Luft '46 Dornier DO 335 B-8 High-altitude Nightfighter

[billn53]

I think night fighters are sexy as Hell, especially German night fighters. So, here is what I have planned for my next build:

 

Dragon's DO 335 B-6 Pfeil (Arrow) night fighter:

 

 

 

modified to create the wide-span, high-altitude B-8 version using select parts borrowed from this kit:

 

 

 

Here is the parts breakdown:

 

 

 

I will also be using a small amount of aftermarket, in particular, a fret of PE from Eduard.

 

Two fairly-well detailed engines are provided, but I will pass on those to make this a relatively quick build, and also to ensure I have enough room for the nose weight that will be needed. Thus, I began construction with the cockpit. 

 

   

 

The seat belts are Eduard "super fabric". Much easier to handle than the more common PE items.

 

The pilot's office, nearly complete. All I need to add are the gun sight and the left side panel engine controls:

 

   

 

The radar operator's tiny nook:

 

   

 

Dry fit to check for problems:

 

 

 

 

 

The gap forward of the instrument panel is correct, and will be visible with the canopy in place. With a bit of luck, I will be able to add more detail (instrument backs & cables) as in this photo:

 

 

 

That's all for now!

 

 

Edited February 20, 2018 by billn53

[Gondor44]

Think I will follow this build seeing that I have both of the kits that your starting with. Hope I can pick up any tips and pitfalls along the way.

 

Gondor

[billn53]

I'm making good progress on my Arrow night fighter, here's the weekend update:

 

Finished up the cockpit with exception of the gunsight, which I'll add later to keep it from breaking off during construction. Those tiny engine control levers were a real pain to put in place!

 

 

 

With the cockpit ready, I was nearly ready to close up the fuselage. But first I had to add weight to the nose to prevent a tail-sitter. 15 grams should do. Note the strip of white plastic I added along the bottom edge of the forward fuselage. The kit has no guide tabs there and it appeared to me that gluing the two nose halves together might be a problem:

 

 

 

I had to do the same along the bottom of the aft fuselage:

 

 

 

Despite my precautions, the fit on the fuselage left a lot to be desired. I foresee a lot of time with putty and sanding sticks:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But, before tackling that chore, I took a break by casting a pair of wing tip extensions, using the parts from my recon version. My resin duplicates weren't perfect, with bubbles and dimples on the surface:

 

   

 

I covered the engraved panel lines with protective tape, and gave the resin parts a few good coats of Mr Surfacer. Then I wet-sanded with a fine grit sanding stick to bring the parts to serviceable condition:

 

    

 

That's as far as I've gotten so far. Before closing, I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to build a DO 335:

 

 

 

Not only does it have gobs of info and pics on the actual aircraft, but it also covers building and correcting DO 335 kits in various scales. For example, here's a sample for the Dragon kit that I'm using:

 

 

 

Good tip there on fixing the landing gear wells! I'll definitely try this when I get to that point in my build.

 

Thanks for watching!

Edited February 25, 2018 by billn53

[billn53]

Sunday morning and the weather is too cold and wet to do anything outside. On top of that, my gf is away, so what better opportunity to get some more building done!

 

With the fuselage mostly assembled (but not puttied), I turned my attention to the wings. The first task was to tackle the leading edges, which are molded separate from the wing itself. Each leading edge consists of a top and bottom half. Forewarned that there are problems with fit, I deviated from the instructions and glued the upper halves to their respective wing pieces, taking care to get the best fit possible. My plan (which turned out to be a wise decision) was to postpone gluing the bottom leading edge halves until the wing was fully assembled and attached to the fuselage.

 

Here you can see the upper leading edge pieces clamped to the wings (lower half of photo), and the bottom wing & its leading edge pieces (top half of photo):

 

 

 

Next step was to cut off the kit's wingtips to make way for the longer span wingtips of the D-8 version. Dragon has graciously marked where the cuts should be. I masked them off (leaving some extra room for final adjustment of fit) and, using a new blade, carefully removed the wingtips:

 

 

 

After a cycle of dry-fitting and sanding, I was happy with the fit and set the wingtips aside to be epoxied in place later:

 

 

 

The lower wing piece was then glued to the fuselage. I had to add a thin shim to the left side of the fuselage bottom to avoid a small but noticable step at the forward wing join.

