Username: jjp_nl
Name: Jelmer
Category: Intermediate
Model: Bf 110D 'nachtjäger'
Scale: 1:48
Manufacturer: CyberHobby
Aftermarket add-ons: two OWL-decals sets
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Well, since I've been looking for a lame excuse to start the build I joined this forum for in the first place I figured this Messerschmitt/Focke Wulf Group Build would be a good excuse to get this show on the road. Here's the story around the a/c I want to build. I was born and raised and still live nearby Leeuwarden RNAF Air force base which during WWII was extensively used by German Nightfighter units. I therefore admit to having a bit of a weak spot for nightfighters operating from Fliegerhorst Leeuwarden.
So, how to translate this weak spot for the Leeuwarden nightfighters into a suitable subject to build? So, it's of to do some reading. A very interesting 3-volume chronicle covering nightfighter operations over the Northern part of The Netherlands and from Fliegerhorst Leeuwarden in particular (of which the title translates into something like "Hornets nest Leeuwarden" although I'm unsure if these books have been translated into other languages) made me think the early days of the Leeuwarden nightfighters (and the nightfighter units in general) would be a good starting point. That kind of narrowed it down.
-----------------
So, what about them nightfighters? What would be an interesting situation to look into? Well I figured the German nightfighter units (among other things) are closely associated with the Himmelbett system. So how about looking into the first victory achieved by a Leeuwarden nightfighter with the help of a Himmelbett stellung. Note that is NOT the first nightfighter victory over The Netherlands, NOT the first from Leeuwarden, but the first victory by a Leeuwarden nightfighter with the assistance of a radar station on the ground that was part of the Himmelbett system.
-----------------
Paul Gildner.
This event just so happens to be described in fairly good detail in vol.1 of the book series I mentioned earlier. The date of the above mentioned event is the night of 28 Febr-1 March 1941. The German pilot involved was (at the time) Ofw. Paul Gildner (he went on to score nearly 50 victories until engine troubles with his brand new BF-110G killed him in febr '43). Various sources put Gildner and his radio operator Rudi Muller at the helm of a 4./NJG.1 BF-110 with registration G9+HM on the night of 28 Febr- 1 March 1941. Patrolling sector 'Löwe' (which became operational only a few weeks earlier) Gildner was guided to, made contact, and shot down a 105 Sqn Blenheim IV that crashed near the eastern outskirts of the city of Groningen. (note: I've been told the night fighter diaries tables apparently mention a Wellington, whereas the text says it's a Blenheim. Other sources also state it to be a Blenheim, so I'll stick with that) The Blenheim was a straggler, returning from a raid on Wilhelmshaven, with engine troubles, which made it an obvious target for a nightfighter as it was lagging behind. It was a Blenheim MKIV T1895. Only the pilot, Sgt. John S Heape, miraculously survived the encounter with Gildners nightfighter. According to Heape one of the engines exploded shortly after Gildner fired into the Blenheim, with the blast knocking a large hole in the fuselage near the cockpit. It's through this hole Sgt. Heape in a semi-unconcious state kind of fell/stumbled out of the airplane and somehow managed to open his parachute...and lived to tell the tale.
Sofar details on Gildners' BF-110 appear to be rather sketchy. Subtype is uncertain (a good guess can be made though), werk.nr unknown. I've been told that in "Zerstörer und Nachtjagdverbände, Teil 1" by Meyer Stipdonk, p.62. there is supposed to be a pic of G9+HM sitting on the apron at Schiphol airport in mid-late '41 which is as close as I've come to finding pic's of what most likely was Gildners plane. I don't have this book and haven't been able to buy it as it seems to be sold out everywhere I've looked, but according to a description I got of the pic the aircraft in that particular picture has an extended rear fuselage, which would most likely make it a 'D' sub-type, or an early 'E' sub-type at best. Since 4./NJG.1 almost exclusively flew 'C' and 'D' types in early '41 (let alone an odd Dornier) I think assuming Gildner flew a 'D' sub-type would be a pretty decent educated guess. Its night black overall, and has light grey fuselage codes. That's what I've got to go on right now (a few night-time close-ups of a BF-110 that is said to be Gildners plane are also available, but little can be made of these in terms of specific visual features). So if someone is able to provide this Schiphol apron picture or has any other information concerning Gildner warhorse at the time it would be greatly appreciated. If not, pity, I'll have to make an educated guess instead.
