Messerschmitt Bf 109E-1 (Profipack)

[Mike]

Messerschmitt Bf 109E-1 (Profipack)

1:48 Eduard (8261)

The Bf.109 needs little introduction, suffice to say that it was the Luftwaffe’s mainstay frontline fighter throughout WWII, and went through many incarnations in the constant leapfrogging of technology in order to keep up with an in some cases surpass the allied fighters it was up against.

The kit base of 109s in 1:48 is large, and it is a popular subject in any scale, which goes some way to explain why there are so many kits on the market. Why have Eduard brought a new Emil to the 1:48 market then? Firstly, every other manufacturer’s kit doesn’t make Eduard any money, and after all the research they have put into their class leading 1:32 kits, it would seem churlish to waste it and leave the 1:48 market to others.

The E variant, or Emil as it was more affectionately known was the first major redesign of the basic airframe, including an uprated engine and the attendant strengthening of the airframe that required. It fought in the Spanish civil war and the Battle of Britain before being phased out in favour of the Friedrich.

The Profipack edition arrives in a substantial top opening box with a handsome painting of an Emil stalking a British Blenheim amongst broken cloud. Inside are four sprues of olive styrene, bagged in pairs in re-sealable bags. The clear parts are bagged in a ziplok type bag, as are the Photo-etch (PE) parts, and the kabuki tape masks. The decals consist of two smallish sheets, and the large instruction booklet is in full colour, although there is a small errata sheet included for the engine to correct the omission of a part during construction of the horse-shoe shaped oil reservoir.

First impressions are very good. The detailing of the airframe is exceptional, and a huge number of the tiniest rivets cover the outer skin, which will please (or disappoint) a friend of mine that is currently obsessed with riveting his builds. Their finesse is superb, and couldn’t be equalled by mere mortals with a pounce wheel or similar – in fact, my fingertip barely registers their presence, they are that fine. This detail extends to every part of the outer skin, from the tail planes to the finely detailed rudder, and this will all look stunning under a few coats of paint, which I suspect will render the rivet marks as tiny sink marks on the surface, very similar to a flush-rivet at full scale.

The build should be simple, although the cockpit has a large part count, with plenty of PE parts to detail it up. The instrument panels are provided as either a PE lamination on a blank background, or as styrene parts with raised instrument panel detail. If PE isn’t for you, there is a fall-back position. Seatbelts, pulleys and various knobs and levers are supplied in PE, as well as a pair of PE rudder pedals to replace the (very nicely moulded) styrene parts. The majority of the cockpit PE is pre-painted, so after a squirt of RLM02, the cockpit should literally fall together. The upper portion of the instrument panel is installed later in the build, along with the upper gun bay, and gets the same treatment.

The nose gun bay is completed later in the build with a pair of MG131s mounted with their fairings installed before the cowling is added. These parts are quite small,so take care when assembling them. All of the weapons have hollow barrels due to the utilisation of slide moulding, and the flash-hiders are very delicate as a result. If the model is to have its cowling installed however, a linked pair of gun stubs are installed in the completed cowling to avoid the rigmarole of getting everything lined up.

Forward of the cockpit, the oil cooler assembly has a full trunk, separating it from the engine compartment, and here the radiator fronts are supplied as PE parts, with a styrene core and rear spoiler. Above all this installs a rather well detailed DB601 engine, with exceptionally well detailed styrene parts, augmented by PE parts from the unpainted fret. Individual exhaust stacks are provided, and these have a recessed opening, which will give the impression of being hollow with careful painting. The engine bearers are well done, and attach to the bulkhead, with ancillary struts helping support this large block. Some element of hose-work is supplied, as well as the ignition harness for the 12 cylinders, but if you’re planning of leaving the engine exposed, some additional wiring would improve the look further.

Once the engine and cockpit sections are built up, the fuselage can be closed up, with the tail-wheel trapped in its mounting, and the rear bulkhead being built up to full height with a final part. It may be as well to glue this to the cockpit section before installation to ease painting of the base colour.

Next are the tail feathers, with the elevators supplied as single parts, requiring the modeller to mobilise them in order to depict them offset. The rudder is a separate part, so can be posed at a more candid angle if you so wish, and the assembly is completed with a pair of slim struts to brace the elevators, which have sturdy and well moulded sockets in the form of the end fairings, and a PE actuator wire for the rudder.

