Eduard 1/72 Avia S-199 ERLA canopy Profipack
I finished out the year with one great kit--Eduard's Avia S-199, Profipack. I've only done a few Eduard kits, though my stash has more than a handful. This one has all the bells and whistles that Eduard can offer; great molding and fit with excellent surface detail, high quality color PE, paint masks, great instructions and Eduard's new style decals.
The unique history of this version of the Bf 109 also caught my eye. The S-199 was a Czech-built postwar fighter based on the Bf 109G airframe powered by a Junkers Jumo 211F engine. It was the first fighter used by the IAF, debuting during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
This is a great kit but their are a couple of tricky issues. The landing gear bays must be enlarged by cutting out a bit of the bottom of the wing. Fortunately a PE template is provided as a guide. PE pieces are provided to detail the bays that require some skilled at bending and small metal pieces. This would be especially challenging if the modifications are done precisely. The kit includes Eduard's new style decals that allow the clear carrier film to be removed. This requires patience, finesse, a fine blade and good tweezers. Not to mention excellent eye sight. After I applied them, using MicroSet and MicroSol, I let them dry for 24 hours and then picked at the film with a scalpel to get it free. Once started, they can be peeled off with some very fine tweezers. Unfortunately, I nicked the underlying decal in a couple of places that required touch ups. The finished result looks awesome but you are nearly doubling the time spent on decals. They look perfectly good even without removing the film. I skipped the removal step on the tiny stencil decals and its unoticable. So essentially you can go either way.
I also used Flory Weathering Wash on this project. I've had mixed results with other panel liners in the past, but this worked beautifully. Highly recommend it.
BTW, this is my 14th completed kit for the year. It was a nice way to top off a productive year.
Superb result, Dennis! What a wonderful way to finish 2022!
Happy New Year!
Thank you Spiros. Happy New Year.
Nice work and a really good result, Dennis.
Looks great!
Amazing detail and quality on a 1/72 ,and the correct colour for a very early Avia as well ,well done.
Excellent looking 109, Dennis @dmeyers
A perfect finish of 2022, wishing you all the best for 2023
That’s fabulous, Dennis, particularly in 1/72 scale, a great way to end 2022 and welcome in the new year.
Looks great - the detail of the kit is awesome! I may have to pick up one of these for my 109 collection.
Nice looking 109, Dennis (@dmeyers). The paint and weathering look great.
Nice work, Dennis. 109s in 1/72 require careful building and finishing even if starting with a quality kit. Well done.
Nice job on your S-199, it looks great and I love the finish.