paints throughout. I added a bit of green to the RLM 74 to create more of a contrast between the main upper surface colours. The original Romanian colours were overpainted when the American markings were added, including the yellow underside nose panel and wingtips. I attempted to replicate the effect by overspraying RLM04 with RLM65, allowing the yellow to show through (slightly).
These decals are limited edition (according to the RB website), so if you haven't already got a set, you best be quick. It's sure to stand out as a conversation piece in your 109 schwarm.
© Greg Ferguson
This article was published on Friday, September 27 2013; Last modified on Saturday, May 14 2016