Eduard Dornier Do.17Z-2 (for ICM) 1:48

[Mike]

Dornier Do.17Z-2 (for ICM)

1:48 Eduard

 

 

The Happy Times for the modeller of the Flying Pencil in 1:48 continue with the day-bomber variant of the Do.17Z, which shares a great degree of commonality of parts with the Do.17Z-10 nightfighter sets we reviewed last year here. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between.

 

 

Interior (49790)

There's a fair amount of glazing in the glass-nosed bomber, so the cockpit will be quite visible after building. This set contains one sizeable fret of nickel-plated and pre-painted brass plus another in bare brass, with a full suite of new pre-painted instrument panel skins that are either single layer, or made up from laminations to give a 3D look to the instrument dials. This includes a number of black boxes, as well as detail to both the sidewalls and the rear bulkhead. The throttle quadrant is skinned with a more detailed pre-painted part, and has various levers added in different colours added to the slots to give the area more life. The pilot's chair and radar operator's work-stations are updated with floor plates, rudder pedals for the pilot, and other sundry equipment not included with the kit. Finally, the twin drum magazines for the rearward facing machine gun are skinned at the front, and given more realistic carry-handles to replace the moulded-in ones.

 

 

 

 

Seatbelts STEEL (49789)

This set includes three sets of seatbelts for the crew in the new super-fine and flexible steel format, pre-painted and nickel plated for realism.  They should drape much better over the seats than the old brass belts, which couldn't be annealed due to their painted finish.

 

 

 

Exterior & Bomb Bay (48896)

Consisting of two bare brass frets, sheet one of this set concentrates almost entirely on the wheel bays, adding missing detail to the bulkheads plus the intricate latticework inside the bays and wing structure, plus more seen within the wing/fuselage join in the bomb bay, with hinge and structural details added to the bay doors. Those last parts will be better seen than in the night fighter if you care to open the bay to show off your handiwork. The final few parts are used to improve the detail of the landing gear legs, and provides additional bracing for the kit mud-guard.

 

 

The second fret covers the bomb "ladder" racks in detail, adding substantial detail within bay, and including bomb shackles, plus PE fins for the 10 bombs included in the kit, plus a template for their installation, and a fuse cap for each one.  The relief on the fins is pressed out using the tip of a ball-pen before they are added to the bomb bodies.

 

 

 

Landing Flaps (48897)

Another single large fret containing all the parts necessary to mobilise the flaps that take up the rear of the wing inboard of the ailerons, and identical to the Z-10 variant. The work starts by removing the rear of the nacelles that move with the flaps, and then removing part of the off-cut which won't be seen in the retracted position. Then the trailing edge of the inner wing panel is removed and consigned to the bin on each side. The flap bays are then folded up from a single part, which is a surprisingly easy task. An additional rib is added between the front and back bulkheads, and the assembly can then be glued inside the wing, taking care to achieve good fit. The flap itself is then built in the same way, only with the addition of two stringers and a string of 1.6mm diameter rods in 6.2mm lengths to fit between the leading edge of the ribs. Each joint between the stringers and ribs has a tiny diamond-shaped strengthening plate added, after which it can be installed on the wing, gluing the remainder of the aft engine nacelle fairing in place so that it matches the rest of the nacelle. Clearly, this is done in mirror image for the other wing.

 

Canopy Masks (EX528)

With the nose glazing, there's even more glass in the day bomber, so a set of masks may be just what the doctor ordered. In this set of pre-cut kabuki tape masking material, you get enough parts for every pane of the canopy and nose, including the rear gunner's blown window and the additional windows under the nose on the gunner's gondola. As a bonus, you also have a set of wheel hub masks, and that includes the tail wheel.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of