Two nighttime close-ups of a BF-110 that is (in multiple sources) said to be Gildners plane. But to be honest, it could be just about anyones nightfighter as little details can be made out
-----------------
On to examining the kit of choice. I've been toying with the idea to do Gildners plane for quite some time and initially I wanted to do an Eduard kit, but recently I learned that Cyberhobby released a brand new BF-110D kit largely based on Dragon's recent 1/32 scale BF-110, and with an Eduard BF-110G kit already sitting in the stash, I decided to get the CyberHobby kit for this project. It also comes as a nightfighter kit OOB, so it suits requirements just a tad better. In addition it will be interesting to see how this new CyberHobby kit compares to the Eduard kit (when I get to that one sometime in the future)
While I was very much impressed by the Eduard kit from just looking at the sprues, the CyberHobby kit knocked me off my feet as well. A true miracle of injection-molded engineering if you ask me, that in certain areas even manages to out-class the Eduard kit (which of course doesn't mean one has to thrash the excellent Eduard kit, but there you go)
So what do you get? A few highlights:
- A huge box with (excuse my language) a sh*tload of plastic.
- Extremely nice engraved panel-lines, stunning details on the interior and exterior.
- 2 nicely detailed Daimler-Benz engines (I think I'll use only one on this kit)
- 2 trees of clear parts (one containing a 1-piece closed green-house style canopy and another containing all the separate clear parts needed to pose the canopy open in order to show off all the wonderful details on the inside.
- Injection molded FuG202 aerials
A cardboard piece with attached to it:
- A one-piece nose section with opened gun bay possibility (in which a nicely detailed 4-gun battery can be placed, they even managed to drill out the barrels on these guns)
- A small PE-fret with seatbelts and some other small thingy's
- Three separate small decal sets (one with all the stencils, a set with faulty marking/crosses and a corrected one with the right crosses/markings.
- A small bag containing PE pieces to do FuG202 Aerials from etched pieces. (Won't use any of the FuG202 equipment on this build though)
In short, just about everything a modeler could possibly ask for. My guess is aftermarket folks have to look real hard to find parts to upgrade. The only thing I can think of is the seats (which look kind of chubby and out of scale) and the exhaust stacks which aren't drilled out. Other then that, I think this kit can be turned into a stunning representation of a 110 nightfighter straight OOB.
-----------------
To conclude this lengthy start post a little insight into some of the aftermarket decals I'm going to use. Since Gildner's BF-110 isn't specifically covered on any decal sheet I've seen sofar I had to work this out. I ended up looking into various Owl-Decals sets and I figured that by combining two different Owl sets I'd be able to piece together the right fuselage code in the right colour. The good things about these Owl sets is they only cover one specific aircraft and as such come at a fair price without having most of it end up in the spares box. With more nightfighters due to be build, the remaining decals should come in handy somewhere down the line.
This will be my most ambitious project to date, and looking at all that plastic it will be an interesting ride for sure, but I'm looking forward to bringing a subject that is really appealing to me to life.
Jelmer
Name: Jelmer
Category: Intermediate
Model: Bf 110D 'nachtjäger'
Scale: 1:48
Manufacturer: CyberHobby
Aftermarket add-ons: two OWL-decals sets
-----------------
Well, since I've been looking for a lame excuse to start the build I joined this forum for in the first place I figured this Messerschmitt/Focke Wulf Group Build would be a good excuse to get this show on the road. Here's the story around the a/c I want to build. I was born and raised and still live nearby Leeuwarden RNAF Air force base which during WWII was extensively used by German Nightfighter units. I therefore admit to having a bit of a weak spot for nightfighters operating from Fliegerhorst Leeuwarden.
So, how to translate this weak spot for the Leeuwarden nightfighters into a suitable subject to build? So, it's of to do some reading. A very interesting 3-volume chronicle covering nightfighter operations over the Northern part of The Netherlands and from Fliegerhorst Leeuwarden in particular (of which the title translates into something like "Hornets nest Leeuwarden" although I'm unsure if these books have been translated into other languages) made me think the early days of the Leeuwarden nightfighters (and the nightfighter units in general) would be a good starting point. That kind of narrowed it down.
-----------------
So, what about them nightfighters? What would be an interesting situation to look into? Well I figured the German nightfighter units (among other things) are closely associated with the Himmelbett system. So how about looking into the first victory achieved by a Leeuwarden nightfighter with the help of a Himmelbett stellung. Note that is NOT the first nightfighter victory over The Netherlands, NOT the first from Leeuwarden, but the first victory by a Leeuwarden nightfighter with the assistance of a radar station on the ground that was part of the Himmelbett system.
-----------------
Paul Gildner.
This event just so happens to be described in fairly good detail in vol.1 of the book series I mentioned earlier. The date of the above mentioned event is the night of 28 Febr-1 March 1941. The German pilot involved was (at the time) Ofw. Paul Gildner (he went on to score nearly 50 victories until engine troubles with his brand new BF-110G killed him in febr '43). Various sources put Gildner and his radio operator Rudi Muller at the helm of a 4./NJG.1 BF-110 with registration G9+HM on the night of 28 Febr- 1 March 1941. Patrolling sector 'Löwe' (which became operational only a few weeks earlier) Gildner was guided to, made contact, and shot down a 105 Sqn Blenheim IV that crashed near the eastern outskirts of the city of Groningen. (note: I've been told the night fighter diaries tables apparently mention a Wellington, whereas the text says it's a Blenheim. Other sources also state it to be a Blenheim, so I'll stick with that) The Blenheim was a straggler, returning from a raid on Wilhelmshaven, with engine troubles, which made it an obvious target for a nightfighter as it was lagging behind. It was a Blenheim MKIV T1895. Only the pilot, Sgt. John S Heape, miraculously survived the encounter with Gildners nightfighter. According to Heape one of the engines exploded shortly after Gildner fired into the Blenheim, with the blast knocking a large hole in the fuselage near the cockpit. It's through this hole Sgt. Heape in a semi-unconcious state kind of fell/stumbled out of the airplane and somehow managed to open his parachute...and lived to tell the tale.
