Ask someone who knows a little about WWII aircraft what was the most important German plane of WWII and they will probably say the Me-109. They'd be right as, like the Spitfire, it was in production from day one until the end. As with all long-lived aircraft, the airframe was constantly modified until the last of the 109 series held little that was interchangeable with the first.

By far, the greatest number of 109s produced was the G series and the most produced of the G series was the G-6. This variant was built for around two years (a very long time in the early/mid 1940s) but was modified as time went on and the situation changed. Not surprisingly, many of the late war Luftwaffe aces flew this version at some time during their career.

This particular kit is of the /AS variant. It was powered by a DB.605/AS and as such had a larger supercharger, which necessitated an enlarged engine cowling to deal with this feature. One result is that it is quite difficult to differentiate between this version and the G-10, which also had a larger cowling. The reason for the larger supercharger was to improve high altitude performance. The type entered service in early 1944.

Typical of Eduard's Weekend Edition kits is the lack of masks and photo etch. In past kits of this type, the lack of p.e. meant that you couldn't really complete the kit as boxed as it was integral to build. It does not appear to be the case with this one as things like instrument panels and seat harness are duplicated as decals, which many prefer. You still get all the cockpit detail you might want.

In line with other of their 109 kits, the exhaust has to be installed from the inside, complicating painting somewhat. The upper fin is also separate so you can use the taller rudder. This one is the slightly curved variant. These aircraft also had the shorter tail gear

Gear well is made up of four parts per side and you have the option of opening a hole in the lower wing for a drop tank. Separate flaps, slats, ailerons and radiator exhaust doors are provided. Radiator screens are solid plastic rather than p.e. and again, this is fine with most of us. There are multiple windscreens and canopies provided, the instructions indicating which are appropriate. Unfortunately, with my kit, all of these items had broken free of the sprue so are rattling around in the bag. Canopy can be posed open or closed.

Instructions are well done and in Eduard's usual booklet form. Eduard also got wise and has included five markings options. The box art plane is with JG 1 in RLM 74/75/76. Another is in overall RLM 76 with JG3, and the third German option is with NJG 11 in RLM 74/75 over black. Two Finnish airplanes are provided, one with HLeLv 24 from June 1944 and the other in postwar markings with HLeLv31. Both are in RLM 74/75/76 and both are the same plane as only two of this variant were delivered to the Finns. You get a nicely printed set of decals for this one that include more Finnish numbers than you really need.

It is nice to have this variant with its own boxing and it is not surprising that Eduard produced it as they are well known for doing a zillion different boxings of each of their kits. I'm sure this one will be as nice as their others and has the benefit of not only being less expensive, but not having all that fussy p.e.

April 2021

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Thanks to me for the preview kit.

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