Most cultured Messerschmitt a new Starter Set addition

Welcome to this latest edition of our Workbench blog and all the news, updates and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix.

In the latest edition of Workbench, we will be continuing on our blog journey to showcase the latest new tooling additions to the 2024 Airfix kit range, returning to the subject of our new range of Starter Sets again this time. You will recall that we featured the first new tooling addition to the Starter Set range just a couple of weeks ago, as designer Ethan Barker kindly guided us through some of the finer design points of his work producing the new 1/72nd scale North American P-51D Mustang tooling. We find ourselves in Ethan territory once again this time, as we discuss another of his aviation related design projects, this time one which will have come as quite a pleasant surprise for many Airfix fans.

Long regarded by aviation enthusiasts as the most cultured and dare we even say, the most attractive of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 series of fighters, the F model or ‘Friedrich’ was introduced in the months which followed the end of the Battle of Britain and was a significant upgrade to a fighter which was already the backbone of the Luftwaffe. One of the most feared fighter aircraft in the world, this particular variant of the Bf 109 has been absent from an Airfix range in this scale for many a year and its announcement as a new tooling project for 2024 is therefore big news and will result in the release of our most accurate representation of the aircraft in this scale. With significant input from the new kit’s talented designer Ethan once again, we will be spending some scale time with a rather elusive variant of the famous Messerschmitt Bf 109 this week, as we introduce you to ‘Friedrich’.

Messerschmitt ‘F’ variant - The pilots Bf 109

Even from this design screenshot image, it’s easy to see how the Bf 109 ‘Friedrich’ was considered the cleanest variant of this famous German fighter and one which was to become the mount of aces.

When we think about the aerial struggle for air supremacy during the Second World War, even though this was contested for six long years and involved many aircraft types and their crews from many nations, there are two aircraft in particular which have historically become almost inseparable, airborne gladiators in an amphitheatre amongst the clouds, the Spitfire and Messerschmitt. Although both names have become synonymous with successful fighter aircraft, both are used to describe a successful series of fighter designs which saw service throughout WWII, with both undergoing almost constant development during that time. In both cases, the aircraft variants which remained in service in 1945 were very different to the ones which fired their guns in anger for the first time in 1939.

Although the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter had already earned a fearsome reputation by the time the first skirmishes of the Battle of Britain started to take place, the fighter variant which was preparing to take on the Royal Air Force was a very different aircraft from the ones which had entered service just over three years earlier. Undoubtedly one of the most famous fighting aeroplanes in the history of flight, the Bf 109 was at the forefront of world fighter design, combining a light and diminutive airframe with a powerful engine and heavy armament, everything an aeroplane required to enable it to dominate the skies. 

The first four variants of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 were all powered by the Junkers Jumo 210 engine, an advanced unit which was Germany's first truly modern engine design, however, front line fighter aircraft are always looking to attain ever greater speeds and this search would lead to the first major re-design of the Bf 109 with the introduction of the 'E' or 'Emil' variant, the aircraft which was in widespread service during the Battle of Britain. This more mature version of the fighter adopted the more powerful Daimler Benz DB600 series powerplant, a 33-litre direct fuel injected inverted V12 unit which made the Luftwaffe's main fighter even more combat effective – the RAF would have their hands full with this warbird.

The adoption of this new engine did require extensive design modifications to be adopted, not only around the areas of the mounting frame and engine cowling to shoehorn this larger, more powerful powerplant into what was actually a relatively small fighter aircraft, but also to add additional cooling ducting around the inner wing sections, to provide effective cooling for this beast of an engine. In fact, it's interesting to note that the development of both the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and its famous British adversary, the Spitfire, went hand in glove with engine development, ensuring that both could remain at the forefront of world fighter performance and more specifically, competitive with each other. 