 

 

With the bottom half of the wing attached to the fuselage, it was time to glue the upper wing halves in place. It's a good thing I have a variety of clamps at hand!

 

 

 

After the glue had set properly, I then installed the lower leading edge pieces that I had deferred earlier. That's when I discovered that the leading edge parts, when assembled, are thicker than the wing and (had I followed the kit's instructions) I would have had a nasty surprise. By waiting until this point to add the lower leading edge halves, I was able to correct the fit after a rather lengthy process of dry fit, sand, dry fit, sand, ... etc.

 

I have come to the conclusion that Dragon's DO 335 is a bit schizophrenic as far as fit goes. In many places the fit is excellent, for example, take a look at these air scoops for the engines. No putty needed at all and the seams are invisible!

 

 

 

but in other areas the fit is terrible! Here's what the wing-to-fuselage join looks like:

 

 

That's a huge gap! To close this beast I resorted to Milliput, which is a stinky, sticky pain to work with but is the best option I've found for situations like this.

 

 

Time now for a break. I wonder what's for lunch?

 

 

 

 

Edited February 25, 2018 by billn53

[mike romeo]

Great progress in light of the fit issues of this kit.

[billn53]

Thanks, Mike! 

The fit issues have been giving me fits ;-) but I think I have everything under control. I puttied and then gave all the seams a couple coats of Mr Surfacer (Mahagony) 1000. My trusty toothbrush sander (say that ten times) made quick work of cleaning up the seams, followed by touchup with extra fine sanding sticks.

 

 

 

I then sprayed the entire aircraft with Mr Surfacer 1200, to see how things look. Pretty good overall!

 

 

The wing leading edge pieces, which were especially problematic, only need minor touchup:

 

   

 

But the wing-fuselage joint, even with the Milliput filler, still needs work:

 

    

 

Next steps will be to box in the landing gear wells and add the wing tips & horizontal stabs. Then I'll be nearly ready to paint, except that the canopy masks I ordered from Hannants haven't arrived yet. So I'll focus on to the smaller items (landing gear, propellers, etc.) while waiting for the masks to cross the pond. 

 

 

 

 

[billn53]

Hello again, kids! Today's secret word is, "wings".

 

First up, I boxed in the main landing gear wells using thin plastic card stock.

 

 

 

The nose gear well also needed work. There are ugly gaps along the sides, and the front is completely open on the bottom.

 

 

 

I judged it would be easiest to use putty along the sides, and card stock at the front:

 

 

 

Next item to do was the extended wing tips. While dry fitting I discovered they weren't straight... without any correction, the wing trailing edge would have a kink (the wing extensions had a slight forward bias). Cutting an angle at the join wasn't possible; it would have resulted in there being a difference in chord between the kit wings and the resin extensions. My solution was to insert a thin spacer at the rear of the joint, to bring the wing tips back into alignment. That, of course, caused a gap along the entire join, tapering to a point at the leading edge :-(

 

My solution was to use gel-type CA glue. The gel would give me working time to get everything aligned, and would help fill the gap. Once I was satisfied with the alignment, I used a CA accelerator to set everything in place. Here you can see the spacer (white) near the trailing edge, and the CA glue filling the gap.

 

 

After the CA gel solidified, I used gap filling liquid CA to finish the job. In the end I had a relatively solid joint, but gobs of hardened CA on the wing surfaces. I was concerned that trying to sand the CA down on the soft resin would be a problem. So, instead, I cleaned up the excess glue using CA solvent. (This stuff is great! I use for cleaning my CA applicator tools and unsticking fingers, LOL )

 

 

 

Here's where the build stands now. Wingtips are on (but not yet finished off) and all fuselage seams have been filled and sanded.

