Kagero TopDrawings 61 – Messerschmitt Bf.110 Vol.2 (9788395157592)

[Mike]

TopDrawings 61 – Messerschmitt Bf.110 Vol.2 (9788395157592)

Kagero Publishing via Casemate UK

 

 

The Bf.110 began life before WWII as a Zerstorer, or heavy fighter, but by the time hostilities with Great Britain broke out and the Battle of Britain had begun, it had lost its speed advantage, and later required its own escort to be able to operate effectively alone without heavy losses.  The airframe wasn't as capable of being improved as the 109, so it was eventually relegated to other less speed critical combat areas, such as night fighter and light bomber/ground attack, where it soldiered on to the end of the war. 

 

We have kits in all scales, for example from Airfix in 1:72, through the Revell, Dragon and newer Eduard kits in 1:48, ancient Revell and Dragon kits in 1:32.  The TopDrawings series majors on scale plans, which is the main thrust, but also includes a little background information, some pertinent profiles, and often a bonus of decals or masks targeted at the subject matter in hand.  With this edition, you get a set of masks for the Eduard Bf.110G in 1:72 and 1:48, which are always good to have because that canopy is a multifaceted greenhouse of a thing.

 

 

We reviewed the first volume of this series in September 2018 here, and this is the continuation of that,  taking up where it left off.

 

 

The book is written in English on the left of the page, with Czech on the right, which translates to top and bottom for the captions to the various drawings within.  The book itself is bound in a card cover and has 28 pages, with the rear cover devoted to additional profiles, but in addition you get two sheets of loose A2 plans printed on both sides in 1:48 of the E, F and G series.  The first half of the bound plans show the variants from the Emil up to the G-2 in 1:48, with partial front and rear views losing a wingtip here and there due to their size.  The four pages of profiles show Three Emil and one Freddy airframe, plus two Gustavs on the rear cover.  Following two more pages of G-2 plans, the final section of the plans shows the evolution of the aircraft from the Dora through the Gustav series, with differences marked out in grey and captions discussing the nature of the changes.  This includes gun packs, antennae for the night fighters and so forth.

 

 

 

Conclusion

These books are essential for the modeller that likes to compare their models against scale plans, and wants them to be as accurate as possible, with the masks a useful bonus if you happen to model in those scales.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of