By the time of the Battle of Britain, there were some major differences between the engines powering the two leading fighters in the conflict which are certainly worthy of note. Although both engines were roughly the same in terms of size, weight and performance, the Merlin III had a capacity of 27 litres, whilst the Daimler Benz unit sported 33.9 litres, however, the main difference came in a combat situation. The direct fuel injection system of the DB 601 gave the Messerschmitt fighter a distinct advantage in how fuel flow to the engine was maintained during all manner of manoeuvres, something the carburettor fed system of the Merlin could not match. 

In either an attacking situation, or if a Messerschmitt pilot found himself in trouble, pushing the stick forward and diving for the ground, or rolling inverted would invariably allow the 109 to escape, with the Merlin engine of British fighters coughing and spluttering as they attempted the same manoeuvre, with the fuel flow to their Rolls Royce Merlin engine being temporarily disrupted due to centrifugal forces.

Something to get a little excited about – thanks to the design talents of Ethan Barker, modellers can start to look forward to the arrival of this underrepresented variant of the famous Bf 109 fighter and doesn’t it look great.

A less well-known difference between the Merlin III and Daimler Benz DB 601 engines was that the German powerplant had been designed from inception to be a mass-produced unit and as such, was much less complicated a design than the Rolls Royce Merlin. In fact, there were half as many components in the German designed engine, meaning that they were both quicker and easier to manufacture unit for unit. Where the Germans eventually lost this engine development advantage, however, was how their engineers appeared preoccupied with experimental research, rather than making incremental updates to existing powerplant technologies, something Rolls Royce proved to be extremely proficient at doing. Had the Messerschmitt Bf 109 benefitted from regular, incremental engine upgrades, the second half of 1940 could have been even more problematic for the RAF's Fighter Command than it proved to be.

Nevertheless, even whilst the Luftwaffe and Royal Air Force were contesting the Battle of Britain, a capable new variant of the Messerschmitt had been negotiating the final stages of its development programme, a new fighter which would take the capabilities of this fearsome fighter to new heights, the Bf 109F or ‘Friedrich’.  

Having enlisted the support of fighter pilots who served through the Polish campaign and onward to the strike west, Messerschmitt designers began work on producing a new, more capable variant of the Bf 109 in early 1940 and by the end of the year, pre-production examples were already taking to the air. Powered by the latest 1175hp Daimler Benz DB601E engine, the ‘Friedrich’ also introduced a host of other improvements and design changes which were to give this variant a very different appearance.

Featuring a lengthened, more streamlined cowling to house the new engine, this was a much more refined design than its angular predecessor and with its much larger spinner, shorted propeller blades and retractable tail wheel, this new variant was a much more cultured Messerschmitt in every respect. The wings would also be the subject of redesign, with wing armament deleted completely on the new model to increase the strength of the wings and the square wing tip design of the ‘Emil’ replaced by rounded tips on the ‘Friedrich’. Fast, highly manoeuvrable and hard-hitting, the Bf 109F was a lightweight fighter pilot’s aeroplane and the Luftwaffe loved them. More than a match for the latest variant of Spitfire, the Bf 109F would become the mount of aces, a true dogfighting aeroplane in every sense of the word.

One of the design files kindly sent to us by Ethan, this one may have been used to design a Starter Set kit, but it’s 100% a Messerschmitt Bf 109F.

The Friedrich would join combat units from the late spring of 1941 and would see extensive service on both the Western and Eastern Fronts, in addition to serving above the deserts of North Africa and a great many pilots would use this aircraft to build impressive victory tallies. In North Africa, celebrated ace pilot Hans Joachim Marseille used the ‘Friedrich’ to claim the majority of his 158 aerial victories and it was claimed that he was so attached to his Bf 109F fighter that he flatly refused to upgrade to the latest ‘G’ variant, until directly ordered to do so by his superiors. He felt the new aircraft was too heavy and less manoeuvrable, both differences which would remove his combat advantage.

The only aspect of the Messerschmitt Bf 109F’s design pilots wished could be improved was its lack of firepower, even though they realised that the subsequent increase in combat weight would adversely affect the aircraft’s almost legendary manoeuvrability. Unfortunately for the Luftwaffe, the war was evolving at quite a rate by this stage and with USAAF bombers now attacking targets deep int Germany itself, the Luftwaffe needed an even more powerful fighter, one which could operate at higher altitudes and be able to bring much greater firepower to bear, the Bf 109G ‘Gustav’.

