Messerschmitt Bf.109E Cockpit & Radio Compartment - 1:48 Eduard Brassin

[Mike]

Bf.109E Cockpit & Radio Compartment

1:48 Eduard Brassin

The new Eduard 109 is (for me) the definitive 109 in 1:48, so I won't witter on about how good it is too much. It raises the level of detail to new levels for an injection moulded kit, but as always you can improve on the detail with some carefully moulded resin parts.

The set arrives in Eduard's standard box for the larger Brassin sets, and once you've pulled out all the foam blocks and that usual bright-blue pan scourer (why?), you're presented with four bags of parts. Three of them contain finely crafted resin parts in two shades of grey, while the final bag contains two small (5cm x 3.6cm) Photo-Etch (PE) frets, one of which is pre-painted. The instruction booklet is a little more involved than the usual sets, due to the number of parts and relatively complex build process of this one. As usual with Eduard's resin, the casting blocks are sensibly placed and minimalistic, with the exception of the main cockpit tub, radio boxes and the front bulkhead. You will need a razor saw to liberate these chunks from their parts.

Construction starts with the pre-painted seatbelts being built up and added to the superbly fine pilot's seat. This is then installed in the cockpit tub, and a pair of braces added in PE to each side. The control column is resin, while the perforated rudder pedals are supplied as PE parts with foot straps to fold into place. The cockpit sidewalls are thin resin sheets, curved to the shape of the fuselage, with ribbing and instrument detail moulded in. The O₂ bottle, shroud and regulator are cast in one piece, but don't think that this means less detail. The part is very fine, and looks superb as it is, with only a short curved length of hose added to finish it off. The front bulkhead slots into the front of the cockpit floor, enclosing the area nicely, and the bottom section of the instrument panel is made up from two laminated PE parts, extra levers & switches, attached to a resin backing piece.

The radio bay is next, and this is mostly complete, in a C-shaped 3cm section of the fuselage, complete with ribbing and wiring detail. To this is added the radio gear, on the floor of the fuselage, as well as suspended by a pair of mounts in the top and bottom of the fuselage. You will of course need to remove the radio bay access panel from the fuselage, and Eduard have sensibly provided a replacement made from two PE parts - the outer skin, and strengthening framework.

The two sections are then installed in the kit fuselage, after the moulded in cockpit sidewalls have been scraped away to accommodate the resin replacements. Two different upper instrument panel sections are supplied for an open or closed nose, with the open nosed option having the choice of exposed instrument backs, or a cover protecting them from the rigors of being so close to the nose armament. The closed nose part is simply a flat backing piece, and all options receive the two-part laminated panel, and the kit gun-sight to finish them off. PE details are also included for the canopy, to replace the head-armour, adding some fine support brackets and resin head cushion, finishing off with a cockpit opening lever on the port side.

Colour call-outs are given throughout in Gunze codes in acrylic or enamel, which are in turn converted to simple colour names and RLM numbers where appropriate.

Conclusion

This set is perfect for the super-detailer or the diorama builder, as it takes the cockpit to the highest level of detail, and adds detail in the fuselage that would normally be unseen in most models. The small door in the side of the fuselage to access the radio gear will lead to a rarely glimpsed area of the 109, and I only hope it lets in enough light to do it justice.

Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of