I have just returned from Origins 2016 tonight with lots of fantastic memoirs and goodies - also from ARES booth.
Considering you would surely like to know more about the new series 6 minis, here I come with the long awaited Bf 109K-4 miniature, which I already have in my hands and already flew in one of the missions.
So lets unbox it!
Initial impression: new price (15 USD) and packaging - a box is wrapped in foil.
What we get inside? More than we used to get before. A general look:
This is E.Hartmann's plane, the yellow "tulip".
First - the good.
18 Large maneuver cards that we already know - but have a look at the 2 cards on the right: the slow speed side slips on cards 15 and 16 are very interesting.
The special option and pilot's skill cards: a big plus for ARES.
Motorkanone jams, optional gun pods, drop tanks - this is it. And the rules really work. I used the motorkanone and the gun pods against a B-17 in fight. In the first pass delivered 24 hit points. Impressive! The motorkanone never jammed - I was luck. I scored the B-17 finally as a solo kill and stayed alive which was a fantastic experience.
Now the flaws, which are few.
The miniature. Top view.
The shape of the wings (too oval) and horizontal stabilizers (too rectangular) are absolutely not correct, which is - unfortunately visible from a table top distance. Sorry ARES, relevant AIM and Shapeways models, however come out not painted, are better dead ringers of the Bf 109 K-4.
Moreover, the shape of the wings on the planes' cards are absolutely right!
The unpainted edges of the rudder and stabilizers are annoying.
Let's compare with a proper profile.
The side view.
The (rubber) antenna did not exist and is easy to cut off. But the rudder shape is wrong. It is a hybrid between F/G and K version. Really bad.
Look at the profile.
And the underside:
Hey! White fields? What the hell? And where are the gun pods? Searched the box - no sign of them. But we have holes! Arghhh! MINUS ARES!
OK, let's have a look at the two other, generic (no particular pilot, just a unit) minis.
The option cards like before are the same (Motorkanone, gun pods, drop tanks).
Still no gun pods, just the holes. Bad.
And here goes the third one.
The option cards like before are the same (Motorkanone, gun pods, drop tanks).
Aha! Here we have them. Gun pods! Hey, no kidding ARES. These are rather rocket pods. Bad shape. Moreover - completely not visible from above.
Now let's check the technical profile of the plane:
Initial batch.
Erla Haube in the prototype version only.
Here is a photo taken from Toliver's and Constable'sbook: Holt Hartmann vom Himmel!
Overall, if I had to rate the models in an ascending scale 1-10, I would give it barely 6.
It was a great opportunity to publish a MUCH more popular F or G versions (which are quite similar), but the decision was to bring out this, not so common, to the market. It will probably sell well and casual players will not see the flaws mentioned above, but for me they are annoying and I am going slightly mad about them, like Boney10 about the tripe.
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