AMP Focke Achgelis Fa 223 Drache Build in 1/72 Scale Part I

This is the Focke Achgelis Fa 223 from AMP, a limited-run kit released in 2018. The type first flew in August 1940 but only about 20 were produced.

Parts are presented on a total of five sprues. Many of these parts are delicate and form the intricate latticework for the rotor supports and interior structural framing. Mold lines are prominent and there is some flash, so all these parts will need clean-up before they can be used.

Helicopters models are not the same as a conventional aircraft without wings. The few I have built are surprisingly delicate and tend to take up quite a bit more room than you would expect. This one does not appear to be any different.

The interior framing is delicate but the parts fit together well. The area behind the pilot’s seat is difficult to see on the finished model but the forward section will be visible. I have added wiring for the instruments and rudder pedals.

The kit provides a good representation of the radial engine which is buried in the fuselage. Very little of this can be seen at all on the finished model so I didn’t add any extra wiring or details.

The interior was painted RLM 66. PE seatbelts are from Eduard

Another view of the interior. The instrument panels are just drybrushed which looks fine through the canopy.

The engine with a coat of paint. If the engine wasn’t provided in the kit I likely would not have bothered adding one as it is difficult to find an angle where any of it can be glimpsed.

The forward and aft sections of the fuselage have a gap between them which is joined by exposed structural latticework. I was under no illusions that these delicate parts would survive handling so I replaced the kit parts with bronze rod and Evergreen to give it strength.

This is the forward fuselage section with the kit supplied canopy masks and PE screen. The canopy is composed of four pieces and is the fit is tricky. I had problems with the vinyl masks lifting on the curved surfaces so I used those pieces as templates to cut masks from Tamiya tape.

Bf 109G Comparison Build – Hasegawa, Fine Molds, Tamiya, Eduard Kits – Part III

Messerschmitts on a stick! Here is the batch all primed up and ready for paint. The five G-6s which are being compared in this build are to the right, the other five are earlier versions of the 109 that somehow managed to tag along. Priming is the last chance to catch any bad seams or panel lines. One thing I am always on the lookout for are stray mold seams, these can often be found along the trailing edges and tail surfaces. I also try to drill out any needed holes at this stage to avoid potential damage to the paint later.

Here are the five G-6s under paint, Fine Molds, Tamiya, Eduard, Eduard, and Hasegawa left to right. This photo illustrates one of the potential efficiencies of building in batches of similar subjects – all of these models are painted in variations of the Luftwaffe 74 / 75 / 76 scheme. The common pallet saves significant time in clean up and prep as each color can be applied to multiple models at the same time.

This is the Fine Molds kit with a field applied scheme of RLM 74 over black with subdued markings for night operations. Sources were not specific as to the gray used on the upper surfaces so I went with the darker of the standard grays, RLM 74. The markings were blacked out with Mr. Color Tire Black, which was also mixed with Flat Black to lighten the distemper paint.

This is the Tamiya 109 wearing the standard 74 / 75 / 76 colors with 02 blotches, one of the schemes provided on the Eduard decal sheet. The white tail markings were used by flight leaders as an aid in gathering formations together.

Another scheme intended for night operations, this is RLM 76 with RLM 74 bands and black undersides. The yellow “1” was simple enough to mask off with tape. There is a similar scheme as one of the marking options on the Eduard decal sheet, this one is another JG 300 machine but has the Red Reich Defense band.

The group after the conclusion of the decal-a-thon. Messerschmitts have a lot of stencils which makes this job tedious. These markings are all from either EagleCals or the Eduard kit sheet. I experimented with removing the film from the Eduard decals with low-tack masking tape. This worked but I did tear a few of the markings themselves, likely as the result of the gloss coat underneath failing to adhere. I don’t see a real advantage of Eduard’s new decal type over those from a quality manufacturer such as Cartograph.

The design of Eduard’s landing gear allows the building of the complete assembly before it is attached to the model. This is novel so I thought I’d give it a try.

Here is the entire batch completed, Hasegawa, Fine Molds and Tamiya in the back row with the two Eduard kits in front. All the kits received Albion tube for the R6 gun pack barrels and pitot tubes. Radio ariels are my go-to Nitenol wire. So how do they compare?

