Academy 1/48 Hispano HA-1112 "Buchon" By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Overview

Few aircraft are as famous as the Messerschmitt Bf 109, and its many variants have been produced in many scales over the years. Some of the lesser known variants include the Spanish post-war manufactured Hispano aircraft. By mating a Rolls Royce Merlin engine to a basic Bf 109G airframe, the HA-1112 was borne. The HA-1112 served in the Spanish air force for many years, and after retirement the type continued to soldier on in movies and on the airshow circuit, where several can still be seen today.

The Kit

The Academy HA-1112 kit is a reboxing of the decent Hobbycraft kit, and is the only injection molded Spanish Messerschmitt available. Luckily it is not too bad, with light gray plastic parts that have recessed panel lines. A tree of clear parts includes a spare canopy for the Avia S-199, hinting at the heritage of this kit. When originally released by Hobbycraft, this kit was part of a broad range of Messerschmitt kits that covered the original German aircraft as well as both the Czech and Spanish post-war aircraft. This means there are lots of leftover parts, but the basic engineering should result in a good-fitting kit.

Beginning with the cockpit, the kit comes with a decent rendition of the interior. The cockpit floor gets separate rudder pedals, a seat pan, and a control stick. The sidewalls have detail molded in place, with a separate control wheel for the port side. An instrument panel, with a separate clear gunsight piece, finishes out the interior. While this is adequate out of the box, superdetailers will want to use an aftermarket set.

The completed cockpit is sandwiched between the two fuselage halves. Fitting onto the fuselage are the engine cowling bulges and front chin scoop. The wings are in three pieces, with a one piece lower wing fixing the proper dihedral. The large wing cannon fairings are separate and are made up from three pieces. Also separate are the wheel well bulges and wing fences. The stabilizers are solid right and left pieces, completing the main airframe assembly.

The final details include the landing gear, which has a very solid locating tab that will guarantee the proper stance of the finished model. A solid wheel/tire and separate gear door round out the main undercarriage, while the tailwheel has a separate strut, wheel, and boot. Also on the underside is a radome and a forward fuselage/wing fairing. For armament, this kit comes with some underwing rockets. Add the four-bladed prop, an antenna mast, and the canopy, and the model is ready for paint.

The decal options cover a couple HA-1112 choices. The first aircraft is finished in overall silver, with blue undersides. It carries standard Spanish roundels in six positions and is coded 471-28. The second option is not a military aircraft but rather a civilian aircraft, painted up to represent a World War Two Bf 109. This plane is in spurious JG 27 markings, with a green Defense of the Reich band around the rear fuselage and a double chevron on the fuselage. The decals are well printed and in excellent register. They should pose no problems in application.

Conclusion

For those who want something a little different on their shelves, this kit will make a great counterpart to a regular Bf 109. Its simple construction lends itself well to a quick build, while the great number of aftermarket Bf 109 detail sets will satisfy those who want to superdetail. My thanks to MRC for the review sample.