 

 

 

Soon it will be time to add exterior details (supercharger scoops, canopies, landing lights, etc.), paint the camo, and decal. Then I'll add the various items that hang off the bird (props, landing gear & gear doors, radar antennae, etc.). Speaking of camo, I'm thinking of something off the beaten track, maybe this:

 

 

or this:

 

 

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

Edited March 1, 2018 by billn53

[Wm Blecky]

Cool project.  Coincidentally, I have something similar planned but not quite so ambitious that I will require extended wing tips.  My project will be a little more straightforward.  

 

I am using the Do.335B-6 and swapping out the leading edge of the inner wing section with that from the Do.335B-2 kit:

 

Those wing cannons look pretty nasty and on a night fighter, I think would have done a lot of damage.

 

Benefit of this little project is that neither kit will be wasted.  I can the corresponding parts from the B-6 and make the B-2 into an A.

[billn53]

Hi Wm,

I like the way you're thinking. As for my build, I have a secret plan concerning its armament. Stay tuned for the reveal;-))

[neil5208]

Top  scheme looks good 

[Gondor44]

16 hours ago, neil5208 said:

Top  scheme looks good 

I agree

 

Gondor

[Christer A]

Another vote for the top scheme!

 

I rather like the look of the extended wings, or maybe it's just that everything about Do-335 that is perfect.

How's the Dragon Kit compared to the fabulous 1/48 Tamiya?

[wyverns4]

On 3/1/2018 at 8:15 AM, billn53 said:

Hi Wm,

I like the way you're thinking. As for my build, I have a secret plan concerning its armament. Stay tuned for the reveal;-))

Would that be schrage-musik?

 

Looking good and IIRC the fit was as bad when it first came out 20+ years ago.

 

Also a second vote for the top scheme - looks dead sexy!!

 

Christian, exiled to africa 

[Pete in Lincs]

I've just done a catch up. I always wanted this kit. Glad I didn't get one now!

You however, seem to be steaming through the problems. 

Either of those schemes suits me, though I do lean slightly towards the top one.

[billn53]

33 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I've just done a catch up. I always wanted this kit. Glad I didn't get one now!

I have three more in my stash. Lucky me!

[billn53]

The job of extending the wings is finished. Everything has been putty smoothed and panel lines re-scribed:

 

 

Just when I thought I was making good progress, the kit reached out and bit me hard. This is the source of the problem:

 

 

 

The canopy is molded in multiple pieces. In particular, the hinged portion, which should be a single piece, consists of three parts. I'm guessing Dragon did this because casting a single piece canopy, with side panel bulges for the rear-view mirrors, may have been beyond the molding technology available at the time. 

 

The plastic itself isn't very clear. To show the interior detail that I worked so hard on, I will need to open up the cockpit. That meant cutting the windscreen away from the center section, then gluing the side panels to the center piece. My attempt was far from satisfying:

 

 

 

What to do? What to do?

 

I rooted through my stash and found a Falcon vacuform canopy set that includes the DO225. I spent a lot of time trying to get this to work, but in the end decided it was a no-go. The canopy framing is too indistinct:

 

 

I also found a Hobbyboss "easy assembly" DO335 in my stash. Its one-piece canopy is very clear and the framing looks great. Unfortunately, the front windscreen is for the 'A' model DO335 and doesn't include the V-shaped armored glass or the side bulges of the B version.

 

 

 

Nonetheless, I decided to sacrifice the Hobbyboss kit, and carefully cut away the windscreen so I could utilize the hinged portion of the canopy for my build. I'll just have to live without the side bulges. Here's a test fit to give an idea of what it will look like when finished:

 

 

 

One step forward, two steps back.... Somewhere while I was trying to fix my canopy problem, I lost the minuscule PE armrests for the pilot's seat. That's just one more accuracy compromise that this kit is imposing on me. Grrrr.....

 

Edited March 3, 2018 by billn53

[dogsbody]

I feel that the side bulges were only for the rear-view mirrors for single-seat dayfighters, so pilots could check their 6. As your's will be a nightfighter, there is no need to fit the mirrors.

