Eduard 1/72 Bf110G-2 ProfiPACK
By Jim Bates
The Plane
The Messerschmitt Bf 110 is one of those interesting types from World War Two that is quite well known despite failing in its intended role as a heavy fighter. Serving in the European and Mediterranean theaters, it finally found its place when adapted into a night fighter. The Bf-110G-2 was the last of the heavy fighter variants, and it featured enlarged rudders and new, more powerful Daimler- Benz DB 605 engines.
The Kit
Eduard continues its most excellent policy of downscaling its 1/48th scale kits into 1/72nd a few years after the 1/48th release. While almost every manufacturer has issued a Bf 110 in 1/72 scale, it could be argued that none were the definitive kit. That is no longer an issue, as Eduard has finally issued the "best in scale" 1/72 Bf 110 and looking at the kit, it's difficult to imagine how any manufacturer can top it. Beautiful fine detail, excellent scribing, and crystal clear parts are highlights of the release.
The kit is spread out over six runners of well molded grey plastic and one clear sprue, and it has just about everything that a 1/72 scale modeler could ask for, including petite, finely scribed panel lines, accurate shapes, and excellent detail in the plastic parts. The transparencies are clear and thin and allow for either open or closed canopy sections. Optional drop tanks and armament are also included. The kit can be built with an under fuselage cannon, a large drop tank, or fitted with bombs. One colored photo etch fret is included, to upgrade the detail on the plastic. The fret consists mostly of cockpit parts.
The decal sheet includes four options that feature Luftwaffe Bf 110G-2s based in Norway, Austria, Italy, and Czechoslovakia. I bet most modelers will have a hard time not choosing the hornet art on the nose of the 5./ZG 1 example. Full maintenance stencils are included as are swastikas. (they are cleverly printed on the corner of the sheet, so that they can be removed from the kits going to countries where they are prohibited by law.) Finally, a sheet of canopy masks is included to make masking the multi-framed canopy so much easier.
I have always had a theory that enthusiast modelers find Eduard kits so attractive because they do such a good job of presentation. Their artwork and instructions are well designed and colorfully printed. The plastic parts are beautiful. The clear parts are stunning and the panel lines and rivets are so finely engraved. All the extras-masks, photo etch, etc.-sare right there in the box. However, the beautiful look of the contents in the box can be deceiving and while the kits are reasonable builds, they do demand a level of care and attention not always required in the assembly of other top of the line kits. That being said, this is clearly the best Bf 110 kit in the scale and the ProfiPACK kit is an excellent value for what comes in the fully-packed box. I would like to thank Eduard for providing the review sample.