The most manoeuvrable of all the Messerschmitt Bf 109 series of fighters would be required to give way to a more ‘universal’ variant, one which may well have been more powerful in every respect, but one which was also significantly heavier than its agile predecessor. Although the ‘Gustav’ would become by far the most heavily produced variant of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 series of fighters, the most cultured, the most manoeuvrable and the best dogfighting variant of this famous fighting aeroplane was unquestionably the ‘Friedrich’.

Classic Messerschmitt variant set to join Starter Set range

A fascinating glimpse into the early stages of the design of this impressive new kit, showing Ethan’s skeleton model files overlayed on top of the LIDAR scan data.

Even though the name Messerschmitt is now regularly used as a colloquial generic term with which to describe all German fighter aircraft from the Second World War, the ‘F’ variant or ‘Friedrich’ could be said to be relatively anonymous to all but the most ardent of aviation enthusiasts, despite the fact that it was the purist dogfighting variant of this famous series of fighters. Much cleaner aerodynamically than either its angular, more workman-like predecessor, or the highly adaptable, more rugged variant which superseded it, the Bf 109F has proven to be rather elusive as a scale modelling subject over the years, particularly from an Airfix point of view.

Airfix did release a rather nice 1/48th scale example of the Friedrich back in 1978, however in 1/72nd scale, we have to go right back to our very earliest kit introductions to find something resembling a 109F and that kit was very much of its day.

With this being the case, it could certainly be argued that a new and accurate 1/72nd scale example of this important WWII German fighter is long overdue, but thanks to the recent efforts of Product Designer Ethan Barker, this particular aviation omission from the Airfix kit line up is about to be addressed, new Starter Set style.

As we have already featured Ethan and his Starter Set design skills in Workbench this year, we will be attempting to come at this latest review from a slightly different angle, whilst still allowing him the opportunity to inform us about some of the interesting, challenging and innovative aspects of the time he spent designing the new Messerschmitt kit. We are also indebted to Ethan for providing us with a fascinating selection of images, pictures which will hopefully illustrate many of the points raised and help us all to become attached to this exciting kit addition to the 2024 Airfix range.
   
To get proceedings underway, in view of the fact that the ‘F’ variant of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 is now such a rare aircraft, we wanted to ask Ethan what research material he began this project with and if it included scan data from a preserved example?

Ethan informed us that our researcher Luke had managed to obtain LIDAR scans from two different preserved Messerschmitts and whilst both were slightly different variants of the famous fighter, the huge collection of supporting research material he had also amassed ensured that Ethan had everything he could possibly need in order to get started on the project. He was quick to point out that whilst scanning a real aircraft might sound like the ideal way with which to start any new design project, that’s not always the case and it’s certainly not the only way to proceed. 

LIDAR scanning technology is hugely impressive, but can be painfully inquisitive, showing up every lump, bump and imperfection it picks up on the subject under its gaze, not to mention the fact that there are certain areas, such as glass and polished surfaces that the laser really doesn’t like. In all cases, the data received must be interpreted by the designer and in conjunction with the researcher, any differences or inaccuracies exhibited noted, along with the provision of additional research information to overcome them. Ethan went so far as to say that basic LIDAR scan data can often resemble a very grainy old photograph of your subject when first looking at it.

More fascinating Messerschmitt design images, with this first picture showing the starboard half of the new kit’s design, and the one underneath showing the same image overlayed on top of scaled reference data.

Having said that, there are huge benefits to having access to this information however, as it allows the designer to accurately plot shape and dimension data, and to accurately position manufacturing frames and the main bulkheads of your subject (aircraft in this case), something which is vital when positioning skeleton design datums in CAD. This is the foundation on which every design project is based. With regard to the new Messerschmitt, Ethan had access to scan data from two different preserved aircraft, but definitely found himself delving into the scanned reference manuals and other supporting research material throughout the project, just to provide the detailed information he needed. 

