Fujimi 1/48 scale
Messerschmitt Bf 110 D-3
Spanner Anlage

by Michael Furry

Tamiya's 1/48 scale F4F-4 Wildcat is available online from Squadron.com for only $21.78!

Fujimi’s 148 scale Messerschmitt Bf 110 arrived on the market in 1975 and I think at one point it was awarded model kit of the year.  While not as advanced as other kits on the market, it can be made into a respectable model.  I choose to portray an early night fighter of 4/NJG 1 based in St. Trond Belgium in 1942. 

From reading select sources,   I learned that some Bf110D’s were equipped with an infrared searchlight or “emitter” installed under the nose.  This “emitter” or searchlight was combined with a Q-Rohr tube installed in the cockpit which allowed the pilot to see the target aircraft.  This concept did not achieve high success and was eventually abandoned.  The searchlight gives the aircraft an interesting look that is different from other Bf110 night fighters.

Building the Fujimi kit is more or less an easy task.  I enhanced the cockpit, landing gear, and wheel wells with scratch built and photo-etch parts.  The infrared searchlight is from OWL Resin.   I chose to replace OWL’s Q-Rohr tube with a scratch built version.  I cut apart the kit canopy using only the center section.  The remaining parts of the cockpit canopy were cut from a Squadron vac form. The radio antenna mast was made by cutting the kit antenna mast and replacing the center section with balsa wood. After sanding to profile, I stained the wood section of the mast with oil paint. 

All of the markings except for the night fighter badge were painted using stencils designed and cut by Charlie Swank on a plotter cutter.  The model was painted using various shades of dark gray, brown, tan, and black enamels.  If you have interest in painting your own markings, please contact myself or Charlie Swank at modelstencils@gmail.com.  We currently produce stencils and paint masks in various scales for many different subjects.

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Despite having some painting problems (I was using some very old Floquil paint) I had an enjoyable time building this 30 year old kit.  Enjoy the photos!

Model and Text Copyright © 2015 by Mark T. Sullivan
Images Copyright © 2015 by Charlie Swank
Page Created 20 October, 2015
Last Updated 20 October, 2015

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