Romanian Messerschmitt
Bf 109 E Part 3

RB Productions, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

Iliad Decals' 1/48 scale ANG Mustangs is available online from Squadron.com

This is the third recent decal release from Radu Brinzan’s RB Productions to focus on Romanian Bf 109 Es.  The first two sets featured 14 Emils in the livery they carried after Romania entered World War 2 as a German ally in mid-1941.  Reviewing these sets here and here, I concluded they were very well researched and produced packages that offered modelers a range of accurate and colourful marking options.

Part 3 in the series continues these high standards.  Chronologically it is a prequel to the earlier sets, focusing on the markings worn by Romanian Emils in the months before the war in the east began.  The four Bf 109 E-3s featured – ‘Yellow 8’, ‘Yellow 24’, ‘Yellow 35’ and ‘Yellow 37’ – were all operated by Grupul 7 Vân?toare out of Pipera-Bucharest in spring 1941.  Their schemes differ from those in Radu’s previous sets mainly in the style of national insignia, which are the red, yellow and blue roundels introduced in World War 1 and subsequently used between 1944-50 and since 1984, rather than the roundel/King Michael Cross combination used between 1941-44.  Along with tricolour rudder stripes and RLM04 Yellow spinners, cowlings, code numbers and (on options A, B and C) wing and fuselage bands, the roundels add much colour to the otherwise plain RLM 71 Dark Green over RLM 65 Light Blue camouflage finish.

The decals are printed by Fantasy Printshop and look great on the sheet.  The colours appear to be solid, and printing is crisp with no fuzzy edges or registration problems.  The blue dots in the middle of the roundels have been printed separately to avoid misregistration.  The decals for the double digit code numbers ‘24’, ‘35’ and ‘37’ unavoidably contain a lot of carrier film; you may want to trim this before application, or ensure the decals are applied on a high gloss surface to avoid silvering.

Sufficient roundels and code numbers are provided to complete all four featured aircraft.

No decals are provided for the red, yellow and blue rudder stripes – not necessarily a bad thing, as these can be hard to apply – so you will need to carefully match your paints with the colours of the roundels. The same applies to the fuselage and wing bands on marking options A, B and D.

As with the first two releases, the instructions are the highlight of the set.  The comprehensive, full colour illustrations include a port profile and upper and lower views of the wings and horizontal stabilisers of each aircraft, with paint colours and decal placement locations clearly identified.  Small but important details, such as the asymmetrical roundel placement on options B and C, and the overpainted upper wing Balkenkreuz on option D, are clearly identified.  The illustrations are complemented by detailed written descriptions that provide further painting and marking information.

For those wishing to conduct further research, a list of references is supplied.

While the review decals were 1/48 scale, sheets with the same markings are also available in 1/72 and 1/32.

“Romanian Messerschmitt Bf 109 E Part 3” is a welcome addition to R.B. Productions’ previous releases on this subject.  The set’s attractiveness lies not only in its focus on the arguably less well known, but very colourful, schemes of pre-Barbarossa Emils, but also in the thoroughness and presentation of its underlying research and in the quality of the decals themselves. 

Very highly recommended.

Thanks to RB Productions for the review sample.

Text and Images Copyright © 2014 by Brad Fallen
This Page Created on 31 March, 2014
Last updated 31 March, 2014

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