There has been a certain lack of discipline in my modelling projects lately, many get started - few get finished... Same thing this time but when Rowan offered this one for review it was simply too tasty to pass!

Eduard Bf 110C/D in 1/72. State of the art is an understatement. Simply a great kit!


Box art...


...and an early start!

For a closer look on what's in the box, have a look at my review here!



Magnus

Hi Magnus

I know - I'm a bad influence, but I'm happy to be able to provide such temptation! Great start.

All the best

Rowan

A few steps further! This is, without doubt, the best 1/72 kit I have ever built!


Wings finished. Note how the potential nightmare fit around the nacelles work out without the slightest need for putty! It pays to be careful but that still doesn't detract from the quality of the fit! They also come in two halves, I managed to just sand and polish away the seam... Me likey!


Working with the etch parts right now! If you think the holder for the small panel looks home-made, your'e right! The original plastic part simply disappeared so I made a new one. And note the annoying etched pedals, I have hated those since I put the first pair into my 262 in 1994. But now they're done!



Magnus

A final cockpit update...

I don't like etched belts any more... They are almost impossible to drape in a convincing way and in this case they are made up of two or three parts. The rather large "padding" is so big that it doesn't really fit into the seat bucket. I am sure that the size is correct but in reality it was a quite soft fabric. Anyway, I managed to get most of the parts to stay put and seen from the outside of the cockpit they will look convincing enough. And they were beautifully printed, true works of art!


Cockpit is really great! Apart from the belts I really like the other etched bits.





And two views of the fuselage sidewalls:






Magnus

We won't approve your build until you won't add some wires on the sidewalls. Sorry Magnus, life's not easy.

Sorry Michal, fuselage was closed just a few seconds before your post ! Apart from that, cockpit wiring is against my beliefs...


Fuselage assembled, wings are just dry-fitted.


Cockpit seen from the outside. The nose is made from an upper and a lower half that then attaches to the rest of the fuselage. I think this is the definition of a good fit!



Magnus

Beautiful work Magnus, and it is great to see a kit go together so easily. Michal is correct though, if you are having ZERO fit issues, then you are required to put in extra effort in other areas such as wiring. Sorry mate, those are the rules !



Cheers, D

Lol, Magnus, great work again,the cockpit looks fantastic. I have a Fujimi 110 which I would hope goes together as easily. Russell

This kit looks great and Im starting to believe the rummors that its among the best thats been done in 1/72 lately. Very good work on the interiour Magnus.

Damian! Will there be a fatwa for not complying? (halfway through "Joseph Anton" right now so it worries me a bit)

Russell! I think the Fujimi kits are quite good but I have only ever seen the boxes, not what's in them! Thanks for the kind words on the cockpit!

Naseby! Take my word for it, it doesn't get any better than this right now!


Major components glued together!


A small area in front of the wing where I managed to break away a bit of the plastic when removing the fuselage half from the sprue...


...that will be covered by the tank! Thank you, Gods of the Holy Plastic!

I will do the green one with the bauta-tank. If I had gone for my natural choice I would have done the one on the box (I love the grey schemes and it is a chance to do mottling which is another favourite pastime...) but I also have a strong feeling for the underdog. I suspect that the tank is as popular with the modellers as it was with the pilots (that means "not at all") so I'll do that one out of pity!



Magnus

A second update for today!


Fins...


...and tank in place!



Magnus

Generally speaking this is a very easy build. Especially if a bit of care is exercised. Now I have however found a tricky area: the landing gear! Read on for a quick primer on how to handle it...


Turning these 2D parts...


...into this rather spindly 3D-structure is slightly tricky!


I did use the gear well as a jig...


...getting a bit of help to fixture the parts and also ensuring that the landing gear will fit when the glue has set!

Off to doing the port one now...



Magnus

Well Magnus, that isn't up to me. I have reported your trangression to A.F.T.E.R.M.A.R.K.E.T.A. (the Authority For The Enforcement of Rules Managing Aftermarket Requirements for Kits Easy To Assemble). They know where you live !

On a more positive note, I'm loving your build, and the thread is very informative for those who have this kit, or are considering buying it (points at himself).

Cheers, D

Damian! So it is them, now I finally know! I've always felt I am under surveillance, first I thought it was the KGB but later I settled on the men in white clothes (they're coming to take me away, haha!). Now it does feel good to know who it is but I think I would have preferred the KGB to the resin-mafia !


Primed! I'll need to scribe the lengthwise seams on top and bottom of the fuselage before continuing with the painting. And then there is the canopy of course...


And of course the monthly dose of parts-on-sticks...



Magnus

Magnus, I have the same problem.... too many started and a few finished.....
By the way, beautiful Me-110 you are doing!!!!!!!!
I will follow you

Jose! Thanks!

Keeping with my educational ambitions...


There is an etched "clothes hanger"-antenna included with the kit. A nice touch but a pain to attach to the model... I use the above trick: leave a bit more of the photo etch than intended so that you get small location pegs and then drill corresponding holes in the model. This way you won't have to butt-join the etch to the surface, something that I have tried numerous times and I always end up with knocking off the parts multiple times when handling the model even before it is finished.

Nothing is glued yet, I will use short pieces of thin plasticard to support the etch in order to get them straight and level. I'll try to straighten the etch a bit also!



Magnus

The point where the cable running along the port fuselage breaks downward is wrong. It did not break downwards on a panel line, but between two panel lines. Here is a pic showing what I mean:

John! I should have studied my references more carefully... :-)



Regarding the channel along the fuselage: Thanks for telling me but I think I'll leave it the way it is. I want to avoid messing things up!


Clothes hanger glued with distances to keep it fixed while the glue is setting!



Magnus

No further comment...

Hi John

Your book is my "Bible" for early- to mid-version Bf 110s - there's nothing else to compare, in my experience. Dare I ask... have you got a follow-up planned to complete the saga?

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
No, I will not be doing a work of the 'F' & 'G' series. I've told George Hopp that he is the person most capable of doing a work on the last two version of the Bf 110.

The only research work I'm doing now is for Larry Hickey on his 'Eagles Over Europe' project. No prizes for guessing my area of work within the project...!

Magnus,

If you are so inclined it is a pretty easy fix. See my build blog (a few posts below) on the Dragon 110D-3 for how I made mine.

Doug

Doug! It is not so that it is missing, it is there but it bends away in the wrong position! I prefer a minor inaccuracy instead of a potential major modelling disaster !


Love the masks...


...best part is peeling them away! I've painted the props also by the way...


Exhausts. Painted "metallic" to start with and then weathered using a mix of dark grey and brown paint, a few different shades of red/brown pastel dust and finally some black pastel dust to deepen the shadows. I'll continue the process when they are mounted on the model!


Gunze RLM65 for the lower surfaces. I am not really sure what I think about the colour. I know that I can alter it though during the weathering process if I fell like it!



Magnus

Looking good. And it all seems so easy and fast.

Naseby! Thanks! I try to keep the speed up...


Canopy masking finished, the pre-cut masks are tremendous time-savers...


...and a coat of RLM 02.



Magnus