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Marcel-Block MB.151 (DW48039 & DW72030) Foreign Service Greece & Luftwaffe 1:48 & 1:72 Dora Wings via Albion Alloys The MB.150 was a design for a modern metal monoplane from the Bloch company and began life in 1934, reaching prototype stage, only to find that it wasn’t what the designers had hoped, so they went back to the drawing board and came up with the MB.151, which was very similar to the original, but improved enough to give it the potential for entering service with the French Air Force, Armée de l'Air. Although the 151 was better, it still wasn’t what was needed, and development continued with the MB.152 running in parallel with the 151, as well as other options that were considering US developed Twin Wasp and Cyclone engines, but neither of these variants reached fruition. One option that involved mounting a much more powerful Gnome-Rhône 14R-4 engine showed much promise, but it came too late to do the French any good, and it was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid after the Armistice. The 151 was ordered into production in small quantities along with the 152, and a number of them were in service for conflict by the time WWII began, although many of the 151s weren’t considered combat ready, having some quite important parts missing, such as the 20mm guns or props. As the 151 entered service in a less-than-desirable condition, it was an unknown quantity that soon became known, but not in a good way. In combat it was found to be too slow to cope with the Bf.109, and even struggled to keep up with the twin-engined Bf.110, which itself was no longer state-of-the-art. They suffered heavy losses when involved in fighter-to-fighter engagements, although they were more than capable of tackling the bombers, as 20mm cannons make large holes. Fortunately, the airframe was able to take damage and remain airborne, which probably saved a few lives, but not many. The remaining airframes of both the 151 and the superior 152 were taken by the Luftwaffe after the fall of France, finding their way into pressed service with the Germans, although hypocritically the German high command forced the Vichy Air Force to standardise on one type, the Dewoitine D.520 under their control. before the fall, Greece had ordered a small number of 151s, but only received a handful, barely enough to equip a squadron, which fought bravely against the Axis until they were all shot down. In total there were under 150 of the MB.151, with almost 500 of the MB.152. The Kit (DW48039) 1:48 This is a reboxing of the original kit of 2019 vintage, and arrives in a smallish top-opening box with eight sprues of grey styrene, one of clear parts, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a sheet of vinyl masks (not pictured), a single resin part, decal sheet and A5 portrait instruction booklet with spot colour. Detail is good, and it’s a comprehensive package that should be buildable without aftermarket for most, which makes it highly cost-effective. Construction begins with the cockpit, which is built on a flat floor and includes a PE seat frame and rear, plus a styrene cushion, control column, controls and forward bulkhead, plus sundry parts affixed to the floor. A set of PE seatbelts are provided, then it is put to one side while you build the prop with two-part spinner, the tail fin with separate rudder, and the Gnome-Rhône 14N-35 radial engine, which has two banks of pistons, wiring harness in PE and bell-housing into which a drive-shaft is glued, which after painting is enclosed in a three-part cowling, rear bulkhead and intake insert in the lower edge. In true “instructions written by a modeller” style, other sub-assemblies are created, such as the elevators with separate control surfaces and the main gear legs, which have two-part wheels and captive bay door covers, plus a retraction jack each. Closing of the fuselage involves detailing the cockpit sidewalls with small parts, adding an insert for the antenna base, and attaching the wing root fairings to the rectangular cut-outs in the fuselage halves. The cockpit is inserted into the fuselage after adding a horseshoe-shaped instrument panel and gun sight, with the vertical parts moulded into the bulkhead installed earlier. The moulded-in detail is good, and is improved by a pair of decals on the sheet, although the wrong decal numbers are given, but if you can’t figure out which decal goes where, you should arrange to see your doctor as a matter of some urgency! The lower wings are unusually supplied in three parts with a butt-joint between the centre and outer sections. There is a spar section to help you achieve the correct dihedral however, and this has end-caps with one resin and one styrene part – I’m guessing someone forgot they needed two! Additional parts close in the main gear bays, then the upper wing halves can be glued in place, followed by the ailerons and the clear wingtips and landing light in the port leading edge. The fuselage and wings are joined at the same time as the three tail fins, and the engine in its cowling is offered up to the front. A trio of scrap diagrams show the correct orientation of the lumps and bumps on the cowling, and notes that there is a slight downward tilt to the thrust-line when fitted correctly, so don’t fret if it looks a bit droopy when you glue it on. The canopy is two part, although you would have to cut the aft section to pose the canopy open, which is a shame. There is also a spare windscreen part on the clear sprue, and it’s the one with the hole in the front that you need, through which the pilot will be able to see the three-part ring and bead sight on its fittings if he can stop his eyes from watering. Inside the rear of the canopy is a deck that has a PE piece of head armour attached to its front, so remember to put that in the paint rotation and install it before you close the canopy over. The final step involves detailing the underside of the aircraft with landing gear, oil cooler, a flush-fitting aerial, the tail wheel and two supports for the elevators. The Kit (DW72030) 1:72 Given the fact that the 1:48 kit is half as large again as this kit, this one arrives in a smaller box, and contains four sprues of darker grey styrene, one of clear parts, a sheet of canopy masks (not pictured), a PE fret and a set of decals, plus the instruction booklet in A5 portrait format, printed in spot colour. The part count is lower of course, but the detail is still good, bringing almost everything that’s in the 1:48 to this smaller scale, just with fewer parts. Construction starts with the seat, which is completely styrene comprising five parts, and this joins to the cockpit floor along with the controls and a set of PE seatbelts for the pilot. The front bulkhead and horseshoe-shaped instrument panel are coupled together and have decals plus a gunsight with PE surround. It is glued as a unit to the cockpit floor along with various detail parts, more of which are attached to the interior of the fuselage, after which you can close up the fuselage, adding the antenna base behind the cockpit, the deck behind the pilot’s seat, and a partial bulkhead that forms part of the main gear bay. The lower wings are a single part with a spar that has end-caps forming the outer ends of the bays, and a divider between the two sections. The upper wings are glued over the top, then the assembly is joined to the fuselage, which has the wing root fairings moulded-in. The engine has a lower parts count, but still represents both banks of cylinders, with a slightly simplified bell housing at the front. The block is attached to a bulkhead, ready to be surrounded by the three-part cowling, with the lower intake section and a drive-shaft inserted into the bell housing. The prop is a single part with two-part spinner, and like its larger sibling, the landing gear is made up from two-part wheels, strut with retraction jack and captive bay door. The tail feathers give you the choice of posable rudder and a tip extension to the fin, but the elevators are single parts, each moulded with their flying surfaces integral, and the supports added underneath later. The PE head armour is attached to the front of the deck in the cockpit, the droopy engine cowling is glued in place, and the canopy with holey windscreen plus antenna are all put in place alongside the wingtip and landing light clear parts and pitot probe. The prop is slotted into the engine, then the gear, the oil cooler and small PE parts are inserted into the underside. The gunsight is just as well detailed as the larger kit, and is still made from PE for detail. Markings There are four identical options on the decal sheet in both scales, two each of captured German airframes, and Greek aircraft, all wearing similar three-tone grey/green/brown camouflage, while one of the Greek aircraft has black theatre markings on its lower wings. From the box you can build one of the following: CQ+OF Luftwaffe FFC A/B116 Neudorf-Oppeln, winter 1940-41 24 Sqn., Elefsina 1939-41, Royal Hellenic Air Force 24 Sqn., Elefsina 1939-41, Royal Hellenic Air Force Luftwaffe captured aircraft in 1940 Decals 1:48 Decals 1:72 Decals are by DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion Not the most stellar performing fighter in the French WWII arsenal, but a really nice model of the type with plenty of detail in both scales, and who doesn’t like a kit with canopy masks included? Something a little different for the cabinet too. Highly recommended. Available in the UK in all good model shops while stocks last. Review sample courtesy of

