EagleCals’ 1/72 and 1/48
Bf 109G-10 (EC#26)
By Chris Bucholtz
The latest superlative sheet form EagleCals covers two Bf 109G-10s and two Bf 109G-10/U4s, three based on photos from Brett Green’s excellent book “Augsburg’s Last Eagles.” If you’re in the mood to do some butt-kicking Teutonic super-fighters, you’re out of luck, but if you’d like to do a diorama of surrendering German pilots or an overrun Luftwaffe airfield, these are the markings for you!
The four subjects were all caught up in the confusion of the German collapse on the Western Front. Subject one was among a large number of German aircraft that flew west and surrendered at Neubiberg on May 8, 1945. Subject two was also among these aircraft, and it survives today at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio. (I have a photo of my wife standing on this plane’s wing, making this a personal favorite!). Both these II./JG.52 planes are finished in RLM 74/75/76 camouflage, with black and white striped spinners and the yellow rudder of Luftflotte 4, and they also sport a thick yellow band around the nose about three feet behind their black-and-white banded spinners. The third subject wears similar colors, but has the broad white-and-green checkerboard band of KG (J) 27. The fourth subject is perhaps the most interesting, and overall RLM 76 aircraft from II./NJG 11, converted into a night attack aircraft. This aircraft had some minor modifications made for its role, but these are spelled out in the instructions.
As always, the printing of the decals is good, although the black-and-white wing markings on my sheet are out of register. Luckily, all other two-color markings, like swastikas, octane triangles and side codes, are provided as two separate decals.
The instructions, as always, are first rate. Not only do they specify what non-standard equipment may be on the aircraft in question, but also they own up if the details are incomplete and provide a bibliography of their references!
Luftwaffe modelers will be spoiled as long as EagleCals keeps up its interest in German subjects, and modelers of other genres will be tempted to switch just because of their quality. Another outstanding release!
Our thanks to Eagle Editions for our review example.
(Editor's Note: The colors of the scans are not accurate representations of the decals or profile sheet.)
