Eduard Bf 109 Friedrich - Rudi Pflanz JG 2

 

Great work on this Eduard Friedrich in 1/72 from 'Ingram'. 

" This is the Eduard kit with Aerobonus pilot cast and Kits-World number decals. Had a lot of fun with it, especially creating the pilot. The pose had to be customized in order for him to fit in to the aircraft, and I needed to change the parachute from a backpack to the proper low hanging position..Also getting the semi gloss finish to approximately what I saw on references was an interesting challenge. The build itself was super smooth and straight forward!"

The pilot pose/aircraft reminded me of this nice and rarely seen image of Rudi Pflanz exiting his machine. Oblt Pflanz was Staffelkapitän of 1./JG 2 in November 1941 prior to taking over the (high altitude) 11. Staffel of JG 2 in May 1942 flying the Bf 109 G-1 with pressurised cockpit. On 5 June 1942 he claimed three Spitfires downed over the Somme. According to his comrade Bigge, Pflanz by this time was almost completely 'flown-out' and on 31 July 1942 he was shot down and killed in combat with Spitfires, his Bf 109 G-1 (WNr. 10318) coming down south of Moncheaux, northern France. He was credited with 52 victories - the last usually awarded when an ace was KIA. He was succeeded by Oblt. Julius Meimberg in charge of 11. Staffel. Pflanz is buried in the Bourdon German war cemetery, on the Somme.

Eduard Bf 109 G-6 as Kurt Gabler's 8./JG 300 'Moskito-chaser' - Osprey Combat units 'wilde Sau' by Streetly - a 1 star review!

 Here's a great looking interpretation of Kurt Gabler's 8./JG 300 'Moskito-chaser' in 72nd scale!

" my first completion for 2025, wrapping up the 1/72 Eduard Bf-109 G-6. So impressed with this kit, but found room for some extra detailing with the cockpit, wheel wells and wheels, prop/spinner and aileron mass balances from the Brassin sets. The kit canopy was replaced with a Falcon vac-form, added the Fine Molds brass pitot and the seat belts were scratchbuilt using an old Model Technolgies buckle set. I have tried to follow some of the conventional wisdom that this Mosquito-Jager flown by Kurt Gabler of JG 300, had its fuselage paint removed, leaving a heavily worn natural metal finish. To try to capture this, the fuselage was covered with oxidised pieces of aluminium foil (mainly Reynolds wrap), then painted RLM 75 and gently sanded off with 4000 grit and steel wool to leave the worn finish and paint remnants in corners, around the panel lines and rivets, which was the effect I was looking for. The photos probably exaggerate it in the close up shots, but I am quite happy with the effect in real life. MRP and SMS paints were used with some very subtle oil paint weathering on the painted surfaces added and oil paint washes. The decals are from the EagleCals set, however, I also added the scribble on the rudder using a home made decal. Cannot praise this kit more, it’s a great model to build and I feel it really captures the look and sit of a 109..." Paul from 'Glossy Kits' on FB..

Below; the original Gabler 'red 8' pic here published over two full pages in a two-part feature I compiled for the now defunct 'Model Aircraft' magazine which appeared in the June and July 2014 issues. Entitled "Wilde Sau und Moskito Jagd" the 6000 word article featured the recollections of JG 302, NJGr.10 and NJG 11 pilots Fritz Gniffke and Walter Schermutzki over 12 pages in the two issues with some great artwork by Anders Hjortsberg. 

 

Gabler flew both day and night sorties. For his account of downing the first Mosquito to be shot down over Berlin see the Casemate 'Day Fighter Aces' volume.. 

Osprey have a new title 'Wilde Sau' title in their combat units series (Streetly, 2024) by Martin Streetly but Gabler is not even mentioned. Nor are other JG 300 wilde Sau aces such as Wischnewski - while pilots that never flew 'wilde Sau' (eg the WWI vet Lindenberger) are featured in the 'Pilot bios' section...according to the publisher's blurb ".. first-hand accounts of Wilde Sau missions are brought to life through archival photographs and newly commissioned artworks of some of the most iconic German fighters of World War 2.."  Er...no, not really! The text is simply a list of missions flown and unit strength returns. There are no descriptions of the combats - not one. Of the "up to 30 original colour artworks" according to the back-cover blurb, only a rather measly 21 feature aircraft here. Of course, these are top quality - but all machines illustrated have been done just as well many times before. Nothing new. In fact you do get the impression that the blurb was written for the book Osprey hoped they were going to get - but didn't.  Photo content is very indifferent. I counted just 10 photos showing Bf 109s and 12 images of Fw 190s, along with 5 of Me 262s. The chapter entitled "Postscript" starts on page 35. Chapter 5, "Technology" lists all variants of Bf 109 and Fw 190, although many of them had nothing to do with wilde Sau - no Fw 190 A-8 or A-9 ever flew 'wilde Sau'. As an Osprey book addict, I was not at all impressed with this volume. Where are the interesting anecdotes and rare insights into the world of the late-war Luftwaffe? Where are the translated extracts from memoirs long out of print and never printed in English? Not here that's for sure. Not a volume I will return to....

