The Little World

You might be surprised at a family connection with a German night fighter, but there is one.

Not my family – the wife’s uncle. A Mosquito pilot in the RAF in 1944, he was on night-fighter patrol over France when he encountered a Messerschmitt 410 Hornisse. He shot it down, the thing was confirmed on the ground – and duly written into his service record and pilot’s log. The following night he was shot down himself by German flak.

He survived, evaded capture, and eventually returned to Great Britain. They wouldn’t allow him to fly over the continent after that because of his experiences with the Resistance. But we’ve got his log book and records here to verify the incidents.

The kit was in a stash sale by a friend and he kindly reduced it slightly to me. It was unboxed – but he had the front and rear cardboard of the Italeri package as reference. Also an Eduard masking set for the canopy and wheels.

The instructions are old Italeri, but adequate. The colour call-out is basic, but as I have no other details of the exact Me 410, I shall go with the generic scheme suggested. The decals are a patchwork from different kits.