Vultee Vengeance Mk.II (DW48044) 1:48 Dora Wings The A-31 Vultee Vengeance was designed and built for a French order that couldn’t be fulfilled due to Nazis overrunning the country before any deliveries could begin. The British government became interested in the design and placed an order for up to 300 airframes, by which time the aircraft had garnered the name Vengeance. It’s unusual wing design that looked like a diving bird had a 0o angle of incidence that made for an accurate dive with no lift from the wings to draw it off course. After America joined the war the type was investigated for their own use and given the number A-35 for their own and export use. Changes to the wing made it a little less accurate, but gave the pilots a better field of view, and an uprated engine gave it a bit more power. By the time the Vengeance reached British service, the losses taken by the Stukas that it had been designed to emulate gave them pause for thought, and they weren’t allocated to the European Theatre of Operation (ETO), but were instead sent to India and Burma initially, although they were later phased out in favour of more capable machines before the war’s end. They eventually found their way to an anti-malarial spraying job, as mosquitos and the malarial plague they brought with them was taking a toll on troops and locals alike. Many of them finished their days as target tugs after being stripped of their weapons. Australia made a larger order and they found them to be much the same as the British did, seeing most of them out of service late in 1944, although a few lingered for a while. The Mk.II that is the subject of this kit was a slightly improved version of the original Mk.I, with just over 500 made. The Kit This is a new tool from Dora Wings of this peculiar beast that looks more like a creature than most. We’ve not been too well-served in 1:48 before now, and with the crisis in Dora’s home country right now, it may be hard to get hold of one for a while, although please check the bottom of the review for information. Nuff said about that now. It’s brand new, and thoroughly modern, with just a hint of short-run remaining, but they really have come on in leaps and bounds since their first kit that was not-so-very-long ago. The kit arrives in a small top-opening box, and inside are ten rectangular sprues in a greenish-grey styrene, a sprue of clear parts, two frets of Photo-Etch (PE), a sheet of pre-cut vinyl masks (not pictured), two decal sheets of varying sizes, and the instruction booklet. It’s a comprehensive package, and there’s plenty of PE to help you get some serious detail into your Vengeance. Examining the sprues, there has clearly been a lot of effort expended in creating this tooling, as detail is everywhere, and it’s good quality stuff with engraved panel lines and some raised panels giving it a professional finish. All it lacks is the fine rivets that are starting to appear on some companies’ products now. Construction begins with the cockpit, which is of a larger size due to it having two crew members. The pilot’s instrument panel is a well-detailed arrangement of a PE detail part over a decal on a styrene backing, which has more styrene, PE parts and another decal added along with an angled wrap-around section, and a pair of styrene rudder pedals suspended from the rear of the console. A compass with decal fits to the right diagonal section on a PE bracket, then the floor and bulkheads are made, which doubles as the roof of the bomb bay, as is common. Two seats are built from individual sections and have PE four-point belts included for the pilot only. He also gets PE head armour and a styrene head rest on the bulkhead behind him, and a pair of side consoles that are built up in the same detailed manner as the instrument panel. The pilot’s seat is fixed to the floor on a ladder frame in front of the bulkhead and is hemmed in by the addition of the instrument panel at that point. The gunner has a complex suspension mount for his seat that mounts on the circular section of floor with some additional parts around the area. The fuselage halves have a large area of ribbing engraved into the interior that covers the cockpit and bomb bay, and is further detailed by addition of various PE and styrene parts before it is put to one side while the cockpit/bomb bay are finished off. The rear section of bulkhead is built up with PE and styrene (it’s a theme of this kit), creating the base for the mount of the twin machine guns that are made later. A radio box is also put together for later. The bomb bay can be modelled open or closed, but it would be a shame to close up the doors on all that detail. The instructions allow you to do that though, as it’s your model after all. Steps 21-29 cover the bombs with PE fins, a reservoir tank of some kind, the door mechanisms, plus adding constructional beams to detail up the bay to an excellent level. The tail wheel is also made up now with more detail, and this level of effort also extends to the twin .50cals on their mount, with sighting and bullet-shield parts, plus the twin-spade grips for those dakka-dakka moments. That’s your laundry list of assemblies complete, after which you can close up the fuselage halves on the cockpit and tail wheel assemblies, adding two more detail parts in the area behind the gunner. The top of the fuselage is open forward of the cockpit, which is rectified by adding the insert and