Modeling the Messerschmitt Bf 110

By Brett Green
Osprey Publishing, 2003
ISBN 1-84176-704-2
80 Pages, Softbound
$17.95 at Classic Motorbooks

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

Brett Green, the person behind the Hyperscale website, has taken his writing skills into the print world, this time focusing on the Messerschmitt Bf 110. This second title in a new series by Osprey details the Bf 110 in 1/48 scale, covering all the major kits and providing hints and tips in building them. The concept of this series is well thought out and will be a great addition to any modeler's library, as the techniques presented can be used on any model subject.

The book starts out with a small section outlining the history of the Bf 110, as well as a brief variant overview and a listing of available kits. For this subject there are basically two kits, the Fujimi and the Revell-Monogram. The Fujimi kit has been released by several companies, in some cases with additional parts, while the Revell-Monogram has been released with different options under the same label. Each kit gets equal coverage in the book, with two builds of each manufacturer present in the pages. Rounding out the book is a section on placing your finished Bf 110 in a diorama setting.

The meat of the book is definitely the builds, though, and these are well presented. The first Fujimi build shows what can be done with this old, but decent, kit. Build out of the box, Brett decided to display it in flight, on a stand. This piece shows how careful modeling can result in an attractive finished model, without having to add many extra aftermarket details. The second Fujimi build kicks it up a notch, adding resin and etched brass details, and the finished nightfighter shows the additional effort.

The builds of the Revell-Monogram kits follow a similar program, with the first being an OOB build, with nice results. The second build includes an aftermarket correction set and goes into detail on how to modify the kit with resin conversion pieces. In all four builds there are lots of tips and techniques regarding painting and finishing, all of which are useful to any modeling project.

This is a great new series from Osprey and warrants a look by every modeler. If the Bf 110 is one of your favorite aircraft, then this book should definitely make its way onto your shelf. My thanks to Osprey and MBI for the review sample.