 

Hptm. Rolf Hermichen, 3./JG 26 Fw 190 A-5 'yellow 5' - and a new magazine from Eduard, " Eduard Modeller's Den "

I recently responded to a request for images of the Fw 190 A-5 'yellow 5' flown by 3./JG 26 StaKa Oblt. Rolf Hermichen as featured by Eduard as a markings option in their Fw 190 A-5 kit. 

Seen here perched on the tailplane of his I./JG 26 Fw 190 A-5 'yellow 5'. Hermichen was a successful Bf 110 Zerstörer pilot in the Westfeldzug and went East with 6./SKG 210 before joining I./JG 26. Hermichen led 3./JG 26 on the Eastern Front from late January 1943 out of Dno and Riebiltzi, the Gruppe having 'swapped' sectors with III./JG 54 - and adopted their Wintertarnung camouflage finish for their new Fw 190s. Full story in the April 2003 issue of the now defunct Belgian magazine 'Histoire de Guerre'. Covered by Eduard in their boxing of the Fw 190 A-5. Another photo below..

And while on the subject of Eduard, here's a heads-up for a new 'paid-for' magazine that Eduard are producing called "Eduard Modeller's Den".  This first 'Zero' issue features a lengthy piece by Dan Caldwell on the Schweinfurt-Regensburg raid from the Luftwaffe perspective, illustrated with archive photos and plenty of Eduard artwork. Produced under the direction of the two Jans - Zdiarsky and Bobek - the first issue is available to download for free. As I understand it, the "Eduard Modeller's Den" will be a more 'serious' publication than the regular Eduard 'newsletter' and feature a wide range and diversity of topics, but with less emphasis on the advertising of Eduard and their products. Subsequent issues are 'paid-for' but the small fee will enable the reader to exchange 'coupons' for discounts at the Eduard e-store. Good luck with this new venture guys!

https://emd.eduard.com/en

Another 'ace' in 1:72nd scale - over one hundred AZ Bf 109s built - Michel Wilhelme

 

To the list of 72nd scale 'ace' modellers covered on this blog - Jeff Groves, Barry Numerick, Jes Touvdal, Giampiero Piva - add the name of Michel Wilhelme. Michel is from Dieppe and has been building kits for over 50 years. Having disposed of a large collection of 1:35 scale military dioramas he now builds exclusively Luftwaffe kits, especially the 1:72 Bf 109 series from AZ of which Michel has now completed over 100 examples!

Michel's advice for building the AZ kits... " the cockpit poses no problem of assembly. I generally insert the instrument panel/ cockpit on one side of the fuselage so that the whole is well aligned . I assemble the wings without gluing them to the fuselage, again for ease of painting the fuselage. The landing gear is easy to align at the correct angle as it's a square you just have to align everything well. I fit the wheels and gear panels last, then adjust the canopy, which is painted separately, and fit it all at the end. In fact it's classic assembly. Of course I gloss varnish before installing the decals and the dirt from the exhausts, then I do my shading and washes, everything is satin varnished to finish it off. I think the AZ kits are very simple..."

Below; AZ Friedrich in 1:72nd in the markings of JG 3 ace Hans von Hahn (Michel Wilhelme)

Michel has already finished a number of Eduard's Friedrichs;  Nowotny's 'yellow 8' and Bob's 'yellow 3' from the 'Dual combo' boxing.

Also on this blog

Jeff Groves " the 100+ aces Experten series " 

Eduard 1/72 Bf 109 F by Roy Sutherland

 

"...my little 109 F-2/4 is finished! This is my fourth completion for the year and a personal record for me. I'm pretty pleased about that and intend to maintain this pace or better for 2024. Many years ago, once the decals were on, it was a short dash to the finish line. These days, it just marks the start of the third chapter of the build. Weathering and paint effects take me many hours of careful work. Every small part also has to be finished to match. After the panel wash is completed, the model was given a coat of Galleria satin (a mix of their flat and gloss). I've grown to like and trust this stuff. Generously thinned with Mr. Levelling Thinner, it sprays well and dries to a nice speckle free, tough finish that is a good base for weathering fluids.

