Eduard Bf.109G External Fuel Tanks (648265) 1:48

[Mike]

Bf.109G External Fuel Tanks (648265)
1:48 Eduard Brassin

The 109G often carried an addition fuel tank to extend its range, and these tended to be under the belly on a small "hump" that attached to the underside of the aircraft with a fuel feed and the option to ditch the tank if necessary. The tanks were aerodynamically shaped, with a streamlined rear which often had a flat bottom to give extra ground clearance when taxiing. The set arrives in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card and protecting the small decal sheet. There are two tanks in the box, representing one of each type, with two pylons, allowing you to use them on two models.

To apply the tanks to your model, you need to first remove the four lugs from the underside of the wings, and drill a small hole in the centreline for the location lug that's moulded into the underside of the pylon. Removing the pouring stubs from the resin parts should be simple, as the tanks have five small connections to the plug, which should clean up easily. The pylon has its moulding stub attached on the underside, which makes life easier from a point of view of clean-up. The tank and pylon are glued together by four pegs, and the decals are applied to the bottom and sides of the tank, with locations shown on a scrap diagram which also shows the correct colours using Gunze Sangyo colours. The decals on my sample were slightly damaged due to the protective paper adhering to the sheet, removal of which did a little damage. Check yours before you go tugging at them, as you can probably do a better job by soaking the paper off when it comes time to apply the decals.

As usual, take the precaution of wearing a mask when cutting or sanding resin, as the tiny particles are harmful to your health if breathed in. Washing the parts in warm water will also improve the adhesion of paint, as there may still be some moulding release agent on the parts when you receive them.

Review sample courtesy of