SUMMARY

The Hasegawa kit is now 30 years old and is beginning to show its age. Not that it was a bad kit for its time but it has been clearly surpassed by the newer tools. Like most Hasegawa kits the deficiencies are most apparent in the cockpit area and the wheelwells, both of which are minimalist and lack any detail. The outlets on the coolers on the undersides have been simplified and are best cut out and replaced. The nose is slightly undersized, as are the fuselage bulges for the gun breeches. On the plus side fit is good and the kit goes together without any issues. If you are not too picky this kit can make for a quick “pallet cleanser” or a practice kit for a beginning modeler, but it won’t stand up to scrutiny without some extra work.

The Fine Molds kit has been my Messerschmitt of choice for almost two decades now, and there are still a few lurking in the stash. With the exception of the later tall-tail variants just about all the major versions from the F-series on are provided for. Cockpit detail is shallow and most modelers will want to make some enhancements here as this will be visible even on closed canopy builds, thanks to the flat panels on the canopy. The canopy is molded as a single piece, so if you want to pose it open, get out the razor saw. You’ll also need the saw to drop the slats and flaps, this is time-consuming and is always a tedious part of the build for me. Build ‘em if you’ve got ‘em, but not the kit to get now if you’re buying new.

The Tamiya G-6 is an excellent kit and a joy to build, it is everything you’d expect a kit from Tamiya to be. Cockpit detail is excellent right out of the box and the canopy can be posed open to show it all off. The landing gear is well detailed and the engineering ensures proper alignment, the only issue with this is the gear must be installed during the major construction which risks breakage. I’m not put off by this but others might be. Looking at the sprues Tamiya does not appear to be planning any other versions, so the G-6 is all we’re likely to get from them. There are not a lot of options there either. There is a drop tank but none of the fairly common R6 wing gun packs, the packs on this build are spares from Eduard kits. My biggest disappointment with this kit is the need to cut out the slats and flaps, a rather surprising omission from an otherwise excellent effort.

The Eduard kits are the most detailed Messerschmitts in the scale and represent the best value – my Dual Combo pack was less than $30 from Hannants. The decal sheet provides fourteen options with stencils which is almost worth the price alone. Also included are canopy masks and PE frets. The kit itself has parts for just about any option you’d want as well as spares for the tiniest of the fiddly bits – a nice touch. There will be plenty of parts left over for the spares box! Surface textures are outstanding and feature finely engraved rivets. The biggest innovation is the kit comes with separate slats and flaps for the first time, no more cutting. You will have to pay close attention to the instructions to get the most out of this build, many of the parts options are similar and PE is always tricky to work with, but the result is a gem of a model. You could make the argument the Eduard kit is over-engineered, but the true Messerschmitt aficionado will appreciate the attention to detail and the plethora of options provided in the box. This is a more complicated build than the Tamiya kit, but the Eduard kits are the best detailed and the best value for the money.

Part I here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2024/04/19/bf-109g-comparison-build-hasegawa-fine-molds-tamiya-eduard-kits-part-i/

Bf 109G Comparison Build – Hasegawa, Fine Molds, Tamiya, Eduard Kits – Part II

Hasegawa kits often feature a lack of detail in the wheelwells and very minimalist cockpits, their 1994 Bf 109 kits are no exception. Fortunately, there are some very good aftermarket options to enhance the kits, this is the resin set from Aeries which does the job nicely. The complete lack of any sidewall detail makes installing the resin set easier.

This is the Fine Molds cockpit with several added bits of Evergreen strip. The fuel line is made from solder, and the PE seatbelts are Eduard.

The Tamiya cockpit looks great right out of the box, I added a seat cushion made from masking tape and Eduard belts.

Many of the colored PE bits go into the Eduard’s cockpit. I added a seat cushion from masking tape. Eduard includes a fuel transfer tube on their clear sprue, but the diameter of this part is too great so I replaced it with solder.

Here are the fuselages all closed up, from the top Hasegawa, Fine Molds, Tamiya, and Eduard. The shapes of these are pretty close, but you can see the older kits are a little less “beefy” in the nose. I added hinges to the cowling panels of the Hasegawa and Fine Molds kits by pressing round stock in pliers with finely serrated faces to make the hinge detail.

All the kits except Eduard’s will require cutting loose the slats and flaps if you would like to pose these dropped, Eduard molds them as separate pieces. Here is the Tamiya wing with the slats and flaps sawed off.

