Messerschmitt
Bf 110 E/F/G Wheels

Eduard BRASSIN, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

Eduard's 1/48 scale Bf 110 E/F/G Wheels are available online from Squadron.com

Since its launch in early 2010, Eduard’s Brassin range has established high standards of accuracy and finesse.  Brassin releases typically fall into two categories:  comprehensive detailing sets, often for recent Eduard kits such as the 1/32 Bf 109 or 1/48 MiG-21 series, and more modest sets that address one aspect of a kit, such as wheels or exhausts.
 
This set of main wheels for the 1/48 Messerschmitt Bf 110 E/F/G kits falls into the latter category.  It’s the second set of Brassin wheels that Eduard has released for the Bf 110 – a previous set provides for the slightly smaller diameter wheels fitted to C and D models. 

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At first glance, the set looks pretty standard – two wheels and two separate inner hubs protected by a blister pack, with instructions enclosed.  On closer examination, however, it is clear that these wheels are anything but average.  The quality of the resin moulding is exceptional – there are no pinholes or deformities, and the tiny amount of flash I did find I was able to remove by rubbing with a finger.  The casting blocks are carefully placed, with the wheels attached by tiny slivers of resin and the hubs mounted more robustly, but from the back; both solutions should make separation and clean up easy, with minimal loss of detail.
 
There is plenty of detail on offer here.  Both wheels and hubs feature a combination of finely recessed and raised detail that would be impossible to replicate in plastic, including tyre treads, brake lines and tiny screws.  I compared the Brassin wheels with those provided in my Eduard Bf 110 E kit, and as you can see from the photographs, there really is no comparison. 

Eduard’s kit wheels aren’t bad, but I guess this is what the Brassin line is all about:  raising the standard to a level that exceeds not only that of the original kit, but of many aftermarket competitors as well.
 
The package is completed by an instruction sheet that leaves no doubt as to how the wheels should be mounted, or the landing gear angled in relation to the wings and fuselage.  Eduard also provides two small tape masks for protecting the tyres while you paint the outer hubs, making this task easier than it might otherwise be.

 
These wheels will noticeably dress up your 1/48 Bf 110 E/F/G, irrespective of whether it is one of Eduard’s recent releases, or an older Revell, Mauve or Fujimi kit.  While the inclusion of a tail wheel tyre would have been nice, and some will argue that the tyres could have been bulged, neither of these issues detracts from the quality of the package.  From now on when I’m building a kit, I can see myself checking to see if there are any applicable Brassin releases, just as I have done for years in relation to Eduard’s standard photo etched sets.
 
Highly recommended.

Thanks to Eduard for the samples.

Review Text Copyright © 2012 by Brad Fallen
Page Created 5 June,2012
Last updated 5 June, 2012

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