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SHEET: |
Aeromaster 48-514 for Bf-109 |
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PRICE: |
$8.00 |
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UNITS: |
See review |
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REVIEW & |
Tim Mayberry |
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NOTES: |
Attack in the West Part 1 |
I was one of the lucky
schmoes who waited to buy the first four books in the Classic Books series on
the Luftwaffe. I was lucky because they combined all four in a special
“Collectors Compendium,” complete with bonus pages and author autographs. The
Aeromaster sheet 48-514, “Attack in the West” comes from the fourth book in the
series.
The sheet depicts 5 aircraft, all 109E’s. Before you roll your eyes and think, “Great, another sheet of 109 decals,” take a look at this sheet. Although all five aircraft are in the standard 71/02 over 65 with high demarcation on the fuselage, each aircraft displays interesting and colorful markings. These markings really make the planes “stand out” from most early 109’s.
Starting out the set is an E-1 from 5.(J)/Tr.Gr 186. This plane had the dubious honor of being shot down by a Fokker D.XXI. The plane is marked with a black 1 outlined in white, with accompanying fuselage stripe. Interestingly, Aeromaster includes an extra number and fuselage stripe, only in red. There is no mention of the discrepancy in the instructions or in the Classic Book, so I guess it’s up to the modeler’s own interpretation. The aircraft also sports the phrase “Der Alte” or “The Old One” in red, below the canopy.
The next is another E-1, and my personal favorite. White 12 displays the “Weeping Penguin” badge of JG 51. The badge was a holdover from the JG 51’s embryonic group, JG 71. Maybe it’s my affinity for penguins, but I’ve always liked this badge. The words “Gotte strafe England!!” (God punishes England!) are lettered around the bottom. This plane also strays from the others with a 70/02 camouflage in an irregular pattern with a soft demarcation.
Aircraft #3 is an E-3 from
JG26. This aircraft carries an atypical style 5 with the horizontal bar from II
gruppe. These characters were originally yellow, but repainted in brown in an
effort to dull the bright markings. The aircraft also has a brown “Steinbock”
(ram), and the well-known Schlageter Badge of JG26.
The penultimate plane is an E-1 from JG52. Red 8 is a somewhat generic looking plane, save the Devil with Bow & Arrow emblem called the “Rabbatz,” or “trouble maker.”
Rounding out the set is another E-1, also from JG52. Yellow 3 carries the a large eagle emblem, black with white and blue details, from the II gruppe. For all the rivet counters out there, it’s interesting to see that this aircraft carried a different stencil lettering for the engine cooling filling point. Good luck trying to reproduce it! Once again, Aeromaster provides alternate red 3 decals, advising the modeler to use their own judgment
As previously mentioned, these decals contain only the bare minimum of stencils, but quite a few balkenkreuz. Also worth mentioning is the mix of early and late style of the halkenkreuz positioning on the tail.
I really like the whole “decaling with dedicated references” concept. Hope to see more of it from Classic Publications and other publishers in the future.
Review copy courtesy of me and my snazzy chain wallet.
(Note: the common insignia have been cropped from this sheet to save space. Ed)
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