The Bf 109G-6 has to be one of the most popular variants of the Messerschmitt fighter, judging by the fact that every major model company has a kit in their product line. Now, Eduard has added one to its popular 1/48 scale ProfiPack line.
The kit is cleanly molded in neutral gray plastic with exceptional surface finish. Included are canopy masks, colored photoetched-metal parts, underwing cannon pods, bombs, and a drop tank. Unused parts include the tall tail/rudder, Erla-style canopy, tires/wheels, and fuselage bomb rack. These bonuses will allow other Bf 109G versions to be built out of this tooling.
I started construction with the well-appointed cockpit. It features photoetched metal for the instrument panel, seat belts, rudder pedals, chains, and control boxes. Some of these parts are also given as plastic parts. The unique drop-tank fuel pipe is provided in clear plastic to accurately portray the fuel-flow viewing section. Wow!
The fuselage went together well after I had installed the cockpit module. I test fitted the separate gun bulges, engine air intake, and oil cooler housing. The fits were so precise I decided I could paint them separately and add them after painting primary fuselage colors.
I was pleased to see how the nose-gun panel matched the actual design. Other 109 kits have created fictitious seams that need to be corrected or ignored. Also, I was impressed that Eduard was able to mold the four small cowling intakes with openings!
The wings assembled without a problem. But make sure you get the top wing panels aligned with the lower wing: There are no alignment pins; rather, the circular gear bays have alignment slots that match the top wing parts. All of the flying surfaces parts are separate; with removal of the locating tabs, they can be posed up or down.
Being a 109 enthusiast (nut?), two things I look for are the proper dihedral and the landing-gear cant. The kit makes a good representation of the dihedral, but something about the gear legs didn’t look right — from a side view, the stance seemed too nose-high. I believe the gear legs need to angle forward more. Picking up a suggestion from Internet modeling forums, I modified the location pins on the gear legs to allow a more-forward rake.
All three blades of the propeller in my kit had a nasty sink hole on the back side. I was able to clear this up with some filler and sanding.
I painted my Bf 109 “Gustav” with Gunze Sangyo Hobby Color Luftwaffe acrylic paint. I like how these paints replicate the semigloss of Luftwaffe paint.
Decals are given for five aircraft. Beautifully printed by Cartograf, they applied perfectly over the semigloss surfaces with a touch of decal solution.
My primary reference was Aero Detail 5: Messerschmitt Bf 109G, by Shigeru Nohara and Masatsugu Shiwaku (Model Graphix, ISBN 978-4-499-20589-4). Also, I found Luftwaffe Colours, Vol. Five, Section 1: Jagdwaffe, Defending the Reich, 1943-1944, by Robert Forsyth (Ian Allen, ISBN 978-1-903223-44-4) useful, which had a photo and color drawing of the scheme I chose.
Based on my tried-and-true plan references, both the wingspan and fuselage length of the finished model are too long for 1/48 scale. This was disappointing; I’ve read that Eduard will address the problem in the near future.
I completed my Messerschmitt in 26 hours with mixed emotions. On one hand, Eduard has offered an exceptional kit in terms of quality, features, and value. On the other hand, the dimensional problems were a letdown. Nevertheless, I can easily recommend the kit to intermediate and advanced modelers. If you’re a Luftwaffe enthusiast, you will want to add this kit to your collection.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the December 2014 FineScale Modeler.