1:32 Bf 109E-4

A yellow nose as a recognition color

During the summer of 1940 the Bf 109s over the Channel gained a color that was not meant to conceal anything, quite the opposite. The nose of the engine, the rudder and sometimes the underside of the fuselage were given a garish yellow finish so that their own pilots would recognize their neighbor in the thick of a melee before firing at him. In a tight turn two fighters of similar silhouette are easily confused and camouflage gray only helps that along. The yellow was moreover applied at the unit, over the factory paint, so it tended to be uneven, showed through and quite often covered a slightly different area on every machine. That irregularity can only do a model good.

Composition of the set

The glazing is masked from two sides, outside as well as inside, and two masks for the national insignia are added. The metal part contains muzzles for the machine guns above the engine and barrels for the wing cannons, that is the parts which never look thin enough on a plastic molding.

The E-4 version in brief

What separates it from the older form is a more angular cockpit canopy and reinforced protection for the pilot, because experience from the first months of fighting showed where the machine was most vulnerable. It is the revised glazing that matters for masking: it has the frames laid out differently and the film in the set is cut for this form.

A practical note

Yellow shades cover badly, so a light base coat, best white, belongs under them. If you want to imitate the hand work done at the unit, run the boundary of the color slightly off line and let it show through in places. The masks are cut to the Eduard kit in 1:32 scale; the plastic parts are not included.