1:48 Me – 110 G-2

The Zerstörer that became a bomber hunter

The twin-engine Messerschmitt came about as a heavy escort fighter with long range. Over England, though, it turned out that it could not hold up against nimble single-seat opponents, and so other work was sought for it. From 1943 the G version found it in the daylight defense of the Reich: with DB 605 engines and underslung rockets of 21 centimeter caliber it was to break up a tight formation of American bombers so that the individual machines could then be attacked.

A cockpit where masking takes longer than spraying

The glazing over the crew is almost as long as half the fuselage and breaks up into a row of narrow panes divided by thin frames. Anyone cutting them out of tape himself cuts dozens of strips and has to keep every one the same width, or the frame will come out thick in one place and thin in another. A pre-cut sheet saves that part of the work: a part is peeled off, laid on the glass and pressed down with a fingernail.

Both sides of the glazing

The package allows for the outer and the inner surface. The inner parts are applied before the fuselage is closed and they protect the reverse of the glass while the interior is sprayed and during the final overcoat. Without them a faint hint of the shade stays on the inside, and once the cockpit is glued up nobody can reach it.

• 1:48 scale, with the aircraft itself not included
• the frames of the roof section and of the side panes
• film held by pressure, leaving no sticky residue when lifted
• this line holds no decals and no metal parts

The cut matches the division of the glazing on the kit by Revell. Every mold divides the cockpit a little differently, so on a casting from another brand the masks usually overlap the frame or, conversely, leave a strip of glass uncovered.