Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4

[Paul A H]

Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4

1:72 Airfix

 

 

The Messerschmitt BF 109 was certainly the most numerous, and probably the best known of all the aircraft used by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Almost 34,000 examples were produced between 1937 and 1945, and the type saw active service in every theatre in which German armed forces were engaged. Powered initially by the relatively low powered Junkers Jumo engine and later by various iterations of the more powerful Daimler Benz DB600 series of inverted V-12 engines, the later variants of the BF 109 could achieve speeds of up to 400mph. In comparison with the early A, B, C and D variants, the E, or ‘Emil’, was a significant redesign. It featured the more powerful Daimler Benz engine and better armament consisting of two wing-mounted MG/FF/M 20mm cannon and two MG17 7.9mm machine guns mounted in the cowling above the nose. The E-4 also featured improved armour for the pilot, and improved cockpit canopy which afforded the pilot a better view and was also easier to produce.

 

Whilst the E-1 and E-3 were blooded during the later phases of the Spanish Civil War, it was the E-4 that formed the backbone of the Luftwaffe’s fighter force during the Battle of Britain. During this phase of the war, the E-4 was found to be a close match, in terms of overall performance, to the Supermarine Spitfire, although each type had different strengths and weaknesses in comparison to the other.

Airfix released a 1:48 Emil in 2010 in both tropicalised and standard versions. Now they have finally done the decent thing and provided those who choose to model in a sensible scale with a kit of this important aircraft. The new kit belongs to Airfix’s Series 1 range, which means it arrives in a titchy, end-opening box and includes decals for just one example. Inside the box are two sprues of grey plastic and a single clear sprue. There are 64 parts in total, which is pretty respectable for an entry-level 1:72 fighter and bodes well for fans of detail.

 

 

 

Out of the box the kit looks nicely moulded. There is no flash and the plastic has a smooth, glossy sheen to it, which contrasts with the textured finish of other recent Airfix kits. There are a couple of faint sink marks on the outside of the fuselage just below the cockpit opening, but these should be easy to deal with. There are a few ejector pin marks here and there, but the only ones that will need to be filled are those on the cockpit tub. Airfix fans should be cheered by the fact that the Panel lines on this kit they are pretty much on the money. They are crisp, clear and fine – in short as good as any other manufacturer around today. My only criticism is that, as with the Skyhawk, they tend to fade out around the extreme top and bottom of the fuselage, which means some re-scribing may be needed.

 

The cockpit is pretty detailed without being overly complex. It is made up of a tub (which includes the front and rear bulkheads but not the sidewalls), an instrument panel, gunsight, control column, rudder pedals and seat. The seat has harnesses moulded in place and there is also some nice raised detail on the insides of the fuselage halves. The instrument panel does not feature any raised detail, but a decal is provided instead. As has been commented on elsewhere, it is quite a bit bigger than the instrument panel itself, and will need to be cut down a little in order to achieve a good fit.

 

 

The top half of the inverted vee engine is moulded in place, and is nice enough to merit leaving the cowling off, although you will need to add some extra details, particularly the machine gun barrels. The chin mounted oil cooler intake is moulded in two parts, which allows for a nice, realistic finish. The wings follow the usual format for a model of this type, with a single span lower wing and separate port and starboard upper wings. The wing root detail is noticeably softer on one side than the other, which is a shame, although it shouldn’t detract too much from what is otherwise a very nice kit. Landing flaps are moulded separately and can be posed in either dropped or raised position. The horizontals stabilisers are moulded as solid parts, but the rudder is moulded separately to the vertical stabiliser and can be posed in the deflected position if desired.

 

In the usual Airfix style there are different parts provided for you to pose your model with landing gear up or down. The landing gear legs are delicate but nicely detailed. The wheel wells feature some basic rib detail and the wheels themselves have subtle flat spots/bulges moulded in place – a nice touch from Airfix. The canopy is thin, clear and - best of all – moulded in three parts, so it can be left in the open position. This is a definite improvement over other recent series one kits which have been designed with one-piece canopies.

 

 

The single decal option is for an aircraft flown by Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, Gruppen-Adjutant I/JG 3, Samer, France, August 1940. It is finished in RLM 65 with RLM 02 and RLM 71 upper surfaces in a splinter scheme. The decal sheet is crisply printed by Cartograf and features a full range of stencils, but no hakenkreuz.

