Kovozávody Prostejov Messerschmitt Bf.109E-7 Club Line Kit (CLK0007) 1:72

[Mike]

Messerschmitt Bf.109E-7 Club Line Kit (CLK0007)

Pilot SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich

1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov

 

 

With almost 34,000 examples manufactured over a 10-year period, the Messerschmitt Bf.109 is one of the most widely produced aircraft in history and it saw active service in every theatre in which German armed forces were engaged.  Initially designed in the mid-1930s, the Bf.109 shared a similar general arrangement with the Spitfire, employing monocoque construction and a V12 engine, albeit an inverted V with fuel injection rather than the carburettor used in the Spit.  Initially designed as a lightweight interceptor, like many German types during WWII, the Bf.109 evolved beyond its original brief into a bomber escort, fighter bomber, night fighter, ground-attack and reconnaissance platform.

 

The E variant, or Emil as it was more affectionately known was the first major revision of the original design, including an uprated engine and the attendant strengthening of the airframe that was required. It first saw service in the Legion Condor fighting in the Spanish civil war on the side of Nationalist forces of Military Dictator Franco, and then in the Battle of Britain where it came up against its nemeses the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane during the critical fight for the survival of the RAF, which was key to halting Operation Seelöwe, the invasion of Britain by the Nazis.  As the Spitfire it fought was improved incrementally through different marks, the Emil was similarly tweaked to keep pace, with the E-7 having additional long-range tankage, plus structural improvements and a simpler squared-off canopy with clear frontal armour, but apart from various field modifications and a few low-volume sub-variants, it had reached the end of its tenure, and was phased out in favour of the Friedrich.

 

 

The Kit

This is an Emil from KP Models’ 1:72 line of Bf.109s, which is quite broad already but is still growing steadily.  We have seen some of the plastic already, but this is a Club Kit that is intended to be finished as the personal mount of a rightly reviled hard core Nazi, Reinhard Heydrich, who met his end in a staff car in Prague at the hands of a couple of brave but ill-prepared Partisans.  The kit arrives in a small end-opening box with a painting of the aircraft on the front, and four-way profiles of the markings on the rear.  Inside are two sprues in grey styrene, a tiny sprue of clear parts, two small decal sheets and the instruction booklet, which is generic to the Bf.109E and is intended for most Emil variants, as are the sprues.  Detail is good throughout, including sidewall and gear bay roof detail, plus instrument and seatbelt decals to add detail into the cockpit.  Panel lines and rivets are finely engraved, as are other raised/recessed details that all add visual interest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the cockpit, with detailed painting instructions provided in colour, giving the modeller plenty of detail plus the decals for the instrument panel and seatbelts, and a clear gunsight.  The cockpit and platform for the chin radiator are sandwiched between the fuselage halves after inserting the exhaust stubs from within.  The lower wing is a single span, and is joined to the two upper wing halves after adding radiator details in the fairings and painting the cooling pathway.  It is joined to the fuselage, and a scrap diagram shows that the dihedral should result in a 10mm gap between both wingtips and the mat when the model is laid flat on its belly.  The narrow-track landing gear is made up from the strut, wheel and captive bay door on each side, locating in sockets in the upper wing halves, while the tail-wheel is a single part that slots into the underside of the rear fuselage.  The cannon troughs on the upper engine cowling are a separate insert that receives a pair of cannon stubs from within before it is glued in, a scrap diagram showing that the barrels project asymmetrically from their recesses.  The prop diagram is small and could be confusing, but the E-7 sports a pointed spinner that slips over the three-bladed prop, enclosing it by adding the back-plate that has a peg moulded into the rear to attach it to the nose.  A squared-off supercharger intake is applied to an outline on the port side of the engine cowling, and the single-part canopy isn’t really single, as it also has a piece of armour added to the windscreen before it is glued down.

 

At the rear the elevators are fixed in their slots and are propped up by a pair of diagonal supports, then you can choose to load a bomb or additional fuel tank on their particular pylons on the centreline, adding a pitot and two horn balances to the ailerons while the model is inverted.  A scrap diagram shows the correct placement for each carrier, although the diagram is a little on the small side for us older folks, so don’t forget your spectacles.

 

 

Markings

There are two decal sheets in the box, one pertaining to the stencils, which are detailed on the rear of the instructions, while the other sheet provides decals for the lovely Mr Heidrich, as shown on the rear of the box.

 

From the box you can build the following:

 

 

The decals are well-printed in good register, with a thin glossy carrier film close to the printed edges for the most part, but with a few that are a little larger.  This shouldn’t cause too much of an issue however, as the film is thin and has a relatively soft edge.  There are seatbelts and an instrument decal on the sheet, which should add a little realism to your finished cockpit.

 

 

Conclusion

If you’re a WWII modeller and don’t have an aversion to Axis models, the Bf.109 is a staple for your collection, with the personal mount of this notable baddie an interesting decal choice, yet safe in the knowledge that he got his just desserts eventually.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[kapam]

Looks very nice on the sprues!

At the risk of appearing ignorant and uninformed, are these moldings all KP's or are they somehow related to Airfix or Special Hobby?

[ArmouredSprue]

Unfortunate choice of decal version. I, particularly, will refuse to buy this kit just because the decal option.

But this is just my own opinion.

I'm also curious to know if this a re-box of another manufacturer or a new tooling from KP.

[RunRookieRun]

2 hours ago, kapam said:

Looks very nice on the sprues!

At the risk of appearing ignorant and uninformed, are these moldings all KP's or are they somehow related to Airfix or Special Hobby?

 

58 minutes ago, ArmouredSprue said:

I'm also curious to know if this a re-box of another manufacturer or a new tooling from KP.

 

 

These are molds from AZ Models. I might be wrong, but I belive the two companies are very close to each other, if not two different names for the same company.

[Giorgio N]

On 9/19/2022 at 8:27 AM, RunRookieRun said:

 

These are molds from AZ Models. I might be wrong, but I belive the two companies are very close to each other, if not two different names for the same company.

 

Yes, KP today is just a brand onwed by AZ. Metal mould long-run kits tend to be branded KP while short runs appear more in AZ branded boxes... but this is not always the case so better check somewhere first before buying a kit from one of these companies.

 

I'm building one of these 109Es at the moment and while I liked some aspects the fit is not what I'd have expected from a modern tooling. Still they seem to be quite successful, guess that the competitive price helps