forward bulkhead to the front, and an A-frame roll-over bar between the two crew. Attention then turns to the big radial engine up front. The Vengeance Mk.II was powered by a Wright Cyclone R-2600-19, with twin banks of pistons all present on this model. Work begins with the front bell-housing and ancillaries, which has a drive-shaft for the prop pushed through the front and held in place by a washer at the rear. Each bank of cylinders is made from front and rear halves, with a star of push-rods and wiring harness added to the front, capped off with the bell-housing. Its exhaust stubs are each made of two halves for fitting to the model, one per side. The engine assembly is attached to the front of the fuselage ready for its cowling later. The oddest part of the Vengeance are the wings. Before they are closed up, the main bay walls are added to the upper wing, which has the roof detail moulded-in, augmented by some superb PE ribbing, plus some additional detail added to the front walls. As the two wing halves are brought together, an insert is fixed into the trailing edge that has a curved outer edge to accept the flying surfaces. Two of these are made up, and joined by three flying surfaces with an additional pivot point fixed into the wing as you go along. This gives you plenty of leeway for posing these parts to your whim. The forward section of the main gear bays are built up with three additional parts too. If you’ve opted to open the bomb bay, the two bombs are attached to their Y-shaped yokes and laid flat in the bay, then the wings and the angular elevator fin are fixed in place along with the rear gun and radio box in the cockpit. It’s looking like an aircraft now, and the transformation continues as you make up the cowling from two main halves and lip parts, into which a number of detail parts are inserted to build up the shape of the lower intake trunking. Care here will reduce any hiding of seams later, which is always nice. The cooling flaps are separated into sections, and are made from PE parts to give them an in-scale look from the rear. The festival of PE parts extends to the dive-spoilers, which are able to be posed deployed with PE supports, and should look pretty realistic once painted. The elevators are rudder are all separate assemblies that can again be posed deflected at your whim. The canopy is a large goldfish bowl with plenty of frames to terrify the masking averse, but they needn’t worry, as Dora have included a set of vinyl masks in translucent grey, and pre-cut for your convenience. There are five canopy segments, beginning with the windscreen and working back to the gunner’s windows, all of which are slender and clear within the limits of injection moulding. There is a short vertical aerial on the centre section, which should be rigged with a fine line to the forward tip of the rudder fin, which is visible on the box art to assist you in getting it right. The main gear is similar to many American dive bombers, consisting of a straight, thick leg with PE oleo-scissors and detail parts, and a captive “spat” at the bottom of the leg that is a lot less usual. Four small side bay doors are also included with PE openers, and throughout the various bays, detail is good. The legs are fixed into the bays with a retraction jack added behind in a fairly complex step that also included the lower dive-spoilers and the bomb bay doors. If you’re closing up the doors, there is a single part for you to us, but leaving them open you have four parts, two per side, as the doors fold-up into a sharp V-shape at each side of the bay. A small outlet is inserted into a slot in front of the bay, and at the rear of the aircraft the tail bay door is propped up against the leg. The propeller is made from individual blades that are fixed into a central boss and locked into place with the front section that also has the spinner moulded-in. Pop the pitot probe under the right wing, and fit two circular landing lights into their recesses under box wings, and that’s it done. Markings There are a generous four decal options on the sheet, although they’re all wearing the same basic camouflage scheme, with sky blue undersides, differentiating by their codes and lettering styles, plus two of them wearing a bright white tail section. From the box you can build one of the following: A27-220 GR-A Mustafa, 24 Sqn., Nadzab, 1944 A27-240 GR-E Salome, 24 Sqn., Tivoli Girls, 1944 A27-200 NH-A Ye Boss & Y’Gotta B Kwik, 12 Sqn Commanding Officer, Sep 1943 Camden Museum of Aviation, Australia Decals are by DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The profiles contain thanks to both Steve Long and the director of the Camden Museum of Aviation for their assistance with this project, and the last decal option is their preserved aircraft. Conclusion This is a well-detailed model of this lesser-known combatant in the Pacific theatre during WWII, with its weird wings and massive engine cowling making it stand out on your model shelf. Highly recommended. Available in the UK in all good model shops – we hope. Review sample courtesy of Normally this would be the end of the review, but the good folks at Dora Wings sent us this sample directly, and I couldn't resist building it. It's a fabulous kit, and one of my favourites thus far. Here's a taster of the completed model, and a link to the build and to the finished model. Best regards to all at Dora Wings and the wider Ukraine.

