Messerschmitt Bf 110 E
Weekend Edition

Eduard, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Eduard's 1/48 scale Messerschmitt Bf 110 E is available online from Squadron.com
 

The Messerschmitt Bf 110 entered the Second World War as a new and prestigious weapon of the Luftwaffe, performing the roles of bomber escort, heavy fighter and troop support during the German invasion of Poland. It performed well against Polish fighters, and put its heavy armament to effective use against ground targets after the Luftwaffe had established air superiority. The Bf 110 repeated these roles during the campaign in the West. The long range of the Bf 110 was especially useful for escorting bombers deep into France.

The twin engine Messerschmitt was more than a match for most contemporary French fighters, but early encounters with Spitfires and Hurricanes resulted in unaccustomedly heavy losses. This was an ominous indicator of the coming months over the British Isles.

In those Summer months of 1940, Messerschmitt Bf 110s on long-range escort missions suffered heavy losses to British fighters.

Even if its fortunes as a pure fighter aircraft were mixed, the Messerschmitt Bf 110 had a better record as a defensive weapon.

As early as December 1939, Bf 110 C aircraft of I./ZG 76 were involved in the decimation of an armed reconnaissance patrol over the Heligoland Bight. Eight Wellingtons out of a total 22 on patrol were claimed by the Zerstörers. This single event put massed daylight bombing off the agenda until 1943, but ZG 2 and ZG 76 continued to enjoy superiority over Blenheims and Wellingtons in the following months.

Arguably the most important contribution made to the German war effort by the Messerschmitt Bf 110 was as a night fighter. The role was initially ad-hoc. From July, 1940, day fighters were simply painted black and sent aloft to deal with British bombers, now making their attacks under the relative protection of darkness. These early night fighters had no additional equipment nor ground control assistance. Enemy aircraft were held in the cone of a searchlight, and the Bf 110 would engage the bomber while it was illuminated in the beam.

The subject of Eduard's kit, the Messerschmitt Bf 110 E, was a refinement of the C and D models, beginning production in August 1940. The Bf 110 E was a versatile long distance bomber and heavy fighter. In addition to its ordnance and new gunsight, revisions were also made to the rear machine gun, and inside the cockpit. The most obvious exterior change was the addition of a rectangular air intake on the front of the top gun cowl.

Eduard first released their excellent 1/48 scale Messerschmitt Bf 110 E in August 2007. This kit has now received the "Weekend Edition" treatment - that is, the basic plastic parts have been made available in a lower-priced package.

Eduard's 1/48 scale Messerschmitt Bf 110 E "Weekend Edition" comprises 314 parts in olive coloured plastic; 12 parts in clear; and markings for one aircraft.

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Detail is still very good indeed despite the absence of photo-etched parts in this Weekend Edition release.

The plastic parts are attached to seven sprues via fine connectors. Moulding quality is superb. I could not find a single sink mark or ejector pin in any area that will be visible on the finished model.

Crisply recessed panel lines are partnered with incredibly subtle rows of rivets. I like the treatment of the fabric control surfaces too, with rib tape detail being the most prominent feature - no massive sagging of fabric.

The fuselage is broken down into the main halves with a separate nose (upper and lower) plus an insert for the deck immediately aft of the cockpit. Eduard also supplies the C/D nose.

This boxing provides both the long fuselage with the boat tail, and the regular C/E fuselage. The longer fuselage is used for the kit's marking option, but the availability of the regular fuselage is very handy for anyone planning to use after-market decals and some of the kit-supplied options to build a Bf 110 C or short-fuseage D instead.

The cockpit is well fitted out with plastic parts parts. The lower fuselage cannon are visible through the fuselage floor, and plenty of spare ammunition is provided. The rear gunner's seat can be made to swivel, while the navigator's seat may be posed up or stowed.

The nose is fully equipped with four MG 17 machine guns and ammunition feeds plus oxygen bottles. These may be displayed by posing the separate gun cowl open.

The wings are moulded with the flaps and leading edge slats in the closed position. This may disappoint some modellers, but I did a quick check of several books and nearly half of the Bf 110s were parked with the slats and flaps up. If you really want to drop the flaps and/or slats, the kit engineering will make this task fairly straightforward with the bulges behind the nacelles moulded as part of the bottom of the kit flaps.

Ailerons are provided as separate parts.

Wheel well detail is excellent.

Ample options are supplied including ETC racks, 50kg and 250kg bombs. Many other options are marked as "not for use". These include 300 litre and 900 litre drop tanks, air to air rockets and the small 75 litre auxiliary oil tank sometimes fitted to the bottom of the fuselage. The massive "dachshund" belly tank for the Bf 110 D is also included.

Two sprues of clear parts are included.

The prominent glasshouse is an important part of the Bf 110's character, and Eduard has done an especially good job on the complex rear clamshell. If the rear canopy is to be depicted open, separate parts are supplied for the clamshell and the sliding top rear sections. If the canopy will be closed, a totally separate single part is used. A separate piece of armoured glass is also depicted. The side and top canopy parts are also individual pieces to permit posing in the open position. Furthermore, alternate styles of rear canopy are offered - with the machine gun cutout and without. Handles and other canopy details are supplied in plastic.

Instructions are supplied in a blacka nd white 16 page booklet.

Markings are supplied for one aircraft:

Bf 110 E, 1./Erg. Zerst. Gr. Deblin-Irena, Poland, December 1942.

Decals are thin and printed in perfect register.

Eduard's 1/48 scale Bf 110 family has now relegated the old Fujimi 1/48 scale Messerschmitt Bf 110 to your favourite nephew. This "Weekend Edition" kit is still very well detailed without photo-etched parts, and is available for a bargain price.

The high parts count and some of the smaller and delicate parts mean that some modelling experience will be helpful before tackling this project (and you might need a long weekend to finish this project!), but there can be little doubt that Eduard's 1/48 scale kit is now the reigning champion of plastic Messerschmitt Bf 110s of any variant and in any scale.

I built the original version of the kit straight after it was released. You can find detailed analysis and a full consruction article in the Bf 110 HyperScale Resource Guide from 2007.

Thanks to Eduard for the review sample

Review Text Copyright © 2007 by Brett Green
Page Created 8 May, 2009
Last updated 12 May, 2009

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