Messerschmitt Bf-110G, NJG 3 (fictional scheme)
This is a Frog kit I started back in the 80’s, finished it in 2020! The nose was short shot and I realized I had the skills now to finish it.
This took less than a week to finish simply because fixing the nose was quite easy and I’d applied paint to the model everywhere except the nose area that needed repair. The paint doesn’t quite match but it’s pretty close and where it’s off a bit I added some weathering.
The Subject
I used some spare decals from an old Microscale sheet. These markings were for a radar equipped Bf-110G with a completely different camouflage scheme.
The Bf-110 was getting outclassed and obsolete by 1941 however the planned replacement — first the Me-210 then the improved Me-410 — were delayed. Messerschmitt was asked to update and continue producing the fighter because it could be effective as a night fighter or as an a fighter-bomber if escorted.
Most Bf-110G’s were used as night fighters, either with or without radar.
The Model
Frog. What more can I say? Crude kit, but an original release from the 60s that I’d acquired in the 80s for a couple of dollars at a traditional hobby shop (which were everywhere at the time so competition was high). Construction was probably done over a weekend as I was a quick builder back then. It does have the seams properly cleaned up so I know it was after I’d been to my first IPMS Nationals where I asked about some techniques and “discovered” how much nicer a model looked with properly addressed seams.
It’s been 35+ years so what do I remember about construction? Not too much but I do remember that nose. Big hole where the guns were supposed to be. Originally I wanted to learn smash molding but that kept falling into the “too hard” column as my balsa carving skills kept escaping me. I know I made at least 3 masters, none of which worked well. I ended up using Milliput to build up a bulbous area while filling the void. I shaped it with a wet finger to get close, then when fully cured I used some files and finished shaping, then sanded/polished to get it ready for paint. I also drilled the holes for the guns. Surprisingly, the paint received little damage from all the handling.
For some odd reason I decided to paint it way back then. It appears brush painted which would be consistent for the timeframe as it was late 80’s before I had my first workable airbrush setup. Also likely enamels. I had a bunch of Humbrol enamels back then and I was getting some very smooth brush painted schemes. No idea what colors I used but my references back then would have been vague on a good day. I was probably using “violet gray” and “dark gray green” as my method of figuring out the shades. I did have a FS fan deck so was probably matching my color to what someone mentioned in a book or magazine was a close FS equivalent.
The Microscale decals, while from an old sheet, were still quite good. They settled down nicely on the smooth surface with MicroSet and Sol.
Summary
It looks like a Bf-110. I’ll keep this one for nostalgia’s sake. For some reason I like the aircraft. Probably because the old Monogram Bf-110E kit was one of my first “nice” models when I was young. I must have a half dozen Bf-110 kits awaiting a future batch build, most are Eduard, but a couple are Fujimi and at least one Monogram is in there.
