Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7

Kit:	Airfix, 1/72nd, bought for $7.44 in 2016; model completed in 2022-03-20
Aircraft:	"Black chevron and triangle" (W.Nr unknown), III/JG 5, Luftwaffe, Petsamo, August 1942

The model depicts an aircraft flown by Hauptmann (later Major) Günther Scholtz, Gruppenkommandeur of III/JG 5 "Eismeer" while stationed in Petsamo, Finland in August 1942. This aircraft is well known and quite well documented; Scholtz's memoirs [2] contain several photographs of this aircraft.

Scholtz was later the Geschwaderkommodore of the entire JG 5. He survived the war with 33 aerial victories; he died in 2014 at which point he was the last surviving member of Legion Condor.

Construction Notes

The Airfix Bf 109E is a nice kit and builds well, the only downside being that it is molded in fairly soft plastic which makes it difficult to get small parts off the sprues cleanly without damaging them. I have built this kit once before, also as a JG 5 aircraft stationed in Petsamo; this time I decided to do a bit of "super-detailing" by opening the cowling, by using True Details' resin cockpit interior, etc.

The "Grand Messerschmitt project" blog has all the details about completing this model, but here is the summary of the last steps: I painted the model using Tamiya acrylics and Mr.Color lacquers; I started with the standard Luftwaffe RLM 74/75/76 camouflage pattern and then oversparyed the fuselage with RLM 71. I used a Kuivalainen decal sheet ("Bf 109E Luftwaffe over Finland"), the same one from which I got the decals for my earlier E-7; Kagero also has a decal sheet that accompanies [4]; it features this aircraft, and is probably more easily available nowadays in case you are considering building this one.

True Details' cockpit panels installed

All the interior parts ready for the fuselage halves to be closed

Seat with Eduard seatbelts attached

Propeller painted: I cut a curve from masking tape to accommodate one half of the spinner, then used the leftover for the other side to keep things symmetric

Initial camouflage applied

Undersides: the aircraft on the right is MT-213 with RLM 65 instead of RLM 76

Green overspray applied

Decals waiting for another gloss overcoat

I didn't know what the serial number of the engine was, so the number applied is fictional but representative

Ready for final details and semigloss overcoat

References Used

There is a lot of literature about Luftwaffe's operations in Northern Finland and Norway. Listed here are the references that were particularly useful for this specific aircraft. Particularly noteworthy is obviously [2], and [1, 3--6, 9] were invaluable as well. Structural details were provided by [7, 8].

Arctic Bf 109 and Bf 110 Aces (Weal); Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 124; Osprey 2016
In the Skies over Europe - The Memoirs of Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot Günther Scholtz (Möbius); Schiffer 2009
Luftwaffe Over Finland (Stenman & Keskinen); Luftwaffe at War 18; Greenhill Books 2001
Luftwaffe over the Far North - part 1 (Góralczyk & Wróbel); Mini Topcolors 28; Kagero 2011
Luftwaffe-kuvasto - Saksan ilmavoimat Suomessa ja Pohjois-Norjassa 1941-1944 (Valtonen); Keski-Suomen Ilmailumuseon julkaisuja 7; Keski-Suomen Ilmailumuseo 1998
Luftwaffe Suomessa 1941-1944 (Anttonen et al); 1976
Messerschmitt Bf 109 Versions B-E (Cross et al); Classic Aircraft, Their history and how to model them 2; Patrick Stephens Limited 1972
Messerschmitt Bf 109: The Early Years - Poland, the Fall of France and the Battle of Britain (Goss); Air War Archive; Frontline Books 2017
Saksalaiset koneet Suomessa 1939-1945 (Keskinen & Stenman); Suomen Ilmavoimien historia 16; Apali 1998