The D.VII is my first go at a Wingnut Wings (WNW) kit, and I chose it for several reasons. The D.VII is one of the most recognizable aircraft used in World War I, perhaps even more so than the Dr. I. That having been said, the most significant feature that put this kit above the other WNW offerings for me was the sparse rigging that would be required. I don’t mind rigging per se, having tackled a number of 1/48th kits that are fully rigged, but I did not want to make my initial WNW project any more difficult or complex than it needed to be by adding rigging to the process.

The Bf-110F was a transitional aircraft. It was put in place with the failure of the Me-210. It was an interim until the G-2 could be produced in numbers. Only 500 were made, divided between night fighters and fighter bombers.

Interestingly, Eduard elected to release the F as a weekend edition. This is the first time that the Bf-110F has been available in any scale that I know of. This cardboard box is so jam-packed with plastic it is surprising to me that it costs so little. Because of the transitional status of the real aircraft, it had features of the older E model and the newer still-to-come G model. Eduard’s parts break down shows this transitional parts listing, necessitating the parts from each of the earlier releases. There are a lot of extra parts because of it, even extra fuselage halves.

The J2M series of aircraft were designed by Dr. Jiro Horikoshi who also was responsible for the Zero / Zeke design. The J2M (Allied code name “Jack”) was designed in 1939 and first flown in March of 1942. A total of 621 J2M Raiden (Japanese for Thunderbolt) series of aircraft J2M1 through J2M6 were produced with the M2 and M3 accounting for 438 of the total built.

History

When Ernst Udet brought back two Curtiss Hawk biplanes to Germany in the middle thirties after witnessing dive bombing demonstrations by US Navy pilots, he started a trend that resulted in the development of dive bombing aircraft for the Luftwaffe that eventually resulted in the development of the Junkers JU-87. Capable of nearly vertical dives retarded by very effective dive brakes, bombing accuracy improved dramatically, and during World War II, the Germans, along with the Americans and Japanese, developed dive bombing to a fine art. The Ju-87 was an early attempt at a specialized dive bomber, and although progressively developed during the war, could never keep pace with or coexist in an environment with enemy fighters unless a strong friendly fighter escort was present, a luxury the Germans didn’t always have.

This is a set of resin exhaust stacks for the new Eduard Bf-110E kit. The advantage in using these units is that they are drilled out, whereas the kit parts are not. They fit perfectly, and were a welcome addition to my model. They are to be installed after painting the basic structure, allowing for such detailing and weathering as you desire. These are worth getting to upgrade your model. Recommended.

My thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this item.