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.

The Voroshilovets tractor was produced at the beginning of WWII and was used by the Russians as their heavy artillery prime mover. It had a crew of 2 and could carry the gun crew on the bench seats in the cargo bed. The Germans captured and used a few of these vehicles.

The kit is molded in yellow plastic, with the tracks in brown. There is also a sprue of excellent clear parts for the cab windows, tarp windows and headlight lenses. Molding is very good with a minimum of ejection pin marks. I had no references at hand, but the model looks to be close to the proper dimensions based on pictures I found on line.

The instructions are clear and nicely illustrated with 15 steps in 12 pages, including a parts map. The decal sheet measures 1 ½ by 2 inches and includes 2 red triangles for the Russian version and 6 white markings for the German version. There is a separate painting and decaling sheet with full color 5 view drawings for each version.

History

For the last several years, UM has produced a number of armored train components in 1/72 scale. It appears they are branching out and creating products of German armored train cars. The back of the box includes a short history of the vehicle, “Manufacturing of the heavy ‘S.Sp’ reconnaissance armored cars started in 1944. These cars were able to operate independently or as a train made up of similar cars. Several types of heavy armored cars existed. Artillery cars were armed with Pz. III (N) tank turret with short KwK L/24 75 mm gun. These cars had 20 mm of armor protection. Their weight (depending on armament) reached 18 tons. Maximum speed – 40 km/hr. Combat effectiveness of heavy armored car was almost equal to BP-42. ‘S.Sp’ participated in combat operations on Balkans from November 1944.”

The Toyota Prius has made its way from a government incentive driven experiment to a very successful mainstream product offering. As such it really deserves to be noticed for its place in history. The Prius body styling and the kit subject matter in general, however, may only appeal to the Prius enthusiast.

The Fujimi kit represents the 2009 model year of the 3rd generation Prius and is an all new kit. White, clear and chrome trees are all individually bagged. Also included are soft rubber tires, a small decal sheet and window masks. Part count is just over 80 pieces and the build up is fairly simple. The result is a curbside model with no open elements.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Eduard for providing this kit to IPMS/USA and to them for allowing me to review it.