Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4 'ProfiPACK'
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Kit Review
Having made new G-5 and G-6 kits earlier this year, Eduard have now back-dated to produce their first F-series kit in the form of the F-4.
Inside the box you will find four sprues of a dark grey-coloured plastic, one of clear plastic, one stand and one pre-coloured photo-etched fret and a set of self-adhesive masks. The full-colour instructions take you though assembly over nine pages and colours are highlighted throughout via the Gunze-Sangyo Mr Aqueous Hobby Color and Mr Color ranges. Breakdown is traditional for the Bf 109, so you have a nice cockpit floor/bulkhead into which goes the trim wheel, control column, seat pan, rudder pedals, cannon breech cover, fuel flow sight glass (clear plastic) and seat belts (etched). The starboard sidewall has a separate electrical distribution panel and the instrument panel is a combination of plastic and etched, or decal over raised dials on a plastic unit.
No engine is included, so the exhaust stacks are held in place within the cowls and you get two styles, either with or without the anti-glare shields (those without actually thus allow you to later use the etched shields, which are more to scale). The gun troughs have backing plates for the partial gun barrels to sit into; obviously to allow the Brassin engine and gun mounts set to fit. There is two styles of supercharger intake and you also have the option of a sand filter on this. The vertical fin and tailplanes are separate as are the elevators and rudder; the strengthening plates on either side of the rear fuselage/tail joint are separate etched parts. The wheel wells have multi-part linings and but you can also get the inner sections as etched replaces separately if you so desire. Ailerons, flaps and leading edge slats are all separate and the radiators have separate flaps and the option of plastic or etched for the matrices (as does the oil cooler under the chin). The undercarriage features wheels with separate hubs although you get two different styles of tyre. The canopy is multi-part, so it can be posed open and you have the IFF antenna under the mid-fuselage and the aerial lead connector for the top of the vertical fin supplied as etched parts. Ordnance comes in the form an ETC rake and bomb to go under the fuselage centreline. The kit includes die-cut, self-adhesive Kabuki tape masks for the canopy and wheel hubs.
Colour Options
The kit offers five decal options:
• 'White <<', flown by Hptm. Hans Hahn, III./JG 2, St. Pol, France, 13th October 1941
• 'Yellow 10', flown by Uffz. Hans Döbrich, 6./JG 5, Petsamo, Finland, 2nd September 1942
• 'Green -+-', flown by Oblt Otto Kath, Stab./JG 54, Staraya Russia, Russian, early December 1941
• F-4/Trop, 'Yellow 14', flown by Lt Hans-Joachim Marseille, 3./JG 27, North Africa, February 1942
• F-4/B, 'Blue 1', flown by Oblt Frank Liesendahl, 10(Jabo)./JG 2, France, June 1942
• 'Yellow 7', flown by Oblt Viktor Bauer, 9./JG 3, Shchigry, Russian, June 1942
The decal sheet is excellent and has perfect register and colour density. There is also a separate sheet containing a complete set of airframe stencils.
Conclusion
Eduard continue their coverage of the mid-series Bf 109s in the scale, and that has to be welcome as the Hasegawa kits are showing their age nowadays. This is an excellent product and is therefore highly recommended to all '109 fans.
UK modellers can obtain this kit from Hannants (here), or you can visit the Eduard website directly (here).
NOTE- Don't forget you can also get the 'overtrees' (sprues without etched, decals, instructions et.) still from the Eduard website - visit here, plus the photo-etched fret (visit here).
Having made new G-5 and G-6 kits earlier this year, Eduard have now back-dated to produce their first F-series kit in the form of the F-4.
Inside the box you will find four sprues of a dark grey-coloured plastic, one of clear plastic, one stand and one pre-coloured photo-etched fret and a set of self-adhesive masks. The full-colour instructions take you though assembly over nine pages and colours are highlighted throughout via the Gunze-Sangyo Mr Aqueous Hobby Color and Mr Color ranges. Breakdown is traditional for the Bf 109, so you have a nice cockpit floor/bulkhead into which goes the trim wheel, control column, seat pan, rudder pedals, cannon breech cover, fuel flow sight glass (clear plastic) and seat belts (etched). The starboard sidewall has a separate electrical distribution panel and the instrument panel is a combination of plastic and etched, or decal over raised dials on a plastic unit.
No engine is included, so the exhaust stacks are held in place within the cowls and you get two styles, either with or without the anti-glare shields (those without actually thus allow you to later use the etched shields, which are more to scale). The gun troughs have backing plates for the partial gun barrels to sit into; obviously to allow the Brassin engine and gun mounts set to fit. There is two styles of supercharger intake and you also have the option of a sand filter on this. The vertical fin and tailplanes are separate as are the elevators and rudder; the strengthening plates on either side of the rear fuselage/tail joint are separate etched parts. The wheel wells have multi-part linings and but you can also get the inner sections as etched replaces separately if you so desire. Ailerons, flaps and leading edge slats are all separate and the radiators have separate flaps and the option of plastic or etched for the matrices (as does the oil cooler under the chin). The undercarriage features wheels with separate hubs although you get two different styles of tyre. The canopy is multi-part, so it can be posed open and you have the IFF antenna under the mid-fuselage and the aerial lead connector for the top of the vertical fin supplied as etched parts. Ordnance comes in the form an ETC rake and bomb to go under the fuselage centreline. The kit includes die-cut, self-adhesive Kabuki tape masks for the canopy and wheel hubs.Colour Options
The kit offers five decal options:
• 'White <<', flown by Hptm. Hans Hahn, III./JG 2, St. Pol, France, 13th October 1941
• 'Yellow 10', flown by Uffz. Hans Döbrich, 6./JG 5, Petsamo, Finland, 2nd September 1942
• 'Green -+-', flown by Oblt Otto Kath, Stab./JG 54, Staraya Russia, Russian, early December 1941
• F-4/Trop, 'Yellow 14', flown by Lt Hans-Joachim Marseille, 3./JG 27, North Africa, February 1942
• F-4/B, 'Blue 1', flown by Oblt Frank Liesendahl, 10(Jabo)./JG 2, France, June 1942
• 'Yellow 7', flown by Oblt Viktor Bauer, 9./JG 3, Shchigry, Russian, June 1942
The decal sheet is excellent and has perfect register and colour density. There is also a separate sheet containing a complete set of airframe stencils.
Conclusion
Eduard continue their coverage of the mid-series Bf 109s in the scale, and that has to be welcome as the Hasegawa kits are showing their age nowadays. This is an excellent product and is therefore highly recommended to all '109 fans.
UK modellers can obtain this kit from Hannants (here), or you can visit the Eduard website directly (here).
NOTE- Don't forget you can also get the 'overtrees' (sprues without etched, decals, instructions et.) still from the Eduard website - visit here, plus the photo-etched fret (visit here).
