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EagleCals #156 Erla Bf 109 G-10 JG 301 and
KG(J) 6
1/32nd scale
Bf 109 G-10 “Erlas” in 32nd scale
Five schemes included with national markings
Available from Eagle Editions directly - price: $19.50 + P&P
1/32nd scale
Bf 109 G-10 “Erlas” in 32nd scale
Five schemes included with national markings
Available from Eagle Editions directly - price: $19.50 + P&P
Eagle Editions has long been known to feature the Bf-109 in their
decal ranges. They have one of the best historians in the business already
there in Jerry Crandall so the worry of getting it wrong on your kite is
alleviated – they also use Cartograf in Italy to print their decals so usually
you can buy with some degree of good confidence you are getting something of
top quality.
Revell’s recent release of the Bf-109G series in 32nd
scale has not raised a blip from Eagle Editions until recently – in the last
month or so Jerry has brought two new sheets to the market for this easy to
build and (fairly) accurate kit that is becoming a favourite with the budget conscious
modellers. Of course we all want a unique scheme on our own kit so these two
new sets are well timed.
The package is in a clear zip-loc bag with a fold out instruction sheet. One side of the expanded folded out cover shows a rundown on the basic particulars of each of the aircraft. Colours, Werk Numbers and airframe specific details of each kite on one side with the stencil placement on the other side with port and starboard profiles, top of wing as well as deal placement locations on the wheels, drop tank and horizontal tails. You are not challenged by placement with these as you are told exactly which aircraft markings apply for each airframe. These instructions tell you a great deal about each of these kites and one wonders just how much you would have to know about these planes to work all of this out.
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The two page fold out shows colour profiles of each of these
aircraft which help a little with the mottling patterns you need to recreate
but mostly the exact decal placement locations on here as well. I must say
these profiles are well illustrated and leave you inspired to get cracking with
the paint!
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You also get the upper camouflage patterns in colour showing
the wings, spinner pattern and tails upper and lower to help your paint job accuracy.
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The Decals
The decals themselves come on two separate sheets. The national
markings are included for one aircraft and individual markings for each of the Erlas
are here. Swastikas are included in two parts and you get the dotted walk lines
for the wings as well as these I know are strong decals where many model maker’s
decals are not.
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The reds and blacks really do stand out here while the White
colouring does not look opaque to me. I would use some set and sol solutions as
well as one or two coats of varnish around the decals to help them site flesh to
the airframe.
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Actually the carrier film is set really tight to the
national markings and it is minimal on the lettering and hand painted decals. I
would try to trim mine with a scalpel in this scale though. There are no
miss-prints and the decals all sit in perfect register.
Every type of stencil you could need for a ‘109 is included,
fuel filler and electric warnings, weights and lifting points are all here –
and all are legible even the tiniest of writing as you can see with the old "massive coin" trick.
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The aircraft:
OK now we have looked at the instructions and decals time to
look at the aircraft themselves. Normally If I can I try to find the aircraft
that are pictured in the decals I review. One hitch here though – as most of
these kites are taken from pictures in Jerry Crandal’s collection. This means
ill have a hard time trying to find pictures of them in the internet or books.
This makes it really hard to prove the accuracy of these kites. The good side
of this is however that these are not seen anywhere else and your choices are
probably unique. Isn’t this what we are all after in our models?
Four of these schemes are from JG 301 and one is from KG(J)6
– and although the red and yellow tail band of JG 301 features heavily you will
have to paint your own tail band. The KG(J)6 red and black tailed “White 22”
however has the red and black checked decal provided.
“Red 1” 14./JG 301
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“Red 1” is a
JG301 kite with uppersurfaces of RLM 74/75 and undersides in RLM 76 Lichtblau. This Erla featured a black
and white spiral on it’s spinner.
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Mottling on this aircraft is fairly light and only extends a
little down the sides of the fuselage.
“White 22” 1./KG(J) 6
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“White 22”
features the red and black defence of the Reich band prominently on it’s tail
in a checked pattern as the main feature along with the large white “22”
numbers in an unusual font for German fighters in that the numbers are quite
tall.
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"Red 7" 14./JG 301
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“Red 7” - again
from JG 301 is very similar to “Red 1” in the colouring (RLM 74/75/76) and the
mottling which is even less than it’s stable mate. The Werk Number is unknown
and so is the timing of the reference of the picture taken to recreate this
scheme – it makes it almost impossible to track down this kit in celluloid (unless
you have the pictures yourself).
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As with all of the others on this sheet the upper wing
bulges, the spinner and antenna mast is documented along with details on the
stencils and other markings so you are given as much as possible to work with
without seeing any pictures of the real thing.
"White 44" 13./JG 301
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“White 44” again
features the large 44 numbering on the sides of the fuselage along with red and
yellow unit band (the blue unit marking on this band is supplied on the decal
sheet)
Mottling in RLM 74/75 is extensive down the sides of this
aircraft and lucky for us Jerry has let us know in the instructions that this
kite is featured in “Broken Eagles” series he published – we found the photo
here:
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And the decals to
match –
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"White 36" 13./JG 301
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Lastly “White 36” again
features the eye catching large
white numbering on it’s side fuselage and unit band of JG 301 in red and
orange. This is the most heavily mottled aircraft of the lot. The RLM 74/75
stretching right down to the wing roots and by the looks of the profile it was
a fairly dirty airframe.
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Of note and mentioned in the instructions of this kite is
the natural metal on the wingtips and flaps.
Having these precise descriptions on the instructions, and
the use of profiles and camouflage maps of the top sides along with the fact
they are printed by the industry leaders in Cartograf make me really
comfortable with choosing these on my own kit.
The one thing I would have liked on this sheet is a picture
of each of these aircraft – seeing they are Jerry’s own pictures I don’t see
any problem with this except maybe if he were worried others may copy the
schemes? If they did I can’t see them doing much better than this sheet.
Seeing we have made a few kits of the Erla G-10 recently I feel
I should make other things – but the next Erla kit I make will be “White 22”. When
that time comes (retirement?) ill show you how it goes…
Well done on another great release team Eagle!
Adam Norenberg
Thanks to the guys (and gals) at Eagle Editions for sending these
out for review.
Also available in
this series is the new sheet from Eagle Cals in 32nd scale –
1/32nd scale
Sales price: $19.50
Sales price: $19.50
Bf 109 G-10 Erlas in
32nd scale
Featuring:
"Black 11"
14./JG 300
"Green 7"
11./JG 300
"Red 5"
2./JG 300
"Yellow 5"
JG 300
"Red 8"
2./JG 300
Both sheets are available at this link