Weathering was done with a wide array of materials including AK filters , Tamiya panel accents, pencil, airbrushing of exhaust, water color pencils, spit, finger oil and graphite powder. Chipping was done with a silver Prismacolor pencil, and kept to a minimum, as these aircraft were extremely well maintained at this point of the war. The cockpit hood and antenna mast were drilled and pinned as I hate breaking off and losing parts with just a casual touch. Not easy to do in 1/72. Rigging was made with Uschi .003" rigging thread.

Overall, I'd say this is an excellent kit. Its typical Eduard, in that its fussy in places and things like the separate gun troughs are quite tricky to fit just right. With a little care, they install cleanly and look great. The beefed up landing gear mounts are a big improvement, though I had to do some tweaking as the glue set to get them to align in all 3 axis. I could see building more 109s from Eduard as they release more variants, but for now, I have many other subjects vying for my attention. Back to the Sea Fury, now that everything is put away and the bench cleaned up! BTW. I finished the 109F on Friday night around midnight and took it to the IPMS Fremont show the next morning. It took a first in it's category. Fun show with lots of nice models. Happy modelling! Roy.... "

Erla production 'saw-tooth' wing camouflage pattern

 

First completion of 2023, another of the 'old' new-tool Eduard Bf 109s, this time in the markings of 11./JG 27 ace Bartels. IV./JG 27 were at Kalamaki, Greece in the autumn of 1943 and intervened over Kos and Leros during October as German forces pushed out the British from these Dodecanese islands following the Italian 'change-of-sides'. J-L Roba recently produced a comprehensive monograph on these combats published by Lela Presse and reviewed on this blog.

Note alongside the finished model my 72nd Academy G-6 in the 'same' scheme. As usual the mottling is a pretty rough 'approximation' given that the real machine is only 'partially' covered photographically. As SAM editor Gary Hatcher remarked a while ago, how can Luftwaffe modellers be satisfied knowing that their mottling is always so 'hit and miss'? I suppose he may have a point - all of the known images of this machine show the port side. Not one shows the starboard side AFAIK. A feature of some Erla-Leipzig 1943 production, the upper surface 'saw-tooth' pattern was less problematic and 're-created' here easily enough with a P-Mask mask. The underwing 'R6' MG 151 cannon gondola have been opened up to display the Eduard resin cannon...I asked profile artist Anders Hjortsberg to comment on the 'saw-tooth' finish;

" ....In mid 1943 an Erla built 109 would certainly have the sawtooth pattern. I'm not sure when it was first applied but I think I've seen Friedrichs with it as well. It was used well into 1944. As to why, I don't know, there's no official document showing anything about it. The document that laid down the rules for the pattern used by WNF and Erla did mention a 10 cm transition between colours in the pattern though. WNF used what I believe was the intended effect, i.e a blurred demarcation that comes naturally when painting free hand with a spray gun. Erla wanted to use some sort of template for the pattern and so they cut a saw tooth template to fulfill the order of a 10 cm transition. That's just my theory though, there's no confirming this. Looking at the crude "Spotted mottle" on Erla aircraft is another hint that they didn't want to work as much free hand as WNF and Mtt Regensburg. It was only in the 46x.xxx series that a softer mottle started to appear and the wing pattern got changed as well, more conforming to the WNF style although an interim pattern can be seen where there's a free hand pattern painted clumsily to resemble the saw tooth pattern..."

below;  Bartel's 'Red 13' showing a partial view of the starboard wing with the 'saw-tooth' demarcation circled in red.

A better view of the 'saw-tooth' scheme - including on the tailplanes  - on a JG 53 Gustav found abandoned in Italy.

Medico's Modeling Practise - JG 27 Gustav Fliegerdenkmal!

 

well known -even iconic- image of a JG 27 Gustav nosed-over in a so-called Fliegerdenkmal 'flyers monument' modeled by Serbian Dr. of medicine "Medico".....

"...this is the Eduard Me 109 G 6, the car is Tamiya's Citroen CV11 and the figures, timeless but still not surpassed in 1/48 ... ICM!

Assembly: passed without major problems, the only major refinement  to the Me 109 was the tropical filter, which is mostly self-built since what Eduard packs in the weekend edition box is unusable. With the help of a friend, I  found the necessary decals (Thank you Peco!) And for the accurate reconstruction of the painting scheme, Anders Hjortsberg's blog 'The profile Paintshop' was crucial.

