Mistel S1
ICM (48101)
1:48

Mistel (German for "mistletoe", a parasitic plant) was the larger, unmanned component of a composite aircraft configuration developed in Germany during the later stages of World War II. The composite comprised a small piloted control aircraft mounted above a large explosives-carrying drone, the Mistel, and as a whole was referred to as the Huckepack ("Piggyback"), also known as the Beethoven-Gerät ("Beethoven Device") or Vati und Sohn ("Daddy and Son").

The most successful of these used a modified Junkers Ju 88 bomber as the Mistel, with the entire nose-located crew compartment replaced by a specially designed nose filled with a large load of explosives, formed into a shaped charge. The upper component was a fighter aircraft, joined to the Mistel by struts. The combination would be flown to its target by a pilot in the fighter; then the unmanned bomber was released to hit its target and explode, leaving the fighter free to return to base. The first such composite aircraft flew in July 1943 and was promising enough to begin a programme by Luftwaffe test unit KG 200, code-named "Beethoven", eventually entering operational service.

There proved a slew of Mistletoe derivatives (some realized and others only planned) including the Bf 109F-4/Ju 88A-4 combination under the name of "Mistel 1". The Mistel S1 was to be its trainer platform as such a composite aircraft required specific training in the handling and release of the large payload. It is this combination that ICM have based their new "composite" kit on..

ICM have proven themselves to be quite adept at combining two (or more) kits from their extensive catalog in order to form a simple "group" boxing (eg figures + aircraft) or in this case a completely different (and somewhat unique) subject.

In the box of this new Mistel S1 kit we find two full aircraft kits. ICM's own 2006 tooled Bf109F-4 and their newer 2016 tooled Ju88A-4. A separate small sprue contains the mounting frame used to join the Bf109 and Ju88 to each other to form the Mistel composite aircraft.

First up let's take a closer look at the Bf109F-4 Huckepack ("Piggyback") aircraft. Being a 2006 tooling my expectations were not high and you can see pretty much straight away that the detail on the fuselage looks quite sharp but there is not a lot of it. Of course it's not entirely fair to compare this kit with the likes of Eduard's newer 109 family, but as you will see shortly the quality of the ICM 109 goes downhill from here so you may find yourself considering a replacement.

The finish on the upper wings looks to be about the same as the fuselage, that is to say smooth and sharp. Its when we look at the lower wings that things start to turn nasty.

Zooming in on the lower wing, you can clearly see the surface has a very rough, almost "frosted" look to it. This is not a visual anomaly because running the tip of my finger over the surface I could easily feel the coarseness. Likewise the panel line detail is imprecise and vague. As an example notice how the circles are not really circular, that is to say the look more like a series of lines joined roughly together.

Likewise the outer lower wing reveals many of the same surface issues and I believe would require some serious sanding and re-scribing to bring it up to standard. My comments may seem harsh but I know how good the Ju88 tooling is in this kit so I think it's worth pointing out that the 109F-4 kit does not compare.

The 109F-4 clear parts are nicely molded and appear crystal clear and blemish free. From the assembly instructions it appears that the canopy is not designed to be displayed open but given 109 canopies are hinged at the side it should not be hard to make that adjustment should you wish.

By modern standards, the ICM 109F-4 cockpit is pretty basic. If you choose to leave the canopy closed it probably won't be that big an issue, just keep it in mind when deciding open or closed.\

As the original 109F-4 kit was never designed for retracted undercarriage, ICM have included a set of "dummy halves" for the main gear doors and wheels on sprue H. The need to do this clearly shows that the ICM kits main wheel wells are not deep enough in the first place. If you decide to have the gear extended then just use the parts from the original 109F-4 sprues B & C rather than theis new "wheels up" option.

For the Mistel itself, aka the larger unmanned component of this composite aircraft configuration, ICM have included their Ju88A-4 kit. Tooled in 2015, the ICM Ju88 is easily the best offering in 1/48 with the only real competition being the much older (1993) vintage Dragon Ju88 family. I previously undertook a detailed review of the ICM Ju88D-1 and found it be a truly excellent kit in all respects.

The ICM Ju88 kit sports many features straight out of the box such as full engine detailing with precision tooled parts and finely recessed surface panel/rivet detail.

Like most medium bombers of WW2, the Ju88 had a lot of glass in and around the crew compartment. I was most interested in how all these clear parts would fit. The good news is they fit like a glove. Literally no gaps and they simply click into place. At the sight of all that masking I also weakened and purchased the Eduard pre-cut masking set.

The support bracing that joined the two aircraft together consisted of two main struts on either side of the fuselage mounted into the wing roots. Additionally a V brace was fitted between the two main struts and fixed to the top of the fuselage. For the fighter tail a single thin strut was fixed just in front of the tailwheel.

To accomodate the various support braces, receiving holes need to drilled at specific location on the underside of the 109 and upperside of the Ju88 fuselage and wing roots. The ICM instructions are quite specific with measurements in millimeters supplied to be measured from specified datum points on the airframe.

Sprue H is provided separately from the two bagged aircraft kits in the box. All the parts that are specific to the Mistel S1 composite are on this sprue.

Close up wartime photos of the Mistel support frames show how control wires and fuel pipes (the 109 could use fuel from the Ju88 tanks) ran along the struts between the aircraft. ICM obviously provides non of this detail and the modeller will need to add themselves using wire and tape (should they so desire).

A final closeup of the support braces, including the included "wheel blank" which is designed to be used for a wheels up configuration. Note that their seem to be plenty of period photos that show the undercarriage extended on the Huckepack ("Piggyback") aircraft, at least when on the ground.

Markings are provided for two Mistel S1 options, both with essentially the same paint schemes as not a lot of variety existed on these training airframes. The prototype Mistel S1 ‘Beethoven’ combinations, used a Bf 109F-4 coupled with a Ju 88A-4. The combination proved favourable, with performance, control and functioning all acceptable.

The decals for both aircraft are supplied on a single large sheet. ICM homegrown decals are known to perform well and from my examination of this sheet I saw no blemishes or printing issues. Swastikas for the vertical tail are provided on the sheet broken into halves (as seems to be common these days).