History

The Messerschmitt Bf-110 series was originally designed as a long range escort fighter, and so much has been written about the type that I need not be repetitious. Preceded into production by the Bf-110B, which first appeared in 1938, the Bf-110C was the first major production model, followed by the “D”, “E”, “F”, and “G” variants. It was not particularly successful at the beginning of the war, as it was used against more nimble single seat fighters. Later in the war, it was used as a night fighter, where it was very successful and even outlived the aircraft intended to replace it.

Master Model has a knack for making impossibly small upgraded detail “kits” that are assembled from turned-metal parts and photoetch (PE). Previous highlights included the 1/72 scale six-barreled M61 Vulcan machine gun found in most modern US fighters, and the 1/72 GAU-8 Avenger gun tip, found at the business end of an A-10.

Now, Master has somewhat outdone themselves with two “kit” versions of the aircraft-carried WWII Mark 13 torpedo…in 1/350 scale:

Master Model, maker of some amazingly detailed metal replacement parts, offers a new turned-metal barrel upgraded set for the 1/350 scale Zvezda kit of the HMS Dreadnought. The set consists of ten turned-aluminum 12in main gun barrels and twelve turned-brass 12-pounder secondary gun barrels. Both barrel sizes are spectacularly cut.

Using the Master Model barrels couldn’t be easier, as they feature a small mounting peg at the breech end of the barrels. Simply remove an existing kit barrel, drill a small hole in its place, and insert and secure the Master barrel’s mounting peg into the hole with a bit of CA glue.

Like many of the Master Model barrel sets, this set is not only limited to use with the HMS Dreadnought, as both the 12-inch and 12-pounder guns were found on many other British ships before and during WWI.