As a new Starter Set project, whilst he had to remain faithful to the clean lines of this iconic WWII Luftwaffe fighter, Ethan knew his design would have to conform to the reduced part count these impressive kits are now known for, which in this case turned out to be just 28 pieces, with an additional two for the shadow stand and support. As the project progressed, this same thinking was applied to scheme selection for the initial release, ensuring that the scheme itself was not over-complicated and how the modeller would not need to look outside the supplied selection of paints to finish their kit.

Despite having access to an impressive collection of research material, there were still some aspects of the new kit’s design which proved a little tricky for Ethan to negotiate, but we’ll have more on that subject a little later.

As we have already discovered Ethan’s Starter Set credentials this year with the new P-51D Mustang kit, we wanted to ask him if he worked on the Mustang and Messerschmitt projects at the same time and indeed, how many projects an Airfix designer might be working on at any point in time?

Ethan described how it was perfectly normal for an Airfix designer to have several projects at various stages of their development journeys on the go at any one time, but how other than the odd tweak to an earlier project, it was rare to have two projects in CAD at any one time. He said that he started the design phase for the Messerschmitt Bf 109F after he had completed the Mustang, but how at that time, he actually had four new tooling projects at various stages on the go. He was assessing the test frames for both the Ferret Scout Car and the Starter Set Land Rover, with the Mustang out for tooling production, so in the world of an Airfix designer, it was really just another busy day in the office.

A Messerschmitt skeleton – this type of image is meat and drink to an Airfix product designer.

Even though this image suggests otherwise, Ethan’s Messerschmitt project came hot on the heels of the new Starter Set P-51D Mustang which has already featured in Workbench this year.

When it comes to CAD work though, Ethan will always devote 100% of his time to this stage and won’t allow himself to be distracted by other tasks, as you really do need to have a fully focused mindset not only for this, but for whichever stage of the development process you’re currently working on – attention to detail really is the key. Having said that, taking a break from one project to work on an earlier one can be a real godsend for a designer, allowing a break from what they are currently designing and providing some task variety which keeps the mind supple.

Every stage of the development process requires a designer’s undivided attention, but by breaking away from one to concentrate on another, this can be really beneficial for a designer and is something the entire team really values. In most cases, once work on a particular stage has been completed and the project handed over, it can be several weeks before you need to work on it again, meaning that a designer can go back to his latest project knowing that they will have a good couple of weeks where they can devote complete attention to it once more, perhaps even with renewed vigour and problem solving capabilities.

For this relatively under-represented (in scale modelling terms) variant of the famous Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter, we were interested to find out if any aspects of its design caused Ethan particular difficulties and if so, if he would be kind enough to talk us through them?

Ethan’s immediate response to hearing this question was ‘Supercharger intake cone on the port side of the forward fuselage – it was a devil!’ Ethan discovered during the design phase that these intake shapes were very different throughout the Bf 109’s service career and were also prone to damage and/or replacement. Indeed, even some of the aircraft currently on display in museums have different intakes to those usually associated with that variant, or have even had this unit fabricated in house to allow the aircraft to go on display.

Even when he had obtained the definitive research information he needed to refer to, the design shape of this feature was so difficult to design in scale, that he remembers spending many a happy hour attempting to perfect it. He particularly recalls how difficult it was to replicate how the intake was faired into the engine cowling cover, such a relatively small design feature but one which fought him all the way.

Another scan data design overlay, this time showing the shape detail from a preserved Bf 109G-2’s supercharger intake, complete with tropical filter.

Ethan kindly described to us how the distinctive machine gun cut-outs on either side of the Messerschmitt’s nose were really challenging shape features to replicate in design, but how he was determined to make sure he got them right.

