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Messerschmitt Me.410-1/U2 & U4 (A04066) 1:72 Airfix The sleekly styled, twin-engined Me.410 Hornisse started life as the Me.210, the intended replacement for the Bf.110 that was already showing its age, and forward-thinking planners correctly anticipated that if war broke out, it would quickly be outclassed, leading to heavy losses. The replacement process was begun before WWII started in the West, but turned into a protracted gestation due to problems that presented themselves before it could be turned into a viable heavy fighter/bomber. The Me.210 was a flawed concept that suffered from unpleasant and sometimes dangerous handling characteristics, garnering such a poor reputation that when the substantial changes needed to fix these problems (initially designated the 210D) were underway, the decision was made to rename it the Me.410 to distance it from its origins. The 410 utilised an improved DB603A engine, lengthened the fuselage over the 210 to improve the centre of gravity, utilising an amended wing planform to give it a constant sweep-back of the leading edge to bring the aerodynamic centre further forward. Coupled with leading-edge slats that had been removed from the initial 210 design, the resulting aircraft that was significantly more pleasant to fly, had a respectable top speed and could carry a substantial war-load. On entering service in 1943, its initial success as a night bomber over the UK was most definitely not a portent of great things to come. The 410 was a day late and a dollar short so to speak, and no sooner had it reached the front-line and started attacking the bomber streams, than the Allies darkened the skies with fast, manoeuvrable single-engined fighters such as the Spitfire and Mustang, which could easily out-fly the 410, a problem that would be exacerbated by later designs such as the P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-38 Lightning. Pitched into battle without fighter cover, they were easy prey to the Allied fighters, and the balance was only slightly shifted by the introduction of Bf.109 and Fw.190 escorts. Production ceased in August 1944 to concentrate dwindling manufacturing capacity on the Emergency Fighter Programme for the ultimately unsuccessful defence of the Reich. Due to its relatively short career, the marks that saw action progressed only as far as the B model, although high altitude C and D models were on the drawing board, but never saw service. Despite its flaws, the 410 was quite innovative in its weapons carriage, and had a nose-mounted weapons bay directly under the cockpit, which could house a palette of munitions, either bombs, cannon, reconnaissance cameras or the 50mm Bordkanone that was used to attack daylight bomber streams. Due to the upgraded engines that gave it more capacity in the bomber role, a pair of bomb shackles had to be added to the inner wing undersides to accommodate the extra load. The twin remote controlled "barbettes" on each side of the mid fuselage were also of note, as they were controlled by the rear gunner from the aft cockpit using a traditional pistol-grip system could also pivot up and down, but the barrels could also be rotated out sideways to fire one of the two barbettes at an off-centre target behind them. Movement and aiming was all carried out using controls attached to the pistol grip, and must have surprised more than one potential assailant. The A-1 model was designated as a Light Bomber, a job that it was well suited to, giving the Allies a run for their money on night operations, where they proved difficult to catch. The 410’s equipment bay right beneath the pilot in the A-1 accommodated the nose armament of a pair of MG17s and MG151/20 cannons, plus shackles for droppable munitions, with a maximum of 1,000kg. A pair of 500kg bombs was the usual, but other stores could be carried. The underside of the nose bay had two clamshell doors that partially retracted into the fuselage, allowing easy exit for the bombs. After the war, several of these interesting aircraft were taken as war prizes by the Allies, but sadly only two full airframes exist today, one in RAF Cosford in a fully-restored state, which until the 1980s was capable of ground-running despite props that were shortened to equalise their lengths after an “incident”, the other awaiting preservation in the US at the National Air & Space Museum. The Kit This new tooling from Airfix was announced only shortly before release, and caused a stir amongst 1:72 modellers, as it was an unexpected new tooling, and a slightly unusual subject matter when you consider its relatively short length of service. The kit arrives in Airfix’s red-themed top-opening box, and inside are six sprues of dark grey