Messerschmitt Bf 109F-2
Weekend Edition

Eduard, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by David Couche

Eduard's 1/48 scale Bf 109 E-3 is available on sale from Squadron.com for only $21.99!

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II in 1945. It was one of the most advanced fighters of the era, including such features as all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. It was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine.[4] From the end of 1941, the Bf 109 was steadily being supplemented by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It was commonly called the Me 109, most often by Allied aircrew and even among the German aces themselves, even though this was not the official German designation.

It was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser, who worked at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke during the early to mid-1930s. Whilst the 109 was conceived as an interceptor, later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and as reconnaissance aircraft. It was supplied to and operated by several states during World War II, and served with several countries for many years after the war. The Bf 109 is the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 airframes produced from 1936 up to April 1945.

The Bf 109 F was much improved aerodynamically with the engine cowling redesigned to be smoother and more rounded. The enlarged propeller spinner, now blended smoothly into the new engine cowling With the improved aerodynamics, more fuel-efficient engines and the introduction of light-alloy versions of the standard Luftwaffe 300 litre drop tank, the Bf 109 F offered a much increased maximum range of 1,700 km (1,060 mi) compared to the Bf 109 E's maximum range figure of only 660 km (410 miles) on internal fuel.

*For a more detailed F-2 history please refer to Brett Green’s earlier review of the Profipack version.

The sturdy Eduard box is packed with 5 sprues of grey injected moulded, finely detailed parts with some 187 parts on them. Upon careful examination of the instructions I find that 91 of these parts are not to be used in this version, so the spares box will have plenty added to it.

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There is one clear sprue containing 6 very clear parts with only 1 not used, decals for 2 different aircraft and a separate sheet of data stencils and the usual comprehensive instruction booklet. All sprues are cleanly moulded with no flash evident and sprue gates to the parts appear to have been created to minimise their effect on the parts. Interestingly, the sprue designations start at H and randomly continue.

Sprue H

This sprue has 87 parts on it, with nearly half of these, 41, not used for this model. I believe many of these are relevant for the previous Bf 109 versions. It has a choice of nicely moulded props of which only one is used, lovely detailed cockpit tub, undercarriage parts, tyres, a choice of wheel hubs and wheel-well parts. What is good to see is that the tyres and the hubs are separate parts which certainly simplifies that painting process.

Sprue I

Sprue I contains the tail planes, rudders, exhausts, under wing coolers and many smaller parts. It also has drop tanks and other varied underwing items that will not be used for this model. There are 82 parts on this sprue of which 38 ae not used.

Sprue Q

This sprue has only 2 parts, with them being the upper wing sections. Wonderfully detailed and moulded.

Sprue K

Sprue K has only 1 part, with that being the lower wing. Wonderfully detailed and moulded as well.

Sprue R

This sprue has 14 parts, with the only 2 parts to be used being the fuselage halves. The other 12 can go straight to the spares box. Wonderfully detailed and moulded. Please note that the cowling section is moulded as part of the fuselage sides, not a separate piece as are the 2 examples on the sprue as well. The hinge line that runs down the join has been dealt with by having a recess in which a separate hinge section drops into to give a perfect hinge line. Well done Eduard!

Sprue Z

This is the clear sprue of 6 parts, only 1 (armoured front windscreen) not being used. As well as crystal clear canopy parts, allowing for an open cockpit, there is the clear part to allow the accurate representation of the fuel line system within the cockpit.

Instructions and Markings

The instructions for the kit are the usual Eduard, with a glossy booklet of 11 A4 pages of high quality detailed instructions, with copious colour call outs throughout, using the Gunze Aqueous and Mr Color range.

The decals appear to be in perfect register giving the options for 2 different aircraft. Included is a comprehensive stencil and data sheet, with a separate page at the end of the instructions for their placement.

I have included a scan of the 2 aircraft profiles but briefly, they are:

• W. Nr. 5530, flown by Fw. Heinz Jahner, 9./JG 2, Ligescourt, France, June 1941

• 7./JG 54, Soviet Union, summer 1941

All in all, a very nice, well detailed kit. The Eduard Bf 109F-2 Weekend edition provides you with high quality parts to produce and detailed model.

Whilst missing the bells and whistle parts such as etch and masks, Mr Eduard misses no needed detail from their base level kits and with some good detail painting you can have something nearly as good in a far quicker time at the bench.

I highly recommend this kit.

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text & Images Copyright © 2018 by David Couche
Page Created 6 August, 2018
Last updated 6 August, 2018

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