Eduard Bf.109G-6 Erla Weekend Edition 1:48

[Mike]

Bf.109G-6 Erla Weekend Edition

1:48 Eduard

 

 

The Bf.109G series carried the Luftwaffe along with the supposed replacement the Fw.190 throughout the closing years of the war, despite being increasingly outclassed by the later marks of the Spitfire and the new airframes coming out of Allied factories.

 

 

The Kit

We have reviewed a couple of the new G series 109s from Eduard, such as the G-6 Early in Profipak format, which in this case shares the same plastic with this boxing, and eschews the fancy pre-painted Photo-Etch (PE) and the multiple decal options for the plastic core and a more pocket-friendly price-tag.  Inside the box are four sprues of mid-grey styrene, one of clear parts, a pair of decal sheets, and a glossy instruction booklet, which is a step up from the older Weekend Editions, as are the two decal options.

 

 

Construction goes along the same lines as the previous boxings, and if you were expecting an Erla Haube high visibility canopy, you do get one but it's not appropriate for the two decal options provided.  Why?  Erla was the Erla Maschinenwerk who had a factory near Leipzig before it became a by-word for the new canopy style that gave the pilot a better situational awareness by removing many of the frames from the greenhouse canopy and replacing it with fewer curved panels.

 

As with all the newly tooled Eduard 109s, the kit has beautiful surface detail, a full set of mobilised flying surfaces, including the automatic leading-edge slats, and a pair of dual-layer flaps that sit behind the radiator baths as per the real thing.  A scrap diagram shows the correct orientation of these, to help you avoid a screw up.  There is a choice of a couple of different small stencil decals within the cockpit, and an alternative windscreen parts depending on which decal option you choose.

 

 

Markings

Two markings options are included, as previously mentioned, so you have a choice of schemes for your Gustav, as follows:

 

• Hptm. Heinrich Ehrler, Stab III./HG 5, Alakurtti, Finland, June 1943
• W.Nr.15909 Hptm. Gerhard Barkhorn, Stab II./JG 52, Anapa, Soviet Union, Sept 1943

 

 

 

The decals are printed in-house, are in good register, sharp, have excellent colour density, and include both a decal for the instrument panel, plus four more for the seatbelts.  They're a little two-dimensional compared to PE, but they're an awful lot better than no seatbelts at all.  The smaller decal sheet contains all the stencils, with the last page of the instructions detailing their application away from the clutter of the national and squadron markings pages.

 

Conclusion

The weekend Edition's moniker may be a little optimistic for most modellers' timescales, but it's a great way of picking up one of Eduard's new 109s for a good price.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Doug Rogers]

I've just got this kit Mike and for £16.99 it's a real bargain.

 

I stand to be corrected but I think you can make a G-14 from the options supplied too.

[Duncan B]

10 hours ago, Doug Rogers said:

I've just got this kit Mike and for £16.99 it's a real bargain.

 

I stand to be corrected but I think you can make a G-14 from the options supplied too.

Yes, Doug all the parts for the G14 are in there too.

 

Thanks for the review Mike, I hope you don't mind me posting it up on my Facebook Page (with full credits to Britmodeller of course)? (I'll wait for your answer before posting it).

 

Duncan B

[Mike]

That's fine Duncan - it's all spreading the Britmodeller word, isn't it?   Just don't caption it "Reviewed by bone-heads" N'kay?

[Duncan B]

Thanks Mike. Posted with credit to Britmodeller.com.

 

One thing I've just noticed (and I have these in stock so have examined them before and never noticed this) is that the box art showing the right hand side of Barkhorn's aircraft doesn't have the correct bulges for an Erla built G5/6/14. Obviously an artistic mistake but hopefully the instructions show the correct bulge with the additional smaller bulge and intake. 

 

Duncan B

[vppelt68]

I´m NOT tempted to switch to this huge scale, but it WILL be interesting to see this go head to head with the new Zvezda G-6 kit . Thanks for the review! V-P