styrene, a separately bagged clear sprue, decal sheet inside the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on matt paper that is accompanied by a single A4 colour printed sheet of profiles for painting and decaling the model. Detail is excellent, and the part-count at 137 is commensurately high, with much work going into the cockpit, weapons bay, gear bays and the other usual focus areas, plus finely engraved panel lines and crisp clear parts that have been engineered in sections to recreate the twin bulged aft sections around the gunner’s position. Construction begins with the cockpit floor, which has the side consoles moulded-in and has decals to highlight the details. A window is inserted into the forward floor, installing the gun pack below in what will become the weapons bay. A scrap diagram shows the location of two 1mm holes that should be drilled in the floor before the next step, which is fitting the pilot’s seat and the bulkhead with head-rest behind him. The control column and a small instrument rack are fixed to the floor, then an extension to the cockpit is fitted behind on a lug, which is used to support the frame around the gunner’s position, adding extra details to the frame before joining it, and a suspension arch in the weapons bay below it. Work on the cockpit stops for a while, as the gunner’s position is built on the wing lower, which must be built next. The lower wings are moulded almost full-span, drilling out flashed-over holes depending on which decal option you have chosen. A combined spar and gear bay bulkhead part is inserted into grooves in the lower wing, strengthening the assembly further, then adding the gunner’s compartment, which is made from a tub with a separate rear that is covered with moulded-in radio gear boxes, and the seat on the top edge of the area. It mounts in the centre of the wing aft of the spar on four turrets, the forward edge of the compartment butting up against the spar, overlapping it slightly. A triangular door insert fills the gear bay opening for the gear-up option, then the bays themselves are installed, with plenty of moulded-in detail for the avid viewer to look at. The fuselage must be completed next to join the two crew compartments, in advance of finishing the wings. The starboard fuselage half has an electrical panel applied near the rear of the cockpit, and half of the pilot’s instrument panel plus decal at the front, adding a bulkhead to the front of the tail-wheel bay, painting it all interior green RLM02. The port side has just the instrument panel half installed and decal at the front, then has the cockpit glued into position, with location assisted by a scrap diagram nearby, then the fuselage halves are joined around a drum without glue, which will be the base for the rear gun barbettes. Once the glue has cured and you have dealt with the seams in your usual manner, the fuselage is lowered onto the lower wing taking care not to damage the gunner’s compartment, and is glued in place, followed immediately by the two upper wing halves. With the glue cured and seams dealt with, you have a choice of dropped or retracted leading-edge slats, using different parts for each option, and ensuring you don’t get them mixed up! The elevators are next, and again you have a choice by using different parts, offering dropped elevators without having to do any additional work, or having them neutral by replacing the lower section that has the flying surfaces moulded-in. The assemblies fit into slots in the tail with zero dihedral, and the rudder panel is inserted into the fin, which can be posed deflected as you wish. The engine nacelle fronts are made from two halves, adding the cooling bays from two parts each underneath, then sliding them into position in the wing fronts, leaving the small gear bays open to receive the struts later in the build. Another choice is armament in the weapons bay, depending on which decal option you are portraying, each one having a different set of doors for the relevant armament. Decal option A is the U2 variant that carries a pair of 20mm MG 151/20 cannons in a pod inside the bay that has 250 rounds available and fitted on a peg inside the bay, with an insert on each side that is moulded to a carrier. The U4 carries the long-barrelled 50mm Bordkanone with 22 rounds, the barrel for which is installed in the separate cowling that uses the same insert at the rear. The completed assembly of choice is then glued into place under the nose to complete its distinctive snub-nosed profile. The next choice is whether you wish to depict the radiator fairings with the cooling flaps open or closed. The radiator cores are common to both options, and the two sides are joined by a trio of turrets, then they are inserted into the