ICM Mistel S1 Composite Training Aircraft (48101) 1:48

[Mike]

Mistel S1 Composite Training Aircraft (48101)

1:48 ICM via Hannants Ltd

 

 

The Mistel came about partly due to the lack of already developed heavy bombers in the German inventory, which forced them to consider using one aircraft to guide another to the target, then set it loose to crash to the ground, triggering the explosives that had been packed into the bottom aircraft in advance.  They usually used old, outdated and worn-out medium bombers such as the Junkers Ju.88, with the crew compartment and nose removed, and a large stepped-cylindrical bomb unit bolted in place instead.  The guiding aircraft was typically a fighter such as the Bf.109 or Fw.190, and these too were usually earlier versions due to the alterations needed to install the hardened locations that joined the two aircraft together on a trestle that separated the two with enough space to allow for props to spin and reduce the aerodynamic interference between them to an acceptable minimum.

 

This was not a task that a pilot could tackle fresh from flying a standard solo fighter, so training rigs were made that retained the cockpit, left out the explosives for obvious reasons, but otherwise had the same flight characteristics as the more dangerous “live” version.  The crew in the bomber were there just in case there was a problem and to regain control of the aircraft after the fighter separated in a simulated attack, allowing the re-use of the “bomb-plane” for subsequent training missions.  Just like the actual mission, the fighter was then supposed to fly back to base to carry out successive missions until they were considered competent, when they would get to fly one of the more explosively converted bombers on a real mission over enemy territory.

 

The Boxed Set

Just like the real thing, this is a composite of two kits from ICM’s stable, the Bf.109F-4 from 2006, and the Ju.99A-4 from the last few years, which was very well received just a few years ago.  The new mating parts are held on a separate sprue, and these consist of the link between the two aircraft.  The decals for the two models have been merged into a single sheet too, as has the thick, glossy-covered instruction booklet, which has colour profiles on the rear few pages.  It’s worthy of note that ICM have drawn out the shapes for a set of masks for both of these models for you to lay kabuki tape over and cut your own masks without the faff of doing it live on the model transparencies, or the expense of buying a commercial masking sheet.  Good to see.

 

 

Junkers Ju.88A-4

The Ju-88 was designed as a schnellbomber in the mid-30s, and at the time it was faster than current fighter designs, so it was projected that it could infiltrate, bomb and exfiltrate without being intercepted.  That was the theory at least.  By the time WWII began in the west, fighters had caught up with the previously untouchable speed of the Ju.88, and it needed escorting to protect it from its Merlin equipped British opponents.  It was a sound deign however, and turned out to be a jack of all trades, being of use as a competent night fighter, dive bomber or doing reconnaissance to improve the accuracy of its brethren that were bombing Britain.  They even popped a big gun on the nose and sent it against tanks and bombers, with variable success.  The A series sported a pair of Jumo 211 engines in cylindrical cowlings producing over 1,000hp each, and was improved gradually up until the A-17, at which point it was replaced by the C and D, skipping the B, which became the Ju.188 in due course.

 

 

The Kit

Detail is right up there in terms of quality and crispness, with ICM really improving over the last few years, which has to be great news for modellers, as they aren't frightened of tackling what to us may seem niche subjects to some.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the fuselage and the addition of sidewall details in the capacious cockpit area.  Rear bulkhead, side consoles and seats are all added to the cockpit sides for a change, with an insert in the fuselage for the circular antenna and tail wheel added into the starboard side.  The instrument panel is supplied with decals, and fits into the fuselage during joining.  The missing floor is added to the lower fuselage panel that includes the lower parts of the inner wings and gives the structure some strength.  It also receives the rudder pedals, control column, and the two remaining crew seats before being joined to the fuselage.

 

The tail plane has articulated flying surfaces, and the wings are supplied as top and bottom, with the flaps and ailerons separate from the box, and neat curved fairings so they look good when fitted at an angle.  The flaps include the rear section of the soon-to-be-fitted nacelles, which are added as separate parts to avoid sink-marks, and these and the ailerons run full-span, terminating just as the wingtip begins.  This variant was fitted with the under-fuselage gondola, and each side has separate glazing panels inserted from inside, and a seam running vertically through its length.  It is added to the hole in the underside of the fuselage, with the front and rear glazing minus machine guns that weren’t fitted to this training aircraft.  At this time the landing gear is made up on a pair of upstands that are added to the underwing in preparation for the installation of the nacelle cowlings.  The engines have to be built up first though, consisting of a high part count with plenty of detail, and a rear firewall that securely fits inside the cowling.  Even though this is an in-line engine with a V-shaped piston layout, the addition of the annular radiators gives it the look of a radial, with their representation added to the front of the cowling, obscuring much of the engine detail.  The side panels can be left off to show all that detail however.  The cooling flaps around the cowling are separate, and the exhausts have separate stacks, which aren't hollow but are large enough to make boring them out with a drill a possibility.

