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Hi everyone, this entry in the Do 17 GB confirms that I am not playing with a full deck. Considering all the builds I have in progress, I should crawl back into my burrow and keep on modelling. But... So here is the Do 17 E/F from Airfix in 1/72. I bought this kit when it came out, in the early seventies, When I opened the box, the other day, my jaw dropped. On the wings the panel lines are very delicately engraved: definitely not the run of the mill, rivet-crazy Airfix kit of the days. The air vents have razor sharp lips, etc. Only a few minute rivets on the fuselage, easy to erase. This kit is a revelation! Bar for a few additions in the cockpit, it will be built OOB. Unfortunately the decals seem good for the bin. I will see if anything can be salvaged! Here are a few photos: A very surprising kit indeed Have fun! JR

This is my first build thread on Britmodeller and I will apologise in advance if the images don't show. This is not the first Do 17E from Hobbycraft I have built. The first was a failure, sloping engines, no undercarriage and paint that peeled. The second never got finished. I tried using vacuum canopies from Squadron. The resulting mess ended up being dumped in the bin. This is the third attempt and was started before I joined Britmodeller. The photos show progress to date. The fuselage has been straightened to cure the banana shape of the kit. There is an 8 swg steel spine fitted into my model making absolutely sure the fuselage is straight and in the photos you can see the 10 swg spar I fitted to make sure the wings are straight. (It's also a good way to straighten the droop on the Revell Ta 154) The later version of the kit had instructions stating the nacelles should be mounted 1" in from the root to the inner face of the nacelle. The early versions of the kit had no such instruction and left it to the builder. The nacelles are moulded to suit the 1" measurement. Unfortunately it's wrong. The instruction's figure should be 0.81", or 29.5mm to the nacelle centre line. The problem is that when nacelles are moved, they no longer fit and when the do fit on the wing the engines have a down thrust of 10°. The pictures therefore show the cutting and filling needed to get the nacelles to look something like. I have also cut out the lower wing to make a wheel well. The interior of the wells are fictitious.When they were done I did not have any images or drawings to show what it should be like. They were a pain to do so I am leaving them alone. The front fuselage was cut off so the I could get to the interior. I originally cut the front away, planning to use the Squadron vacuum ones. Again I found them ill fitting and too difficult. It is easier to cut and sand the kit ones to shape. Image showing upper fuselage with 6 swg wing straightener. Image showing nacelles fitted before the wing was cut out. At top is the front of the upper fuselage after being cut from the kit part. After the cut outs and the fictitious nacelle interior Image showing correct tail The kit nose glazing fitted ready for interior. Bottom was sanded down and new windows polished in. The show the kit canopy with the side window cut out and new clear parts glued in. These are needed because the kit canopy doesn't have enough depth. Once its dried I will put the framing back. That's it so far. Other kit on build is a Revell 1/32 Me 262B. This is another previous failure. This time the fuselage has had a 5mm insert fitted in the bottom of the fuselage and wing centre section which seems manages to put everything back in line.