 

Conclusion

 

Airfix seem to be making progress with every new release, and this one is no exception. It should be fairly simple to build a pleasing, well-detailed model from this kit without too much trouble. There are a couple of minor things to watch out for, such as the ejector pin marks in the cockpit, but nothing that a competent modeller can’t cope with. Highly recommended and good value to boot.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Julien]

Looks nice, the box art is great!

Julien

[Arachnid]

Wasn't this aircraft from the film "The one that got away" starring Hardy Kruger ?

[Antoine]

Thanks Paul.

It makes me want to try it, just to see.

[woody37]

Do like that box art, and the kit looks great too

[FalkeEins]

..superb box art !

[badger]

Just bought mine this morning. Looks very very nice indeed!!

Badger

[Hepster]

Wasn't this aircraft from the film "The one that got away" starring Hardy Kruger ?

Near enough... In the movie, the crashlanding 109 is a model (not surprisingly) and the crashed 109 is a cosmetically altered Prentice I think. Whatever it is, it still ends up looking more like a 109E than a Buchon...

The movie was my inspiration the buy the kit, as well as 'Von Werra' decals for a 1/24 version in the stache. The new 1/72 kit may be good practice.

A decent quality affordable 109E in 1/72 at last! Thank you Airfix!

[David Koktavý]

Hello,

I examined that new release from Airfix in our shop a week ago. I have to admit, that taking the price into acount you get very nice moulded kit with nice detailing. Well this was the nice side of my finding. The ugly side was, that I was very disapointed for missing hakenkreuz in camouflage scheme and decal sheet as well. I think it is ignoring the history and stupid to me. Also the propelers and wheels look little bit strange.

Edited July 27, 2012 by David Koktavý

[Paul A H]

Airfix are not alone in omitting the hakenkreuz (swastika). Revell, amongst others, also do it. I believe it's illegal to distribute it in this form in some countries.

[Basosz]

Airfix are not alone in omitting the hakenkreuz (swastika). Revell, amongst others, also do it. I believe it's illegal to distribute it in this form in some countries.

Germany for instance. LMS nearby had a 1:24 model of Adolf Hitler that is not illegal to sell in Germany, but it would be illegal to display in the shop window.

[Sparky]

Could we have some pics of the instructions please?

[Sparky]

P.S. Airfix is so going in the right direction now. When you consider the standard which was being produced 5 years ago, to modern kits like this, the gnat, the swordfish, the vixen etc, it really is remarkable. Especially for price when you consider that a resin seat might cost the same (or even more!) as this kit.

Edited August 1, 2012 by Sparky

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

I actually found this a most disappointing kit to build. The Airfix 1/48 109E is a much more fun kit to build and much bettered engineered and detailed.

Many of the issues maybe considered minor by some but it all adds up. The decal for the instrument panel is far too big, the fit of the wings to the fuselage is far too tight. When I dry fitted mine they actually pointed downwards! Much filing remedied this one. What happened with the detail on the starboard wing root? It seems to have faded away but it is present on the port wingroot - the 1/48 kit doesn't have thiss issue. Also I found that despite careful cutting several of the smaller parts snapped when removed from the sprue - perhaps Airfix need to rethink how parts are attached to sprues. I've not had this problem in other recent builds.

I'm not saying it's a completely rubbish kit, just not as good as it could be, especially when the 1/48 kit is actually pretty good and doesn't have these issues. As a kit to build it's a long long way behind the Tamiya one (which I've built) and in fact I think I'd rather spend a couple of ££ more and buy the ICM kit (which I've also built) over the new Airfix one but that's just my opinion.

thanks

Mike

[Julien]

I found that despite careful cutting several of the smaller parts snapped when removed from the sprue - perhaps Airfix need to rethink how parts are attached to sprues.

I had similar problems with the 1.48 kit some of the parts did not break but got damaged.

As much as I like Aifix's new kits they do need to look a little at these things. Some of the sprue gates are too heavy especially on the clear parts.

I am dreading some of the smaller parts on the A-4 looks like I may have to saw them off rather than use cutters. I had some of the small parts on the F-86 break while trying to remove them.

Julien

[theclay]

i like a good 109. good luck