 

 

Chris

[billn53]

Thanks Chris, that makes perfect sense. 

[billn53]

Sunday morning and how better to spend it than working on my latest build!

 

I glued the canopy pieces in place. The pilot's windscreen is from the Hobbyboss kit, and for the radar operator's bubble top I used the Falcon vacuform item, as it's marginally clearer than the DML part. You can see here that I've also added the supercharger airscoops.

 

I usually use watch crystal cement for clear parts. It works fine and doesn't craze the plastic, but it does take up to 24 hours to fully set. I decided to experiment and try using a UV-cured clear acrylic gel instead for this build's canopies. I've used the UV gel in the past for making small lights, for which it works great. I've also seen it used to make instrument bezels on larger scale models. 

 

 

The experiment appears to have been a success! Try as I might, though, I always seem to have some small piece of debris affix itself to the inside of my canopies after I've glued them in place :-((

 

 

 

This model seems to spend a lot of its time on its back, so before proceeding further, I added some padding to protect the bubble canopy from damage.

 

 

 

Moving on to the back end of the fuselage, I added the kit's PE parts (representing the radiator air outlets) and clear tail light. For the light, I drilled out a recess and dabbed a bit of silver paint in it. Then I glued the clear piece in place and sanded/buffed it to shape.

 

    

 

And this is how the stern now looks after adding the horizontal stabs:

 

 

 

It's getting close to paint time now, so I've given the wheel wells a shot of RLM 2 gray:

 

 

 

I also built up the propellers. The blades are molded separately, but no jig is provided. Getting everything lined up properly was another exercise in patience! And don't forget that the blades for the rear propeller (on the left in the photo below) must be installed "backwards". Hobbyboss got this wrong in their kit, by the way! Otherwise I might have stolen more than just their canopy for this build.

 

 

 

Since it was still early in the day, and my mojo was flowing, I scratched a couple of armrests for the pilot's seat, to replace the PE items lost earlier. I estimate my chances of being able to glue these in place to be somewhere south of ten percent! But, that problem is still far in the future.

 

 

Till next time...

 

Edited March 4, 2018 by billn53

[billn53]

Primer coat is on. Didn't I tell you night fighters are sexy as Hell?

 

 

 

[billn53]

At last I've begun painting in earnest. I decided to go with this scheme, it seems to be everyone's favorite as well as mine:

 

 

For paints, I am going all-Vallejo with this build, having recently bought this set:

 

 

I am also using Vallejo's black surface primer.

 

I've grown to be very fond of the black-basing technique. I believe it gives a much more subtle effect than panel pre-shading (which IMO is often overdone). My strategy is to first do the upper surfaces of the wings & horizontal stabs (splinter pattern of RLM 81 & 82), then the undersides & fuselage (RLM 76), and finally the fuselage splotches (RLM 81). 

 

First color (RLM 82) is on:

 

 

 

 

 

I'll let that cure overnight and move on to the next color.

[SoftScience]

The airplane is ugly as sin, but your model is great! I've really enjoyed watching you tackle the various issue as they come up. 

These are the best kinds of WIP threads. So thank you for sharing. 

[billn53]

Thanks SS! I've learned much from others in this forum, so whenever I do a WIP I try to pass on whatever tips I can. 

[Christer A]

Nice progress here! Blackbasing with marble preshade is very popular right now and I agree that it has the potential to look great, like your wings do!

Keep it up!

Edited March 7, 2018 by Christer A
Spelling mistakes due to mobile being set to autocorrect to swedish! Grrr

[billn53]

This is my third build using the blackbasing technique. The first was for a SR-71 Blackbird:

 

 

 

(Blackbasing a black aircraft... who woulda thunk? RFI here:  http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235030457-gentlemen-start-your-engines-academy-sr-71a-blackbird-172/) 

 

and most recently for my P-61A Black Widow:

 

 

 

(RFI here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235031669-hobby-boss-172-p-61a-black-widow/ 

 

 

I was very happy with both, and hopefully, my current build will turn out looking as nice.