Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 "Gustavs Over the Balkans”

Exito Decals, 1/72 & 1/48 scale

Reviewed by James Hatch

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Exito recently sent me two of their debut releases in both 1:72 and 1:48 scales. Today we look at the second from this Polish company, concerning the Bf 109G-6 ‘Gustav’. For purchase, here are the links to both scales.

1:48 Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 “Gustavs over the Balkans”, €10,82

1:72 Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 “Gustavs over the Balkans”, €7,20

Exito’s decal sheets are presented in a re-sealable A4 clear sleeve with a standard printed profile insert at the front. In this case you can see that there are three scheme options to choose from, and all quite startling in their differences. It’s also to be noted that each pack is quite weighty too with a serious piece of stiffening card sat within. This protects not just the decals but also the high-quality poster art within.

The back of the packet shows a simple paper insert with some contact details, plus you can also see the decal sheet that’s included.

Having three schemes means that Exito has provided each of these on light grade card with a satin finish, and the printing on them is absolutely superb! In fact, very much akin to what I would expect to see in a high-quality publication. I don’t just mean that in terms of the quality of print, but also the profile rendering and artworks themselves. For me, I’ve not seen anything quite this good when it comes to aftermarket decals. 

Whilst the front of each scheme sheet contains both port and starboard profiles of each scheme (one with gear down) plus the emblem for the machine and name of pilot etc. (unadulterated with annotation for decal placement), the reverse of the sheet contains an upper planform for the aircraft, and wing lower panels, plus a section showing the tail. All of these graphics are annotated for decal ID, plus an RLM chart is provided, with paint reference codes for Mr Hobby and AK-Interactive paints.

A single decal sheet contains everything that you’ll need for these schemes, with the exception of the stencils that you’ll need to either source yourself or have provided for you in the kit (such as Eduard). The sheet itself is clearly broken down into sections of which each contains decals for a single scheme. It has to be noted that my sample has both full swastikas as well as the halved ones which I presume will be for those lucky customers in Germany. The sheet has been designed so the corner, with complete swastikas, can be cut off for those particular countries, in much the same way that Eduard do.

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Printing is by Cartograf too, and these glossy-finish decals are nice and thin, have minimal carrier film, plus solid and authentic colour. Registration is also perfect. The machines depicted are all G-6 types as denoted by the title, and as none of these relies on shared decals, you can build three complete models from this release.

The three schemes provided in this release are:

• Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6, coded ‘White 12’, flown by Uffz. Anton Riemer of 7./JG 77, Mizil, Romania, January 1944

• Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6, coded ‘Black 5’, 3./JG 53, Borovo, Croatia, May 1944

• Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6, W.Nr.166133, flown by Capt. Constantin ‘Bâzu’ Cantacuzino, San Giovanni (near Foggia), Italy, 27th August 1944

For Exito’s debut on the decal market, this is mighty impressive. Not only do we have poster-quality prints that really are worth framing, but the subject choice and schemes will prove to be highly popular. The fact that three models can be built from one release also increases the value for money even further. I really can’t wait to see their future releases, and I hope they also extend to 1:32 scale in future.

Thanks to Exito Decals for the review sample

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2018 by James Hatch
Page Created 29 November, 2018
Last Updated 29 November, 2018

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