1/72 KP/Revell Avia S-199

by Mark Davies

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Several German aircraft types including Messerschmitt Bf 109’s were manufactured in occupied Czechoslovakia during WW2.  After the war the Czech Avia company continued production, but eventually ran out of the Bf 109’s original Daimler Benz engines.  They then modified the Bf 109 to accept Junkers Jumo bomber engines that were still available.  These engines gave the resultant fighter some rather unpleasant handling characteristics, and led to the S-199 being informally named Mulec, or Mule.

I think that the S-199 is an attractive Bf 109 variant, and I had the old Kopro (KP) kit to build.  I also had several Revell Bf 109 G-10 kits bought very cheaply during a chain-store sale. I realized that it would be less work overall to transplant the S-199 nose onto the Revell Bf 109 G-10, and the whole thing came together for under 10 Kiwi dollars (about US$6.00).  I chopped the Revell kit’s nose off using a stepped cut, and then added the KP nose and propeller to make my Mule.  A friend helped me out with some under-wing cannons from a Hasegawa Bf 109 G-6.  The only other work was making the armoured glass and framing behind the pilot’s seat, plus refined the DF loop.

The S-199 is well known for its ironic use by the Israelis in 1948, and is frequently modelled in Israeli markings.  However I liked the overall green scheme of the Czech machine, and thought it would be an unusual addition to my display cabinet.  I used the KP codes and bow-woman nose art, but got some replacement Czechoslovak roundels from my spares as the KP decals weren’t very good.

This was an easy conversion, and I’m looking forward to building the excellent Revell kit as a Bf 109 G-10 in the future time.

Mark

Photos and text © by Mark Davies