After the 1/32nd kits (link) and the 1/48th AMG kit (link) Dora Wings has announced a new tool 1/48th Dewoitine D.500 as in progress. Source: https://www.facebook.com/dorawingsofficial/posts/3214124158818139 3D renders in progress V.P.

Hi, Started some work on the new Dora wings Curtiss interceptor. Waiting for some supplies to continue the b-17 build, so decided to try and tackle my first Dora wings kit. So far so good. Instructions ok, some photo etch and decals look fine. Am not familiar with the CW 21, but there are enough images out there on the web and the Dutch IPMS site has some good info to start with: https://www.ipms.nl/artikelen/nedmil-luchtvaart/vliegtuigen-c/vliegtuigen-c-curtiss-cw21 Have not been able to find a picture of a cockpit yet, so will follow mainly the Color references in the instructions, which appear to make sense. It will probably be a more or less straight out of the box build. Noticed a few mistakes in the instructions, but easily identified. ( They have you fit the propellor spinner to the back of the crankcase cover for instance) Would love to do an earlier NMF version as well, but this requires a different lower wing half, although the “pods” for that particular landing arrangement does appear to be present on the sprue. Perhaps for a later issue of a Chinese CW-21? Wonder if there is any record of Dutch CW-21 in a NMF with the orange triangles. Did some more work on the cockpit and added some Eduard belts instead of the supplied (unpainted) photo etch ones: Placed the decals on the instrument panel. Just a shame there are no decals for the lower console supplied. The engine is quite detailed. It just took a lot of time figuring out how to line up the parts and had to look at many references for the wright cyclone 1820. So far I am quite enjoying this build. That’s all for now. Thanks for watching. Rgds, Rob

