Flight Craft 14: Messerschmitt Bf-109

Published: February 3, 2020
Book Author(s): Robert Jackson
Company: Pen and Sword Books Ltd

The Bf-109 is an iconic fighter of the Third Reich. Developed in 1935 the single engine monoplane fighter struck fear into the enemies of the Reich until the end of the war. Continuously developed throughout the war the fighter even survived the fall of Germany in the air forces of Spain, Czechoslovakia and ironically the fledgling Israel.

This softbound book contains 80 pages of high quality paper and 100 color illustrations and pictures. The book includes a variety of black and white historical images, as well as, a number of contemporary color photos not just of the Bf-109 but also its opponents. There are eight pages of color profiles that are quite nice and run the entire production from the first 109 to the last Spanish and Czech ones.

This book is geared towards… more

Desert Storm: Eagles-When Eagles Fly, MiGs Die

Published: May 13, 2019
Company: Sprue Brothers

The F-15, no other aircraft in history has been as successful in air-to-air engagement, as the Eagle. Prior to Desert Storm, the Eagle was used successfully by the Israelis but had been unproven in use by the US Air Force.

The F-15C is a beautiful aircraft and during Desert Storm it proved itself so successful scoring 32 aerial victories of the 41 victories achieved by the US forces.

Bullseye Model Aviation has produced another stellar sheet. This one focuses on the MiG killing Eagles used during Desert Storm by the 1^st Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW), 33rd TFW, and the 7440th Composite Wing (Provisional). There are markings for 24 F-15Cs. TWENTY-FOUR aircraft. That is impressive in itself. The research is impeccable. Aircraft markings are shown during and… more

Fw-190A-2 Jabo Bunny Fighter Club

Published: May 8, 2019
Company: Eduard

Eduard has hit a major home run when they went back and redesigned their FW-190 series of kits. The latest version is the FW-190A-2. In my case, I had the Bunny Fighter version which includes decals for Oblt. Frank Liesendahl.

What is the Bunny Fighter Club? It is a discount for buying directly from the Eduard webstore. It is a 15% discount on all items. It also allows the modeler access to special and limited edition releases, both kits and accessories. When you visit a show where Eduard is vending you get an additional discount. You even get a T-shirt and finally if you attend E-Day you get free entry into the show.

The BFC decal instructions are available on the Eduard webpage. The only downside to this release is that this particular marking option does not show… more

F-16CG F-16CM Falcon / Viper '31st Fighter Wing - Return with Honor', Avianio AB, Italy

Published: May 7, 2019
Company: Bullseye Model Aviation

The F-16 has always been a favorite of mine. So when these decals came out I just had to get a set. The Aviano aircraft have been involved in all major campaigns since 2001. This sheet covers from 2002 to 2009.

Packaged in a large ziplock bag are seven double-sided high-quality sheets with full color printings. There are marking options for 14 aircraft. Each aircraft has both side profile views. All the markings are clearly seen. If there was a variation in the markings it is pointed out. Each sheet has two aircraft on each side of the sheet. Some of the aircraft have really colorful markings, including nose art and tail markings. The Wyvern and fin flash are quite colorful. If you like color on your Falcon this is a great sheet. There are mission markings and kill markings.… more

Avia S-99/C-10

Published: March 18, 2019
Company: Eduard

At the end of the war, Czechoslovakia needed airplanes and they were already building Bf-109s in the Diana works so it was logical to continue to build them for their own country. These were built with DB-605 engines. They would continue to build them until a fire at the engine storage facility and factory. Then they decided to switch to the Jumo engine and created the Avia S-199. What makes a Diana G-10 is a unique aerodynamic fairing, as well as, the shorter landing gear and the bigger balloon tires with the associated large bulge on the wings.

The Eduard Limited Edition boxing of the Avia S-99/C-10 is actually a Bf-109G-10 by another name. This boxing comes in a sturdy cardboard box with a colorful S-99 on the box top. Inside is what really matters though, and it does not… more

Bf-109G-10 Mtt Regensburg

Published: March 18, 2019
Company: Eduard

Eduard continues its way through the development of the Bf-109. Their latest offering is the Bf-109G-10 produced at the Regensburg manufacturing facility, of which 130 were built. This particular variant comes with the small bulges on the wings but large asymmetrical gun cowlings with a long tail wheel.

The kit comes in a sturdy cardboard box with some wonderful box art. There are five sprues in light grey plastic. The two ‘standard’ sprues are included and one sprue for the fuselage and two wing sprues. The new sprue for the fuselage contains the new parts, including the propeller, tails, the supercharger intake, and oil cooler. There is a clear sprue for the clear parts. This release has two frets of photo etch. The first is the ‘standard’ pre-painted fret with seatbelts and… more

Bf 109G-10 Mtt Regensburg Overtrees

Published: November 12, 2020
Company: Eduard

Eduard releases a ProfiPACK of a new kit with all the bells and whistles and at the same time, they release an OVERTREE kit with no bells or whistles. An Overtree is for people like me who have a lot of decals and don’t mind not having the pre-painted fret or the masks. Now those things are available separately. Personally, I like the pre-painted photo etch and the masks and since I have a bunch of decals, including leftovers from the ProfiPACK, that I don’t mind. Even the box is devoid of anything that belies the beauty inside the plain white cardboard box. It just has an end sticker.

But it is what is inside that counts. Inside the box, you get four sprues of light grey plastic. Two of the sprues are the common 109 sprues. They had very minor flash. Nothing drastic and no… more

Bf 109G-10 Mtt Regensburg Photoetch

Published: November 12, 2020
Company: Eduard

There are some things that just look better in scale thinness. Eduard agrees and produces a set for their new Bf-109G-10.

This set is packaged in the standard Eduard resealable package. The contents are protected by some card stock. One fret of photo-etch is included in nickel plated brass. The parts that are very visible are the landing gear doors and flaps. Both of which will look better in brass than plastic. The one thing that I think is essential is the wheel wells shroud, which has the cutouts that are on the real plane, not like the kit parts which hints at the cutouts. There are some other things like a fuselage access hatch, strap for the drop tank and the landing gear plumbing.

All these items will add to the look of the finished model. The flaps alone will… more

Bf 109G-10 WNF Photoetch Set

Published: November 12, 2020
Company: Eduard

The Eduard OVERTREE and Weekend Edition kits are really nice kits, but I think they benefit from having the pre-painted photo etch in the model. I personally love the pre-painted photo-etch. There is detail printed on them that I could never be able to replicate with a paint brush.

Packaged in the typical resealable package with a card stock protective backing is one fret of pre-painted PE. This single fret contains many essential interior parts but the biggest impact would have to be from the seatbelts, shoulder harness, and the instrument panel. Besides these key parts, there are photo etch deflectors for the engine exhausts, as well as, some other panels and rudder pedals. These parts are all important. There are oil cooler faces as well. Personally, I don’t use them as I… more

Vietnamese Spads (2)

Published: January 30, 2019
Company: AOA Decals

The Vietnamese use of the Skyraider during the conflict is much the same as the US. It used the Spad, or Sandy, in close air support and Combat Search and Rescue.

The Tamiya kit has been out for quite some time now and we’ve never really had a wide variety of options to mark it with. Well AOA has fixed that. This is the second sheet designed for the Tamiya Skyraider. These decals will fit any model of the Skyraider with just a little bit of trimming on the fuselage stripes. They are purposely slightly longer to work that way and you may need to trim them to fit.

This sheet comes in a large ziplock baggie with the decals and instructions being protected from the elements. The instructions are printed in full color and offers side views, as well as, top and bottom plan… more