Bf-109E Instrument Panel

Published on
August 24, 2013
Review Author(s)
Scale
1/4
MSRP
$39.95
Product / Stock #
14002
Company: Eduard - Website: Visit Site
Provided by: Eduard - Website: Visit Site
Box Art

The Bf-109E instrument panel is the second instrument panel released by Eduard, the first being the Bf-110 panel. The kit consists of eighty five plastic parts on two grey-colored sprues, one clear sprue, two photo etch frets (one colored), and one decal sheet.

The construction sequence starts off with the Revi C/12D gunsight. Let me tell you, this is a kit in itself. The build is pretty straightforward. You just have to pay attention to the instructions. I put one PE piece on upside down and had to remove it and reattach it.

Next, you move on to the instrument panel itself. The Bf-109 had an upper and lower panel, and construction starts on the upper panel. Again, construction is uncomplicated. If you built the Bf-110’s panel, you will recall that the dial decals were self-adhesive. Eduard has changed that and now uses waterslide decals in both kits, which does present some challenges, as the self-adhesive ones did have locating tabs. Again, take your time and pay attention to the instructions. It is very easy to put something in the wrong place. I know from experience, as I put one decal in the wrong spot. I was able to get it to float again and located it to the right spot without any problems. The needle indicators are photo etch. Make sure that you use a very small amount of CA or you could end up frosting the clear glass part. Personally, I use Gator Grip Hobby Glue to prevent this.

I really recommend that you pre-paint most of the parts while they are still on the sprues. That way you will only have to do touch up when the parts are removed. Eduard calls out GSI Creos (Gunze) in both Aqueous and Mr. Color. I used Tamiya and Vallejo paints, as they will work just as well.

Prior to receiving the kit, I went to the Eduard website to start reviewing the instructions. While I was doing this I came across Eduard's "Info Eduard", a monthly online publication. In the January 2013 issue there is a build article that goes into great detail on how to make your panel as realistic as possible. The article can be found by following this link: https://www.eduard.com/out/media/InfoEduard/archive/2013/info-eduard-2013-01EN.pdf

Overall, this is a beautiful model once completed, and will make a great addition to the Bf 110 panel. I do hope that Eduard continues to release more of these little gems, as there are many popular and familiar aircraft to choose from. I highly recommend this kit for experienced modelers.

I would like to thank Eduard and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to be able to review this kit.

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