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Dora Wings is to release a 1/32nd Dewoitine D.500/501/510 family of kits Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2489320171298545&id=1929101897320378 V.P.

New Dora Wings project: a family of 1/48th Caudron Simoun kits. - ref. DW48028 - Caudron C.630 Simoun https://dorawings.com/1-48/caudron-c-630-simoun - ref. DW48030 - Caudron C635 Simoun - ref. DW48040 - Caudron C.631/633 Simoun Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2496429487254280&id=1929101897320378 V.P.

Dora Wings is to release 1/72nd Westland Wallace & Wapiti kits - ref.72007 & 72008 Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2106721216225111&id=1929101897320378 Source: link V.P.

Curtiss-Wright CW-22B (DW48036) 1:48 Dora Wings via Albion Alloys The Curtiss-Wright CW-22 was developed as a light trainer and reconnaissance aircraft, flying as early as 1940, then entering service from 1941. 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 in the Dutch East Indies, totalling 25 airframes. 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 from the Dutch during their advances across Asia. The Kit This is a reboxing with new parts of a recent 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 appealing top-opening box with glossy sections picked out, and inside are seven sprues in mid grey styrene, a clear sprue, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, vinyl masks, decal sheet and instruction booklet that is printed in colour, 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 several 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 a long insert that covers up the wing root, adding throttle quadrants, levers and instrument boxes, with a little painting to finish off. The engine must be made up before the fuselage can be closed, 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, and you can drill out 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 intake tubing spider is fixed over a toroidal 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 around the assembly, and the wings are made up. 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 installed around the main gear bays for later completion, then the tail feathers are installed, all with separate flying surfaces and fine trailing edges. Four small PE cross-members are fixed within each of the main bays, and the lower engine cowling is installed around the exhaust. The wheels are inventive, having two outer halves and a central boss between the halves that gives a see-thru look if aligned correctly. The struts are single parts with a perpendicular axle, plus separate oleo-scissor link and retraction jacks at the base of each leg, fixed between two triangular pivots. 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, and the tail-wheel fits into a small hole in the rear of the fuselage. An anti-roll-over cage is placed on a faired over section between the two pilots within the cockpit. 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. A pitot probe is mounted in the leading edge of the port wing, and the twin-blade prop with a boss and axle is inserted into the hole in the front of the bell-housing. Markings There are three decal options in the box, two from the Dutch East Indies, and one captured airframe in Japanese colours, with the same basic scheme shared by all options. From the box you can build one of the following: Dutch East Indies Air Force, Java 1941 Dutch East Indies Air Force, Java 1941 Captured by Imperial Japanese Air Force, 1942 Decals are in 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 CW-22B is an extremely niche subject, and it’s 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 in all good model shops. Review sample courtesy of

Only four/five years after RS Models (link), Dora Wings is to release a new tool 1/48th Caudron-Renault CR.714 kits. - ref. DW48047 - Caudron-Renault CR.714 Cyclone Source: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=1929101897320378&set=a.2806061526291073 3D renders V.P.

