Die Erste Und Die Letzen - Decals From The First Days And The Last Days Of The Luftwaffe

Reviewed by Tom Cleaver

I remember the olden days when modeling Luftwaffe airplanes was easy: you did them in two shades of green and a light blue, with nice big easy crosses. No more! Beginning twenty years ago with the release of "Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings," Vols. 1-3, nothing was ever sure about the markings and camouflage of the Luftwaffe, other than it was unpredictable, and the final result would look interesting. Recent research has now made what seemed so certain as short a time as 3-4 years ago seem dated, and I am not merely talking about the strange markings and camouflage of the final year of the war.

Fortunately, the aftermarket decal companies have been keeping up with all this, and some of their latest releases are particularly timely, with Hasegawa putting their Bf-109K-4 on the market this summer. The modeler who has kept his Hobbycraft early Bf-109s and Classic Airframes He-51 in the closet awaiting better markings than what was out there is also well-served here.

And so, "Die Erste Und Die Letzen" - the first and the last:

Aeromaster is now releasing a series of sheets pertaining to the Luftwaffe, in collaboration with the "Classic Colours" series of aircraft books and profiles, which will present the latest knowledge of Luftwaffe camouflage and markings for all periods between 1934-45.

Sheet 48-456: "Birth of the Luftwaffe, Part 1" (released as a companion to 46-457 "Birth of the Luftwaffe Part 2") covers two He-51B-1 and three early Bf-109 aircraft from the period 1936-38 The He-51s are in colorful pre-Munich crisis markings for JG-135 (later JG.77 during the war) and JG137, and will definitely make the Classic Airframes kit stand out. All national markings are provided. The modeler will need to paint the upper decking in the Jagdgeschwader colors. The Bf-109s include a Bf-109B-2 and a Bf-109D-1 of JG132 "Richtofen" circa 1937-38, in the well-known 70/71/65 scheme, and a Bf-109C-1 from JG.130 (later II/JG.27), also in the traditional colors.

Sheet 48-458 "Spanish Civil War, Part 1" (released as a companion to 48-459, "Spanish Civil War, Part 2") presents two He.51s from 1st and 3rd Staffels of Jagdgruppe 88, the fighter component of the Condor Legion, and three Bf-109s also of J.88. The He-51s include the aircraft flown by Dr. Heinrich Nauman, physician to the Condor Legion, from 3/J.88; Dr. Nauman had a sense of humor, as seen in the slogan on the fuselage, which translates as: "Don't do me and I won't do you!" The other He-51 is the well-known (or at least frequently-photographed) airplane flown by 1st Staffel Kapitaen Harro Harder. The Bf-109s include a camouflaged Bf-109B from 1/J.88 flown by Oblt. Erich Woitke, the well-known Bf-109C flown by Olympic Champion Hptm. Gotthardt Handrick while he commanded Jagdgruppe 88, and the Bf-109E-1 flown just at the end of the Civil War by Oblt. Hans Schmoller of 1/J.88. Of particular note, the sheet does an excellent reproduction of the olympic symbol Handrick had painted on the spinner of his aircraft.

Moving to the final days of the war, both Cutting Edge and Eagle Cals present sheets for the Bf-109K-4 that will be particularly useful to the modeler who has recently purchased the new Hasegawa kit.

Cutting Edge 48-085: "Messerschmitt Bf-109K, Part 1" was actually released a year ago, but becomes more relevant now with the release of the Hasegawa kit. This sheet is notable for being the first one this reviewer is aware of to present the non-blue undersides of the Bf-109K-4. Indicative of how much information is changing and how rapidly it is doing so, this sheet calls the under-fuselage color "Bf109K Tan," and presents it as a color close to Tamiya "Deck Tan" on the profile sheet. While no one can say for certain, it is this reviewer's belief that the color is more as described by Brett Green at Hyperscale (www/hyperscale.com) in his analysis of the Bf-109G-10 that is the last Luftwaffe fighter anywhere in the world in original paint as "a combination of Deck Tan and British Sky." Regardless, this color makes things very interesting when it comes to painting late war Messerschmitts, and modelers can likely interpret it as they will since there is so little actual evidence at hand to prove things one way or another. At any rate, two of the Bf-109Ks here - one from JG52 found at the end of the war in Austria, and on from I/JG27 found in Czechoslovakia - call for this color, while the other two used the standard RLM78 (or maybe they didn't).

Eagle Editions Ltd., EagleCals EC #15, "Bf-109K-4" is likely the most thoroughly-researched of the new Bf-109 sheets. Three Bf-109K-4s from JG77 and one from JG52 are presented, with "White 8" from JG52 being presented with thee contemporary color photographs of the airplane in 1945, for the modeler to try and come to their own conclusions about colors. The profile sheet unfolds once it is out of the plastic bag it arrives in, and provides full information on the four aircraft. While EagleCals calls for RLM78 lower surfaces, they also discuss the "blue-green" (another provisional term for the color discussed above) as an alternative. Unlike the other sheets, this one also includes all stencil markings.

Click on thumbnails to see full-sized pictures.

Recommendations

For the modeler who enjoys doing very different markings and camouflage schemes, the Luftwaffe of the Second World War provides an endless supply of possibilities, one that is ever-growing as new research is published, one you can argue over with the "Colour Polizei" until everyone is blue in the face and still no final determination will be made. These sheets can go a long way in promoting the fun, and the arguments.