Reviewed by Rob Baumgartner
 

Eagle Strike Productions' Gustavs Part 2 are available online from Squadron.com

 

FirstLook

This time it is Jagdgeschwader 52, 53 and 54 that get the decal treatment with Eagle Strike’s Part II of their 1/24th scale Gustav series. These markings have obviously been designed for the Trumpeter kit and permit some very colourful alternatives to the kit’s options.

As expected, the decals have no registration problems with the colours. The carrier film is nice and thin and thanks to the excellent printing is kept to a minimum. The colour saturation is good and experience shows that they adhere very well to the model’s surface.

A good selection of stencil data is provided which includes both red and black drop tank markings and various types of fuel triangles. The legibility of the data is excellent and a diagram on the instruction sheet provides a guide as to their placement.

The subjects are:

Bf 109G-6, “Yellow 11”, 6/JG52, Rumania, 1944

Lt. Heinz Ewald flew this interesting aircraft. It was finished in the typical RLM 74/75/76 scheme and carried a yellow fuselage band and lower wingtips. The RLM 70 spinner is depicted as having half of it painted in white and there is a rather comical personal emblem painted below the cockpit.

Ewald finished the war with 84 victories.

Bf 109G-6 trop, “Yellow 1”, 6./JG53, Cancello, Italy, 1943

The aircraft of Leutnant Alfred Hammer was also finished in the familiar RLM 74/75/76 of the time. It had seen service as another number, which is indicated by the repainting done under its present numeral. The lower engine panel is yellow, as is the II. Gruppe bar, and the fuselage is ringed with the white Mediterranean theatre band. The markings are completed with a black and white spiraled spinner.

Besides being the tropical version of the G-6, it was also fitted with the Rüstsätze for the installation of the two MG151/20 cannon beneath the wings.

Hammer was another pilot that survived the war and finished with 26 victories.

Bf 109G-6, “Yellow 1”, 9./JG54, Fels am Wagram, Austria, 1944

This very colourful aircraft was flown by Oberleutnant Wilhelm Schilling. As with the other machines on the sheet, it appears finished in RLM 74/75/76. Looking at a photo of this aircraft, there is a darker colour used for the mottle that doesn’t have the same gray value as the other two upper surface colours. Modellers will have to interpret this for themselves.

The III. Gruppe bar, lower engine cowl and rudder are all yellow, and the spinner reveals the standard black and white spiral.

JG 54 used blue for their “Defense of the Reich” band and this is evident on the aircraft’s rear fuselage.

Two badges were carried on the port side. The forward one on the engine cowl indicates 9./JG 54 and the one under the nose is representative of III./JG 54.

Note that Eagle Strike’s quoted reference material shows a photo of this aircraft with parts of the swastika accidentally covered in mottle. This is not illustrated in the instructions. The manufacturer also decided on a different interpretation of the swastika’s outline.

Wilhelm Schilling gained fifty victories before the war ended and managed to survive.

 

Conclusion

So here we have three more subjects available for the modeler to personalize their latest Trumpeter masterpiece. The quality of the product is what one would expect from this manufacturer and I for one look forward to Part III in the series.

Recommended
 

Thanks to Eagle Strike Productions for the review sample.
 

Review Text Copyright © 2004 by Robert Baumgartner
Page Created 25 May, 2004
Last updated 26 May, 2004

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