Vultee Vanguard Mk.I/J.10 (DW48050) 1:48 Dora Wings of Ukraine The Vanguard began with grand aspirations in the design offices of Vultee, where they imagined a suite of aircraft for various purposes that were built around a set of standard components, consisting of wings, tail and rear fuselages. The plan was to create four types, when in actuality only two came from the initial designs, the Vanguard sharing common parts with its stable-mate the Valiant. The Vanguard had some teething troubles due to its intended sleek cowling causing overheating of the 30L radial Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine, and after an accident during trials, the more traditional cowling was adopted to avoid extra weight of ducting to solve a problem that was of their own making. Sweden made a sizeable order, but following the unexpected raid on Pearl Harbour that drew America into WWII, the exports were embargoed and the US was left with a bunch of aircraft on hand that they hadn’t planned on having. The British made representations to take at least 100 off their hands to use as trainers in Canada, but after using them in trials, they handed them back with a resounding “thanks, but no thanks”. It was decided to send them to China for use by additional Tiger Squadrons of the American Volunteer Group (AVG), minus a number that had been written off in ground-loop accidents that it seems to have been prone to. They were sent via India, where even more were lost in trials, and even mislaid in transit, resulting in few of the original consignment reaching China, where American involvement was waning as the pilots returned home to fight the war with Japan and German instead. Chinese pilots were assigned a couple of squadrons of aircraft, and although they appreciated the manoeuvrability of the airframe, they were pitifully slow compared to the faster types in use by the Japanese, and adding its similarity from a distance to some of the Japanese aircraft, many were lost in incidents that we refer to today as blue-on-blue. They did have some success in action however, but generally relied upon hit-and-run tactics to get in, hit the enemy and get out before they woke up and fought back. It can’t have been much fun for the pilots, or the mechanics that had to keep them operational, as they were mechanically frail. Many were destroyed in strafing attacks on the ground, leaving too few to have a meaningful impact on the conflict, so the few remaining Vanguards were mothballed with the possibility of use in the anticipated fight against communism that would be on the horizon once WWII ended. There’s a good chance they’re still there unless someone thought to scrap or move them. The Kit This is another new tooling from our friends at Dora Wings, who are continuing to create great models despite the trials and tribulations that Ukraine has been suffering for the last year. This is their second Vultee aircraft model, and I had a hoot building the first one, the Vengeance last year. If this one is anything like it, it will be more modelling fun. The kit arrives in a modest top-opening box, and inside are seven sprues in a greenish-grey styrene, a sprue of clear parts, a bag containing decals, Photo-Etch (PE) sheet, and pre-cut vinyl masks (not pictured), rounded out by the A5 portrait instruction booklet, printed on glossy paper with colour throughout, and profiles on the rear pages. Detail is excellent, with fine engraved panel lines, rivets and fasteners alongside raised and engraved details that are of top quality. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with the instrument panel that is laminated from a flat backing plate, decal with dials, and the PE instrument panel, which is probably best painted first before being “glued” to the freshly applied decal on the back plate with some clear gloss for alignment purposes. The sloped lower panel is laminated from a styrene plate with PE panel over the top, and the main panel is slotted into the top, with more decals, styrene and PE controls/levers. The rudder pedals are suspended from the back of the panel, then it is set aside while the other parts of the cockpit are made up. The seat is a simple design to which you add lap-belts, and four sub-assemblies are put together for later inclusion in the sidewalls. The sidewalls are tubular frames, which receive the sub-assemblies and individual parts dotted around within reach of the pilot, then these too are set aside to create the cockpit floor. The floor is a flat panel to which you add two boxes as if to receive two seats, but only one is sited atop the forward hump with its control column, with the rear backed by a two layer A-frame and bulkhead that slots into the back of the floor. The port side frame is then attached to the long edge of the floor, followed by the starboard side, remembering to place the radio box on its palette as you do