Messerschmitt Bf.110C-6 Zerstorer - 1:48 Eduard

[Mike]

Bf.110C-6 Zerstorer
1:48 Eduard

The Bf.110 was twin engine heavy fighter of mid-30s design that was almost outdated by the start of WWII, but with successive upgrades was forced to continue right to the end of the war, although hopelessly outclassed by that time, and easy prey to later war designs. The C variant was the first production variant made in significant quantities, and ran with more powerful Daimler Benz 601 engines with the familiar upwards sweeping exhaust stacks. Seven sub-variants were built, the sixth having an experimental installation of a 30mm Mk./101 cannon in a blister under the nose, firing along a trough cut in the nose to give clearance for the short barrel and exiting shells. The standard lower nose armament was deleted, although the MG17s in the upper nose were retained, as was the MG15 in the rear of the cockpit glazing.

Only a dozen airframes were converted to this specification, and saw limited service beginning in summer of 1940. They were quickly superseded, but flew on as second line aircraft in Russia and North Africa.

The Kit
Arriving in an standard Eduard box with an attractive painting of the subject, this is a standard 110C with resin and Photo-Etch (PE) additions to make the necessary alterations to portray this sub-type. Firstly, let's deal with my personal bias. Add a cannon under the nose to anything and I'll like it, even if this one is only 30mm! Now that's out of the way, the box contains seven sprues of blue/grey styrene, two of clear parts, a bag of resin parts, a sheet of PE, a sheet of yellow kabuki tape masks, two decal sheets, and of course the combined instruction booklet and painting guide. All-in-all a pretty comprehensive package, as we've come to expect from Eduard's limited editions.

Construction follows along the same lines at the F model reviewed here, with a choice of two sets of fuselage halves, one having a longer tail fairing than the other. Both have the front section under the nose removed before any further work is done, in order to accommodate the resin parts. The cockpit is well detailed with a mix of styrene and PE parts, with a choice of PE or plastic instrument panels and side consoles, plus a set of PE seatbelts, all of which are pre-painted. The radio gear that the rear of the cockpit is assembled with PE faces replacing the moulded in detail of all the boxes, which must be sanded off before proceeding. The cockpit sidewalls are given a similar treatment, and it is all brought together to form a box that encloses the radio operator and rear-gunner's stations, to which the pilot's separate section is attached at the front. The pilot's sidewalls are detailed with more parts, and the fuselage is closed up with a mini-instrument panel added to the bracing between pilot on radio operator's stations. The gun-pack in the upper nose is built up and installed, and the lower bulkhead is adjusted with a C-shaped section cut out. The lower nose cowling is similarly butchered, with a large strip cut away, ending just short of the tip. Happily, this follows the line of a panel on the part (B10), so shouldn't be too difficult for even a relative newcomer to modelling. The upper cowling with two strengthening arches within is then added over the upper guns, and joined with the fuselage. A choice of rear guns and their fairings is included, as well as a gunsight for the pilot's use.

The wings are standard, although a hole is drilled near the tip of part A1 for later use. The engine nacelles are made up from two halves with a pair of bulkheads trapped within, and the roof is moulded into the wing lowers, with some structure added before the nacelles are mated. Two sidewall parts add extra detail, and a choice of intakes in the underside is given by using different inserts. The wing mounted radiators are attached under the wings, just outboard of the engine nacelles, and have PE radiator faces added to the styrene parts, with a central brace, again made from PE. The wings and tails are added to slots on the side of the fuselage, and the ailerons are separate parts to be posed any way you like, while the elevators and H-tails have all their flying surfaces moulded in. A choice of tail wheel is included, with separate yoke to hold the single piece wheel in place. The main gear is nicely detailed and made up from eight parts plus a two-part wheel with radial tread. Scrap diagrams show the correct positioning of the wheels and the retraction mechanism for the landing gear, to assist with construction. Bay doors are added to each nacelle, pole, towel-rail and circular antennae are added to the underside of the fuselage, mass-balances to the ailerons, plus intakes and landing lights to the leading edges of the wings before the exhaust stacks are added to the nacelle sides. Made up from separate stacks of varying sizes and orientations, six assemble on four back-plates to be installed in the slots on the sides of the nacelles. The exhausts are not hollow lipped, and some small sink marks are present on the inner sides of the stacks, but this shouldn't show too much on the finished items. The props are single parts with a front and back part to the spinner, attaching to the nacelles with a short peg.

