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Messerschmitt Bf 110C-6 Limited Edition - 1:72 Eduard


Paul A H

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Messerschmitt Bf 110C-6 Limited Edition

1:72 Eduard


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The Messerschmitt Bf110 was designed to fulfil a German Air Ministry requirement for a long-range, twin-engined fighter aircraft, or zerstörer. Following the prototypes first flight in 1936, it beat off competing designs from Arado, Focke-Wulf and Henschel and was in service by the time war broke out three years later. Equipped with the same engines as the Bf 109E, the Bf 110 was a powerful and well-armed aircraft in comparison to its counterparts.

Despite early successes in Poland, the inadequacy of the Bf 110 as an out-and-out fighter was exposed by the RAF during the Battle of Britain. Heavy losses ensued, mainly resulting from the aircrafts lack of manoeuvrability. This aspect of the design was not improved to any degree in later versions, and for this reason the Bf 110 found itself increasingly utilised in other roles such as fighter bomber and night fighter. The aircraft was particularly successful in this last role, mainly due to its stability and heavy armament. The Bf 110C-6 was an experimental heavy fighter variant, armed with an additional 30 mm MK 101 cannon in an under-fuselage gondola.

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Despite the criticism levelled at their recent 1:48 scale Bf 109, Eduard's range of plastic kits is generally very good indeed. This was the case with their 1:72 Hellcat series, released in 2010, and it applies equally as well to their family of Bf 110s, of which this is the latest iteration. Their latest Zerstorer is a limited edition kit which arrives packed into a surprisingly large top-opening box adorned with a striking image of an all-black C-6.

Inside the sturdy box are seven sprues moulded in blue-grey plastic and a single, circular sprue moulded in clear plastic. The plastic parts are accompanied by a small fret of pre-painted photo etched parts, a set of die-cut paint masks and a handful of resin parts which cover the differences unique to this sub-variant. The instruction book is a glossy, stapled A4 document and it includes full-colour painting diagrams. All together, the impression is of a quality package.

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The quality of the plastic parts is second to none. The mouldings are clean and crisp and there are no traces of flash and no sink marks. Eduard have packed in plenty of detail, so parts such as the cockpit sidewalls and radio sets are comparable to high end resin items. The surface detail on the outside of the airframe is just as good and is comprised of recessed panel lines and delicately engraved rivet and fastener detail. In short, it looks absolutely superb.

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The cockpit is made up of what seems like dozens of plastic and photo etched parts. The cockpit floor serves as the platform for construction, and to this are added the seats, radio set, instrument panel, rudder pedals, control column and throttles. Photo etch parts are also provided to help things along, and as well as seat harnesses, there are replacement details for the instrument panel, rudders, radio and throttles. To save you filing the raised detail off of the plastic instrument panel, a blank version is provided for use with the photo etched parts. A nicely moulded rear-firing machine gun is provided, complete with a photo etched ring and bead gun sight. The breech mechanism and magazine for the fearsome 30mm cannon, which sit in the middle of the cockpit floor, are rendered in resin and photo etched brass

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The wings are moulded with a single lower span and separate port and starboard upper spans, and the ailerons are provided as separate parts. The engine cowlings, which house this variant's DB 601P engines, are each moulded in two vertical halves with additional parts for the chin mounted air intakes. Once the wings have been assembled, the fuselage should just drop into place. There are different fuselage halves depending on which of the marking options you wish to model, so you'll need to commit yourself to one of the options at this stage in the build. The nose is moulded separately, and you'll need to cut the plastic along a curved panel line in order to fit the resin fairing for that 30mm cannon.

Moving aft, the tail planes are nicely moulded but, unlike the wings, the control surfaces are moulded in place. Once the basic airframe is together, its time to fit the canopy. This is a complex assembly, moulded in no fewer than seven parts. It can be posed in either open or closed positions, and quite frankly it would have been a travesty if this hadnt been the case, given all the detail in the cockpit. Care will need to be taken adding the armoured windscreen though, as any smears of glue will be obvious. As mentioned above, a handy set of canopy masks has been included.

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Turning the model over, the underwing radiators are each made up of three parts and, as with the rest of the kit, they are beautifully detailed. The main undercarriage legs are each made up of five parts, with optional photo etched scissor links. The main gear wheels are moulded in vertical halves. The airscrews and hubs look very good, as do the engine exhausts. There are a number of small parts included to cover the final details, including the aileron balance weights and various aerials and antennae. An optional photo etched part is provided for the DF loop. The last part to be assembled and fitted is the resin gondola and muzzle for the 30mm cannon. This part is beautifully cast and should help this particular Bf110 stand out from the crowd.

Decal options are provided for the following two aircraft:
Bf110C-6 2N+RH of Erpr. Gr. 210, flown by E. Beudel/H. Diemer, Calais-Marck Airfield, France, Summer 1940. This aircraft is finished in RLM 70/RLM71 over RLM 65; and
Bf110C-6 G9+EH of NJG1, Venlo Air Base, Netherlands, February 1940. This is the aircraft depicted on the box artwork and is finished in overall black.
Each option is illustrated with a four-view profile as well as detailed illustrations of the nose and propellors. A diagram showing the placement of stencil decals is also included. The decals look crisp, thin and glossy and the colours used are nice and bold.

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Conclusion

Eduards Messerschmitt Bf110 series is the definitive family of kits of the type by a country mile. The level of detail they have packed in is superb and the engineering is excellent. Add the photo etch parts, masks and resin into the mix, and you have the complete package. Highly recommended.

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Review sample courtesy of logo.gif

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Nice review Paul, thanks. I got one of these from MJW models, it looks a really nice kit and the resin parts look superb. I am a little intimidated by some of the surgery required to fit them but we will have to see how that turns out. If I have a negative comment, I was a bit disappointed that there were only two decal options; I know not many of the C-6 series were built but even so...

Cheers,

Stew

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