so. The front bulkhead is prepared with two .50cal breeches projecting into the cockpit, and on the front is a two-part tank and reservoir that will be within the engine compartment shortly, after being surrounded by zig-zag tubular frames that make up the engine mounts. An A-frame is added behind the pilot’s head and is braced against the rear of the cockpit, with a headrest for the pilot’s comfort. The fuselage sides have internal details moulded-in, and have additional components added above inserts that hide the wing root before they are closed around the cockpit - after painting of course. The Vanguard is a low-wing monoplane, so the lower wing is full-span, with a long spar and PE divider separating the gear bays within, dropping the upper wing halves over it, and adding the long two-part ailerons to the trailing edges. The fuselage is lowered into position between the two upper wing halves, after which the tail-feathers are prepared, making up the elevator fins from top and bottom halves, the upper side having the entire tip moulded-in to give a slender edge. The elevator flying surfaces are also two layers, with the trailing-edges moulded into the top half to obtain a sharp boundary. The fin and rudder are both two halves each, the rudder having the tip and trailing-edge moulded into the port side for the same reasons. The Pratt & Whitney engine is moulded as two separate banks with additional push-rods, wire loom, bell housing and connecting hoses, plus a central axle and top-mounted magneto installed on the bell-housing beforehand. The ribbed fairing that covers the front of the fuselage has six detail parts inserted inside before it is glued to the nose in preparation for mounting the motor later. First, the three-part cowling, collector ring and hollow-tipped exhaust are assembled around the engine, which by now will have been painted and if you’re feeling dedicated, you’ll have wired up the pistons too. At this stage the tail feathers have all been slotted into the rear of the fuselage, taking care to set them perpendicular to each other. The cowling is completed by a very neatly engineered lip and three sections of PE cooling gills, which you will need to roll and bend to match the profile of the styrene cowling. They sit on a lip hidden within the cowling, so as long as you put enough super glue to hold them, they should stay in place, and having carried out this same task on my Vengeance last year, it’s not too tricky, and the end result is worthwhile. The completed cowling is offered up to the cylindrical hub on the nose, and glues in position along with an intake on the port side that fixes to a lip in the edge of the cut-out. Each of the wheels are assembled from two halves, and as they’re treadless you shouldn’t have any lost detail once you’ve dealt with the seams. The canopy is a three-part affair, with an optional fixed rear section that has different glazing layout, one having fewer panes than the other. The windscreen glues to the front of the cockpit aperture, and the sliding centre section fixes in the middle, sliding back over the fixed section to open. A pair of top-mounted clear wingtip lights slot into holes in the wing surface, with another on the spine behind the cockpit. The landing gear legs are each single parts with a separate scissor-link and three-part captive bay cover, the smallest of which projects out away from the vertical, and are joined by another that hinges from the outer edge of the bay cut-out. More wingtip lights glue into the lower wing, and the tail wheel strut with small door, onto which the smaller tail wheel slides if fitted under the tail. A landing light is inserted into a hole under the port wing next to the pitot probe, adding a crew access stirrup and blade aerial under the cockpit before installing the three blade prop, which is a single part and is gripped from front and rear by a two-part spinner with a small o-ring inserted inside without glue – hopefully. Markings There are four markings options on the decal sheet, two of which relate to real airframes in service (sort of), while two more represent what-if airframes of the Swedish Air Force, as if the export hadn’t been embargoed. From the box you can build one of the following: Vultee Vanguard Mk.I (c/n 502) California, 1940 Vultee J-10 (c/n 501), California, September 1940 Vultee J-10 (c/n 2393), 1 Division F13, Norrkoping 1943 (what-if) Vultee J-10 (c/n 23103), 3 Division F11, Norrkoping 1945 (what-if) Decals are by Dora Wings’ usual partner, 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 feel kind of sorry for this ill-fated and mediocre little aircraft, but this kit of it is excellent, and should bring this diminutive fighter a little bit more prominence than it has received so far. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of Available in the UK in all good model shops. Review sample courtesy of

