Eduard has released a new mold (with the correct wingspan) of the 1/48 Bf-109G-6 (early). In the Profipack package you get 5 sprues (including a clear one), a color photo-etch fret, two decal sheets for 5 markings (all Luftwaffe) and a mask set for the canopy and the tail wheel. No flash anywhere and very sharp, recessed panel lines are a signature of those sprues.

Whlie you get 5 sprues, you also get plenty of unused (spare) parts, like 3 different propellers (only 1 is appropriated for this G-6), different wheels, some weapons, different rudders, air intakes, oil coolers and even extra canopies, so you should be able to get some “extras” for other 109s in your collection.

As expected, construction starts with the cockpit and it is a very straightforward and well-designed subcomponent. You make it look even better by adding photoetch belts plus a provided fuel line in clear plastic, which when masked and painted looks outstanding!

The next step is to “sandwich” the cockpit between the fuselage sides. Fit is excellent! You are instructed to add the engine exhaust at this point. I choose not to do it that way and to leave part H67 (plug for the opening in the front) and the oil cooler out so I could mount the exhausts after painting. Do dry fit the exhaust parts before-hand as I found out the fit being so tight that even a thin coat of paint can make a difference.

Once the fuselage is assembled, I moved to the nose “bumps” and covers. Again fit is outstanding. Do make sure that you identify which parts to use, as depending on the decal markings you select there are different optional parts to assemble.

Finally I started to assemble the tail, which is a multi-part affair, with upper and lower parts for the horizontal tail, separate rudder, separate control surfaces and separate empennage. I have to say I was worried about all those parts and how to keep them square. However the actual assembly of it was simpler than I thought and everything squared-up just right. Still, take your time and make sure you get things properly lined-up.

Construction was moving along and I tackled the wings next. You have to assemble the wheels well first and each one has a total of 4 parts. It kind of sounds like a few too many parts but the overall look of the final assembled part is really good. Be aware that some of those parts have very small alignment parts and they can be damaged easily.

At this point I assembled the underwing radiators. I choose not to use the photoetch pieces as it is very difficult to see them anyway. Note that I had to file-to-fit parts I36 and I35 (plastic radiator front faces) as they were too wide to fit the radiator area. I still don’t know if I did something wrong, or if the instructions were wrong and I should have used a different part. It was not difficult at all to reduce the width of those parts to fit, but I was surprised by the fit issue. Note that parts I34 and I33 (plastic radiator back face) did fit without a problem.

When the wings were assembled I presented them to the fuselage. I could not believe how good the fit it was! Actually, it was so good and I decided to paint the wing and fuselage as independent subassemblies.

Painting was accomplished by using enamels and the mottling on the fuselage sides with my trusty single action Badger 200F airbrush.

After painting was done, I added the engine exhausts (by the fuselage front, which was left open) and then I glued the wing to the fuselage. As said before: fit was perfect!

I applied two thin coats of Future and let the coat cure for 72 hrs before starting with the decals. They are printed by Eduard and have nothing to envy to the well-known aftermarket companies. Decals are thin, in register, with vivid colors and strong enough that resist being moved around (gently) for final location. Just one word of caution: make sure you have plenty of water in the model to “float” the decals into place; otherwise they tend to stick to the first place where they land.

While all the decaling was happening I turned my attention to the final details, like landing gear, underwing gondolas and drop tank. Not much to say there other than excellent engineering by having the tires and the wheel to be separate parts as to make things easier when painting.

Another Future coat sealed the decals in place and a acrylic/oil wash was applied to bring up all that delightful surface detail.

Painting the canopy was a breeze, as you are provided with masks. They even include masks for the inside but personally I prefer to paint the inside color in the outside of the canopy and then paint the outside color on top.

A few final details were added at that point (flaps, landing gear, and drop tank) and a flat coat sealed all the work. Engine exhaust marks were kept to minimum by using some pastel chalk.

In summary: This is an excellent model from Eduard and you should need nothing to improve it. It took me about 30 hrs over almost 12 weeks to finish this model and I enjoyed every single minute of it (I do admit that after that paint job I needed a break so I put the model back in the box for a few weeks and concentrated in another model).

The fit is nothing less than outstanding and the detail is amazing. I only had one issue (underwing radiator front face) and I still question if it was the model or if it was the model-er (i.e me).

Considering the photoetch pieces, the small size of some parts plus the paint schemes (all of them will require some free-hand airbrush work) I will recommend this model to modeler with experience in photoetch and airbrushing free-hand.

I would like to thank Eduard Models and IPMS/USA for