The Bf-109F had a very unique flap setup when compared to the Emil version. The split flaps required extensive engineering. The outer portion was the traditional flap style, but the inboard flaps were different. The inboard flaps had two functions, one was to act as a flap but the other was as a cooling flap for the glycol radiators. The Friedrich had a unique style as well with a boundry layer being channeled through the upper portion of the inboard flap. This caused the F to have a ‘space’ between the two layers on the upper inboard flap. This is impossible to mold in plastic effectively.

Eduard has offered a complete photo etch version of this which works well but required a lot of bending. This new set offers the best of both worlds, resin and photo etch. This set comes in a blister pack with six pieces of grey resin with no blemishes. And one fret of photo etch with 14 pieces of brass to add. Most of these are stiffeners.

The Eduard Bf-109F kit cockpit is quite nice in the box but it does lack the crispness that can only be offered in resin and photo etch. The Brassin set is designed for the Eduard kit. As such it will fit with minimal work.

Contained in a plastic thermoform package the set includes 17 light grey resin parts with no bubbles or blemishes anywhere. There are some clear resin parts included for the fuel inspection tube and the cockpit lights. As this is an Eduard set, it has to have photo etch. There are two photo etch frets, one is pre-painted and the other in brass. There is a plastic film for the gunsights. A decal is provided for the instrument panel should you elect to use that one. You get the option of one of two ways to represent the instrument panel.

This product is a small photo-etched sheet of metal that provides interior details for the cockpit of the Eduard FW-190A/F kit. It provides details for the instrument panel, seat belts and shoulder harnesses, and at least one interior wheel control for the cockpit side. Instructions are clear, and the effect on the cockpit interior is traumatic. The only problem I had was with the large piece for the side panels along with the mounting face for the lower instrument panel. This is all done in one piece, and I had trouble lining it up, so I had to cut the side control portions off and glue them directly to the cockpit parts on the kit. This is a welcome addition to the kit, and is worth getting. It is a lot easier to use these than it is to paint the kit details under a microscope. Recommended.

History

The Focke Wulf FW-190 is probably one of the best known of Luftwaffe World War II fighters, and while the FW-190A fighter version was the major production model, a large number of ground attack variants, known as FW-190F and FW-190G, was produced to replace the vulnerable Stukas as the war progressed. The essential difference was the deletion of the outboard wing cannon, and the fitting of various types of bomb and rocket racks. The central rack could carry a bomb or an auxiliary fuel tank, while the wing racks usually carried bombs or rockets, although some aircraft, mainly “G” models, carried wing mounted drop tanks. These versatile aircraft were issued to Schlachtgeshwadern, ground attack units, in large numbers, and in fact, a number of pilots in these units became aces, although their primary role was attacking ground targets.

Croco Models is a small model manufacturer from the Republic of Latvia. They’ve recently begun developing small kits of rare vehicles, and various model building accessories. One of their more recent products is a set of 1/72 scale Venturi tubes. The Venturi tube is used to measure a plane's airspeed, and although most planes now use a Pitot tube for measuring this, Venturi tubes were common on early planes, and are still common on smaller planes in use today.