After the 1/48th kits (link) Dora Wings is to release 1/72nd Bloch MB.151/152/155 kits - ref. DW72026 - Bloch MB.151C-1 - ref. DW72028 - Bloch MB.152C-1 - ref. DW72030 - Bloch MB.151 - Hellenic AF & Luftwaffe - ref. DW72032 - Bloch MB.152 (early) Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2832166377013921&id=1929101897320378 3D renders V.P.

Morane-Saulnier MS.230 in Foreign Service (DW48037) 1:48 Dora Wings The MS.230 was a parasol-winged monoplane trainer used by the French Armée de l’Air during the 1930s, as well as several foreign operators who recognised its tame handling characteristics as the perfect “learner” for novice flyers. Its stability also endeared it to civilian operators after it fell out of use in military circles, with over 1,000 produced. It was powered by a Salmson 9AB 9-cylinder radial engine from the factory, although a few dozen were produced with alternative engines, some of them more powerful to match the customer’s requirements. After France fell to the Nazi Blitzkrieg steamroller, a few extant airframes were taken on charge to use in their training pool, as the Third Reich seemed incapable of leaving a functional war machine on the sidelines, regardless of how ineffective or difficult to maintain they were. Following WWII the civilian market was its major user, and its stable flight characteristics led to it being a camera ‘plane on occasion. A few airframes are still in existence, with more in museums around the world. The Kit This reboxing of a new tooling from Dora Wings that first hit the shelves in 2020. We missed the first one, so this is the first time we’ve laid eyes on the parts, which arrive in the usual petite top-opening box with a painting on the top that has a glossy over-printing on the subject matter, giving it an air of class. Inside the box are five sprues in grey styrene, although two of them contain just one wing surface each. Inside a separate Ziploc bag is a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a small slip of clear acetate pre-printed with windscreen shapes, and the decal sheet. The A5 instructions round out the package, with spot colour throughout and colour profiles at the rear for the decal options. Detail is excellent and there is a lot of fabric draped over ribs depicted on the skin of the aircraft, a full engine, and a detailed reproduction of the parasol wing and its connecting struts. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with the floor, onto which the rear bulkhead and two pairs of rudder pedals that have PE bases are added. Several ribs and braces are fitted into holes in the floor and the two seats are prepared with PE seatbelts before they are mounted on the short bases that are inserted into the floor earlier. A pair of throttle quadrants and instruments with decal dials and aerodynamic fairings are prepared for later use, then the exhaust collector is built out of four parts, the main wheels are each glued together, and an intake horn is also assembled from two plastic halves with a PE grille added to the front. The cylinder banks of the engine are moulded in a single circular part, which you add rods around the rear, and an inverted horseshoe within the hollow mount, plus the bell-housing at the front. Once finished, a PE and styrene fan of push-rods are slipped over the bell-housing, followed by the individual exhaust pipes that converge on the collector ring from the rear, adding a disc and shaft to the centre when it is in place. The fuselage halves have ribs moulded inside around the cockpit area, so painting that before inserting the cockpit and closing-up the two halves is a wise move, and perhaps leave off the PE grab handles and crew step until after painting is completed, the same could be said for the PE windscreen bases and the sheets of acetate that are glued to them. The two-part rudder can be attached to the fin on pegs, deflected to one side if you wish, and adding the aerodynamic fairing to the front of the fuselage. The wings halves are each full-span, and have ailerons slotted into the trailing edge, and an additional instrument panel with decal in the thick centre-section of the wing where the chord is narrowest. A pair of long actuators glue under the wings, with the forward mounting point entering the wing via a raised pattress moulded into the wing. You might be relieved to hear that there’s no rigging, but there are lots of struts to be fitted to the fuselage in preparation for mounting of the wing, starting with the cabane struts over the cowling at the same time the engine is installed at the front. The elevators are each single thickness and slot into the tail on a pair of pegs, with two actuators for the rudder beneath their location. The instrument packages made earlier are glued to the sides of the cockpit using outlines engraved into the surface, then the large forward struts and an additional support are inserted into holes in the sides of the fuselage along with a platform that also has an engraved location point on the fuselage side. The landing gear affixes under the struts at the same locations, made from a V-shaped axle, a PE interlink, and a thick beam that inserts into a hole in the top of the vee of the wing strut, taking care to align everything properly to the wings. The model is completed by fixing a dome beneath the fuselage, the intake horn under the engine, the two-blade prop, the main wheels and a tail-skid at the rear of the fuselage. Markings There are three marking options included on the decal sheet, with a variety of operators for you to choose from, and you can build one of the following from this kit: Belgian Flying School “Ecole de Pilotage Wevelgem”, April 1932 Spanish Republican Air Force, Cuatro Vientos/Museo del Aire, 2009 RC+QT Luftwaffe Flying School, Schweidnitz, summer 1941 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 Another impressive release from Dora Wings under difficult circumstances. A friend came to visit and his eyes lit up when he saw the box, which might give you an idea, and the price should clinch the deal. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

New Dora Wings project is a Miles Master family Mk.I/II & III, a target tower and an experimental fighter. Announced in three scales: 1/48th, 1/72nd and 1/144th. Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2254229254807639&id=1929101897320378 3D renders Miles M.9A Master I V.P.

