Eduard 1/48 Bf109G-6 Profipack
By Jacob Russell
The Plane
The Messerschmitt Bf109G-6 had upgraded cowling armament and it was equipped with a pair of 13mm MG 131 machine guns, instead of the 7.9mm MG 17 guns of earlier variants. The new guns had larger breech blocks and cocking mechanisms. In order to fit them under the cowling two bulges (the so-called "Beules" or bumps) were added to the cowling, just in front of the windscreen. Another visual difference was the cowling's gun troughs: these were an insert on the cowlings of earlier Gustavs and a straight press fit, mounted further back along the cowling, on the G-6. The G-6 used the G-3's machined wheels, larger tires and tail wheel, with the associated upper wing bulges. Early planes had a long antenna mast and solid metal canopy armor, while late G-6s had a short antenna mast, armored glass canopy armor, and FuG 16ZY D/F loop. Both early and late variants had the lower fuselage antenna for the FuG 25A IFF (Identification Friend/Foe) equipment. Some G-6s used tall wooden tails and the Erla Haube clear vision hood, with "Galland Panzer" armored glass canopy armor. G-6 variants included the R-3 with 300 litre drop tank, the R-6 with MG 151/20mm cannons in under wing pods (the so called "Kanonenboote"), and the R-2 reconnaissance fighter with the Rb 50/30 camera installation. A small number of G-6 aircraft were fitted with the DB 605AS engine. The G-6/AS had an enlarged supercharger with a larger port side engine bearer mount that required a redesigned, larger cowling with asymmetrical bulges. This cowling eliminated the need for the "Beules" (bumps) of non 605AS equipped aircraft.
The Kit
Eduard's new G-6 comes in their customary sturdy cardboard box with colorful artwork depicting Heinrich Bartel's Kanonenboote, "Red 13", in battle with Lockheed P-38s. It consists of 220 parts on 5 plastic sprues, plus 44 parts on a pre-painted photo etched fret. 167 of the plastic parts are molded in medium gray and 9 in clear (including a see-through fuel line) on their own sprue. 56 of the gray pieces go unused, including a tall fin and rudder, a bomb rack and bombs, 2 surplus propellers, etc. The tall fin and rudder ARE applicable to certain late G-6s, just not any of the kit's decal options, so their inclusion is appreciated. The photo etched fret includes an instrument panel, rudder pedals, seatbelts, radiator faces, direction/finder loop, under wing FuG antenna, etc.
My overall impression of the kit is positive. The landing gear have molded on brake lines. The prominent in-cockpit fuel return line is molded in clear plastic. All you have to do is mask off the sight glass and paint the rest of the line in yellow. This is a great touch of accuracy that's way overdue in Bf109 kits. The multi-piece cockpit is highly detailed and it will greatly benefit from an oil wash and some dry brushing of the raised detail.
The rudder, tail planes, and flaps are molded separately so that you can position them displaced if so inclined. The fabric control surfaces are well done. The wheel wells are also separate pieces, enhancing both their accuracy and detail. The wheels are molded with both inner and outer faces as separate pieces which will certainly make them easier to paint.
Decal Options
The decal sheet has 5 different options to choose from. These are well known planes, all of which are painted in the "classic" mid-War RLM 74/75/76:
W.Nr. 27169, "Red 13", Feldwebel Heinrich Bartels, 11./JG 27, Kalamaki Airfield, Greece, November 1943. This plane has the under wing cannon, an RLM 04 yellow lower cowl and white spinner spiral, fuselage band and rudder. The upper wing camouflage has the "sawtooth" camouflage pattern more commonly associated with the G-8 reconnaissance fighter.
"Yellow 1", W.Nr. 44041, Oberleutnant Wilhelm Schilling, CO of 9./JG 54, Ludwigslust Air Base, Germany, February 1944. This plane has an RLM 04 lower cowl and rudder and a blue fuselage band.
"Yellow 6", W.Nr. 18807, Oblt. Alfred Surau, 9./JG 3, Bad Worishofen, Germany, September 1943. This plane has the under wing cannon and an RLM 04 lower cowl, cowling bulges and spinner with a black spiral.
"White 10", Alfred Grislawski, CO of 1./JGr.50, Wiesbaden-Erbenheim Air Base, Germany, September 1943. This plane has the under wing cannon. The spinner is 1/3rd white and 2/3rds RLM 70 green and the lower cowl is RLM 04 with a white fin and rudder.
"Black Chevron", Maj. Ludwig Franzisket, CO of 1./JG 27, Germany 1944. This plane has the under wing cannon, an RLM 70 green spinner, RLM 04 lower cowl, green fuselage band, and a white rudder.
There are 2 decal sheets, one with the national insignia, instrument panel decal and individual aircraft markings and a second sheet for the airframe stencils. Both are printed by Cartograph and they are in register and cleanly printed. The instructions are in Eduard's customary clearly illustrated style with a logical build sequence. Color callouts are for Gunze (GSI Creos) Mr. Color and Aqueous paints.
Accuracy
The kit stumbles in the accuracy department. The supercharger backing plate is misshapen, the exhausts stacks are too tall and flared, the wings are over span in width, the landing gear rake too far forward in angle, etc. Noted modeler and webmaster Brett Green discussed the kit's accuracy problems at length on the well known Hyperscale website. These errors are disappointing, given that Eduard had access to at least one complete G-6 from which they took measurements to create the tool for the mold.
Conclusion
Eduard nailed their 1/48th scale Bf109 Emil series and Spitfire Mk.IX, but this kit is less successful. The overall detail is superb, better than any other quarter scale 109 kit, but the accuracy problems, like the over span wing and oversized exhausts are difficult to excuse. None of these problems are insurmountable, but they are certainly surprising to encounter in what is otherwise such a great kit. Can you build it out of the box and ignore the problems? Of course you can, and I think you will still be happy with the model. But those of us for whom accuracy and scale fidelity are important will make the necessary corrections, and wind up with a great model. I recommend the kit with the reservations noted above and I thank Eduard for the review sample.
References
Messerschmitt Bf109 in action Part 2, by John Beaman, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1983
The Last of the Eagles, A Scale Modeler's Guide To The Messerschmitt Bf109G And K, by John Beaman, 1976
Messerschmitt Bf109G/K Vol.1, by Jakub Plewka, Kagero Publications, 2005