Halberd Models Messerschmitt Bf.109W Conversion & Complete Kit 1:48

[Mike]

Messerschmitt Bf.109W Conversion (for Eduard) & Complete Kit

1:48 Halberd Models

 

 

If you’ve never heard of a Bf.109W, you’re not alone.  I’d not heard of one until I spoke to Andrey about their new conversion, and I immediately wanted one.  The W began life as an Emil, which was fitted with a pair of floats off an Arado 196 and was integrated by Fiesler.  Later, using an F, Blohm & Voss to created a fast reconnaissance fighter for their fleet.  The first prototype flew in late 1939 with the top speed reduced in excess of 50mph once it got into the air, rather than water skiing around on the test pan.  There is very little record remaining of it in service, although some action is supposed to have happened in Norway, but it is unclear.  The type wasn’t taken into service in any quantity, as B&V were unable to guarantee they could mass-produce the airframes, and the German high command couldn’t really find a use for them either once their fleet was being picked off.

 

 

The Kit

This is a brand-new resin conversion kit for the Eduard Bf.109F kit that can either be bought as a complete set from Halberd in an Eduard Overtrees box, or in a smaller box with just the resin parts within.  That should allow you to pick up the complete package yourself, or augment an existing kit in your possession if you’ve already been spending your money.  The difference in price between the two is about the same as the cost of the kit, so there’s nothing to stop you from choosing whichever one is most suitable for your needs.  You just need one.  Really.  Within the box are seventeen resin parts in Halbard’s signature green resin, plus four flexible resin tyres in black, four hubs in stiff black resin, and a new decal sheet.  With the full kit (larger box), you also get the four Eduard grey/blue sprues and clear parts in the box, which you can see below in case you’ve not seen them before, as we’ve not yet reviewed the F.

 

Resin Conversion Set

 

 

 

 

 

Eduard Donor Kit (if applicable)

 

 

 

 

 

The detail on the resin is excellent as we’ve come to expect from Halberd's wheel sets, and the casting is also first-rate, with sensible placement of the casting blocks that are easy to remove as I found out when test fitting the lower wing panel.  The great thing about the set is that once you’ve removed the casting blocks, it’s almost a drop-in replacement for the kit parts, with the wing underside the largest part, plus a tiny cover for the rear tail-wheel bay.  The Eduard kit is built in the usual manner you’d expect, and the Halbard instructions show a link to the PDF document here to carry out the majority of construction with the exception of the aforementioned parts.  The lower fits in very snugly without any alteration, and when you flip it over you can clearly see the slots for the vertical float supports.  These are handed, and slot into the corresponding sockets in the floats, which have short nose-cones on the smaller casting blocks that make up the tips of the floats where the casting block is sited originally.  At the rear of each float is a small rudder for directional control on the water, with a pair of depressions to locate them securely.  The remaining parts on the blocks relate to the beaching dolly apart from the afore mentioned tail-wheel cover that is moulded on end with the smaller parts.

 

The dolly is based on a flat chassis with a moulded-in cross-brace for the two castor wheels, plus two axle blocks that are made up from an axle frame and the diagonal cover with upright safety frames around the twin wheels, which are each built from a flexible tyre and their corresponding hubs, totalling four wheels that are fixed to the axles in pairs.  A little adjustment of the various holes in this part of the assembly might be required to perfect the fit before gluing.

 

 

As an aside, as well as having fitted the wings together in the adjacent photo, I have also been playing with the other parts, removing them from their casting blocks, which was a pretty short job thanks to their sensible placement.  The parts fit together snugly, so check fit once you’ve been putting paint on the model to ensure the thickness of the layers hasn’t compromised fit.  I so want to build this, but I have so many started projects at the moment, I daren’t!

 

 

Markings

There’s one exaple airframe included on the decal sheet, but as this is a niche type, that’s hardly surprising.  You are of course at liberty to paint your model any way you like, so it’s entirely up to you if you follow the set of four profiles. 

 

 

 

They have colour call-outs in RLM codes and a detailed layout of the decals, including national markings and stencils from the sheet, which have good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Conclusion

Seriously.  The moment I saw the first tempting pics from Andrey at Halberd, I was hooked, and just had to have one.  It’s not often that you see a fighter in wading boots, and Halberd have done a cracking job of this conversion, beginning with the right decision to base it on the new Eduard plastic.

 

Buy it with or without the kit as you see fit (I’m sorry, that wasn’t intended to rhyme), and get yourself a highly unusual 109, which should also encourage Halberd to do some other cool conversions that will draw us in further.

 

Halberd are currently selling through eBay to simplify matters, so the links below lead to their store.

 

Extremely highly recommended.

 

Kit & Conversion Set

 

Conversion Set Only

 

Review sample courtesy of

[jackroadkill]

Oh dear; I think I need one of these.

[Mike]

1 hour ago, jackroadkill said:

Oh dear; I think I need one of these.

My words exactly when I saw the pics.  It's calling to me right now

[jackroadkill]

5 hours ago, Mike said:

My words exactly when I saw the pics.  It's calling to me right now

 

Not cheap, by any stretch, but very niche, so I might just have to go for one.

[Paramedic]

Never heard of it either but it is pretty cool!

[-Ian-]

The one very minor disappointment is it's only available in 1/48 and the Brengun Spitfire floatplane is only available in 1/72. If they were both in the same scale they'd look great built and displayed as a pair.

[Mike]

3 minutes ago, -Ian- said:

The one very minor disappointment is it's only available in 1/48 and the Brengun Spitfire floatplane is only available in 1/72. If they were both in the same scale they'd look great built and displayed as a pair.

They would, wouldn't they You never know - they might end up scaling up and down if there's enough demand.  Who knows? (for the avoidance of doubt, I don't know).

[Graham Boak]

AModel do the "Bf.109W" in 1/72, so it should be a very small disappointment indeed. 

[Welkin]

Whilst the Spitfire floatplanes are well known my copy of William Green's Aircraft of WW2 (Vol.6: Floatplanes) makes no mention of a floatplane version of the Bf.109.

Is this genuine, or a What-if, or a Luft.39?

[Graham Boak]

It's a WIF.  I must admit I'd be unsurprised to discover that the Bf.109X was one also, but there are photos which look real.  I played safe by changing mine so that it really was a WIF, basing it on an incorrect account of its origins.  "incorrect" despite not being completely convinced by what passes for a real reason (but at least not so obviously wrong).

[Jb65rams]

I’ve just succumbed and ordered one.
Will look good alongside my 1/48 Floatfire and Wildcatfish.