S u m m a r y
Stock Number and Description	Heavy Steel-Schatton Modellbau item number 4869 - 1/48 scale German BK. 5 with gun pack
Media and Contents:	Brass and resin
Price:	€8,50 Euros available online from Schatton Modellbau
Scale:	1/48
Review Type:	First Look
Advantages:	Metal barrel means no seams to clean up, excellent detail, relatively easy to install.
Disadvantages:
Recommendation:	Recommended

 

The Messerschmitt Me 410 was the culmination of various improvements made to the troubled Me 210. It resulted in an aircraft that wasn’t spectacular, but it was free of any major vices.  

To get the aeroplane to fulfil different roles, many modifications were made, one of them being the subject of this review. 

The supplied product allows the builder to create a specialized “bomber killer” in the form of the Me 410B-2/U4. The 50mm BK 5 cannon was mounted beneath the aircraft and carried 21 rounds in an internal weapons bay. 

Naturally the Monogram/Revell offering is the kit of choice for this conversion.

If the modeller feels adventurous, the gun can be used for other versions of this aircraft but that would require additional surgery. 

The presented barrel is a lovely piece of engineering. As expected, it is perfectly straight with a nice deep opening at the “business” end. The side holes are especially well done, these being drilled completely through the walls. The best thing about using metal in this way is that there are no seams. Thus there isn’t any chance of malformation due to sanding. 

The “pod” is resin and this was found to be flawless. There were no air bubbles and more importantly…no distortion. The part is not a solid casting as its interior is conveniently hollowed out. This will help immensely when it comes to refining the edges to allow a sound mating to the kit fuselage. 

Care should be exercised in this area as the light colour of the medium in which the part is cast makes seeing the detail difficult. A good light will be needed to separate the useable item from the surplus casting material. 

The Umrüst-Bausätze that was supplied to the forward maintenance units contained a ZFR 4a gun sight. A detailed representation of this item in resin would have been nice but sadly one will not find it in the package. 

The engraved detail is up to the same standard as that of the plastic kit and so won’t look out of place on the finished model.

 

 

Conclusion

 

These up gunned aircraft will continue to be a favourite amongst those wanting to build the unusual. The modeller can pick a subject that won’t be in everyone’s collection and employ some basic conversion skills along the way. 

Recommended

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A full pricelist is supplied via Schatton's website
http://www.modellbau-schatton.privat.t-online.de and ordering is via Email.
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