As I found when I reviewed Eduard's new Bf 110, straight from the box it already features one of, if not the most detailed interiors yet in a quarterscale kit. So you could be forgiven for thinking Eduard would leave things at that but, almost unbelievably, they've produced an etched detail set to add to, or replace, some of the moulded items in the standard (I can hardly call it "basic"!) kit.

Things kick off in the cockpit and, as you'd expect, there are no fundamental changes - it's more a case of subtle additions, including a pre-painted side console for the pilot and a set of individual throttles (one of the surprises in the original kit was the styrene throttles). There are replacement radio faces, alternative rudder pedals and neat touches, such as perforated oxygen bottle holders, various straps and levers, a trigger guard for the MG15 and a number of panel fascias for the sidewalls.

The nose guns are detailed with wiring and chutes for the ammunition feeds. The wiring might look a little 2-dimensional for some tastes - if so, it will serve as a reference for adding your own from wire.

The undercarriage comes in for quite a lot of attention. The kit's wheel-well sidewalls are scrapped in favour of individual ribs and there are also detailed liners for the wells. A major change from the standard kit is that the instructions show not to fit kit parts J16 and J22 - the main gear supports. It's not clear on paper what the undercarriage will attach to, but this might be apparent once you start assembling the etched parts. There are new brackets and door stays, plus the almost obligatory brake lines. Once again, these last items will probably be better used as guides for wire replacements.

The radiators receive new cores and there are outlet doors which can be posed open. The inside of the canopy benefits from replacement hinges, handles and small consoles, before attention turns to the underwing stores - not all of which are applicable to the Bf 110 versions that Eduard have released so far. There are new details for the underwing mortars, plus replacement fins for the bomb load and, rounding everything off, etched straps and mounts for the drop tanks to replace the kit's moulded items.

Instructions

The assembly is broken down across 6 pages. The instructions are well drawn and colour coded to show where styrene parts must be removed or modified. Each stage is kept quite small to avoid swamping the modeller with too many items at once, and the construction looks reasonably straightforward, so long as you work carefully and steadily - the only area of doubt being the main undercarriage mounts, which will definitely need checking as you proceed to avoid a potentially embarrassing boo-boo.

Conclusion

This is a great little set fro anyone looking for the "last word" in detailing their Bf 110. Less experienced modellers should treat it with a degree of caution, as the existing kit is already pretty complex and adding these etched extras could result in trouble if you're not up to using them. That said, in skilled hands, the set should provide the basis for some astounding Bf 110s.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.