Eduard

1/48 Bf-110E

Kit Number: 8203

Reviewed by  Dave Morrissette, IPMS# 33653

MSRP: $49.95 Web Site: www.eduard.cz The Bf-110 had a major part in WWII and in general has been under-represented in the modeling arena. Eduard sets out to fix that and in a big way with the release of the Bf110E. Let's take a look at what is in the box: 7 sprues of dark tan material with excellent detail and recessed panel lines. There are lots of extra parts (meaning more variants to come). 2 sprues of clear parts, including multiple canopy types, gun sight and landing light. 2 frets of colorized PE for seat belts, detail parts, radiator faces and a two part instrument panel. Eduard tape masks for this kit. Decals with markings for four aircraft- very colorful and unusual schemes, including Iraqi markings. An excellent 20-page color instruction booklet with history, paint diagrams, decal diagrams and excellent instructions. Construction starts in the cockpit. There are options available such as PE or injection molded rudder pedals/instrument panel. Excellent pre-colored seat belts are included for all positions. The cockpit comprises approximately 80 parts, and the fit is excellent. I did use a slight amount of putty to get the gunner's seat seam-free. I used all of the PE during my construction. The instrument panel is gorgeous and has a layered design that gives a nice sense of depth. I built the cockpit in sub assemblies consisting of the front cockpit (pilots area), back gunner/navigators area) and sidewalls. All color call outs are for Gunze, but clearly labeled with RLM numbers where applicable. I did add some decal instruments to the radio faces for a little more life. The inside was sprayed with Gunze RLM02, detail painted, sealed, and washed with burnt umber oil paints. A little dry brushing and Dullcoat and we were done. Due to the number of pieces, this took three evenings to complete alone. The lap seat belts are each made of seven pieces and are used on all three stations! The moment of truth was joining the sidewalls, bulkheads and the sub assemblies- it went flawlessly. More pieces were added to the inside of the fuselage such as map cases, additional instruments, and one side panel. One thing that concerned me- there are two separate bottom panels on the fuselage for ejection ports for the cannons. These were created to deal with the multiple variants. When the cockpit, fuselage and the bottom panels were joined, there were no issues and everything fit like a glove. When I looked at the cockpit in the fuselage, all the small details are worth the work- the cockpit was excellent.

Early on, I chose to build a Bf-110 of 5/ZG Wespen from Russia in 1942. I chose this for two reasons; it had winter camouflage and also, the large wasp decals on the nose! The next step in the build calls for the nose gun bay to be assembled. I elected to close this part to make it easier to place the decals. The guns and bay have to still be built as the gun barrels protrude. This was added to the kit and fit was OK- I suspect with a little more time, it could have been even better but I did use some putty- my review deadline was looming. Both wings were next and have great detail and all the needed bulkheads. A note here- all the parts are "handed" either right or left to a specific wing. Mixed up, they don't fit well, so if you can't get it to fit or it doesn't look right, you might have the wrong piece. I did leave the radiator housings off as the fit was very good and made the painting easier. Time to add the tails and wings and get ready for paint. The tails sections fit very well and the rudders aligned perfectly and have great sockets. The wings are another story. I had a difficult time getting them to slide into their holes; the cockpit sidewalls kept interfering. A little judicious grinding and we were good to go. The ailerons are separate and were added also. At this time, I also masked the canopy in preparation for painting- the Eduard masks are a real time saver. All the small panels, etc. masked perfectly in about 20 minutes. It would have taken hours using conventional methods. Now for some fun. The plane I was making was originally painted RLM 74/75/76 and then white-washed. I started with Model Master RLM 76 over the whole plane except the wings. I used Xtracolor RLM 74 and 75 and sprayed the major camouflage patterns on the fuselage and the wings, leaving most of the sides the original light blue. I took 74 and thinned it about twice as much as normal, lowered the air pressure to 8 psi, and used my Paasche H to mottle the sides and tail. I repeated the same process with RLM 75. This was allowed to dry. To do the winter scheme, I masked off the lettering and then took Model Master white and a 3mm brush and painted the camouflage areas with brushed white. I then used and airbrush and filled some of the areas in more thoroughly. This dried and then I used a polishing stick (the ones used to polish out canopies) and slowly worked off the white overspray in wear areas like the walkways, leading edges, etc. The canopy was painted this way also. It was all downhill from there. The decals were added- I had a little trouble with the "Wespen" wasp and ended up touching it up. The decal appears to be in three parts and is meant for the gun bay to be open. The decals were excellent but when they settled and stuck, they were done. Absolutely no silvering! Then I ran into a little trouble. I went to add the exhaust stacks to the side of the engines. Eduard has made these such that each stack was separate- -24 in total. They were solid so I set about hollowing them out with a pin vise and a Xacto knife. Time consuming but no issues. Once done, these are glued onto backer places and installed on the engine. I did it this way and it worked but was fiddly getting the backer plates to fit. Next time, I glue the backer places onto the engine and add the exhaust stacks then. This led to weathering with several washes and pastels. A final sealing with Dullcoat set the table for the last legs. The main gear and all the antennas were added. Elmer's Glue was used to add the canopy. Landing light was added and so was the rear gun and bombs. Eduard has already announced a release of the C/D version. I have already bought another E version as there are more schemes. First, this kit is excellent value for the money- everything is in it- masks, PE and a great kit. Second, it was a blast to build and paint. This gets my vote for "Kit of the Year"- it is fantastic. Recommended for everyone. Thanks to Eduard and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this masterpiece.

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