Sofar details on Gildners' BF-110 appear to be rather sketchy. Subtype is uncertain (a good guess can be made though), werk.nr unknown. I've been told that in "Zerstörer und Nachtjagdverbände, Teil 1" by Meyer Stipdonk, p.62. there is supposed to be a pic of G9+HM sitting on the apron at Schiphol airport in mid-late '41 which is as close as I've come to finding pic's of what most likely was Gildners plane. I don't have this book and haven't been able to buy it as it seems to be sold out everywhere I've looked, but according to a description I got of the pic the aircraft in that particular picture has an extended rear fuselage, which would most likely make it a 'D' sub-type, or an early 'E' sub-type at best. Since 4./NJG.1 almost exclusively flew 'C' and 'D' types in early '41 (let alone an odd Dornier) I think assuming Gildner flew a 'D' sub-type would be a pretty decent educated guess. Its night black overall, and has light grey fuselage codes. That's what I've got to go on right now (a few night-time close-ups of a BF-110 that is said to be Gildners plane are also available, but little can be made of these in terms of specific visual features). So if someone is able to provide this Schiphol apron picture or has any other information concerning Gildner warhorse at the time it would be greatly appreciated. If not, pity, I'll have to make an educated guess instead.
Two nighttime close-ups of a BF-110 that is (in multiple sources) said to be Gildners plane. But to be honest, it could be just about anyones nightfighter as little details can be made out
-----------------
On to examining the kit of choice. I've been toying with the idea to do Gildners plane for quite some time and initially I wanted to do an Eduard kit, but recently I learned that Cyberhobby released a brand new BF-110D kit largely based on Dragon's recent 1/32 scale BF-110, and with an Eduard BF-110G kit already sitting in the stash, I decided to get the CyberHobby kit for this project. It also comes as a nightfighter kit OOB, so it suits requirements just a tad better. In addition it will be interesting to see how this new CyberHobby kit compares to the Eduard kit (when I get to that one sometime in the future)
While I was very much impressed by the Eduard kit from just looking at the sprues, the CyberHobby kit knocked me off my feet as well. A true miracle of injection-molded engineering if you ask me, that in certain areas even manages to out-class the Eduard kit (which of course doesn't mean one has to thrash the excellent Eduard kit, but there you go)
So what do you get? A few highlights:
- A huge box with (excuse my language) a sh*tload of plastic.
- Extremely nice engraved panel-lines, stunning details on the interior and exterior.
- 2 nicely detailed Daimler-Benz engines (I think I'll use only one on this kit)
- 2 trees of clear parts (one containing a 1-piece closed green-house style canopy and another containing all the separate clear parts needed to pose the canopy open in order to show off all the wonderful details on the inside.
- Injection molded FuG202 aerials
A cardboard piece with attached to it:
- A one-piece nose section with opened gun bay possibility (in which a nicely detailed 4-gun battery can be placed, they even managed to drill out the barrels on these guns)
- A small PE-fret with seatbelts and some other small thingy's
- Three separate small decal sets (one with all the stencils, a set with faulty marking/crosses and a corrected one with the right crosses/markings.
- A small bag containing PE pieces to do FuG202 Aerials from etched pieces. (Won't use any of the FuG202 equipment on this build though)
In short, just about everything a modeler could possibly ask for. My guess is aftermarket folks have to look real hard to find parts to upgrade. The only thing I can think of is the seats (which look kind of chubby and out of scale) and the exhaust stacks which aren't drilled out. Other then that, I think this kit can be turned into a stunning representation of a 110 nightfighter straight OOB.
-----------------
To conclude this lengthy start post a little insight into some of the aftermarket decals I'm going to use. Since Gildner's BF-110 isn't specifically covered on any decal sheet I've seen sofar I had to work this out. I ended up looking into various Owl-Decals sets and I figured that by combining two different Owl sets I'd be able to piece together the right fuselage code in the right colour. The good things about these Owl sets is they only cover one specific aircraft and as such come at a fair price without having most of it end up in the spares box. With more nightfighters due to be build, the remaining decals should come in handy somewhere down the line.
This will be my most ambitious project to date, and looking at all that plastic it will be an interesting ride for sure, but I'm looking forward to bringing a subject that is really appealing to me to life.
Jelmer
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