For a pure dogfighting aircraft the Spitfire is hard to beat.

The Bf 109 has always been a sentimental favourite of mine too, but I'd have to say they just don't carry enough ammo. The Focke-Wulf is far superior in most ways. If Messerschmitt had not had so much political influence in the 3rd Reich, I think the Germans would have phased out the 109 after 1942, and concentrated on the Fw-190 almost exclusively (while, of course, getting the Me-262 perfected to deal with the heavy bombers).

That's what would have been done if they'd had some clear-thinking, sensible people at the top, instead of a collection of really disturbed individuals like Hitler and Goering, etc...

Of course, then they would probably never have gotten into that ill-conceived war in the first place!

And we'd have a lot less military models to build.

- LH

p.s. Tamiya's He 219 is a gorgeous kit! I waited a long time for that one.