The least expensive way to get an Eduard kit is by buying an Overtree kit. These kits are only available for a limited time, typically about one month after the release to the Profipack. This kit is typical of the Overtree line. The kit comes with just plastic. No decals, no masks, no instructions, no nothing but plastic. This is bare bones but I love the concept. I have lots of decals so I don’t need to worry about marking options.

The plain white box is about half the height of a normal Profipack box. This doesn’t diminish the quality of the plastic. Mine had a very small amount of flash on a few parts. Nothing to worry about. There are four sprues of light grey plastic and one sprue of clear plastic. The two main sprues are the same as the ones in the G-5 and G-6 kits. You get a new fuselage and new wings on the other sprues. The fuselage, wings and tail planes all feature restrained rivets and engraved panel lines.

You can download the instructions online. The other thing that I like to add to my overtree kits is the special photo etch set that Eduard releases when they release the overtree kit. This PE set is a little more extensive than their typical set. This set has a pre-painted fret and a brass fret. While these aren’t included in the kit I recommend that you add them. I also had a set of Brassin Wheels to use. So with this in hand, I was ready to start.

The cockpit is really complete right out of the box. The PE set just upgrades it that much more. I especially love the pre-painted instrument panel. The Bf-109F had three different types of seats in them. Eduard represents the last version, the same as the Gustav. My subject aircraft had the early version of seat which was similar to the Bf-109E but more bulky, almost the same as the Bf-110C front seat. I needed to have this as my aircraft is known for having it. So I hit up Quickboost for a new seat that was designed for the Zvezda kit but fit this one just fine. A quick pre-shading with Tamiya NATO Black and then some Tamiya Dark Grey was added. Colors were added with acrylic paint where necessary. A wash of lamp black was added to highlight the shadows. Then the entire assembly was dry brushed with an RLM 02 and some silver. A silver pencil was used to add chipping. The actual seat was painted RLM 02 as the photographs show. It is interesting that the RLM 02 seat is in the RLM 66 cockpit because the Friedrich interior colors were in transition.

The fuselage goes together near perfect. Don’t forget to add the exhausts and the tail wheel. The Brassin tail wheel didn’t pose any problems. The only part that needed filler was the panel under the fuselage and where I didn’t cut the parts from the sprues properly.

The wings assemble quickly and the fit is perfect. The round wheel well, common on the F-4, are easy enough to build up just like the G-6. The fit to the fuselage was really good. Eduard for some strange reason has the join at a place other than a panel line. It didn’t pose a big problem but given how well the rest of the kit fit I would have thought they would have the join on a panel line. This also causes you to have to scribe the panel line from the wings to the first fuselage panel. It’s a straight line so it is not difficult.

The tail parts fit perfectly and just like that it was time to prime. I used the Eduard masks that were purchased separately. They fit well but the center section of the canopy, the hinged portion should just be three pieces. The masks would not be quite long enough. I used Tamiya tape to fill the middle of the canopy. It was significantly easier to use the mask than masking everything myself. Adding an ‘H’ to cover the center was easy and took no time at all.

I like to use Alclad Grey Primer and Microfiller shot at a low air pressure. I didn’t find anything that needed to be cleaned up because of the great fit of the model.

This was followed by painting the canopy area with RLM 66. The rest of the model then received pre-shading with Tamiya NATO Black along panel lines and in random patterns. I followed this up with some Alclad White Primer in random patterns, paying particular attention to the highlights and while I was at it I painted the spinner, tail band and forward cowling. Alclad White Primer covers perfectly without any buildup and is bullet proof. This pre-shading and pre-fading will help in weathering the model before I get the other colors on it.

Now I could do any aircraft that I wanted because the kit comes with no decals. I’ve had some Lifelike Decals for Hans Jochim Marseille that I’ve wanted to use and test on a new Eduard kit so that is what I did. Not surprisingly, Eduard included these markings in their release of the Profipack. Oh well I still liked the markings.

The painting actually started with the white primer on the nose. This was masked off with Tamiya tape and the yellow lower cowling was painted. I used a combination of Tamiya Flat Yellow and Lemon Yellow for variation. After a day this was masked off and I sprayed the lower surface with Gunze RLM 78. The bottom of the aircraft showed this to be dirty so I was careful not to cover up the pre-shading as much as I normally do. Once dry the bottom of the tail was masked off with Tamiya tape and then Gunze RLM 79 was free handed on the aircraft center line. I upped the pressure on my airbrush and got close to the surface and built it up carefully. I was very pleased with the results. Take note that the RLM 79 curves upward under the tail. The tail was painted Floquil Zinc Primer. This looked perfect to my eye. A quick coat of Future with two drops of Tamiya thinner brought the aircraft to a shiny finish for the decals.

The Lifelike Decals were added and they looked great. They performed flawlessly with Microsol and Walther’s Solvaset. Another coat of Future sealed the decals. This was followed up the next day with a coat of Alclad Flat in preparation for weathering.

I start my weathering with a thin wash in the panel lines. The light colors show it up really well. More wash was added to the wing roots, centerline and belly of the aircraft to ‘dirty’ them up. This was followed by some sun fading with artist oils drops on the surface. I primarily stuck with white and ochre. Some burnt umber was added to the area around the engine exhaust and on the belly. This was all blended together with a damp brush of Turpenoid. This step is essential to a desert aircraft as it is severely affected by the sun.

Next came chipping with a sponge and Model Master Magnesium and Aluminium along with some pencils. Again, this aircraft was pretty worn so the wing leading edge will take some abuse as can be noted by the ‘pealing’ markings on the wings. Also the back of the prop blades were worn down to bare metal so I made sure to replicate this look on the kit props. I used a variety of methods here, including the hairspray technique, sponge, sanding and weathering powders.

Exhaust effects were added with a combination of Tamiya weathering powders, Mig powders and airbrush. The 109 was notorious for burning a black exhaust and having that exhaust staining flow along the airframe. This aircraft wasn’t that bad but you definitely notice the staining.

Oil streaks were added to the belly with artist oils and Mig Streaking Grime.

With that the rest of the little parts were added. The canopy was added after the red dive angle indicator was added. I should have trimmed the decal but I still like it. The prop, antenna mast and finally the antenna was added to the mast and tail. With that the model was done. I have to say that this is one of my favorite models.

The fit of this kit is near perfect. I did notice that one of my flaps had a slight sink mark. Not too noticeable but it is visible. Each release from Eduard’s 109 family Eduard adds refinement. The new fuselage and wings are excellent and feature recessed panel lines and refined rivets. Since this was the Overtree kit, it doesn’t come with instructions, decals, photo etch, or masks. I don’t think this is bad as I have plenty of decals. The only downside of the Overtree kit is the limited availability of them. I recommend you get the LEPT1 Photo Etch. The pre-painted instrument panel makes this set worth having. They are typically available at the same time as the Overtree. I really enjoyed building this kit. I loved the finished model and that is what matters to me.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Eduard and IPMS/USA for the review copy. You can only obtain your copy of an Overtree kit directly from Eduard at www.eduard.com . Remember they are only available for a limited time.