jugjunkie

Thanks all for commenting, I removed the raised panel lines and re-scribed.

Recently finished this one. Not a bad kit really, decals were the worst part of the build, they broke up all over the place and I barely managed to salvage them. Sorry for the poor photos but I was trying out settings to depict an aircraft in the seventies.

Thanks Stew, that was my thinking, i know the colour set for the 215 is for the ICM kit but i'm hoping the differences in size and fit are minimal.

Good day all, hope I can get some help with a Dilemma. I have the Monogram kit of the Do 217 and I am looking for an Eduard colour PE cockpit set which does not seem to exist so my question/s is a) How different would the cockpit layout have been between the marks? and b ) which between the 17Z and 215 would be a closer match to the 217? Thanks

Looking spectacular, will certainly be following this.

Well the woes just continue, it is now apparent that you have no choice in the matter - the rear doors can only be built open, there is no way they fit closed also had my hands full mounting the gear box and rotor head, i had to cut away all that lovely detail (not that it matters, it's all hidden anyway) just plowing through this one now to get it finished and off the bench....

Not my preferred scale but this is just too good to miss. Great work on those pits so far.

The engineering of this kit just begs for problems. All the panels attach to a frame making it almost like a jigsaw puzzle and there are gaps appearing at almost every new panel fitted that need fixing. The kit is going together slowly but needs plenty patience and effort but it is starting to look real sexy. One other major gripe I have with the kit is that the back sliding doors CANNOT be modeled closed, you have no choice the fit is such that they can only be modeled in the open position (I hate leaving open things on my models and this one requires three doors open (not down LOL).

Well I am now completely miffed to say the least. Again I urge anybody that has built this kit to please offer some insight on this kit. Up until now it had some issues which considering the price we pay for these "modern"kits, was mildly irritating but could be overcome with some care and attention. Now I am changing my opinion and saying this kit is a load of sh.t Please somebody explain to me how I ended up with this - The clear windscreen and side panels all fitted into their place quite fine with no real issues - as did the sun visor and side doors. I then started by fitting the left front door and all was very well. I was expecting some problems because almost invariably whenever you have these build ups where all surrounding parts are fitted into place first and you are left with the "puzzle"fit scenario which has to be dropped into the gap, there will be some corner or edge that interferes somewhere. Not in this case, the door went into it's assigned gap like a dream man was I happy........ ....then the right door and I can say in all my years of building models I have NEVER seen such a poor fit!! My first obvious reaction was "You dumb Bast..d what have you done?" So I retraced everything done to this point, checked all other parts and their positions and I can honestly say this is no fault of mine. Can anybody please let me know if they have had even a remotely similar issue with this kit? I am now left with no option other than to leave the right door open! I am not too worried about the small gap at the top of the nose because the actual aircraft has a rubber seal along the top of the nose compartment which opens, so I will be adding that later.

As suspected there are a number of fit issues with the clear parts which are going to need some attention, but nothing deal breaking...

Sorry inadvertently removed the pictures but they are back again.

Started this one a few weeks back and it's building like a dream.....

Just another quick update. Last night I started with the clear parts and again I have to say removing from sprues is very challenging. I have test fitted the main windscreen and I see problems ahead, the fit is not good and there is going to be a gap so I need to decide to have it top, bottom or midway making the two gaps slightly easier to deal with. Pics this evening.

Hi Jessica, only option on this particular boxing is the duckbill i'm afraid.

Would be keen to hear from anybody that has built this kit because I have found it to be somewhat disappointing and would like to know if it's just me. Before I point out some of the issues I have had with it, let me just share some pictures of where and how I got to where I'm at. I'm not going to narrate each picture but I will just add something to pictures of interest. Started with the engine.... ....Then on to the airframe, the seats looked a bit boring so I just did some enhancements (pure aesthetics on my part with no basis in reality).... ....then some cockpit detail. The kit detail is quite good and with some careful paintwork actually comes out pretty decent.... ...again a few enhancements from my imagination.... ....started the engine bay..... ....Looking at photos of the real thing, they show the top two windows are in fact sun visors, so after a dip in clear Mr Muscle (Future) I then made a 50/50 mixture of Mr Muscle and Moir's food colouring....... I dipped the clear piece in to cover both sides first and attached to the airframe...... ..the opacity is too clear so I used a very soft brush and added some more coats (drying completely between coats) until I was happy with the result and that is where I am at. At this point I would like to just say something about the kit. Firstly the plastic Kitty Hawk uses is very soft so it is extremely important to be ultra careful when removing parts from the sprue and this problem is exacerbated by VERY thick sprue gates which make the removal of delicate items a nightmare! Novices please be very careful when removing parts because I foresee plenty tears flowing otherwise. The soft plastic also demands care when trimming excess plastic - again be careful because you can very easily remove far more than you planned. The next big issue I have is the instructions, they are not very clear in some instances and one or two bits had me scratching my head to say the least because it gives a vague indication of what goes where but it is only after some trial and tribulation that the actual position of a part becomes apparent. Colour call outs are also very general and the use of reference material and personal preference is going to be mandatory. This is a very good kit and the detail is very acceptable but if I can offer one bit of advice when building it, it's that you MUST test fit each and every piece before you even look at the glue pot!