As expected, the lower wing is a single part, with a pair of inserts making up the wheel bay sidewalls, and the two-part upper wings having fine raised detail on their underside to portray the roof, and very nicely done they are too. Eduard suggest that the wings are built up as a unit, and offered up to the underside of the fuselage, but test fitting might be advisable here, to ensure that the important wing root joint is good. The ailerons and flaps are supplied separately, so can be posed at any sensible angle, with their attachment tabs supplying some strength to the joint. The leading edge slats are also separate parts, and are posed open (due to gravity) on the ground, or closed in flight. There is no detail on the slat bays, but very little would be seen anyway, so this shouldn’t be an issue.

As mentioned earlier, if the engine is to be exposed, slight differences in the build will be necessary so that everything gels together. A little care and planning will be needed here to avoid mistakes. The cowling parts are necessarily thick to facilitate their use in the build if the model is being portrayed “buttoned up”, but if they are to be left in the vicinity in a diorama setting for example, some of the panels or at least their edges will need thinning to a more realistic thickness for extra realism.

The main landing gear is nicely detailed, although the oleo struts are moulded in situ, and the seams will need some attention before painting. The wheels and hubs are separate parts, and the level of detail on the tyres is impressive, showing the maker’s mark in incredibly fine raised markings. The hub has a spoked front part and a flat rear with further detail etched into it that will show through the spokes. There are no flats moulded into the tyres, but that can quickly be remedied by a few swipes with an aggressive sanding stick.

A small louver is added to the intake on the oil cooler, and the underwing radiator housings are nicely detailed with rivets, with the tear-drop profile outlet ramp attached to the underside of the flaps. The horn-balances on the ailerons are added late in the build, as is the wing-mounted pitot probe, all of which are very crisply moulded, showing great attention to detail.

The clear parts are up to Eduard’s usual standards, and the usual three glazing parts of windscreen, canopy and fixed rear portion are included, plus a piece of armour for the windscreen. The flat panels aren’t quite as good as the curved parts for clarity, so a dip in Klear or Alclad Aqua Gloss would be advisable. The head armour part affixes to the canopy, and thankfully, a PE retaining strap is supplied to stop the canopy and add a little realism. Well done Eduard!

You can always rely on Eduard’s Profipacks for some interesting schemes, and this one is no different, as the modeller can build one of five choices from the box:

• Ofw. Kurt Ubben, 6.(j)/Tragergruppe 186, Wangerooge, Germany, March 1940 – RLM 02/71 over RLM 65 high sided demarkation.
  
• Hptm. Hannes Trautloft, 2./JG77, Juliusburg, Germany, September 1939 – low demarkation RLM70/71 over RLM65.
  
• 6./JG52, Husum, Germany, 1940 – RLM02/71 over RLM 65 with mottled fuselage sides, yellow cowling and rudder.
  
• Fw. Artur Beese, 9./JG26, Caffiers, France, August 1940 – RLM02/71 over RLM 65, high sided demarkation.
  
• Fw. Artur Beese, 9./JG26, Caffiers, France, August 1940– RLM02/71 over RLM 65, high sided demarkation with yellow nose and tail (option).
  

Decals are Czech produced, and are in good register, colour density and have minimal thin carrier film. The stencil data is supplied on the smaller of the two sheets, and is dealt with on a separate page of the instructions for clarity.

Conclusion

It’s a stunning new release, and it really does beg you to build it the moment you start handling the parts. Hyperbole aside, it really is a great kit, built upon the success of their 1:32 series, and the level of detail is impressive for the scale. The Profipack makes it an Out Of the Box (OOB) build for almost all of us, including most things a modeller could want to ease the job of building this important variant of the iconic 109.

My one criticism is the inclusion of the yellow-nosed option of Fw.Beese’s mount, which gives the impression of 5 colour schemes, when in fact there are only four with an option on one of them. It’s a pretty minor nit-pick though, and I certainly wouldn’t let it put me off this excellent release.

Based on past glories in the larger scale, I expect that there will be more versions forthcoming in due course.

Heartily recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[Enzo the Magnificent]

I have to echo Mike's comments on this kit - it is truly superb!

However, I believe it still needs a bit of aftermarket resin. I'm not convinced by the shape of the seat. It seems to be a little too angular. I'll replace it with a seat from SBS resin.

I also think that that the exhausts will be difficult to mask if they are inserted when the instructions recommend, or difficult to place if they are inserted after painting. I'll probably replace them with a set from Quickboost.

I must stess that neither of these are absolutely necessary and shouldn't detract from this excellent kit. I will certainly be building one for the Bf109 STGB but there will be at least one between now and then!