radiator fairing of choice, adding the sides to the assembly appropriate to the position. The outer flap panels are inserted into gaps in the wings behind the radiators at 10° deflection for the open option, then the fairings are installed into the depressions in the underside of the wings to complete them. The ailerons are next in line outboard, and are fitted with a pair of horn balances into slots in the parts before they are installed in their bays, and these can be posed deflected if you wish. There is still much to do, starting with the exhaust stubs that are moulded on a carrier, and slotting them into the nacelles on each side, then adding flare hiders that help protect the pilot’s night vision and make the aircraft less visible at night. The barbettes on the sides of the fuselage must be glued carefully to ensure they remain mobile, adding the gun barrels into the slot at the rear of the fairing to complete them. If you are building your model on the ground, the main wheels of the 410 are supplied in well-detailed halves with a smooth tyre that has a little sag moulded-in to depict the weight of the aircraft compressing them. Each gear strut has a separate scissor link spanning the black gaiter over the oleos, adding a retraction jack behind the leg as they are inserted into the bays, gluing the wheels on the inboard side, and fitting a bay door to the front of the bays. For retracted wheels, a single part covers the tail-wheel bay, which is substituted by a pair of linked open bay doors for the wheels-down option, after which the nicely detailed tail-wheel strut with moulded-in wheel is glued into the bulkhead inside the bay. The next option is dependent upon whether you drilled out holes in the lower wing earlier, which receives two underwing tanks that are made from two halves with handed support frames suspending them under the aircraft. The three-bladed props are moulded as one part, and are trapped between the spinner and back plate, then a stepped washer is slipped over the axle at the rear without glue, and is trapped in position by another washer that is glued into position to allow the prop to remain mobile unless you overdo it. The two completed props are slotted into the fronts of the engine nacelles, and these can be left until after painting to avoid damage or messing up part of your paint job. Before the canopy can be installed, two triangular supports are added to the space between the crew positions, and the gunner’s two-part control centre with pistol-grip is fitted at the rear of his compartment. The unusual glazing strip that extends the pilot’s view over the nose is different depending on which armament option you have chosen, using different parts accordingly, then building the complex shaped canopy from three components. The windscreen has the entire canopy roof moulded-in, and it is completed by gluing the two side glazing components to the sides to achieve the correct tapering, yet bulbous shape at the rear. This is glued into position along with a radio mast offset to the starboard roof frame between the crew stations at an angle to the vertical from the front, adding a pitot probe to the port wingtip, and if the aircraft is wheels down, a crew access footstep that drops from the fuselage on the port side. Under the fuselage are fitted a long towel-rail antenna and another straight mast with a bulbous end. Markings There are two decal options on the sheet, which share the same splinter scheme on the wings, but have different patterns and mottling on the fuselage. From the box you can build one of the following: 11./Zerstörergeschwader 26, Gardermoen, Norway, 1945 Stab II./Zerstörergeschwader 26, Königsberg, 1944 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Because of the proximity and limited space between the fuselage and engine nacelles, scrap diagrams show the locations of the various markings and stencils in those locations that would be invisible on standard profiles. Conclusion This is an extremely well-detailed modern kit with an interesting choice of weapons fits and plenty of other options to personalise your model. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

In 2023, Infinity Models would like to release a 1/32nd Messerschmitt Me.410 Hornisse kit - ref. INF 3210 Sources: https://www.infinitymodels.cz/ https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235104518-infinity-models-programme-for-2022-2023/ V.P.

Pics from Jim of the one at Cosford

Meng is to release a new variant from its Hornisse (see also http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234928050-148-messerschmitt-me410b-2u4-a-1-hornisse-by-meng-released/ ), the 1/48th Messerschmitt Me 410 B-2/U2/R4 - ref. LS-004 Source: http://www.meng-model.com/new.php?id=511 V.P.

