1:32 Bf 109E-4

When the Bf 109 was painted for the night

A little known chapter of the E-4 version began in the winter at the turn of 1940 and 1941, when some of the machines were given a dark night finish and set out to hunt bombers in the dark. The lower surfaces went completely black, the sides stayed matte and everything glossy had to be matted down, because in the beam of a searchlight a single reflection gives an aircraft away. The paint was applied roughly and sometimes only over the original light blue base, so after a few weeks of service it showed through. The night experiments ended quickly, the aircraft had neither the equipment nor the range for it, but the finish that came out of them remains one of the most striking the type ever wore.

Box contents

Compared with the sister set, one extra insignia mask and a sheet of decals have been added. The glazing is covered in two layers, that is outside as well as inside, and the turned parts cover both weapons from the engine cowling and the pair of cannons seated in the wing.

Why a mask pays off

The frames of the glazing on this Bf 109 have a lot of straight sections and sharp corners, so they can be masked with tape as well. Only every corner means another cut and a single slip of the knife will scratch the transparent part for good. Pre-cut film removes that risky work and the frames come out equally wide on all the parts.

A tip for the work

A black surface is treacherous for a modeler, because it swallows all the shadow and flattens the model. The answer is not to mix pure black but a very dark gray and to shade the individual panels slightly. Decals stick better to a matte surface when the place they go is polished beforehand. The cut of the masks is based on the Eduard kit in this scale and the model of the aircraft is obtained separately.