AZ Model Messerschmit Bf.109S ‘Shule Emil’ (AZ7871) 1:72

[Mike]

Messerschmit Bf.109S ‘Shule Emil’ (AZ7871)

1:72 AZ Model by 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 Spitfire.  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 and Britain, which was key to halting Operation Seelöwe, the invasion of Britain by the Nazis.  Like the Spitfire it fought against, it was improved incrementally through different marks, the Emil was similarly tweaked to keep pace, with later variants 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 and later the Gustav.  It’s known that the Gustav had a two-seat trainer variant, extending the cockpit to the rear to make space for another crew member, offsetting other equipment as necessary, but an Emil variant of the type isn’t so well documented.  It’s possible that the origin of the Gustav’s trainer came from experience with a field modified Emil at some point, but it’s also very possible that this isn’t the case.

 

 

The Kit

This boxing is based on a 2020 tooling from AZ Model with a new fuselage sprue, and it arrives in a small end-opening box with three sprues of grey styrene, a small separately bagged clear sprue, two decal sheets, and instruction booklet that is printed on both sides of a folded A4 sheet.  Detail is good, and extends into the cockpit and wheel bays, as well as finely engraved panel lines with judicious use of riveting where they are most prominent on the real airframe.  You may have noticed that there are two sets of fuselage halves, because the main sprue holds many of the parts that will be needed to complete the model, while the correct fuselage parts with two cockpits are moulded on a new sprue with more parts that are needed for the rear cockpit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins predictably with the two almost identical cockpits, adding decals to the instrument panels and detail painting the sidewalls that are moulded into the fuselage interiors.  A double trim wheel and gunsight are made up for the forward pilot, the control column details painted with three colours, then the seats are inserted on the rails in the two cockpit rears, mounting the adjustment mechanism on the port side of the forward cockpit, which also has the trim wheels sited there.  The forward instrument panel is fitted to the front bulkhead, while the rear panel is fitted to the divider between them and glued in place along with the control column, painting and installing the gunsight to add to the centre of the front coaming.  The propeller is moulded as a three-bladed part that is sandwiched between the spinner and back-plate ready for closing of the fuselage.  The cockpits are glued together into the starboard fuselage half after painting the interior and inserting the two airway parts in the nose for the chin-mounted oil-cooler before bringing the fuselage halves together, taking care that the inserts line up properly.

 

The lower wings are full-span, and have radiator faces fitted, while the upper wings are in halves and have bay detail moulded-in, requiring a little detail painting as you go, sliding them into the cut-out in the lower fuselage, ensuring that there is the required dihedral on both sides, which should leave both wingtips 10mm from the ground when the model is placed upright on a flat surface.  The main wheel legs are each single parts with a wheel placed on the axle at the bottom, and a captive gear bay door glued to the inner face, plugging into the inner end of the gear bays under the wing, which was a source of the type’s instability on the ground, leading to many nose-overs and much embarrassment.  An insert over the engine cowling is installed along with a C-shaped carrier of two gun barrels and the prop, a supercharger intake fairing on the port side of the engine cowling, plus a tail-wheel with moulded-in strut.

 

A belly-mounted fuel tank can be fitted, and the instructions note that its mount is offset to one side, making the tank from two halves if you intend to use it.  If not, the underside is completed by a pitot-probe under the port wing, and mass-balance horns on the ailerons.  With the model on its wheels, the single-part double-length canopy should be installed with a non-fogging glue, adding an aerial to the rear, and the elevators are slotted into the sides of the tail fin, supporting them with diagonal struts from underneath.

 

 

Markings

There are three decal options on the sheet, and the profiles can be found on the rear of the box, one in RLM02 greenish grey, the others in camouflage, all wearing a swastika on the tail.  If the kit has been dispatched to a locale where that symbol is frowned upon under law, the corner of the sheet will have been snipped off, otherwise it’s up to you whether you apply them for historical accuracy or not.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

 

 

 

The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas.  This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film.  It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain.

 

 

Conclusion

Those that complain about “another 109” might find their interest piqued by this one, having an extra seat and a different side profile from the usual.  Detail is good, the decal choices interesting, and the number etched from the yellow-nosed option fetching, if a little modern and stylised.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of