Again, thinking about individual design elements, Ethan went on to describe how the scooped area on top of the aircraft’s nose which allowed the bullets from the nose mounted MG 17 machine guns to pass unobstructed also proved to be quite a challenge and once again had him hitting the research books. As the ‘Friedrich’ had done away with the wing mounted machine guns of its predecessor, these nose guns were a critical feature of the ‘F’ variant and Ethan was determined to get these shapes right. Of even more design concern to him, he had to achieve this whilst ensuring the part accommodating this design feature could be tooled efficiently and wouldn’t cause a fouling issue when it came to ejecting the part from the moulding machine during manufacture. At the end of the day, every designer must embrace the limitations of the manufacturing process, even though they’re always striving for ever greater detail and subject accuracy in their projects.

It seemed as if we had hit on a rich vein of subject matter with this latest question, as Ethan’s answers just kept on coming! 

On to the propeller and oversized hub, these next two images show the propeller shape from the scan overlayed on Ethan’s design files, allowing him to check size, shape and detailing references. 

The next challenge he overcame was the propeller, both with regard to the much larger spinner the Bf 109F utilised and the way each propeller blade exhibits a discernible twist in its design. Knowing an accurate propeller representation is an important feature of any WWII era aircraft scale model kit, Ethan wanted to get this spot on, but was concerned from the outset that the more he pushed it in design, the more likely the parts were going to be too thin and contrary to the ethos of the Starter Set brief. How could he accurately replicate this feature without making these parts too fragile and subject to possible breakage? He managed it, but again, this wasn’t without overcoming some significant design hurdles along the way.

As Ethan continued to think back to his time designing the new Bf 109F, he next moved on to the subject of the kit’s main undercarriage legs. One of the most distinctive design features associated with the entire Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter series was their narrow track undercarriage, something which did allow for ease of transportation across Europe following manufacture, but something which also made ground handling challenging for pilots operating the aircraft. Any modeller will tell you that getting the right undercarriage splay angle and forward rake of a Messerschmitt’s undercarriage legs is a stress inducing exercise and Ethan was determined that he was going to provide some design relief for modellers building his new Bf 109F kit. 

Again, embracing the wider Starter Set design ethos, Ethan went about ensuring the main undercarriage legs were as robust as possible and how their anchor positions were equally strong and slotted in securely, providing the reassurance a potentially inexperienced modeller might need. After pouring over the reference material once again, he designed the Messerschmitt’s undercarriage to lock securely into position in exactly the right orientation, providing an accurate representation of this most distinctive of Messerschmitt features. Unlike many other Bf 109 kits, Ethan wanted people building his new ‘Friedrich’ to fix the undercarriage and move on to the next stage, and not have to worry if the legs were sitting at the correct angle.

This next series of five images all show Ethan’s work in representing the distinctive and sometime problematic main undercarriage of the Messerschmitt Bf 109F, utilising the scan data to check his angles and shapes, before going on to cleverly design the legs to locate securely into their places during assembly and at exactly the required angle. This will undoubtedly come as a relief to anyone who has ever modelled a Bf 109 kit previously.

Working with all these critical angles and difficult shapes did undoubtedly present Ethan with more than a few challenges, but he told us that without having the distraction of seeing how another designer had approached the same problems on an earlier Bf 109F design (because there wasn’t one to refer to) actually proved really beneficial. He was able to approach every challenging situation with new thinking and with his recent Starter Set design experience, instinctively know what he had to achieve, then find the most effective way of doing it. 

Although it might not appear to be the case judging by the number of points raised above, Ethan did say that the Messerschmitt Bf 109F is actually a beautifully clean and pure shape to work with from a design perspective, and therefore didn’t cause him too many problems. In an overall design sense, it was just some of the finer details and assembly simplification support which proved a little tricky to overcome.

When it comes to discussing their latest projects, we always like to give our designers an opportunity to draw our attention to aspects of the new kit’s design they are most pleased with, partly because we’re a bit nosey, but also because we wouldn’t ordinarily get to find out such details. Which aspects of the Messerschmitt’s design are you most pleased with?

