Kit: No. 8203
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Eduard, www.eduard.cz
Price: $49.95
Comments: Injection-molded, 422 parts (78 photoetched-metal, 1 resin dachshund), vinyl paint masks, decals
Pros: Thin clear parts; prepainted photoetched-metal instrument panel; alternate parts; open or closed canopy sections; detailed gun bays and landing gear wells; poseable ailerons
Cons: Small photoetched-metal parts; detail not visible after assembly; difficult fit of some parts; lack of background information on box-art aircraft
Eduard’s Bf 110 is a 422-part tour de force. The Eduard Color Zoom photoetched-metal fret alone has 78 tiny parts! It’s an impressive box with individually bagged parts trees. Parts are finely molded, highly detailed, and have very little flash. The seven-color decal sheet has 255 very thin images, not counting the separate sheet of two national insignia that replace incorrect ones on the main sheet. Also included are canopy and wheel masks that fit well and leave no adhesive residue.
A 20-page assembly, painting, and markings instruction booklet, printed in color where appropriate, contains a brief history of the 110 series, a symbols key, a parts map, and a recommended reference list of Gunze Aqueous and Mr. Color paints.
The assembly drawings are complex yet error-free. The last five pages have four-view-plus color and markings drawings for four aircraft, as well as drawings for several stencils.
Assembly proceeds by following pages of drawings, rather than by steps, starting in the cockpit with the starboard control panel. Colors are indicated for each part by Gunze number and color name. Much of the 70-plus hours I spent on my model was taken up in airbrushing all the details in the cockpit, gun bays, and landing-gear wells.
The complex and detailed nature of the kit becomes apparent with the assembly of the throttle quadrant (main part C29), where five levers less than 3/32″ long are installed. My carpet ate one of those tiny parts, starting a trend that continued throughout the build. I replaced the lost part with stretched sprue.
The first alternate parts choice came with the assembly of the rudder pedals. The kit provides photoetched-metal and plastic pieces (PE38/PE39 and parts G56, respectively). The photoetched-metal pedals with straps are nicely made, but invisible once they’re in place. I used the plastic parts. I did, however, select the color photoetched-metal instrument-panel parts.
Assembly is fairly straightforward. Just take it one part at a time – it is easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of parts.
On Page 4, a ridge on the deck floor (part J1) interferes with the mounting of the forward bottle (part G2). I used an oval file to repair the area.
On Page 8, mounting the completed forward gun deck into the lower nose section (part B10) was difficult. The nose section in my kit was a little wide, and the deck did not readily fit into slots provided in the nose. The gun deck settled about 1/16″ too far aft, leaving only one gun barrel protruding from the nose and the bottom of the forward bulkhead (part C19) visible through the lower gun ports.
There is a 1/8″ gap between the top of the nacelles and their fairing on the upper wing. Generous applications of solvent softened the mating surfaces so I could push the nacelles far enough to the rear to eliminate the gap.
Clear parts are included to display either or both ends of the canopy open or closed. Tabs on the canopy roof (part F6) must be removed if the roof is to be closed. If they’re retained, the tabs allow the roof to be opened to a lesser degree than photos show.
I painted with out-of-production Floquil Military Colors plus Floquil Railroad grimy black for RLM 22, then followed with several coats of Testors Glosscote lacquer in preparation for decals. The final finish is a mix of Model Master clear flat and clear semigloss.
The decals were slightly off register, delicate, and tended to curl under the backing paper during removal. Sliding each image into a small puddle of water on the model solved the problem. Each image received an application of Micro-scale Micro Sol, which eliminated silvering.
The finished model matches measurements found in Squadron/Signal’s Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstörer in Action, and the model sits correctly and looks authentic. I didn’t think I would finish it on time, and I am now on vacation. But it will be a pleasure to display this aircraft at the next club meeting. – Al Jones