Messerschmitt Bf-109F2/4 1/72 Eduard
The Messerschmitt “hundred and nine” probably needs no introduction. Germany’s most famous fighter formed the backbone of the Luftwaffe’s fighter force. In the course of its development, it took part in battles from the Spanish Civil War to the last shots of the world conflict in May 1945. Despite all the changes and improvements, it has retained its distinctive look that has charmed many aviation and WWII aircraft fans.
If there is one thing Eduard is really good at, it is in his ability to reach out to modelers and offer them a model in such an attractive package that even those who didn’t originally plan to buy it, they at the end will. Given the manufacturer’s orientation towards more mainstream types, you won’t find many Eduard models in my stash. A rare exception are the WW1 kits, which make the imaginary top on the market with WWI aircrafts in the gentleman’s scale. When Eduard announced new series of kits for the entire Messerschmitt Bf-109 line, starting with the F-2/4, at first I had no plans to buy the model at all. It was only the first face-to-face encounter with the model, so to speak, that broke me to buy.
After opening the box, I couldn’t resist and started building right away. And if you’re going to build, why not both models at once. First of all, you have to choose from a selection of 12 camouflages the ones you are going to build. I finally decided to go for the F-2/B Uffz. Richard Übelbacher from JG2 and F-4/Trop Maj. Erich Gerlitz from JG53.
The construction is not difficult at all, and it is a fairly straightforward affair. Care is important, of course, and avoid gluing on a paint. I don’t recall a single spot being puttyed in any significant way. Compared to the instructions, I just used a different method of gluing the solid part of the rudder after the fuselage halves were glued together. I used a combination of Gunze H and AK Real colours for the camouflage. A first time for me was using of Eduard decals which have a removable varnish layer. If the exact procedure is followed, the varnish can be peeled off without any problems. However, what I find totally unsatisfactory is the lack of colour opacity and the often visible white underprint, especially on the stencils. There is definitely room for improvement. For further insights and comments, check out David’s article here.
I used the following accessories for the construction. Metal pitot tube from MasterAM-72-010 set, next time I would use metal barrels from the same set as well. Eduard set with printed exhausts 672325 is used but I had to sand them down to fit, which was quite surprising for a printed accessory. A bomb is again Eduard printed accessory 672324, why the bomb rack is not included in the set is a mystery to me. The last accessory from Eduard was the printed propeller 672316, which I have no complaints about. The wheel bay plugs from Omask are a great help, highly recommend them. I am also extremely happy with the REVI printed gun sights and moving surface balancers from the Czech manufacturer U3D. If I were to go back to the Bf-109F, I will definitely get the printed wheels from Eduard as well, they do look better than the plastic ones after all.
Eduard offers undoubtedly the best Messerschmitt F version on the market in 1/72 scale. More boxes with G versions have already been released and the following ones are in the pipeline. If you want to build a complete collection from the F-1 version to the latest versions of this famous machine, Eduard model is the best choice.
Special thanks to Tomáš Prusa and other friends for their help with camouflage and materials.
And now the introduction of the individual kits. The first version is the F-2/B Uffz. Richard Übelbacher.
Update: F-4 version is sold.
Dave
Such a striking pair of 109’s beautifully created by Mr. Henyk made even better with the aftermarket additions.
Bravo !