Promodeler 1/48 Messerschmitt Me 410

PROMODELER 1:48 ME 410B-1 HORNISSE

Reviewer: Trevor Boxall (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 18 October 2005

Kit Details:

#5936 - 1:48 Me 410B-1 made by Promodeler

Aircraft History:

The Me 410 evolved from the Me 210 and in many circles is often touted as being the aircraft that should have come into service in the first place. It was barely distinguishable from its predecessor the Me 410 was unofficially given the name Hornisse (Hornet) and intended as a multi-role armed destroyer aircraft. It was built with automatic wing slots and a deepened rear fuselage that resolved some of the stability problems that dogged the Me 210. There were also some other changes including sweptback outboard wing panels and revised flaps and ailerons. The Me 410V1 took to the air mid to late 1942.

From early 1944 the A series gave way to the Me 410B which had improved engines and the B-1 and B-2 were similar in all other respects to the A-1 and A-2 respectively. The Me 410B-2/U4 with the BK-5 cannon had a pair of 30-mm Mk 103 cannon in place of the standard forward-firing combination of cannon and machine guns. Various changes in armaments resulted from application of various other armament measures including two 30-mm cannon and four 20-mm MG 151s or could be supplemented with either in what was called a Waffentropfen (weapon drop). In May 1944 an order was issued for a number of Me 410Bs to be converted to B-1/U2 Zerstorer (Destroyer) multi-rule missions. Production of the Me 410 totalled 1160 aircraft when finally phased out in December 1944.

The Kit:

Molded in the typical Revell-Monogram style of medium grey plastic there are 140 plastic parts on a number of sprues in their own bags, with crisp moldings, excellent surface detail that comprises of raised rivets and engraved panel lines. The canopy comes in several parts so hatches can be modelled in the open or closed position. Options are aplenty with crew figures, plenty of stores options and some areas which can be open or closed. Overall it is well engineered and looks rather enticing.

Instructions:

The instructions are in the form of an impressive booklet with several clear construction steps, history and photos of the cockpit and other parts of the real aircraft, and painting information from the RLM range.

Construction:

Inside the cockpit there is pretty much everything you need without having to resort to aftermarket sets. There are fifteen parts alone for the cockpit from an instrument panel with realistic detail, to nicely rendered seats to side consoles that contain dials, hoses and knobs that were just itching to be drybrushed. The cockpit assembly took a long time but was well worth the effort and was painted in RLM 66.

The blast tubes are installed first and then the cockpit interior was installed into the fuselage, be sure to consult the instructions in the way it goes in to prevent misalignment later with the lower section of the nose glazing. It fits very well and then the fuselage halves can be brought together and they do so nicely. A small amount of attention is needed on the join lines but otherwise fit is near perfect.

We move onto the lower nose section which looks like it is going to be a challenging fit, but surprisingly it wasn't too bad. A dry run revealed that it is best to put one side into place and carefully lay down the other. The gun sections were drilled out to accommodate the 30 mm cannons. The machine guns can be placed into the barbettes and painted ready for placing onto the fuselage a little later.

So then we come to the wings. I found that the radiators were best installed before the upper and lower wing halves are glued together which conforms with the instructions. As with the wheel wells, engine bay and so forth, the interior of the radiator bay was painted RLM02. The wings are then placed together and these fit very well together, although a minor amount of filling around the intakes was needed, and some attention given to join lines. I decided also to thin out the leading and trailing edges.

Assembly of the engines did prove to be a troublesome affair, and in hindsight doing several dry runs is recommended until you sort out what goes where and in which order to best overcome some of the fit problems. The lower rear cowling section does not come together flush so some judicious sanding and filing is required here. After a bit of work everything does fit well in the end, onto the wing and the wings themselves are attached to the fuselage which fit very well, as are the tailplanes without any hassles.

Onto the canopy and glazing, and this is another area where a bit of grief is on the cards. I found the lower nose glazing must be lined up in the right place as this seemed to be what would be a foundation for the rest of the canopy to go together. The main canopy is in two parts and the windscreen is separate and an antenna mast is trapped between the canopy parts. The fit overall wasn't too bad, but a small starboard side gap had to be filled and sanded afterward. EZ Masks are excellent for this kit and go on nicely, worthwhile getting yourself these with or for any kits they cover, as they save a helluva lot of time and frustration cutting out individual mask bits.

The first stage of painting was then applied with the lighter RLM 76 undersides painted first followed by the lighter shade of the RLM 74/75 upper camouflage and mottled pattern. The final bits to be assembled onto the model includes the undercarriage which has weighted wheels and underside stores. I had installed the 30 mm gun pack but also included are the 20 mm and CM rockets. The very final part of assembly included invisible thread for the antenna wire and smaller detail bits such as the pitot tube.

Decals:

The kit allows one of three planes to be replicated, all in RLM 74/75/76 which are an ME 410B-2/R2 of II./ZG-76; Me 410B-1/U2/R4 of II./ZG-26 and an Me 410B-1/U2R of 8./ZG-26. The scalemaster sheet supplied with the kit is not particularly good, being out of register, thick and gluggy to use. I used an aftermarket source from Aeromaster and ditched the kit supplied crud.

Overall Recommendation:

I was pleased with the result of this kit, it constructed very well with only a couple of areas of concern and it looks quite accurate, other than oval shaped supercharger intakes, when it is finished. You will need a new set of decals but otherwise this kit comes with high recommendations.

Accuracy:

Various Internet sources
Me 410 in Action (Squadron Publications)

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