Dora Wings is to release a 1/72nd Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter (ex-Big Planes Kits (BPK) - link) kit - ref. DW72025 Source: https://www.facebook.com/1929101897320378/photos/a.2862485143982044/2862485210648704/ Box art & schemes TheJapanese one is currently preserved at the Ishikawa Aviation Plaza near Komatsu AB - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishikawa_Aviation_Plaza jetphotos.com/photo/9571892 V.P.

Curtiss-Wright CW-21B Interceptor (DW48046) 1:48 Dora Wings This little-known light-weight fighter was developed as a private project by Curtiss-Wright with a similar ethos to the Japanese Zero, which was under development almost simultaneously half-way around the world. It was intended to be unbeatable to altitude, outclimbing anything from the era, in order to take down bombers or reconnaissance aircraft before they could reach their target. It was supposed to climb away from its attackers so had little in the way of protection for either the pilot or the fuel tanks, and wasn’t all that heavily armed either, with just two guns in the nose of either .30 or .50 calibre, synchronised with the rotation of the propeller. As expected, the US Army Air Corps were disinterested, but the intent had been to export the type anyway, so Curtiss were unconcerned, although one tester was less than complimentary about the difficult landing characteristics of the aircraft, stating that it took a genius to land it safely. In 1940 a small shipment was sent to China as part of an export agreement, with three transported pre-assembled, the remaining airframes to be constructed on arrival, totalling 30 in all. The Chinese liked them a lot more than the Americans, and put them into limited use where they claimed a few kills. Curtiss were looking to improve the design to gain wider appeal, so two additional sub-variants were created, one dropping the Wright R-1820 Cyclone engine in favour of a V-12 Allison motor, which remained a paper project. The other variant was the CW-21B, which changed the retraction of the main gear from rearward to inward, removing the need for fairings under the wings, and giving the gear a more traditional look. The tail-wheel was also made semi-retractable, remaining in the airflow with a fairing surrounding it to minimise disturbance. An order of 24 was made by the Netherlands, but after the country was overcome in short order by the Nazis Blitzkrieg tactics, the order was transferred to the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army where they served valiantly, but were overcome by sheer numbers of Japanese aircraft. Before long they were all either destroyed or no longer airworthy, save for one that was used as a liaison hack, the eventual fate of which is unknown. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from Dora Wings, and it’s an awesome achievement for them to continue to release new products while the Ukraine is still at war, and Eugen is doing his duty for his country. The kit arrives in a small top-opening box with a painting of the type on the front, having just downed a Japanese fighter. Inside is a resealable bag with six rectangular sprues in a medium grey styrene, a small sprue of clear parts, a decal sheet, vinyl canopy masks, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE), and the instruction booklet in A5, printed on glossy paper in colour, with profiles on the rear pages. Detail is excellent, continually improving since their debut, with fine panel lines, raised and engraved details, and inclusion of aspects such as PE and masks that many companies consider extras. Construction begins with the instrument panel, which has a decal for the dials, and is applied to a C-shaped frame, adding some small PE toggles to the dash. A lower stack of instruments is installed between the legs of the frame, from which the rudder pedals hang, and another C-shaped frame glues on behind it, making it free-standing like an easel. The pilot’s seat is a single part that has a pair of PE lap belts slung over the sides, and both assemblies are joined to the floor, which has the control column and a lever installed, plus a bulkhead behind the pilot’s seat. Preparation of the fuselage begins with detailing the insides of the cockpit sidewall on the starboard side with a throttle quadrant and a few levers, and adding more details to the port side. The area around the tail-wheel is a separate insert with ribbing moulded onto the inner faces to allow the original CW-21 to be made from the same fuselage halves. The halves remain separate for now, as the engine must be built first, as it resides inside, so let’s get on with that. The input pathway for the engine is moulded almost complete, but has two missing L-shaped tubes glued into place to finish it off, as is the push-rod wheel, which also has the bell-housing moulded into it, and magneto fixed to the top of it. The 9-cylinder radial engine is made of front and rear halves, with the gaps filled between the cylinders by inserts moulded into the front. The two halves are closed up