Between rides at Disneyland, meeting with fellow modelers, and, oh yeah… attending the 2007 IPMS/USA National Convention, Drew Hatch managed to squeeze in the time to get Eduard’s newly released 1/48 Bf 110E in his Anaheim visit. Having rested a bit on his return home, he provides us with a great preview of the kit.
Eduards newest jaw dropper is the long awaited Bf 110E. Not enough can be said for the anticipation that this kit announcement created. This is the first time in plastic that the “E” variant has been released, and Eduard did this for it’s first in the series of the Bf 110 family on purpose. And all I can say is that it has lived up to it’s hype.
Molded in Eduard’s usual olive gray green plastic, the kit consists of 340 parts. (:-O That ought to keep a modeler busy for a while~ Ed.) The added goodies included in this kit include color etch for the cockpit, canopy masks and one of three Dachshunds, the mascots of 1.(Z)JG 77. The parts are very crisp and flash free. The engraved panel lines are intuitive of Eduard. There is very fine rivet detail where appropriate and is very well done. Extra parts not used are reserved for C/D and F variants to be released at a later date. Many detail parts included are very thin and delicate. Take care when removing them from the tree. A nice option comes for deciding to paint the instrument panel or use the provided color etch. The etch panel you use is blank while a separate detailed one is provided. Good thing for me when I mess up the etch one.
The clear parts are exquisite. However the complex assemblies of them with the inclusion of the photo etch may well make this the most complicated part of the kit. You also have to assemble the armor plated windscreen. This could be the make or break of the kit. Gluing two clear pieces together. The rear canopy has the option of either one piece closed or multi part to pose it open.
Interestingly enough, Eduard molded the ailerons separately. However, the rudders and elevators are fixed in the neutral position.
The magazine style instructions are well represented, very clear and concise. The 20 page instructions include a parts map, stencil guide, color notes and a brief history of the Bf 110. The canopy masks are the Tamiya tape type and seem to be the right size for the two panels I measured.
The four color choice markings are colorful. Two wearing standard camouflage, one green (an interesting RLM 72) over black night fighter and a snow whitewash camouflage. Decals printed by AVI Print, my sample seems to be in perfect register.
As with all my new acquisitions, this one goes on top of the to-do pile. It sure looks like a Me 110 and hope that it goes together as well as it looks. Given the high parts count and that many are very small and delicate; this kit should remain for modelers with some moderate experience.
Drew Hatch has been an avid modeller since he was a teenager. Taking a modeling hiatus while flying in the Canadian Armed Forces, he picked it up again when he met his wife. They’ve been married ten wonderful years. Drew’s interests are naval and Canadian aviation, with an emphasis on the Pacific War. (Along with the slight detour into N. Africa during WWII.)
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