Curtiss-Wright SNC-1 Falcon II (DW48041) 1:48 Dora Wings via Albion Alloys The SNC-1 began its gestation at Curtiss-Wright as the CW-22, and was developed as a light trainer and reconnaissance aircraft, flying as early as 1940, then entering service in 1942. It was a small aircraft with two seats and large canopy that afforded the pilots an excellent view of proceedings. A number were exported to various operators including the Dutch, although because of the state of the war, they were delivered to them elsewhere. The US forces ordered a number to fill gaps in their inventory, with successive increases in the orders resulting in just over 300 airframes entering service in total. A small number also found their way into Japanese service after being captured during their advances across Asia. The Falcon name was conferred to the type by the US Navy, which was otherwise known as the CW-22N. The RAF even had a few that they inherited from the Burma Volunteer Air Force. The Kit This is a brand-new tool from Dora Wings of this unusual little aircraft, and the first mainstream kit in this scale, although there have been a few others over the years from niche producers in resin and other materials. It arrives in their standard top-opening box, and inside are seven sprues in mid grey styrene, a clear sprue, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, vinyl masks (not pictured), decal sheet and instruction booklet that is roughly A5 in a portrait format. Perusing the sprues reveals a nicely detailed kit that shows continued improvement from their initial releases, and it is a comprehensive package with a crystal clear single-part canopy. Construction begins with the cockpit, with the two instrument panels attached to their bulkhead hoops and detailed with a decal for each one. The cockpit floor is outfitted with controls, fire extinguisher and a number of other frames, including a pair of PE rudder pedals on an inverted U-shaped former. The two seats are on a separate sprue, and each has a PE four-point harness fitted before they are installed in the cockpit, with a forward and aft bulkhead bracketing the assembly. The fuselage halves are prepared internally with an insert that covers up the wing root, throttle quadrants, levers and instrument boxes, with a little painting to finish off. The engine has to be made up before the fuselage can be closed up, and this is depicted by a two-part cylinder bank, a PE wiring loom and a front bell-housing that is then surrounded by the exhaust collector, after removing a 2mm length from the aggregation outlet, which exposes the hollow interior that runs all the way around the ring. A flattened intake and some small parts are fitted to the front and sides of the engine, then at the rear the input tubing spider is fixed over a donut-shaped spacer and has a simplified depiction of the ancillaries and an exterior ring added before it is glued to the front of the cockpit on a pair of Z-shaped mounts. The fuselage can then be closed up around the assembly, and the landing gear is made up. The wheels are inventive, having two outer halves and a central boss between the halves that gives a completely see-thru look if aligned correctly. The struts are single parts with a perpendicular axle, with separate oleo-scissor link and retraction jacks at the base of each leg. The lower wings are full-width with some nice detail moulded into the central section, and as expected the upper wings are separated with a gap for the fuselage to fill. The ailerons are separate, and a two-part U-shaped fairing is added to the main gear bays for later completion, then the tail feathers are installed, all with separate flying surfaces and fine trailing edges. The airframe is flipped on its back to add small PE cross-members within the main bays, and the lower engine cowling around the exhaust, then the gear legs are fitted on triangular hinge-points, with a bay door on each side, plus a fairing around the exhaust. Actuators within the bays join the doors together; the landing lights are inserted into depressions under the wings; actuators for the ailerons are added to the wingtips; a D/F loop is glued under the fuselage, and the tail-wheel fits into a small hole in the rear of the fuselage. The twin-blade prop is a single part with a boss and axle added front and rear, which is fitted at the end of the build. From the box the cockpit aperture is oversized, and this is corrected by an insert in each side, each of which has a pair of levers installed before they are joined together, then glued into the cockpit with a roll-over cage between the two pilots. The canopy is a single part, which is a shame for this model, as the cockpit is open and well-detailed out of the box. It is very clear however, so your hard work will still be seen, so don’t fret. An antenna mast is glued into a hole in the surround to the port side front, a pitot probe is mounted in the leading edge of the port wing, and the prop is inserted into the hole in the front of the bell-housing. Done. Now for paint and decals. Markings There are three decal options in the box, one for each of three operators, with a disparate set of schemes into the bargain. From the box you can build one of the following: SNC-1 NAS Corpus Christi, April 1942 SNC-1 Ecuador, 1943 SNC-1 15 Escuadrilla de Observación Terrestre, Peru, 1942-45 Decals are by DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas, and as mentioned there are decals for the instrument panels in the cockpit. Conclusion The Falcon II is a niche subject, and it’s kind of cute and an interesting shape. The detail is good, and the model should build up into a good replica of a left-of-field subject, which is Dora Wings’ stock-in-trade. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from all good model shops. Review sample courtesy of

Hi all. Last finished model. Single flight across the Atlantic, pilot Felix Waitkus.

A bit of a late start with my first build in this GB, I just finished a Beaufighter on Sunday for the 'Bristol Company' GB and lately have been painting Wargame figures so have neglected the plastic flying stuff! I got this online for a good price for the Soviet Aircraft markings and was going to sell the the other kit on but I thought I would do this French Airforce one for this GB. It is actually a kit moulded by AMG, the parts look well detailed and there is some flash but nothing that can't be 'wiped' quickly with a blade. There are different intakes included in the kit but no instructions showing which intake is for which version but it's easy to see from the drawings and the internet what type (short or long) is used for the C version or the E. There is a photo-etch fret (most of which I won't use!) and a canopy mask set so quite complete. I made a small start but already there is a bit a conudrum. They start you off by removing and putting a bend on the two etch rudder pedals and then instruct you to stick them directly to the back of the plastic instrument panel. But the next picture clearly shows hangers for the rudder pedals, there's even indents for the parts on the plastic instrument panel but looking at the sprues there doesn't seem to be anything like them on there. Anyone built the AMG kit or the reboxed Dora ones and found this part(s)? No photos as I left it there to investigate further. More soon. Davey.