Messerschmitt Me-410B-2/U4 1:48 Meng Models The Aggressively styled two-engined Me-410 Hornisse started life as the Me-210, designed as a replacement for the Bf-110, and was instigated before WWII started, although its protracted gestation is hardly surprising when you consider the problems that presented themselves before it could be turned into an even remotely successful heavy fighter/bomber. The 210 suffered from some unpleasant handling characteristics, and garnered such a poor reputation that when design for the substantial changes needed to fix these problems (initially designated the 210D) was underway, the decision was made to rename it the 410. The 410 utilised an improved DB603A engine, lengthened fuselage to improve the centre of gravity, and amended wing planform to give the wing a constant sweep-back at the front to bring the aerodynamic centre further forward. Coupled with leading-edge slats that had been removed from the initial 210 design, the result was an aircraft that was significantly more pleasant to fly, had a respectable top speed and could carry a substantial war-load. On entering service in 1943, the initial success as a night bomber over the UK was most definitely not a portent of things to come. The 410 was a day late and a dollar short, so to speak, and no sooner had it reached the front-line and started attacking the bomber streams, than the Allies darkened the skies with fast, manoeuvrable single-engined fighters such as the Spitfire and Mustang, which could easily out-fly the 410. Pitched into battle alone, they were easy prey to the Allied fighters, and the balance was only slightly shifted by the introduction of Br.109 and Fw.190 escorts. The heavy losses eventually resulted in the removal of the 410 from front-line service to duties closer to home, and some limited use as a high-level reconnaissance aircraft. Due to its relatively short career, the marks did not progress beyond the B model, although high altitude C and D models were planned. The 410 was quite innovative in its weapons carriage though, and had a nose-mounted weapons bay, which could house a palette of munitions, either bombs, cannon, cameras or the 50mm Bordkanone that was used to attack the daylight bomber raids. Due to the upgraded engines, a pair of bomb shackles had to be added to the inner wing undersides, as the 410 could carry more weight than its bomb bay could contain. The twin remote controlled "barbettes" on each side of the mid fuselage were also of note. They were controlled by the rear gunner using a traditional pistol-grip, and could traverse up and down, but also could flip out sideways to fire at an enemy behind and to one side. Movement and aiming was all done by controls attached to the pistol grip, and must have surprised more than one potential assailant. After the war, numerous of these interesting aircraft were taken as war prizes by the Allies, but sadly only two full airframes exist today, one in RAF Cosford in a fully-restored state, which until the 1980s was capable of ground-running, the other awaiting preservation in the UK at the National Air & Space Museum. The Kit Since this kit was announced accidentally a few months before the end of 2012, this reviewer has been waiting as patiently as possible to replace the ageing Monogram/Revell kit that has been getting harder and harder to find as years go on. Due to the demand our review sample was late in arriving, as the factory literally needed every one for their distributors. A sign of a much needed new tooling if ever there was one. The kit arrived in one of Meng's standard compact top-opening boxes, with a handsome painting of a Bordkanone equipped 410 on the front, and sharing their standard classy satin sheen to the lid. Inside, in individually sealed bags eight sprues of mid-grey styrene, two of clear parts, and a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass parts. A resealable bag contains the large decal sheet, which has a sheet of moisture resistant paper protecting the decals further. The final item is the usual "taller-than-A5" instruction manual, which is stapled into a booklet format - so much better than the fold-out instructions favoured by some manufacturers. As the box art portrays, this is the Bordkanone /U4 variant, and to me that's the most attractive aircraft, and a good first choice. The inclusion of the cannon parts on a separate sprue? Well, you draw your own conclusion. it upsets some people when reviewers hint at other variants. For some reason… Looking at the sprues, the detail is very good. Surface detail is very nicely engraved, although some of the more pedantic would probably say that the panel lines are a little too well defined. I can't see this being an issue, and after primer, top-coats, decals and varnishes they should look just right. The cockpit is well detailed with PE seatbelts, both engines are provided in case you want to depict one or more without their cowlings, the flaps, radiator cowlings and ailerons can all be posed at will, as can the tail-feathers. The slats on the leading edge however are moulded into the wings, and would need some work to mobilise, but given the options for personalisation already provided, that's a minor thing. Construction is fairly standard for an aircraft of this layout, although it begins with the front cockpit floor inverted for the installation of the four nose guns. The 20mm MG151/20 cannon are located in the centre, flanked by the skinnier barrels of the MG17 machine guns. Turning over the floor, the pilot's seat, pedals, control column