Eduard 1/48 Luftwaffe National Insignia
By Jacob Russell
Let's have a look at 5 new 1/48th scale National Insignia decal sheets from Eduard. First up is sheet D48035, for MTT/WNF built Messerschmitt Bf109G-10 aircraft. This is a very useful sheet which includes 8 swastikas plus German and Hungarian national insignias applicable to some Diana built G-10s. I think the upper and lower wing insignia are incorrectly labeled: I don't know of any G-10s with black upper surface Balkenkreuz without a white outline. The correct marking is a white outline Balkenkreuz. It would also be nice for Eduard to include a set of Diana upper wing Balkenkreuz, because the distance between the white segments was greater than usual.
Sheets D48038 and 48039 are for the Focke-Wulf FW190A-5 and A-4 respectively. These sheets also differ in size and content. The A-5 sheet has both white outline Balkenkreuz and black/white fuselage national insignia with a black outline, plus 2 different styles of and upper wing national insignias. You also get 4 each of 2 different sizes of swastikas.
With the A-4 sheet you get 4 each of 2 different swastikas, a single pair of upper wing national insignias and 2 different styles of fuselage and upper wing Balkenkreuz.
Sheets D48036 and 48037 are for the Focke-Wulf FW190A-8/R2 and A-8 respectively. These sheets differ not only in size, but in that the R2 sheet only has outline fuselage and upper wing Balkenkreuz, whereas the "straight" A-8 sheet includes black outline and solid black Balkenkreuz outlined in white for both the fuselage and wing lower surfaces. Each sheet also includes 8 swastikas.
These are some great decal sheets. They are well printed with excellent colors and registration. Eduard has done their homework (with the exception of the mislabeled G-10 decals) and these are great sheets to own. I recommend them and I would like to thank Eduard for the review samples.
References
Bf109 Late Versions, Camouflage and Markings, by Krzysztof W. Wołowski, MMP Books, 2010