The Tamiya kit requires the landing gear legs to be installed during construction, the extensions used for alignment are trapped behind a separate panel in the center of the wing. Many modelers would prefer to attach the legs after painting. I wanted to model my Tamiya G-6 with the R6 gun packs, the parts for those are not included in the Tamiya kit so I robbed a pair from unused Eduard sprues.

The Hasegawa kit has absolutely no wheelwell detail. Another area where this kit shows its age is the oil cooler and wing radiator flaps. Both are swept up to meet the surfaces above them instead of having openings at the rear. In both cases the surfaces were cut out with a razor saw and new flaps constructed with sheet styrene. The drop tank and rack will also be replaced with spare from the Eduard kit.

The Tamiya kit has excellent surface detail and builds up nicely. The only real issue is the slats and flaps are molded into the wings and must be cut loose to be posed naturally.

The only kit with separate slats and flaps is the Eduard molding. The kit also features a positionable canopy to better show off all that interior detail as well as a mask set. There are several extra parts on the sprues, which is quite handy when building Messerschmitts as many times the airframes were repaired or rebuilt and displayed variations in details.

Part III here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2024/05/03/bf-109g-comparison-build-hasegawa-fine-molds-tamiya-eduard-kits-part-iii/

Bf 109G Comparison Build – Hasegawa, Fine Molds, Tamiya, Eduard Kits – Part I

Another comparison build, and another excuse to build a batch of Messerschmitts! This time we’ll see how the new Eduard Gustavs stack up. The oldest kit here is the Hasegawa 1994 offering, it is not really a contender in light of the quality of newer offerings but it is a benchmark to see the progression of kit quality in the last 30 years. The Fine Molds 2005 family of Bf 109s have been my go-to selections, and my most-built kit ever with more than 70 in the case. Tamiya released their G-6 in 2019, it looks like what you would expect from Tamiya but I have not built one yet. Eduard’s 2023 kits are fresh out of the press, with two kits, PE, masks, and a generous decal sheet in the box they are a great value.

Here are the fuselage halves, Hasegawa on top, then Fine Molds, Tamiya, and Eduard. I will keep the H, FM, T, E order in these photos. The Hasegawa kit has a separate tail section to allow for the standard and tall tails. All the kits handle the nose gun bulges differently. Hasegawa molds the bulges as separate pieces, Fine Molds incorporates the forward part of the bulge into separate cowling sides and molds the rear of the bulges as separate pieces. Tamiya also molds the cowling sides separately but includes the entire bulge. Edward molds the bulges as individual pieces which fit into recesses. Fine Molds has cowling panels which are specific to the sub-variant so they can cover the whole family but Tamiya only kits the G-6. Eduard went the other direction, issuing kits for all the variants but cutting new molds for each.

Lower wing panels, H, FM, T, E top to bottom. Hasegawa has taken some liberties with the radiator flaps, sweeping them up to meet the wing trailing edge with no opening to the rear. The Fine Molds radiator flaps must be cut loose if you want to pose them down, both Tamiya and Eduard flaps can be bent down. Tamiya and Eduard both offer wheelwell details which include the limber holes, on Fine Molds these are represented by depressions and Hasegawa doesn’t have them at all. The missing panel in the center of the Tamiya wing is there to trap extensions on the landing gear legs which ensures their proper alignment.

These are the upper wing panels and their undersides which show details molded into the wheel well roofs. The wings are similarly engineered with the exception of the Eduard wings on the bottom. When Messerschmitts are on the ground the leading-edge slats extend, and it is almost impossible to find a photograph without the three trailing-edge flaps in various degrees of deflection. Eduard is the only manufacturer to mold these surfaces as separate pieces, and therefore the only kit to allow for a realistic wing configuration without cutting.

Landing gear components, H, FM, T, E. Proper landing gear alignment on the 109 can be tricky, both Tamiya and Edward have added extensions to the gear legs to help in getting this right. The quality of the components improves as time goes on.

Likewise, the drop tanks get better as well. Eduard and Fine Molds each have the two most common types of drop tanks. Eduard also includes a bomb as well, with the appropriate rack which goes with it.

A comparison of the propellers and spinners. An interesting observation is the spinners (and forward fuselages) increase in diameter as the kits get newer. This can even be seen in the photo.