Painting: for the Me 109 I used Gunze paint according to the standard for that time RLM 74/75/76. the model was pre-shaded and after applying the basic colors and some post shading, I went over the finish with a home-made panel and rivet wash, highlighting the edge of various panels in a very diluted light gray. Then I tried a new aging technique by playing with “salt weathering” shadows because I wanted to get the effect of camouflage wear / fading. The decals of course had to follow this worn look so I used a MAKER mask.

I now leave the diorama to your critique and ... the test of time. ..."

Visit Medico's superb blog at https://medicosmp.blogspot.com/

Werner's Wings - 7./SKG 10 Fw 190 Fw. Otto Bechtold, April 1943

I was recently in touch with master-modeler Floyd Werner after reading his SKG Fw 190 build report in SAMI for August 2018 ( yes, I'm a bit behind on my reading). Floyd kindly sent through some images of his marvellous representation of Fw. Otto Bechtold's Fw 190 A-4 WNr.7555 as seen at West Malling, Kent on April 17, 1943. Running low on fuel, after an abortive attempt to raid installations along the Thames at London's Isle of Dogs, Bechtold put down on the airfield. Bechtold's machine had an application of black distemper over the regulation 74/75/76 and after arriving in the UK various warnings were chalked up on the aircraft including a request to not enter the cockpit.. I asked Floyd if he was intending to produce his self-made 'Do not touch' decals in his Werner's Wings range at all.

 

Floyd replied....." I had planned to release these decals as a stand alone sheet but I haven’t because the left side of the fuselage is speculative.  I’m not aware of photos of that side.  If I had photos of that side so we could draw up the design I would send them off to the printers immediately.  With the release of the new Eduard ‘Jabo’ set it felt right [to complete this build]...perhaps someone in your readership might be able to provide confirmation of the inscription on the port side of this machine? "

Well that is a shame about the port side. I have some good quality images of this machine, and Floyd is right, not one comes close to showing anything of that part of the airframe.. can anyone out there help ?  In the meantime keep an eye on Werner's Wings. Click on the images to view in 'full-screen' mode..

Eduard Junkers Ju 52 'Airliner' 1:144 kit in "Where Eagles Dare" scheme custom decals - Luftwaffe models

Model and model photos and custom-made decals via Jasonb13

" ..I have wanted to do this scheme for a while and picked up the Eduard Ju 52 'Airliner' kit in 1:144 scale in December 2017 and finally started it late last year. I got the decals custom made but they got lost in the Christmas post so had to be re-sent, so I only got it finished a couple of days ago.

It's a decent kit, but I had some fit issues, especially with the windows section, as the two strips for the windows are clear (both the windows themselves and the surrounding area) so it's hard to get them flush with the plastic fuselage sides. I also had some issues with the method I tried to use to do the camo, so all in all this isn't as 'smooth' a build as I would have liked! As to the camo scheme (see diagram of camo finish below) I'm pretty sure that it is finished overall white from what I can see from freezing the DVD and also pics online of the Swiss aircraft used. I think it looks like the movie aircraft - and I'm happy enough to have a model of such an iconic aircraft on the shelf - and from such an iconic film!...."

Kit: Eduard Ju-52 'Airliner'
Scale: 1:144
Paint & Weathering: Airbrushed with One Shot Mig Primer and Revell Aqua Colours, Weathered with Oils.
Extras: Bedlam Creations Custom Decals for 'Where Eagles Dare' scheme.

".. the decals were done by Bedlam Creations (https://www.bedlamcreations.com/custom-waterslide-decals/) and the option I went with was the 'Thermal Resin ALPS' 2" x 3" which cost $10 + Shipping. Obviously, depending on the size of the decal sheets you want, it could cost more. I found them very helpful, and even though the original sheet was lost in the post, they reprinted and re-shipped free of charge..."

Below - a single click to view here. The final chase scene from the film "Where Eagles Dare" featuring the all-white Swiss Air Force Junkers Ju 52 rented for the filming. This machine is better known as Ju Air HB-HOT which sadly crashed on 4 August 2018 in Switzerland with the loss of all onboard. The Ju 52 was still in Swiss AF service at the time of filming "Where Eagles Dare" - note the over-painted Swiss AF roundels on the lower wing surfaces! Note too the ex-Swiss AF T-6s masquerading as Messerschmitts in the clip. Starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood of course. Filmed on location at Aigen i. Ennstal (military) airfield, Austria.

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Also on this blog - building the Italeri 72nd scale Ju 52 as the 450 RAAF hack 'Libyan Clipper'
https://falkeeins.blogspot.com/2018/05/building-italeri-ju-52-as-450-raaf.html