Messerschmitt Emils
Part 1

Euro Decals, 1/72 & 1/48 scales

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

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Euro Decals are produced by Fantasy Printshop in the United Kingdom, with the range featuring a wide variety of aircraft from World War 2 to the present. 

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These two sets, identical expect in scale, are the line’s first foray into the rich world of Messerschmitt Bf 109 markings and feature eight interesting options, most of them in non-Luftwaffe markings.
 
The featured aircraft are:

1. Bf 109 E-7/B, S9+RS of 8./ZG 1 (some references say III./ZG 1), Russia, Summer 1942.  The decal marking guide depicts this aircraft as finished in an elaborate RLM 02 Grey and RLM 71 Dark Green mottle on the fuselage sides, with solid RLM 71 upper surfaces, RLM 65 Light Blue undersurfaces and RLM 04 Yellow fuselage band, lower cowling and wingtip undersurfaces.  But while the upper surface colour of 71 is possible – some Eastern Front Emils were overall dark green (either 71 or captured Russian stocks) – the standard 109 E splinter camouflage of 71/02 seems more likely.  I haven’t been able to find a photograph of this specific aircraft so can’t be definitive one way or the other; my recommendation is to check your references.  Irrespective of its camouflage finish, the highlight of this aircraft is the striking Wespen emblem on both sides of the engine cowling, and the decals provided compare very closely with the Wespen in photos of other ZG 10 Emils that I have seen.
    
2. Bf 109 E-3, 6-99 of Grupo num. 25, Spanish Air Force, Spain, 1939.  This aircraft is finished in the overall grey scheme applied to some of the Condor Legion’s Bf 109s after they arrived in Spain.  Depending on your references, this colour was either RLM 62 Green or RLM 63 Light Grey.  Either way, the grey is set off by the red spinner, black exhaust/lower forward fuselage, and white wingtip undersurfaces and rudder.  Depicted here in the immediate aftermath of the civil war, the aircraft carries a hybrid mix of black Nationalist markings on the fuselage, and red and yellow Spanish roundels on the wings.
    
3. Bf 109 E-3/B, DG200 of No.1426 (Enemy Aircraft) Flight, Royal Air Force, United Kingdom, 1941.  Formerly Black 12/W.Nr.4101 flown by Leutnant Wolfgang Taumer of 2./JG 51, this aircraft came into RAF possession on 27 October 1940 when Taumer made an emergency landing at RAF Manston.  Originally finished in standard 71/02/65 camouflage, Black 12 became DG200 and went through at least one interim paint scheme before being totally repainted in Dark Green/Dark Earth on the upper surfaces and Yellow on the undersurfaces.  A unique feature of DG200 in this scheme is that – for a time at least – it flew with the central canopy removed, because the test pilot was so tall!
    
4. Bf 109 E-3, J-377 of Flieger Kompanie 21, Swiss Air Force, early 1940s.  J-377’s rather plain 71/65 finish contrasts nicely with the red and white Swiss markings and the dramatic shark mouth and eyes that were applied to at least some of Fl.Kp.21’s Emils.
    
5. Bf 109 E-4, Black 13 of 8./JG 1, 1941.  The marking guide suggests that this aircraft was finished in an RLM 70 Black Green and RLM 71 Dark Green splinter on the upper surfaces.  As with option 1, this seems less likely than a standard 71/02 splinter, unless the two-tone green pattern was applied at the unit level – which of course did happen.  Again, I can’t find any photographs of Black 13, so if you are thinking of modeling this aircraft, check your references.
    
6. Bf 109 E-4, White 1 of the Royal Bulgarian Air Force, Winter 1944-45.  In my view this is probably the most interesting option on the sheet – one of Bulgaria’s 19 Emils that survived until after the kingdom changed sides in late 1944.  The upper surface camouflage of RLM 74 Grey Green and RLM 75 Grey Violet was oversprayed with tight white squiggles, which combined with Bulgaria’s rarely seen post-1944 white, red and green roundels makes for a very attractive aircraft.
    
7. Bf 109 E-4, White 10/W.Nr.5244 of 13 Squadron, Slovak Air Force, April 1943.  Also in 74/75 over RLM 76 Light Blue, White 10 featured a dense 02/74/75 mottle on the fuselage sides, 04 Yellow fuselage band, lower wingtips and spinner, and a tight pattern of dots in 76 over the cowling.  This is another very tempting option.
    
8. Bf 109 E-3, White 3/W.Nr.0820 flown by Unteroffizier Ludwig Fröba of 4./JG 77, Norway, October 1940.  This final option on the sheet features the high demarcation 02/71/65 scheme which by October 1940 had been largely phased out in Luftwaffe units operating further to the south.

The decals themselves appear to be of high quality, with minimal carrier film, crisp printing and perfect register – the latter being particularly impressive given the variety of colours and complexity of markings provided.  The only glitch I could find is a pebbly finish to one of the upper wing roundels for DG200, which probably wouldn’t affect the decal’s application.  Fantasy Printshop has managed to fit all of the markings for the 1/72 set onto a single decal sheet, while the 1/48 markings require two sheets.
 
The marking guide – identical for both sets – is a slight let down.  While it is printed in full colour, the profiles are not as clear as they could be, and the upper and lower surface views are very small.  This would not be a problem if a list of references was provided, enabling modelers to research their chosen subjects and make up their own minds, but it is not.  As it was, I was only able to find reference photos for one of the options (DG200). 

Conclusion

This minor complaint notwithstanding, Euro Decals has delivered a couple of fine decal sets here.  A friend of mine who is a keen 1/72 modeler almost started drooling when he saw the smaller-scale offering.  He was right:  there isn’t one Emil here that I wouldn’t want to see in my model cabinet.  This combination of excellent option selection and high quality decals means that both of these sets should be deservedly popular. 
 
Highly recommended.  

Thanks to Euro Decals for the review sample

Euro Decals are available online via Fanstasy Printshop's website

Review Copyright © 2010 by Brad Fallen
Page Created 3 July, 2012
Last updated 3 July, 2012

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