Cockpits also improve over time. The Hasegawa cockpit at top is the most basic, and is best replaced. Fine Molds is an improvement, but even with a closed canopy much of this will be visible so some extra detailing work will pay off. Both the Tamiya and Eduard cockpits look good out of the box and only a few minor tweaks really make them pop.

Sidewall detail, H, FM, T, E. The Hasegawa 109 has no sidewall detail at all, but the advantage of this is it is the easiest to enhance with an aftermarket cockpit set. Fine Molds has shallow details, I find it best to build out the FM cockpits with Evergreen strips. Both the Tamiya and Eduard kits have excellent details. The Eduard kits enhance this with painted photoetch or decals, modeler’s choice. What is not used to detail the Eduard cockpits can be used on the others.

Assembled cockpit tubs out of the box. Both the Tamiya and Eduard tubs are designed to be inserted after the fuselage sides are closed up.

This is the Fine Molds fuselage with some basic enhancements made from Evergreen strip. The Bf 109 canopy is comprised of flat panels so the interior will be visible even on a closed canopy build. This really doesn’t take that long, especially on a batch build, and enhances the appearance considerably.

Here are the painted cockpit tubs, Eduard, Tamiya, and Fine Molds, left to right. There are differences for sure, but they all came out well.

Part II here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2024/04/26/bf-109g-comparison-build-hasegawa-fine-molds-tamiya-eduard-kits-part-ii/

Italeri Henschel Hs 129 Build in 1/72 Scale Part II

The model assembles well and quickly, there was a little filler needed to blend the wheel wells but nothing major, and some sanding around the inner wing joints.

Priming revealed the need for only minor tweaks, but I did get a “ghost seam” along part of the fuselage seam later. The yellow ID markings were applied over a white base.

Masking the Luftwaffe splinter schemes is always time-consuming, I use a set of draftsman’s proportional dividers to speed up the work. Here is the model at the point of maximum masking.

The standard Hs 129 scheme was the 65 / 70 / 71 splinter. In this case there were some previous codes on the fuselage sides which had been roughly painted out with 71, I masked these off with liquid mask and removed the masks with tape. The Mr. Color 71 looks a little too light to my eye, so I have darkened it with some 70. The model has been sprayed with Testors GlossCote in preparation for decals.

Markings are from Excito sheet ED72004 and performed flawlessly. This kit builds up quickly and with few surprises. I would not hesitate to build a few more, and the Hs 129 wore some interesting desert camo schemes which look like they would be fun to try!

Part I here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2024/04/05/italeri-henschel-hs-129-build-in-1-72-scale-part-i/

Italeri Henschel Hs 129 Build in 1/72 Scale Part I

Italeri introduced their Hs 129 kit in 1995 and it was almost immediately re-boxed by both Revell and Tamiya. Tamiya re-boxes Italeri kits for the Japanese domestic market and are the same Italeri tooling, so don’t be confused into thinking they are Tamiya molds.

Molding is sharp and all the panel lines are recessed. Fabric effects on the control surfaces are a little overdone but this is not difficult to correct if you desire. The Hs 129 was small for a twin-engined type and the kit has a low parts count so construction should go quickly. I pre-painted the props and wheels while building a previous batch of kits, that might save a little time but there is always a risk of mis-placing parts so I’m not sure it’s a good idea.

The cockpit as rather basic and has some prominent ejector pin marks. I added some basic structural details like the missing side consols and rudder pedals. I will take the easy way out and cover the pin mark in the seat with a cushion made from masking tape. The Hs 129 cockpit was cramped and this will be a closed canopy build so I’m not going nuts here.

Belts are Eduard PE. This should be sufficiently detailed with the canopy closed.

The engines are basic but look good under a wash. This is one area where an aftermarket set would be an improvement.

The nose is too narrow, but this is easy to correct by inserting a few sheets of plastic card. I have filled the resulting gaps with superglue. The only trick in this case is to make sure the fuselage is not widened at the cockpit so that the canopy fits properly.

I cut canopy masks from Tamiya Tape which is not a big chore on such a simple canopy. The edges are blackened with a Sharpy which prevents the “fiber optic” effect of the mating surfaces showing glue.

Part II here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2024/04/12/italeri-henschel-hs-129-build-in-1-72-scale-part-ii/

ICM Focke Wulf Fw 189 Uhu Build in 1/72 Scale Part III

Priming revealed relatively few seams to re-fill, so I proceeded to paint the yellow identification panels. I base coated these with white as the yellow really doesn’t cover very well on its own.