 

The completed nacelles fit to the underwing over the top of the main gear installation, securing in place with four pegs, two on each side of each nacelle.  The props are made from spinner, backplate and a single piece containing all three blades, sliding onto a pin projecting from the engine front, which will require some glue if you want to keep them on.  At this point the instructions recommend adding the canopy glazing, which consists of a nose cone and the main greenhouse for the cockpit aperture.  The rear portion is made from two additional parts due to its double "blown" shape that normally accommodates the two rearward gun positions, so that the gunner's head isn't pressed against the canopy.  While the airframe is flipped over, the two-part wheels and twin main gear bay doors are added, both having good detail and the former a radial tread.

 

 

Markings

The kit includes two markings options from the sheet.  There are halfed Swastikas on the sheet, but the Balkenkreuz are whole.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• German Research Institute for Gliding (DFS), Ainring, Germany, 1944
• Nordhausen, Germany, Early 1944

 

 

 

 

 

Messerschmitt Bf.109F-4

The Bf.109 needs little introduction, suffice to say that it was the Luftwaffe’s mainstay frontline fighter throughout WWII, and went through many incarnations in the constant leapfrogging of technology in order to keep up with and in some cases surpass the allied fighters it was up against.  The F variant was the second major redesign of the basic airframe, including a further uprated engine and the attendant strengthening of the airframe that required, plus adding rounded tips to the wings that remained for the rest of the 109’s career. It fought in small numbers toward the end of the Battle of Britain and was finally phased out of front-line service in 1942 to be replaced by the Gustav, thereby freeing up airframes for use as Mistel chaperones.

 

 

 

 

 

This kit first hit the shelves in 2006, and while it isn’t the newest 109 in the world has all the parts you’d expect, and the flash seen on earlier pressings seems to have reduced, which is good to see.  The cockpit is straight-forward, based upon an angled L-shaped floor with the central cannon breech between the pilot’s knees, and the instrument panel supported on a panel projecting from the forward bulkhead.  The clear gunsight, rudder pedals, control column and seat pan finish that off, then the DB601E engine, which is quite well-detailed and includes exhaust stubs and flame-guards over the top is made up and attached to the front of the cockpit by joining the engine bearers, then between the two sub-assemblies are placed a pair of machine guns and ammo canisters.  With the addition of a trim wheel on the fuselage sidewall and some paint, the fuselage can be closed up around the completed interior.  The elevators are each single parts, and are installed in their slots, then joined later by a separate rudder that can be posed deflected. 

 

Two side cowlings are installed around the engine and the fuselage is joined to the lower wing, which is full width and has the upper halves glued to the top, then the wingtips are inserted into the newly formed slots.  The windscreen with bullet-proof insert is glued in place along with fixed rear canopy and the opener, which has a set of head-armour installed inside.  The supercharger intake trunk is applied to the left side of the cowling, and underneath the nose the chin intake for the oil cooler goes in, then the two radiator baths are inserted into their underwing positions with the flaps put into their tracks in the trailing edge.  The narrow track main gear legs are each made up from strut, captive bay door and wheel, which are narrow enough to be moulded from a single part each, and these are both laid flat into the gear bays, as the 109 has no use for its wheels in the Mistel configuration.  The tail wheel is a single part and slots into the rear under the tail, then it’s back to the front for the prop with spinner and retaining ring.

 

 

Markings

Two similar markings options  from the same locations as the Ju.88s (predictably) are supplied for the 109 and can be seen in the sheet above, and from the box you can build one of the following:

 

• German Research Institute for Gliding (DFS), Ainring, Germany, 1944
• Nordhausen, Germany, Early 1944

 

 

 

Joining the Kits

There is a complex drawing of the undersides of the 109 and top of the 88 showing exactly where the various holes should be drilled in the two aircraft to enable you to fit the supports for the 109.  The main support parts are three V-shaped struts under the centre of the fighter, and a single support pole under the tail, with a lazy-V shaped antenna behind the supports, probably relocated from the spine during the conversion.

 

 

 

Conclusion

The Mistels were a sign of desperation from the Nazis to an extent, although the Allies also sent some worn out B-17s and B-24s to Germany piloted by radio control, one of which famously killed one of the Kennedy family by detonating prematurely over England.  A nice pair of well-detailed kits depicting the less well-known phase of development of these composite aircraft from WWII.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd.

 

Review sample courtesy of