When this kit arrived in the mail I was pleasantly surprised by the my impressions of the kit. Although I’d never build a Zvezda kit, my understanding about their kits was… well, let’s say not so good. Let me say right here at the start that if this kit is any indication of the quality of kits they now produce, I’ll gladly put down my money to buy one if the subject interests me. This is a great kit of an unusual German heavy truck. The kit is molded in dark tan styrene. The quality of the molding is very good, with minimal flash and clean up required. There were some minor sinks on the suspension bogies that needed to be filled and sanded, but were not difficult to accomplish. The sturdy box contains 10 sprues, 9 in dark tan and one clear sprue and a small decal sheet. No photo etch is included. The kit does include two very nicely cast crew figures as well.

The Bf 110 was envisioned by Hermann Goering as a heavily armed fighter-destroyer escort for the Luftwaffe’s bombers. With its four machine gun and two cannon armament it was a deadly opponent as long one could position the aircraft to take advantage of it. Problem was, as so many other countries found out, the idea of a heavy twin engine fighter competing against smaller single engine fighters of equal or greater horsepower just didn’t pan out. Physics simply did not allow it. Early successes against inferior aircraft were soon reversed when the Bf 110s met their match in the Battle of Britain. In spite of being what many could argue was an obsolete design, the Bf 110 soldered on in various versions until the end of the war. It proved especially effective in the night fighter role which capitalized on its multi crew seating and ability to carry a lot of firepower. The Bf 110 D-3 in this kit was designed for long range escort/patrol.

MiniArt Models, your favorite Ukrainian diorama manufacturer, has come out with an accessory kit for their street dioramas, cleverly called Street Accessories, #35530. 44 injected plastic parts are provided on four sprues that will build into two benches, four manhole covers, four grates, a 5 inch section of metal fencing and support poles. In addition, there are four short pieces that look like chess pawns but may be hitching posts or barriers of some sort. The instructions are on the bottom of the box and the only color choice provided is on the box top, but truly you’ll use your imagination to paint and finish these parts to your liking anyway. One nice thing, these parts are not really dated by their design, so could be present from the turn of the 20th century till the mid-50 at least.