Here is the model at maximum mask. The German splinter patterns were not random, they followed a standardized plan. Hours of masking, minutes of painting.

The standard Luftwaffe bomber camouflage scheme was a 65 / 70 / 71 splinter pattern, transports and reconnaissance type were also painted this way, as were fighter types for the first few months of the war. This lasted until the last year of the war when the colors shifted to the late-war greens, but few types other than fighters were being built by then. RLM 70 and 71 have a similar appearance in photographs and it’s often difficult to see the difference. I think the Mr. Color 71 is a bit too light, here I have darkened it with some 70.

I have posed the model with open canopies to better show the interior, but quite a bit is visible through the clear parts in any case. Definitely the most challenging part of this build, there are fourteen parts to the canopy before any cutting needed to open the panels up.

Here is the finished model. I like the looks of the Fw 189, but I would not recommend this kit to the novice. The molding is great but the canopy is complex and difficult to assemble. I am tempted to give the kit another try at some point, there are a few interesting camo schemes and I would hope to get a better result with the lessons learned from this one. The Bv 141 used a very similar crew nacelle, if there is ever a new mold of that aircraft I would be obliged to try it as well.

Construction Part I here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2024/03/15/icm-focke-wulf-fw-189-uhu-build-in-1-72-scale-part-i/

ICM Focke Wulf Fw 189 Uhu Build in 1/72 Scale Part II

The canopy is by far the most challenging part of this build. There are fourteen sections in all, and many of them mate with each other which is often a recipe for disaster. I am planning to display several of these sections open to show off the interior, and this has the added benefit of helping to conceal some of the fit issues. I don’t like the way the clear parts are designed on this kit.

The fit of the wheel wells also left something to be desired. I had assembled the sections but the fit to the fuselage was so bad I thought that maybe I had mated the wrong halves together so I cut them apart only to discover they fit better in the original paring. With some sanding and liquid glue I finally got them pretty close. I positioned the flaps slightly deflected, I had originally intended to replace these with the Eduard PE set. I found the Eduard instructions difficult to understand, and this was exasperated by the flap parts being mislabeled on the ICM instructions. The deciding factor was the location of the flaps and the need to incorporate them early in the build which makes it unlikely PE flaps would have survived the construction process anyway.

Here is a comparison of the CMK resin wheels and props (on top) to the ICM kit parts on the bottom.

The instructions have you build up the kit into assemblies, this photo mimics the step in the instructions where you put everything together. The CMK resin engine set is supposedly designed specifically for this kit, but it was at this point that I realized that it would not fit without major surgery to the front of one of the booms. That might have been possible before the parts were assembled but looked really risky at this stage of construction, plus the inside of the wheelwell would need some additional work when done. I took the easier path and put the resin engine in the spares box along with the PE flaps.

The model is surprisingly big when assembled. There were some fit issues where the booms join the core assembly, and I trimmed off most of the alignment structures to get the engine nacelles to snuggle down. This is proving to be a challenging model.

Construction Part III here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2024/03/29/icm-focke-wulf-fw-189-uhu-build-in-1-72-scale-part-iii/

ICM Focke Wulf Fw 189 Uhu Build in 1/72 Scale Part I

The ICM Fw 189 kit was released in 2016 and has been re-issued with new decals in several boxings. I bought this one when it was first issued but it has never quite made it to the bench despite being a rather unique subject. The design of the original has the potential to offer some modeling challenges with the twin booms and extensive glazing, but we’ll see what we can make of it!

The parts are well-molded with fine details and recessed panel lines. The ICM parts rival the fidelity of the major Japanese brands, if the fit proves half as good as the molding this will build up into an excellent model. The two mini-sprues at the top contain options for the defensive armament. Four bombs are provided for underwing stores.

The kit design breaks the aircraft into sub-assemblies which all build up around a center section containing the crew nacelle. This will require some care with alignment, especially considering the twin booms.

The kit has managed to attract a multitude of aftermarket sets, some of these will be more useful than others.

The first step is building out the cockpit, and this is where a number of the photoetch goodies are intended to go. PE parts are a mixed blessing in my opinion, and I decided that several were not worth the effort. As examples, I replaced all the fold-a-box PE parts with plastic stock cut to the same dimensions, and I saw no advantage in bending up the photo etch MG magazines when compared to the kit parts. One odd omission in the kit design is the wheelwells were open to the inside of the wings, a no-no if you plan on taking a model to the shows.