Ethan’s immediate response was his hope that people will enjoy building the new kit and how the build would be simple and intuitive, just the way he intended. He went on to describe how when he received the first test shots, he was pleased to see how having only assembled the four main kit components, he already had something which resembled a Messerschmitt and it already looked really cool. Everything fits together really nicely and even though the assembly process is intentionally designed to be easier, how nothing has been compromised when it comes to detail and accuracy – this is a lovely little kit. Doing away with fiddly and annoying little parts, he has managed to include enough design features to give this new Messerschmitt real character. It’s such an easy build that if you had a mind to do so, you could build your own ‘Schwarm’ of Messerschmitts before it was time for lunch!

Other little design touches which will both help with ease of assembly and result in a very appealing finished model are all things Ethan is extremely happy with on this project, from the dual position retractable tail wheel design, to the ‘no glue’ cockpit canopy assembly, things he hopes modellers will come to appreciate too. He has also designed handed assembly tabs on the horizontal stabilizers which only allow the parts to fit one way, again providing that confidence a modeller might need during the assembly process.

Designed to support even the most inexperienced of modellers, Ethan’s new Messerschmitt includes everything he could think of to support a first model build, from clearly marking the assembly direction of the engine exhausts, to including tabs which will only allow the horizontal stabilizers to be fitted the right way.

Across the board, individual parts which may well be appropriate for a traditional construction kit have all been incorporated into much larger, single design pieces, maintaining an impressive level of detail throughout, whilst at the same time simplifying the assembly process. Whilst this new kit may be easier to build, when you get it on display, it will look every inch the sinister fighting aeroplane we all know the Messerschmitt Bf 109 to be.

Another important aspect of the new kits design Ethan was keen to point out was its display stand and how it was intentionally designed to be a little different from all those Starter Sets which went before it, but to link in with them in a very specific way. Whilst once again designing a feature which locked into position securely, if the Messerschmitt is displayed on its stand in flight configuration, Ethan has designed it so it angles the model in the opposite direction to his Mustang. When displaying the two models together, it looks as if they could be engaged in scale combat, almost a Dogfight Double display, only Starter Set style.

Looking at the stand display images Ethan kindly sent us, you can clearly see how they really do give the impression that an aerial duel is taking place in scale, even though you’ll have to use your imagination when it comes to their undercarriage being down. The biggest problem we face now is to decide where to place the respective models on your display shelf – will your new Messerschmitt be the hunter or the hunted?

On your tail – Ethan has even designed the Messerschmitt’s shadow stand to allow the exciting posing of different aircraft types in the Starter Set range.

Too close for comfort, this ‘Friedrich’ may just have survived the scale attentions of an attacking P-51D Mustang.

To bring this latest designer interview to a close, we wanted to ask Ethan if he would be good enough to tell us all what we should look out for when we get our hands on his new Messerschmitt Bf 109F design and what he thinks we’re going to enjoy most?

As with all the new Starter Set kits announced over the past few years, the most important thing Ethan wants his new kit to achieve is simply for to be built, by as many people as possible and to be enjoyed by those who do. In addition to this, even though the assembly process will be simple, almost intuitive, what you are left with at the end is an attractive and appealing display model, something modellers of all abilities will be proud to put their names to – that’s really important too.

Simplicity and clever design definitely come as standard with these new Starter Set kits, but not at the expense of some of the design features which have brought such pleasure to so many modellers over the years – its just that they have now been designed to be less problematic.

New design features such as removing the frustration of a glue fogged canopy or a non-spinning propeller were features of modelling which we can all remember being a disappointment during our own early modelling journeys, but thanks to Ethan and the Airfix design team, these perils will hopefully be a thing of the past, unless you suffer an absolute model making catastrophe. Dare we say, today’s novice modellers have a much better chance of impressing their parents with their new found skills than we did back in the day.

At this point, Ethan took a little answer detour to tell us about his Messerschmitt propeller design and how he perfected it using the in-house 3D printer at our Head Office. Having printed the parts, cleaned and prepared them, he assembled everything and placed the Messerschmitt on his desk. He remembers it being an extremely hot day and how he had his desk fan working on overdrive to keep his workspace cool – he also remembers how it didn’t take too long for the temptation to point the fan in the direction of the Messerschmitt’s to take over, just to see what happened to his newly designed propeller assembly when he did. 

