Romanian
Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6
Part 1

RB Productions, 1/32 scale

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

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

Radu Brinzan of RB Productions has followed his three great decal sets of Bf 109 Es in Romanian service with two further sets depicting Romanian Bf 109 G-6s. 

These sets include markings for Gustavs before and after the August 1944 coup that saw Romania join the Allied cause, and like the Emil sets have been produced in all three major scales.

In this review I'm looking at the 1/32 edition of the first Gustav set, which features seven marking schemes for six aircraft as follows.

1. Red 6/'Tumpi Bumpi Flostomok', flown by Locotenent Av. Dumitru Baciu of Grupul 1 Vanatoare, Czechoslovakia, May 1945.  According to the instructions, "the camouflage appears to be a "paint-saving" scheme consisting of dense short and narrow wavy mottles of a dark colour [possibly Romanian 'olive green'] applied over a light base colour [possibly RLM 76 Light Blue]".

2. White 2, flown by Capitan Av. Gheorghe "Ciocanel" [Little Hammer] Popescu, Commander of Escadrila 47, Grupul 9 Vanatoare, Tecuci, Romania, July 1944.  The 13 victory ace Popescu was shot down in this aircraft on 26 July 1944, and subsequently died of his wounds.  RLM 74 Grey Green and RLM 75 Grey Violet over RLM 76, with yellow theatre identification markings.  Original German insignia overpainted with olive green on the upper wings, olive green or RLM 02 Grey on the fuselage sides, and light blue on the lower wings.

3. Red 4, captured from German forces in autumn 1944 and subsequently used by Grupul 7/9 Vanatoare in spring 1945.  Camouflage is 74/75 over 76, with overpainted German insignia and theatre markings.

4. White 43a, flown by five victory ace Adjutant Av. Constantin Nicoara of Grupul 9 Vanatoare, Tecuci, Romania, April 1944.  This and the following aircraft were finished in 74/75 over 76, with yellow theatre ID markings and overpainted German insignia.  Lower sections of the main landing gear doors removed to assist handling on muddy airstrips.

5. Yellow 1, flown by 55-victory ace and commander of Grupul 9 Vanatoare, Cpt. Av. Alexandru Serbanescu, Tecuci, Romania, June 1944. 

6. Blue 10 of Escadrila 53, 7/9 Vanatoare, August 1944.  74/75 over 76 with yellow theatre ID markings.

7. The same aircraft as at F-1, but in its post-August 1944 livery as photographed at Piestany, Czechoslovakia, in January 1945.  Theatre ID markings are now white, and the original King Michael Cross insignia have been overpainted with red, yellow and blue roundels (although, at least on the fuselage, the crosses were still visible through the roundels).

One of the delights of RB Productions decals is how much information Radu packs into each release, and this set is no exception.  The double-sided A4 instruction sheet is chock-full of detail including:

• Full colour port or starboard profiles, upper and lower wing and tailplane plans, and scrap drawings as required to point out specific features (such as spinner and rudder colour demarcations);

• Detailed colour call-outs by RLM and/or Federal Standard numbers, supplemented by colour swatches;

• A comprehensive decal placement guide;

• A written description of each aircraft including colour and marking details and historical background;

• A small selection of period photographs; and

• A list of references.

Fantasy Printshop has produced the decals, which are of the high standard associated with this manufacturer.  The colours are vibrant and dense, and there are no signs of misregistration on even the complex multi-coloured King Michael Crosses. 

Radu has nevertheless taken no chances with potential mishaps, and arranged for the central blue dot in both the crosses and roundels to be printed separately.  These will be easy to centre once the larger, underlying decals have dried.  Some of the larger markings have, out of necessity, been printed with large amounts of clear carrier film, so these will need to be applied to a very glossy surface.

This is another excellent decal release from RB Productions.  While the underlying colours of the subject choices are fairly subdued – most wore 74/75/76 camouflage – the bright Romanian markings will result in spectacular and eye-catching models.  Add to this the historical significance of most of the airframes represented and the completeness of the instructions, and (for me at least) it will be hard to go past at least one of these options for a future Gustav project.  Part 2 in this series has already been released, too, so if you are visiting Radu’s website make sure you look at the options on this sheet as well, which are just as interesting.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to RB Productions for the review sample.

Text and Images Copyright © 2016 by Brad Fallen
This Page Created on 31 May, 2016
Last updated 1 June, 2016

Back to HyperScale Main Page