Glazing on Old Ironsides is extensive, but Eduard have included a full set of masks for this and the wheels, so breathe a sigh of relief at this point. It is a complex arrangement, cherry-picking parts form two sprues, and adding some detail parts inside, which I'd suggest you use either PVA or GS-Hypo cement for. Separate parts are included to allow you to pose the canopy open or closed and the gun deployed with its glazing tipped back, so choose your parts carefully here. There are some options in antennae and armoured windscreen choices too, as well as a choice of the hinged panel around the gunner's position.

Now for the fun stuff. At this point, although I'd seriously consider doing it before the wings are even on, you should have a nice trough running down the centre of the nose of your 110, into which the resin cut-out part should fit. The gun's suspension mount is included as a two-part assembly, which fits to the top of the combined breech and barrel part. The large circular magazine sits atop the breech, and could be changed by the crew if they were carrying spares. The gun is inserted into the fuselage with the barrel resting on a cradle, and a large PE part is laid around the opening in the lower fuselage, onto which the "boat" fairing is added. Two more PE strips interlock with the PE "gasket" to make up a hinge-like section.

markings
Only 12 airframes were made to this standard, and two of them are depicted in the decal options here. From the box you can build one of the following:

• Erpr.Gr.210 flown by E Beudel/H Diemer, Calais-Marck Air Bas, France, Summer 1940 – RLM70/71 splinter over RLM65 with blue/white ringed spinners.
• NJG1 Venlo Air Base, the Netherlands, February 1942 – all over black.

All the decals are printed in the Czech Republic, with one sheet concentrating on the stencils, while the other larger sheet contains the national and unit markings. Broken Swastikas are included on the sheet, but in one corner are a complete pair, with dotted lines ready to be cut off depending on which territory they are heading into to comply with local laws. Decal quality is good, with good register, colour density and sharpness, although a couple of smaller red decals on the stencil sheet have some tiny smears on them, which could be cut off and would hardly then notice other than a slight blurring of the dotted lines.

As mentioned earlier, a full set of masks are included for the canopy glazing, and for the wheels, which causes some consternation amongst our number. With these the task of getting a nice clear demarcation is greatly simplified.

Conclusion
Another great 110 kit, and a special edition with a big cannon to boot. The Eduard 110 is widely recognised as the best in this scale, and the quality of their resin is unquestioned, so this makes for a nice package. Don't hang about though, because it's a limited edition and won't be around forever!

Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[Antoine]

I thought this kit was to be released for BFC members only, one year ago?

I've missed something there.

[Mike]

Not being a Bunny Fighter Club member, I have no idea

[kpc7676]

I have the BFC edition, but obviously due to popular demand they released it as a limited edition kit aswell, can only be good for the hobby that they have done this.

[Antoine]

But if so, a bit unfair toward the BFC members, no?

At least, it seems that there are different camo options.

[kpc7676]

But if so, a bit unfair toward the BFC members, no?

At least, it seems that there are different camo options.

Not so sure it's unfair, but good possibility some may feel that way, so well brought up.

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

It's not popular though! Trust me, we can't even 'give' the things away!

thanks

Mike

[gcn]

It's not popular though! Trust me, we can't even 'give' the things away!

thanks

Mike

Because it's a pig to build

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

I've built the Bf110G-4, which was a pig to build but we've still sold some of them, without having to knock it down to a giveaway price. Does anyone else do this version of the Bf110?

thanks

Mike