Once the Luftwaffe joined battle over England in the summer of 1940, the 70/71/85 and 71/02/65 "high side" camouflage schemes showed themseles inadequate for the conditions (over water, etc.) of the battle. Thus, over the summer and fall, a number of "field applied" schemes were tried out. One of these was done in JG 51, whose Bf-109s were mostly in the "high side' 71/02/65 scheme at the outset. RLM 02 was sprayed over the wings and horizontal tail surfaces, while RLM 02 and RLM71 blotches were applied over the fuselage. No two were the same.
By the end of the French campaign, Josef "Pips" Priller had demonstrated the skills that would have him become the leading Kanaljagdflieger by the end of the war with 101 victories, all scored in the west. This airplane has been vaiously (and wrongly) shown over the years (primarily on an Errormaster sheet) with blotches overall, rather than overpainting.
The model was painted originally in the 71/02/65 "high side" scheme, then overpainted as the squadron did it with RLM 02 and 71, per a painting diagram in the new Special Hobby 1/72 Bf-109E-3 kit. Decals came from the kit and the Errormaster sheet (for the side number and the fin swastika with kill markings over).
Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to be seeing more of these marvelous kits from Wingsy, whose production facility in Kyiv is likely being turned into rubble by Putin's Barbarians as I write this. I have one more, which I am able to turn into a Bf-109E-4 with an extra canopy from the spares box, then it's "We'll meet again/Don't know where/Don't know when..."
5 attached images. Click to enlarge.
