The Great Wall FW-189 is a really nice kit but one thing you notice about the airplane is the large expanse of windows around the cockpit. The whole procedure of masking the canopy would just about kill me and take hours of work. Now, if you are like me and like to get on with the painting, anything that will make canopy masking faster and easier is just what I’m looking for.

The Eduard masks are designed from “Kabuki” tape. This means that they are made from a really pliable tape that you can visually see is down around the edges, just like Tamiya tape. Besides all the windows and because this sheet is so large, Eduard also gives you masks for the wheels. If my counting is correct, there are 93 individual masks included on this large sheet. Can you imagine having to cut that many masks out yourself? I can’t. That kit would just languish in the to-do pile. Now, thanks to Eduard, the kit will probably see the light of day.

There are many little battles that led up to the Second World War. Some you know about most of them, but many, such as the battle over Khalkhin Gol, you know nothing about. Some of it has to do with the location, the China/Russian border in Mongolia. This is a unique look at this early air battle between the Russians and the Japanese.

Fought over barren hills and plains, the story of the Khalkhin Gol battle is marred by inconsistent data from the Soviet and Japanese sides. The Soviets call the battle the Nomonhan Incident. Both sides say the other attacked first and, despite the best research, we will probably never know who did what first. What is known is that early Soviet and Japanese Army fighters and bombers met up and had some fierce battles.

History Brief

The main German fighter at the outbreak of WW2 was, of course, the Bf109E. Playing a vital role in the early Nazi campaigns, the Bf109E was an important instrumental weapon used by the Luftwaffe, easily piercing through well defended countries like Poland and France. Dominating most of the European skies in less than a year, it was the apex leading Hitler’s Blitzkrieg.

The Product

Inside the familiar Eduard box, we find the standard has been raised again with beautiful, all new tooling, I was impressed with the excellent level of detail, superb fit, and the full-color painting guide. Plus, a color PE detail set and a canopy mask sheet are also included in the Profipack boxing. The instruction sheet is well thought out and presented in a booklet form. The decals are very nice and printed by Cartograf, and also include complete stencils.

Kit contains four marking options.