Hi all, this Dora wings kit recreate the Savoia-Marchetti S.55, called "Santa Maria" which was flown by the italian aviator Francesco de Pinedo (February 16, 1890 – September 2, 1933), in 1927, with Carlo Del Prete and the engineer Vitale Zacchetti , from Elmas (Sardinia, Italy) to Arizona. I hope you enjoy it 😉 Click below for the WIP by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr by Rodolfo Masti, on Flickr

After the 1/48th kit (link) here's the Dora Wings 1/72nd Vultee A-31/35 Vengeance kit - ref. DW72038 Source: https://www.facebook.com/dorawingsofficial/posts/3097956153768274 Final renders V.P.

Place holder for my Pilatus Porter entry. This will be my first Dora Wings kit and I’m quite impressed with what I’ve seen of it so far. Sprues: Four sprues of crisp grey plastic, nicely detailed with engraved panel lines, resin wheels and exhausts (choice of two exhaust styles). Two frets of PE and masks for windows and wheels: I won’t be using the right hand PE as it is a ski attachment for the Japanese Antarctic plane which I am not building. Instruction book: One oddity I have noticed is that the instructions show six passenger seats whereas the sprues contain four seats and six seat backs! The decals I will be using will be from a local producer here in Adelaide: I intend to do the second scheme with the hand painted legend on the fuselage, operated by the Australian Army in Vietnam. Work on the build will commence when I finish organising my new study. AW

Curtiss-Wright AT-9 Jeep (DW48043) 1:48 Dora Wings Curtiss-Wright designed the AT-9 as an advanced two-engined trainer for new pilots to learn how to fly the new high-performance twin-engined bombers and fighters that were coming into service, such as the B-25 Mitchell and P-38 Lightning. As such it was aerodynamically unstable to mimic their characteristics, and was ideal for teaching candidates that were previously only trained on single-engined airframes. Its prototype was made from a tubular framework covered with fabric on the fuselage and wings, but for the production machines, a metal stressed skin was substituted, giving it a sleek look. The Lycoming R-680-9 engines were mounted low on the low wings, which gave the pilot a good view from the cockpit, although the thick frames on the side doors reduced that a little, but they were relatively underpowered, so the aircraft couldn’t break 200mph even at full throttle, which gave plenty of time to get out of the way. Around 500 of the AT-9 were made, and they gained the nickname Jeep in preference to the official name ‘Fledgling’, and a further 300 of the improved AT-9A were made with more powerful Lycoming R-680-11 engines, and new hydraulics that were improved over the original. Production ceased in 1943, and once the airframes were out of service, they weren’t offered to the general public as they were considered a little too twitchy for inexperienced civilians. As a consequence, there is only one complete example in existence in the US, which was rebuilt by using the parts from two incomplete aircraft, with another partial airframe at Pima that they are hoping to restore at some point. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from our friends at Dora Wings, who continue to create unusual, interesting subjects in the major scales. This one is 1:48 of course, and arrives in a small top-opening box that contains seven greenish-grey sprues of styrene, a clear sprue in a Ziploc bag, two Photo-Etch (PE) sheets, printed clear acetate sheet, vinyl masks (not pictured), all in another bag with a card stiffener. The instruction booklet is A5 portrait format, printed in colour, with colour profiles on the rear pages to assist with painting and decaling. I built their P-63 Kingcobra when they were a fledgling (unintentional pun!) company, and this tooling is a very crisp-looking model, with plenty of detail and extras that improve the detail still further. It’s great to see their progress over just a few years. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with highly detailed pedestal and lower centre consoles, plus PE and styrene detail parts, all of which is installed on the cockpit floor along with the twin control columns and seats, adding PE lap belts to each one. The instrument panel can either be made from a styrene backing with PE lamination and acetate instruments, or a styrene panel with moulded-in dials that you’ll need to make your own dials for – I know which on I’ll be using! The panel is fitted out with rudder pedals and a coaming, which is suspended from the front bulkhead that fixes to front of the cockpit floor, and has a rear bulkhead with fire extinguisher added to the rear. There’s no other detail on the rear bulkhead, so if you’re going for open doors you might want to add something there. I’ve done some searching briefly, but haven’t come up with anything useful yet. The fuselage halves make an appearance, as they are skinned inside with detail inserts, and the fuselage is thinned out where the inserts go so it doesn’t increase the thickness too much. The canopy is also fitted with the overhead console, which locates on two depressions in the clear part, after which you can close up the fuselage halves, add the nose cone, the canopy and the two side doors open or closed, P-39 Cobra style. The flying surfaces are made in quick succession, the main planes having a full-width lower and two upper halves plus ailerons, while the elevators have separate fins with each one fitted to the fuselage on two pegs, along with a two-part rudder, offering lots of potential for offset to give your model some extra visual interest. The main wheels are each made of two halves, and their struts have the main leg, separate oleo-scissors, and three-part top sections where they join the bays. The bays are each made from two curved sides and a narrow roof, with triangular PE webs added to the sides, and the struts inserted into holes in the roof. They are put to the side while the twin Lycoming engines are made up, with the nine pistons depicted with push-rods, exhaust collector and a PE baffle layer for each one. The main gear bays are inserted into the engine nacelles from underneath, then closed around by the tapered cowling parts, and each nacelle is fitted with a circular firewall that has four holes pre-drilled for the engine mounts. The engines have their M-shaped mounts and exhausts added, then they are glued to the firewalls to be closed in by the top and bottom cylindrical cowling sections and the front cowling ring, plus a small insert under the engine that forms the intake. The two-bladed props have four additional parts added to detail them, then the small parts such as aileron guides, clear landing lights in the lower wings, tail wheel and pitot probe are all glued to the airframe. Markings There are four options included on the decal sheet, with some interesting variations in colours that should appeal to many without resorting to any aftermarket decals. From the box you can build one of the following: 41-12043, 556th School Squadron, crashed May 27, 1942 41-12059, Lubbock AAF, 1942-3 42-56947, Randolph AAF, 1942-3 41-11978, 338th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, 1944 Decals are by DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion I’d not heard of this cute little trainer before, and now I have, I like it. It has just the right combination of strange and sleek to hit the spot for me, and the detail is nicely rendered. It’s the Olive Drab over grey option that I fancy. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Dora Wings is to release Republic P-47B/C & D (early) Thunderbolt kits in 1/48th and later in 1/72nd. Source: https://www.facebook.com/dorawingsofficial/posts/3084255388471684 3D renders - 1/48th Republic P-47B Thunderbolt V.P.

