ITALERI 1:72 MESSERSCHMITT BF 110G-4/R-3

Reviewer: Jason Sou  (rec.models.scale)

The Messerschmitt Bf110 was conceived as a heavy day fighter before WW2, and saw successful service with heavy fighter units in the polish and French campaigns of 1940. It's lack of maneuverability was exposed in the Battle of Britain against the more agile single seat Spitfires and Hurricanes, but the 110 was still a useful aircraft when flown by Luftwaffe crews in the Mediterranean theatre and Russian Front (mainly as a ground attack aircraft). Over 6000 Bf 110's were built with the last one not coming off the production lines until 1945 - not bad for an 'obsolete' design! 

Although the Bf 110 was not a great success as a day fighter, it was quite another 'kettle of fish' when adapted as a night fighter to combat RAF Bomber Command's increasingly heavy nocturnal raids over the Reich. The G-4 variant represented in this kit was the variant most widely used by the Nachtjagdgeschwader and was armed with two 20 mm cannon and four MG17's in the nose, and twin MG17's in the rear cockpit. Later variants were often fitted with the deadly upward firing "Schrage Musik" installations, consisting of 20 mm cannon mounted on the fuselage behind the canopy, firing upwards at an angle of 70-80 degrees. The idea being to formate below and slightly behind an unsuspecting bomber , then fire upwards into the wing roots or engines - NOT the bomb bays. Unfortunately this kit does not give one the option of finishing a 110 with this installation, but it would require little extra work to represent an aircraft with such a "Schrage Musik" fit. 

This kit consists of over 70 well molded grey pieces on 2 main sprue trees and 5 clear parts. Detail is lightly raised with some flash evident on some of the smaller pieces such as aerials and MG's. The decal sheet seems small, as it represents 3 different aircraft, but appears to be what one expects from a company like Italeri - more on this later. Instructions are generally adequate with only a couple of complaints concerning:
a) one is not told to open up the 4 locating holes in each lower wing half for the drop tank pylons. I had no trouble finding these much later and drilling them out, 
b) lack of explanation about some optional (?) pieces as mentioned later, and 
c) location of stencils on decal sheet not shown.

Construction commences with the cockpit area where Italeri kindly supply us with a well detailed floor, control column, instrument panel, 2 reasonably accurate seats, and various other bulkheads and pieces. This is quite acceptable , although superdetailers will probably want to add even more detail due to the long canopy glazing through which much is visible. Fuselage to wing joins are good, but I had to use some filler around the tailplane/fuselage join. Don't put the filler away here though as more is required after the engine nacelles are attached to the wings - the gaps left here led me to think I must have put the wrong engines on each wing, but no, this wasn't the problem.

Other than the poor fit of the nacelles to the wings, the exhausts, props, spinners are quite nice - and what one expects in an Italeri kit. I was a little confused by parts 43, 44, and 45 which seem to be optional, but the instructions are unclear as to their use - although location is clearly marked. Undercarriage is very well represented with wheel well detail being excellent. Drop tanks are supplied, and holes must be drilled in the undersides of both wing bottom halves before stage 4.

The FUG 220 aerials are well molded ( with only a small amount of flash to be removed) and attach well to the nose section. I would suggest using a superglue gel or similar to attach these though.

After finishing adding the aerials and finishing touches, I noticed that no landing light is supplied or even mentioned on the instructions. All we have is a large rectangular chunk in the leading edge of the port wing where a transparent piece should go! Also, no MG or cannon barrels are supplied for fitting in the nose as these were prominent on the 110. One will therefore have to raid the spares box. 

Once completed, it is a relatively simple job to paint and 3 options are suggested. I chose the all-over RLM 76 aircraft (with RLM 75 'squiggle' on the upper surfaces) of NJG1 coded G9+AT. A minor whinge here is that Italeri persist in listing their paint colours by Testors or FS numbers which may be ok if you use these. I would prefer to see colours listed by their RLM numbers and names as most modellers of WW2 Luftwaffe aircraft would be familiar with these. The rear of the box depicts a 4-view of the NJG1 aircraft, and is quite good, although I queried the FS34092 (European Green) colour suggested for the upper 'squiggles'. I used RLM 75 which seems more likely to be correct.

Decals are well printed , in register and 10/10 for accuracy. Some stenciling is supplied, but unfortunately other references will have to be consulted to find the location of all these small decals. 

Another top-notch Italeri kit which is value for money, and an accurate representation of a BF 110G4 night fighter. This kit is far superior to the earlier C and D versions kitted by Matchbox and Airfix, although it must be remembered, these kits are both over 25 years old. Apart from the few gripes mentioned, I would recommend this kit to all modelers, especially WW2 Luftwaffe fanatics! 

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