Yet another image exclusive, this time showing the 3D printed prototype Messerschmitt Bf 109F model on Ethan’s desk, just prior to it being subjected to the force of his desk fan last summer.

Ethan said that the propeller turned with such vigour that he really did think the prototype model was going to take off on its first flight and undertake a circuit of the office, but instantly knew that he was on the right track when it came to assessing his Messerschmitt propeller design. He has encouraged us all to have a go at doing the same thing – it’s quite satisfying really.

Getting back to the question at hand, having enjoyed the build, Ethan hopes that the angled display stand will encourage modellers to discover other new kits within the Starter Set range, building up a nice little collection of built models at the same time as increasing their skill and confidence levels.  

As a subject choice, the Messerschmitt Bf 109F is actually quite a big deal in modelling terms and introduces this most cultured variant of the famous Bf 109 fighter to an Airfix range for the first time in a long time. With plenty of presentation options available to those modellers brave enough to venture away from the main kit scheme, including aircraft used by some of the most celebrated ace pilots in the history of aviation, the ‘Friedrich’ is sure to become a popular addition to the Airfix range in the years to come.

This image was simply entitled ‘draft’ and was used by Ethan to spot any areas of his design where there was a possibility of it having issues when it progressed to the tooling stage.

Now offering modellers a nice little range of subject matter, our new Starter Set range has once again benefitted from significant new tooling investment for 2024.

Following the release of this new kit, Messerschmitt aficionados will be able to build 1/72nd scale Airfix kit examples not only of the cultured new ‘Friedrich’ variant, but also the more angular ‘Emil’ which preceded it and the most heavily produced ‘Gustav’ which replaced it, helping us all to visualise the ongoing wartime development of the Spitfire’s most famous adversary. You might also want to include a couple of Spitfires in your build model collections, just so all these Messerschmitts don’t get too comfortable on your display shelves.

With the new Starter Set range expending to offer a really appealing selection of kit subjects, we genuinely think we have a modelling project for everyone to consider now, be that a Second World War fighter aircraft, or one of the world’s latest supercars, with plenty of other subjects in between. If you do happen to be a fan of classic fighters from WWII, you now have three absolute crackers to choose from and thanks to Ethan’s display stands, once you’ve built your kits, simply place them on your display shelf and let battle commence.

For those whose aviation tastes are a little more contemporary, our popular Lockheed F-35B Lightning is about to be joined by another exciting new tooling project, one which will see the RAF’s current air defence/multi-role combat jet joining the Starter Set fray, but that’s definitely a subject for a future edition of Workbench.

We wonder whether Ethan will be featuring in that future designer interview?

Our new Messerschmitt Bf 109F kit will be available soon, so all we have to do now is go and build one and familiarise ourselves with Ethan’s design handiwork first hand.

Until then, could we once again extend our sincere thanks to Ethan for his kind help in putting this latest blog together and for allowing us such an interesting insight into his work to enable the Messerschmitt Bf 109F to join the 2024 Airfix kit range, an addition many of us will very much be looking forward to getting our hands on. 

Now, where did I put that that old desk fan?

We are afraid that's all we have for you in this latest edition, but we will be back next Friday with more project development updates and the very latest Airfix kit exclusives. In the meantime, we are always keen to hear your views on all things Airfix and in particular, any thoughts and opinions you may have regarding our Workbench blog. If you would like to drop us a quick line, could we please ask that you use our workbench@airfix.com email for all correspondence. 

To re-visit any of the Airfix blogs we have produced over the past seven years or so, please head to our main Workbench hub, where you will find our entire blog back catalogue and all the Airfix design projects we have already covered.
 
All our dedicated official social media sites can be accessed by clicking the respective link icons at the foot of this page, or by heading to the Airfix homepage. Other useful Airfix links are:

 
Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram official sites

Airfix Workbench Forum

Main Workbench blog hub

Airfix website

Please join us for more Airfix updates next week and thank you for your continued support.

Airfix Workbench Team