and instrument panels are installed, along with a half-height bulkhead behind the pilot's seat. The instrument panels are covered with raised and engraved detail, with instructions for painting the individual components of the panels. The gunner's position is a bathtub built up from the floor and bulkhead, plus side and rear panels, which locates in a cockpit deck with a lozenge shaped cut-out. At either side are some internal frames for the canopy, a headrest panel for the pilot, and some small details to the aft. As with the pilot's seat, the gunner gets a set of belts, foot-pegs and a head-rest, and a small assembly that makes up the remote barbette controls is added during the final closing up of the fuselage. The barbettes are simple in construction, housing one MG131 each, which with careful application of glue can be left to both rotate in the fuselage and flip out, just like the real thing. Whilst the purists might scoff at such a "gimmick", it's a nice touch that broadens the appeal a little, although this kit is hardly a toy. The barbettes are installed on the fuselage halves using a pair of rings that have hole in them matching the pegs on the inside of the barbette cowlings. These bump up against a pair of raised sections inside the fuselage ring to give an accurate range of movement for these innovative gun mounts. Before you can close up the fuselage halves, the cockpit sidewalls will need to have a few small parts added to the moulded in detail, and then painted in RLM66, black-grey. The tail wheel is also installed before closing the fuselage, and has a nice radial tread moulded into the wheel, plus a separate yoke part to give a more realistic looking wheel. The underside of the fuselage is absent to aft of the cockpit because of the nose-mounted bomb bay and a fuselage insert that sits just behind it. To prevent the modeller having to deal with a highly flexible assembly, Meng have cleverly added a pair of fuselage braces that sit one between the two cockpit sections and the other just behind - either side of the slot for the wing tabs. The cockpits, tail-wheel and the barbette controls are trapped between the fuselage halves, and the glazed panel in the nose completes the job. Care will be needed at the front, as the glazing is the only contact between the two fuselage halves at the nose, so ensure you glue it securely. The large 50mm Bordkanone was developed from the main armament of the Panzer III, and has a long perforated flash-hider, which is supplied as a single part with a slide-moulded hollow barrel to at least a third of the length of the flash-hider. The braver modeller could ream this out to full depth to give a more realistic look to the whole thing. The breech of the gun is made up from four parts, and surrounded by a stand-off cowling at each side. It sits on a tray/palette that doubles as the underside panel for the bomb bay, which would better be described as a weapons bay given its multiple uses. This is installed in the fuselage along with the underside insert and should make the structure more sturdy. Take care with installing these parts, as although the bomb-bay doors are a little agricultural in terms of fit on the real thing, the aft insert should sit pretty much flush with the rest of the underside. The empennage consists of a vertical fin that is moulded into the fuselage halves, plus a nicely detailed rudder with styrene trim actuator and PE hinge detail parts. The elevators are posable, and attach to the fuselage sides with the usual tab and slot mechanism. Attention then turns to the cockpit glazing, which was a bit of a bugbear of the only other mainstream kit of the 410 in this scale. I was pleased to see that Meng have elected to build the canopy in multiple parts, both to obtain the correct shapes, and to give the modeller the option of opening the access panels. They have also moulded in the interior framing that was missing from the Monogram kit, which is presented in relief with a painting guide inline with the build. The main central and rear section of the canopy is built from a pair of "blown" sides, plus two centre sections, which must be glued together to form the correct shape. Two more openable panels are included for the pilot and gunner's areas, and the windscreen is a separate part, with a hole in the front for the tubular gun sight. A small PE bracket helps to support the part, and as with the rest of the canopy, I would recommend using GS-Hypo cement for both a strong joint and certainty that you won't fog your canopy during construction. As it is a watch-crystal cement, it is also very srong once fully set, and superior to PVA. A small aerial sits atop the canopy, but is best left off until main painting is complete. Both DB603A engines are supplied with the kit, and detail here should be adequate for most modellers, comprising of 21 parts, plus the exhaust stacks, which have closed exhausts, sadly. The last parts to be added are the engine mounts, the supercharger, reduction housing for the prop and prop-shaft, before they are later slotted into the wings. If you're planning on leaving the engines covered up, you can skip the painting and weathering and slap all the major parts together, sealing them forever inside the cowling panels. The undersides of the wing structures are moulded with a full-length cowling which has a step-down at the front to accommodate the exhaust stacks, but must first have the chin-mounted oil cooler radiators installed , which are provided fore and aft by styrene backed PE parts and two curved inserts that prevent