around the prop-shaft, allowing the propeller to rotate if you don’t overdo the glue. The intake array attaches to the rear with a cylindrical spacer behind it, and the exhaust collectors are made up from two parts each side, with the impression of a hollow lip given by clever moulding. You could deepen the hole to add realism, or just paint the inner black. The two assemblies fix to the engine at the rear, one each side, with the push-rods at the front, and another ring at the rear, joining the three N-shaped mounts that fix to a D-shaped bulkhead behind. Even now, we’re not closing up the fuselage yet. There are wings to be built. As is common with low-wing monoplanes, the underside wing surface is full-width, and the various segments of main gear bay walls insert into position within, performing the additional task of strengthening the shape, accompanied by a short T-shaped spar that also follows and reinforces the dihedral of the wing. The upper wing halves are glued on top, and a central ribbed section covers over the rest of the gear bays. The ailerons are each separate parts, and two small U-shaped ribs are inserted into the bays, and now you can close up the fuselage, trapping the cockpit and engine in position as you do so. A small section of the cowling lip is a separate insert to facilitate adding the gun ports, and a little intake is backed by a trapezoid insert before it is added to the fuselage and the wings are joined to the underside of the fuselage. The fin is moulded into the fuselage, while the elevator fins are fixed by slots and tabs, joined by the separate elevators and the rudder panel, plus a pair of gun barrels that are slipped into the ports in the nose at the same time. The three-bladed prop is a single part to which you add the spinner, and then glue it to the drive-shaft, and the canopy is a single moulding with a spot for the PE ring that has a PE bead inserted into the fuselage in front of the canopy. A pitot probe slides into a hole in the port wing, after which the model is inverted to deal with the gear. The main wheels are each two parts that you can sand a flat into to depict weighting if you wish, and each one mounts on the bottom of the strut, which has a separate oleo scissor-link, and a captive bay door. The inner bay doors each have an L-shaped PE retractor added, and glue to the centreline between the bays along with a retractor for the gear, one part styrene, the other PE. The tail-wheel has a single-sided yoke to which the tiny wheel fits, and the model is completed by adding a clear landing light under each wing, aileron fairings near the wing tips, and a small horn-shaped “thing” between the main gear bays. I don’t profess to know what that is, but is could be a horn, a fuel dump or even a little whistle so people know you’re coming. I’m kidding, by the way. Markings There were only around 50 airframes made, so having three decal options makes for the depiction of a decent proportion of them. They all wear the same basic camouflage, but the operators’ markings help to differentiate them. From the box you can build one of the Following: ‘White Patrol’, Perak Airbase, Java, 2-VLG-IV, September 1941 ‘Yellow Patrol’, Perak Airbase, Java, 2-VLG-IV, September 1941 Ex-Dutch, captured and flown in Japanese markings, Singapore, 1945 I don’t know who prints Dora Wings’ decals, but they have good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The instrument decal is printed as dials only with a clear film that allows the modeller to paint the panel without having to match colours. Conclusion I’m a fan of Dora Wings, as they’re not frightened of portraying types that you might not have heard of before, and suggest that amongst many other reasons to buy their kits, that’s one of them. This little fighter looks like a baby Corsair with straight wings before its prop grew in, and it will confuse the heck out of anyone that hasn’t heard of it before. The fact that it is also a well-detailed kit is a bonus. Don’t forget that the Ukraine is still not the safest place in the world for anyone, so if you decide to purchase this kit (why wouldn’t you?), it’s possible you might have to be patient due to the vagaries of the situation. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Well, I've got a Dora kit of this beauty, but I've picked up the Amelia Special with only this decor supplied. On considering the build, I think I'd prefer one of the other options from other Dora boxes. Winnie Mae, Shell oil, etc. My fuselage has only 2 openings but all the transparent parts and the seats are in the box. I think I can sort out the window situation. But I'm on the scrounge for spare decals 😁 The other boxing comes with I think 4 different civil options. So if you have built this'un and have the remaining transfers spare and not required, I'd be happy to make a deal 😎 Gotta say that Winnie Mae does look great, but any of the other options would be most welcome. Obvs if you want to try your hand with Amelia's NR7952 with gold linings, I've got just the sheet for you as a trade....!