This is the interior all painted up. I use three shades of RLM 66 to build up some depth to the interior; black shot into the recesses, RLM 66 to cover the sides, and a lightened mixture sprayed from directly above. This produces an artificial shadowing effect which adds depth.

A view from the other side. I used a black wash in the nooks & crannies and drybrushed silver to simulate wear and pick up the details. The Eduard color PE set really helps spruce things up. I plan to open up some of the canopy panels, but there are so many flat panels on this aircraft that much of the interior should be visible in any case.

I have two resin aftermarket sets which add engine details, both from CMK. The set on the left will allow the entire engine to be seen with the cowling panels open. The smaller partial engines on the right are designed to be seen through the openings in the front of the cowlings.

Part II here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2024/03/22/icm-focke-wulf-fw-189-uhu-build-in-1-72-scale-part-ii/

Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse Comparison Build Part III

Here is the Airfix Hornisse under a coat of primer, if you look closely you can see a few areas where I have re-filled seams with Mr. Surfacer 500. There are always a few spots which need a little extra attention, that may just be a me thing but I always find a few spots to fill or re-scribe.

The undersides have been sprayed and the Grauviolett has been applied to the uppersurfaces. The fuselage sides were masked with poster putty and the splinters with Tamiya tape. After the Graugrün has been painted I’ll go back and fill in the mottles and touch-ups.

It looks like the vast majority of Me 410s were delivered in the standard Luftwaffe day fighter scheme of RLM 74 / 75 / 76. There are some profiles using other colors but looking at original photos I find these unconvincing. The Me 410 looks good in the grays, I always enjoy the painting process as this is where a model starts to look like something to me.

Decals for all four builds came from Xtradecals sheet 72286, these were printed by MicroScale and go on without any drama. The Airfix kit decals use orange instead of yellow for the fuel triangles, also the spirals for the spinners did not fit well. Swastikas were sourced from the spares box.

Panel lines were washed with a dark gray on the undersides and black on the uppers. I try to attach everything I can that isn’t easy to break off before applying the flat coat, the flat helps bend in all the paint on the small bits and hides any stray glue marks. Also, the clear coats act like a weak form of glue and helps attach the parts.

Summary

Fine Molds

The Fine Molds Me 410 was released in 1996 and is a good kit for that era. There were multiple boxings issued, many of these simply had different decal sheets. The kit decals in all three of my examples were the thick type with creamy whites found in many Japanese kits, the only items I found of any use were some of the instrument decals. The cockpit detail is adequate but the cockpit decking should have some detail added as this will be visible on the finished model. The wing leading edge slats should be cut out so they can be shown dropped, this is the normal configuration when the aircraft is on the ground. The kit has sharp trailing edges on the wings and tail surfaces, the only fit issue I encountered was the need to fill the seam at one of the wingroots. The Fine Molds kit is still quite buildable so I wouldn’t rush out to the vendor’s room to sell mine if I still had any in my stash.

Airfix

The Airfix kit took everyone by surprise. Just this week Eduard released a kabuki tape mask set for this kit (you’re welcome), but don’t waste your money on the KV masks as they don’t fit and wouldn’t stick if they did. Being a new mold the details are sharp and the fit is excellent, the only need for improvement I saw was the wing trailing edges required some thinning. Cockpit detail is excellent, you may only want to add some belts to give it a finished look. The control surfaces are positionable in and of themselves or provided with optional parts for an alternative position and this includes the leading-edge slats and radiator flaps. Drop tanks are included for the wings, but I replaced mine with spares from Fine Molds Bf 109s as these looked slightly better. Neither kit included rocket launchers which would have been a nice touch. Due mainly to all the optional parts the Airfix kit has a higher parts count than the Fine Molds, and being a newer tool the details are a little sharper. The kit decals are also sharp and printed well with all the stencils represented. I found the fuel triangles to be too orange for my liking though, and the spinner spirals did not fit well. I liked the Airfix instructions, the one nit-pick here is the colors are all called out as numbers; it turns out these reference Humbrol paints, and there is no Humbrol to English dictionary included anywhere so if you don’t know 62 means brown you may be left scratching your head. In all I’d rate the Airfix kit the better of the two so if you’re in the market for a new Me 410 kit this is the one to look for.