#16/2021 For a kit with shortrun character the new Dora Wings Marcel Bloch isn´t so bad. But the decals are thin and the white areas are translucent, as you may see. Camo done with Gunze RLM65 for the underside, Tamiya XF-10 Brown and selfmixed green and blue-grey for the upper camo. The Vichy stripes are painted. First single-engined aircraft I know of that has a sideways angled engine. Build thread here https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235092709-vichy148-marcel-bloch-mb152-french-armistice-airforce/ Aircraft of GC II/9, Aulnat/France 1942 DSC_0009 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0010 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0011 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0012 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0013 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0014 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0015 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0016 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0017 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0018 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0019 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0020 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0021 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0022 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0023 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0024 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0025 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0026 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0027 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0028 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0029 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0030 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0031 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0032 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

My dad´s newest project.. DSC_0004 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

After the 1/48th kits (link), Dora Wings is to release 1/72nd AT-9Jeep kits - ref.DW72035 - Curtiss-Wright AT-9Jeep Source: https://dorawings.com/DWcatalogue_2021_22.pdf V.P.

Here's one of my entries over on the current ANZAC GB on which you can have a look at the WIP. This is from the double boxing, with a Proctor, I got for almost the same price as a single kit on the 'net. A nicely detailed kit let down by poor instructions, it isn't what you would call a simple build. Lots of clean-up of mould lines and test fitting. The cockpit floor and bulkheads need careful placement, I put those together into one half of the fuselage before adding the seats etc. The other main problem was the five-part glazing which needed filing and constant test fitting. There is a lot of PE which I mostly discarded, I only used the cockpit dashboard shelf and the pitot tube assembly! Despite usually using an airbrush these days, with the ease of use and clean-up of water-based Acrylics, I decided to give using a Hairy Stick for a change, with Xtracrylics for the uppers and Vallejo ModelAir RLM 65 for the Sky Blue. The kit decals settled easily using Humbrol Decalfix on the Gloss finish of the upper colours, I used 'Klear' for the matt lower colour. Final Matt finish was done airbrushing Vallejo Acrylic Matt Varnish. Comments and criticism welcome. Davey.

Dora Wings catalogue 2021-2022 downloadable here: https://dorawings.com/DWcatalogue_2021_22.pdf Source: https://www.facebook.com/dorawingsofficial/photos/a.2014888442075056/2992690794294811/?type=3&source=48 V.P.

Not only in 1/48th (dedicated thread: link) Dora Wings is also preparing 1/72nd Vultee P-66 Vanguard kits. - ref. DW72034 - Vultee P-66 Vanguard Source: https://www.facebook.com/dorawingsofficial/posts/2980469298850294 Final 3D renders V.P.

