The Messerschmitt Bf-110 was
designed to be the German long distance fighter, but something happened between
the concept and the execution. The
Zerstrorer concept was flawed from the beginning however the Bf-110 was a
successful design in another role as night fighter.
This 192 page hard cover book starts with the Bf-110B and follows the
evolution of this fighter through the E series.
Every change is documented in some of the best drawings I’ve ever come
across of the Bf-110.
John Vasco is well known for
being an acknowledged Bf-110 expert. This
book is his culmination of work on the early Bf-110.
The photos contained in this book are absolutely marvelous. Most of the photos are black and white and most are
previously unpublished. The color
photos are impressive as well. All
the photos are large and crystal clear, absolutely perfect for the modeler.
There is nothing left to the imagination here.
There are a lot of photos from the servicing manual, mechanics and
pilot’s handbook. These wartime illustrations and photos contribute an added
dimension to the book. One series
of color photos is taken from a 16mm film taken by the Vultee Aircraft
Corporation of a captured 110.
So how does it read?
Well it reads well but if you are looking for a dissertation on the
Bf-110 this is not it. The value
comes with the captions for each photo. That
is where the real information is. I
don’t say this in a negative light at all, quite the opposite.
I think this allows more information to be contained and explained.
This book is about the evolution of the Bf-110 not the infighting within
the Luftwaffe. If you want to know
about the Messerschmitt Bf-110 then this is THE ONLY book you will need.
The Fernando Estanislau
drawings are first rate and exceptionally well done.
Every nuance of the airplane is covered.
There are no full color profiles of operational machines, instead he
decided to focus on the airframe. The
profiles are all done in a RLM 76 base color so the differences are the focus of
the profiles and not which color is correct here or there.
As an example, the much talked about wheel size is illustrated quite
clearly as is everything else from the glass cockpit to the internal parts of
the airframe.
There is a chapter on
camouflage that does show the evolution of camouflage schemes which will be
essential to any modeler. The
photos tell the real story of the camouflage and its applications as the
aircraft developed. There are a lot
of interesting schemes to the Bf-110. The
camouflage drawings cover the basic schemes but the photos show how these could
be overpainted and changed to suit the operational environment.
If you want to build the Eduard
series of Bf-110s or the new Dragon 1/32nd scale offering, this book
is essential. Let me say it again,
this is THE book on the early
Bf-110s. I personally hope there is
another book in the future on the F and G series. I can’t say enough good things about this book.
It is a great resource. Sure
it would have been nice to have some color profiles but the book does not suffer
from them not having them. There
are plenty of photos to motivate the modeler and information for the aviation
historian.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to Aeroplane Books for
the review copy. You can obtain
your copy from them at www.aeroplanebooks.com
or by calling them at 1-800-673-1307. Make
sure you tell them you heard about it here.
Floyd
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