Two of the most successful aces of world war two flew the Bf-109 almost exclusively during their careers. Those two aces are Erich Hartmann with a final tally of 352 kills and Gerhardt Barkhorn who ended with a 301 kill total. Both of these numbers are astonishing when compared to the leading Allied ace, the Russian Ivan Kodezeb, who had a total of 62 confirmed kills. What makes the German totals even more astonishing is the rigorous requirement for a confirmed kill. Not only did it have to be confirmed by another pilot in the air, but the wreckage on the ground had to be confirmed as well. It is quite possible that the actual scores could have been much higher.

The first sheet for the Revell 1/32 Bf-109 done by Microscale includes a couple of aircraft flown by these two aces. 

The first is one of Barkhorn's Bf-109G-6s that he flew while Kommodore of JG-52. It is in standard paint of RLM 74/75/76 with RLM 75 mottling on the fuselage sides. The aircraft is unremarkable in that none of Barkhorn's kills were displayed on the plane. Whether this was a conscious effort on Barkhorn's part is unknown. The only additional color given in the yellow rear fuselage band, however, standard Eastern Front markings would have also included yellow wing tips on the underside as well as a yellow underside to the front fuselage.

The next is one of Erich Hartmann's 109G-6s. This has his distinctive 'tulip nose' as well as part of his kill tally on the rudder. This also is in standard colors, and like Barkhorn's plane, only shows the yellow fuselage band. Additional research should be done on this aircraft prior to using the decals to ensure that there were not more parts of the airframe painted yellow, as this is also an Eastern Front aircraft.

Other than that, the decals are in good register and well done, especially for a sheet of this age, as it was one of Microscale's early releases.

Review copy courtesy of me and my wallet.

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