the see-thru look. A large bulkhead is installed behind the engine, which is un-detailed on the forward face, mainly because nothing will be seen of it when the engine is in place. On its rear face is plenty of detail as well as the floor of the main gear bay. This is detailed with another partial bulkhead and painted RLM02 in line with all bays, including the bomb bay and tail gear bay. The engines must be in place before the wing halves are joined, and attach to the lower cowling, with the optional upper cowling added, carefully sliding the exhaust stacks through the slots in the side. The alignment of the cowlings is important, as the seam between the two parts is on the very top of the cowling, and a poor job here will be plain to all. A pair of damper plates cover the exhausts, and the three-bladed prop is built up from a one-piece blades/boss part, rear spinner-plate, retention cap and finally the spinner front, all of which would be best left off until after main painting. The control surfaces are all separate from the wings, with the afore-mentioned exception of the moulded in slats on the leading edge. The ailerons are single parts with a pair of small mass-balances and a tiny PE trim tab added, and the main flap section is made up from two parts sandwiched together. The flap section aft of the radiators is a separate part, which is painted RLM02 because it resides inside the airframe for the majority of the time. The radiators have front and rear faces supplied with vane details moulded in, and the option of posing them open or closed. When posed open, the cowling is made up from separate sides and bottom panel, with the rear section suitably dropped. Closed is a much simpler option, and is just one single part for each radiator. In order to get a better finish to the cowlings, Meng have moulded the rear of each cowling underside separately, and these simply slot into a recess on the wing, with a little detail inside that will be almost totally invisible. Both wings are a mirror image of eachother, so could be built up together, although they are handled individually in the instructions for clarity. The wings are then added to the fuselage by slotting the tabs into the side of the fuselage - props at the front of course! The main gear legs are built up before the instructions deal with the wings, but as they can be left off until later, that appears to be the best option. Each leg has a separate oleo-scissor, and the oleo struts themselves are gaitered with corrugated rubber, so you don't need to worry about achieving that nice shiny metal finish. A retraction Y-frame is glued to the rear of the legs using a butt-joint, which looks a little fragile, so take care during handling. The main wheels are moulded in halves with their hubs integral, and the tyres have the same radial tread as the tail-wheel. A flat can easily be sanded into the bottom to give a little tyre-sag to them and add a bit of realism. Decals Two decal options are supplied with the kit, and it is good to see that Meng have been a little adventurous with the second option, which incudes the five-pointed star of the Soviet Union. From the box you can build one of the following: 6./ZG Germany 1944 - RLM74/75 soft-edged splinter scheme with mottling on the fuselage sides and tail, over RLM76. Two grey patches where a fuselage code has been obliterated, and a white fuselage identification stripe. W.Nr.130379 Tested by the NII VVS Research Institute between 1945 and 1946. - RLM74/75 soft-edge splinter scheme with a wavy mid-line demarcation on the fuselage, RLM02 and RLM74 mottle on the tail, over RLM76. Balkenkreuz overpainted with the Red Star, and the edges of a white outline Swastika visible under the tail star. The decals are printed by Cartograf, with excellent colour density, register and detail. All of the included stencils are legible, providing you have good enough eyes. Conclusion You may have guessed by now that as well as liking the Hornisse immensely, I am very pleased with this release. Meng have taken a lot of care with engineering the kit well, have included a lot of detail out of the box, as well as adding value with the inclusion of the small PE fret. Building the kit shouldn't tax anyone with a few kits under their belt, but building the canopy neatly will require patience, and is probably best placed on the fuselage to set-up, so that it conforms to the shape and sits well. It would be churlish to wish that they'd included a set of masks with the kit, but given the painting of the inside of the canopy that is required, it would have been a particularly useful tool. Eduard will come to the rescue in the next month or two, I'm sure. I will be building this kit very shortly, and will get a better feel for the accuracy of the shape as I go along, but I am very pleased that we now have a thoroughly 21st century tooling of this lesser known aircraft… One that resides only around 80 miles from my door. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Czech craft company HpH unveiled at Model Brno 2013 a future 1/32nd Messerschmitt Me.410 Hornisse resin kit. Source: http://scalemodels.ru/news/6357-anons-HPH-1-32-Me-410.html V.P.

Meng Model: http://www.meng-mode...x2ss.php?id=168 New 1/48th Messerschmitt Me.410B-2/U4 Hornisse by Meng (ref. LS-001) - on sale in October December 2012! Advertisement published in the German magazine Modellfan http://www.modellfan.de/ Source: http://www.master194...php?f=3&t=71577 And one day at LM and HE http://www.luckymode...em_no=MG-LS-001 http://www.hobbyeasy...jdiudpjiyu.html V.P.