Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3 'ProfiPACK'

Inside the box you will find one clear and two dark grey-coloured sprues along with one fret of pre-painted photo-etched and a set of self-adhesive, die-cut canopy & wheel masks. The interior is made up of a floor, bulkheads, seat and control column in plastic, with the rudder pedals, seat belts and the instrument panel done in pre-painted, photo-etched. The Revi gunsight is supplied in clear plastic and you have the option of a decal over raised details for a plastic version of the main instrument panel if you so choose. Because the kit comes with the option for an engine, the upper cowl guns also comes in two different forms, one for with the cowls closed, the other with it open. The engine itself is a multi-part unit that is quite effective, although even in this small scale a little extra detailing with wire etc. would not go amiss. All the forward cowls are separate, include the aft ones with the supercharger intake on the port side. The wings come with the mid-span MG-FF cannon bulges and the linings for the wheel wells are etched, although the actual bulkheads are moulded in situ with the lower wing half. The lower cowling region is also part of the lower wing half, so the bulkheads front and rear are a separate insert with the matrices as etched and the exhaust flap is another separate part. The ailerons and landing flaps are separate, the former with subtle raised structural elements to represent the fabric covering of the real thing, whilst the latter has the bulge aft of the radiator exhaust as a separate part to reduce the risk of shrinkage on the upper surface. Whilst having offered the matrices for the chin oil cooler as etched and you also get this with the two coolant radiators under the wings; the exhaust flap is moulded open for each, but replaced with etched if you wish. The clears sprue offer the canopy in the curved style of the E-3 version and it is in three parts so that it can be posed open. The leading edge slats are separate and the propeller is a three-piece sub-assembly with good overall shape. The final stage is the fitment of the undercarriage, which has the brake lines partially moulded in situ, so these have to be removed and replaced with the photo-etched version, although even in this scale wire would be a better alternative, as the etched is too 'flat'. Final little details include the aerial mast, aileron mass balance weights and the L-shaped pitot. As always, painting masks are included for the main wheel hubs and each panel of the canopy, but there is no mask for the taiwheel hub, which is a shame, as that is one of the trickiest things to mask in this small scale.

Colour Options
The kit offers the following decal options: 
• Bf 109E-3, W/Nr.1079, flown by Ofw. E. Rudorffer, 2./JG 2, Baumont-le-Roger, France, September 1940
• Bf 109E-3, 'Red 1', flown by Oblt A-W Schumann, 5./JG 52, Mannheim-Sandhofen, Germany, November-December 1939
• Bf 109e-4, W/Nr.1380, flown by Obstlt C-A Schumacher, CO of JG1, Jever, Germany, early 1940
• Bf 109E-4, flown by Obstlt M. Ibel, CO of JG27, Guines, France, September-October 1940
• Bf 109E-4, W/Nr.1271, 'White 13', flown by Oblt H. Henz, CO of 4./JG77. Kristiandsand-Kjevik, Norway, September 1940
• Bf 109E-4, W/Nr.5058, 'Yellow 3', flown by Fw. A. Haase, 6./JG51, Marquise-West, France, August 1940
The main decal sheet, which is printed by Eduard, is excellent and has perfect register and colour density. The swastikas are placed along the top edge of the main sheet so that they can be clipped off in those countries where the symbol is banned, with split versions on the main sheet. There is a separate sheet containing a complete set of airframe stencils.

Conclusion
This is an excellent new kit, sure we already have E-series 109s in this scale, but they are all either quite old (even the Tamiya one now) or 'bulky' in overall shape. This new one from Special Hobby/Eduard is certainly a step up in overall finesse and detail and it is nice to now have it in Eduard's 'ProfiPACK' range.

Our thanks to Eduard (www.eduard.com) for the review sample, UK modellers can obtain this kit from Hannants here.