1:48 Bf 109E-1

The Emil in the E-1 form

The first production Emil, armed with four MG 17 machine guns, entered service just before the Polish campaign. Its DB 601A engine with direct fuel injection allowed it maneuvers the carburetor machines could not manage, and in 1940 it was this version that met Hurricanes and Spitfires over the Channel. A number of machines were later rearmed with cannons and redesignated.

Frame upon frame

The glazing of the Emil is famous for its dense network of bars. It consists of a fixed front part, a hinged center section and a fixed rear section, over a dozen surfaces in all with heavy metal frames between them. Behind them the pilot had a view a modeler today can hardly imagine, but thanks to them the model has a scene that can be looked into from many angles.

Frames from inside change the whole impression

German cockpits were in a gray-blue shade inside and carried the camouflage of the upper surfaces outside. On the Emil, where there are so many frames, that difference decides the appearance of the whole model: painted inner bars visually frame the instrument panel and the circular gunsight, and the cockpit stops looking like a piece of molded plastic. Without reverse masks that is almost impossible to achieve by hand.

The hinged center section folded to the right and in the open position stands vertically beside the fuselage. A modeler who leaves it open thus puts on show not only the seat and the instruments but also the whole lower edge of the bars. It is that edge which is the hardest to reach when painting by hand, because a brush catches it only at a sharp angle.

In the box you will find

The canopy masks in two layers, plus a pair of insignia for spraying and a decal sheet. Get the glue yourself.