1:48 Messerschmitt Bf-109 E-1/3/7/TROP Splinter Scheme Paint Mask - Variation 4 (for Airfix 05122 kit)

The same aircraft over sand and over the Channel

The tropical modification of the E series meant above all a dust filter on the supercharger intake and emergency equipment for a pilot shot down in the desert. The camouflage pattern on the upper surfaces meanwhile stayed in many cases the same angular pattern the machines had flown with over Europe, and only gradually was it supplemented by sand-colored coats. That is exactly why this set covers the version designated Trop as well: the outline of the areas does not change and the masking film fits the same way.

The last of the numbered four

The brand offers four differently run patterns for the E series and this is the fourth of them. The cut comes from the parts of a single Airfix kit and covers the E-1, E-3 and E-7 versions.

A practical summary

The procedure is simple: the base shade, curing, offering the film up, the second shade, removal. Only one thing can hold you up, and that is impatience. A mask taken off fresh varnish will pull it away with itself and the repair takes more time than an extra hour of waiting. If you plan sand-colored additions on a tropical machine, leave them for the end, after the mask is off and the surface has been knocked back to matte. Neither the model nor the paints are in the package.

Aircraft with a desert filter appeared not only over North Africa but also over the Mediterranean and the Balkans, so the choice of possible markings is wider than it seems at first glance. If you reach for a reference from a later period, count on irregular blotches applied directly at the unit being added over the base camouflage. Their edge was soft, so they are sprayed freehand only after the film has been taken off.