Dora Wings is to release 1/72nd Noorduyn C-64 Norseman kits - ref. Would maybe proposed later in the 1/48th scale. Fingers crossed. Source: https://www.facebook.com/dorawingsofficial/posts/2961098897454001 3D renders V.P.

Dora Wings is to release a 1/48th Cessna AT-17/T-50 Bobcat kit - ref. DW48053 Would most probably later proposed in the 1/72nd scale as usual for this creative as productive ukrainian brand. Source: https://www.facebook.com/dorawingsofficial/posts/2960857227478168 3D renders V.P.

Feeling like I was having the 'Kiwi's' left out doing my builds I had a look through the stash to see if I had anything I could add to this GB and found this, DORA Wings nice little Proctor/Vega Gull combo (which I bought last year online for only a couple of pound more than the individual kits!). Looks like your typical 'short run' type kit and is tiny! Hopefully my ham-fistedness will be overcome while doing this! I also have the Eduard dual boxing of the Spitfire Mk.XVI which has markings for a Fassberg based RNZAF machine, we'll see how I get on. Davey.

Dora Wings is to release a 1/48th Curtiss-Wright CW-21 Interceptor kits - ref. DW48046 - Curtiss-Wright CW-21B Interceptor - released - ref. DW48049 - Curtiss-Wright CW-21A Demonstrator - released - ref. DW48052 - Curtiss-Wright CW-21B Interceptor Source: https://www.facebook.com/dorawingsofficial/posts/2942649705965587 3D renders V.P.

Happy New Year all... currently on sale is the February edition of Airfix Model World magazine with my Lockheed Vega on the front cover. Here's a couple of teasers... 😉 Cheers, Dean

After the 1/48th models (link), Dora Wings is to release 1/72nd Republic P-43/A/B Lancer kits. - ref. DW72027 - Republic P-43 Lancer - ref. DW72029 - Republic P-43A-1 Lancer - ref. DW72031 - Republic P-43B/C Lancer Source: https://www.facebook.com/pg/dorawingsofficial/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2895357487361476&ref=page_internal 3D renders V.P.

Miles M.9 Master Mk.I (48033) 1:48 Dora Wings via Albion Alloys The M.9 Master was a conventional low wing monoplane two seat trainer produced by Miles Aircraft Ltd for the RAF and FAA. The Air Ministry had produced specification T.6/36 in the mid 1930s for a new trainer. This was won by the DH.30 Don, however this aircraft in the end proved unsuitable. The RAF was forced to look elsewhere and Miles developed the Master from its earlier proposed trainer the Kestrel. The Air Ministry ordered 500 for the training role. The master used initially a Rolls Royce Kestrel engine which have it a speed of nearly 300 mph, comparable with the fighters of the day. With a student in front and the instructor behind the read cockpit was a full 12 inches higher. Other aids to training were a reinforced nose area to cope with nose overs and a tail design used to aid stall recovery. While the aircraft was fitted with a gunsight and a single for training, provision was made for an M24 Master Fighter with 8 guns to function as an emergency fighter. In the end over 3000 aircraft were built however none have survived. Aircraft were diverted to support various allies. These included, 426 aircraft to the South African Air Force, nine to the USAAF (Mainly for use as hacks), 23 to the Royal Egyptian Air Force, 23 to Turkish Air Force, two to Portuguese Air Force, and fourteen to the Irish Air Corps. The Kit The kit arrives on 5 plastic sprues, a clear sprue, a sheet of PE, canopy masks (not shown) and a sheet of decals. The clear sprue has both types of canopy used, and the ability to open the rear canopy. Construction starts with the cockpit. The dual flying controls are built up along with the seats and there PE belts for both cockpits. These are installed to the main floor then at the front and back main bulkheads are fitted. At the front the main instrument panel goes in. Sidewall detail is fitted into the fuselage halves and in the middle between the two seats the rear instrument panel and its structure go in. Now the main cockpit can go in and the fuselage is closed up. Work now moves to the main wings. There is a single part lower wing with left & right uppers. The wheel wells need to be boxed in and then the wings can go together. The ailerons are then fitted. Various subassemblies now need to be made up and set aside; these include the rudder, tail surfaces, radiators, propeller, landing gear; and practice bomb racks. The main wing is then joined to the fuselage and the canopy added. There is both the earlier more framed canopy and the later more blown style included. The tail planes, rudder and landing gear are then added. The large radiator goes underneath and the prop is added at the front. The practice bomb racks can be added if needed. Markings The decals are from Decograf and look good with no registration issues, there are four decal options provided; N7578 - 8th FTS, RAF Cranwell 1940 N7547 - Fleet Air Arm Training Unit 1940 N7412 - 1st Prototype Aircraft 1938 T8629 - No.5 Service Flying Training School. RAF Sealand, 1942 Conclusion This is certainly a kit modellers of British WWII aircraft and trainers in 1/48 have been waiting for. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK in most good model shops. Review sample courtesy of