Dora Wings is to release a 1/72nd Savoia-Marchetti S.55 kit - ref. DW72015 Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2265902620306969&id=1929101897320378&__tn__=-R 3D renders V.P.

Here is my recently completed P-63 Kingcobra in 1/72 by Dora Wings for the 'Prototypes, Racers, Research, Record Breakers, Special Schemes mega GB', build log here: A lovely kit with it mainly being injection (by ANG), resin wing modification, PE and kit decals. The kit was let down by not turning it into a proper racer; radio and seat armour plate shouldn't be fitted (too late for me) MG ports and hub cannon should be filled/removed are the now obvious ones. The decals took an age to come off the backing paper too. Painted overall with Humbrol 15 and finished as the winner of the Sohio Handicap Trophy Race, 1948. Thanks for looking. Stuart

My second is this offering from Dora Wings, a P-63 Kingcobra. Box art. And the goodies. Stuart

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.

Dora Wings is to release a 1/48th (later 1/72nd?) Morane-Saulnier MS.230 kits Source: https://www.facebook.com/1929101897320378/photos/a.2014888442075056/2549562265274335 3D render V.P.

Dora Wings is to release a 1/48th Curtiss-Wright SNC-1 Falcon II kit - ref. DW48041 Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2740877219476171&id=1929101897320378 3D renders V.P.

I reviewed this model and as I didn't even finish a single complete kit last year, I wanted to get at least a couple done this year, which I've now managed It's the Dora Wings Vultee Vengeance Mk.II in 1:48, and it was painted up with Gunze Mr Color of the Aqueous and the other ones (I forget the name - they start with C, rather than H). It's pretty much OOB apart from a few bits that I lost and had to replace by scratch-building them. I'm going to have to have a word with that wormhole on my workbench soon Anyway - it's picture time! Note: the tail-wheel went for a lie down just before I took this pic. ...and that me old dears is it. I hope you enjoyed looking at the pics as much as I did building the kit, and if it encourages you to pick one up, just go for it. The fit is good, the finish is excellent, and it's a doozy of a kit of a weird and ugly looking aircraft, which is probably why it appealed to me You can look back over the build here if you're curious about any aspect of it Next up is the painting of the Special 1:48 Hobby V-1 Reichenberg and the delayed completion of the Eduard 1:48 Zero from the tail-end of last year. if you can bear to watch along, I'd be glad to see y'all

Has anyone heard anything about the status of Dora Wings? I am aware there is a war on, however other Ukrainian manufacturers are still operating, and Ukrainian hobby shops are still shipping. The reason I'm asking is that I see announcements from Dora Wings about forthcoming projects (i.e. the DHC-2 Beaver) indicating that there is someone there, but orders remain unfulfilled after 3 months. I'm perfectly happy waiting if they remain shut down due to the war, I'm just curious how they are researching and developing new projects at this time.

Hi, Please find the Dora wings CW-21b. A nice little kit of a not so well known fighter. Thanks to Eugen at @dora for the replacement canopy and excellent service. Paints used: -Tamiya fine surface primer -AK faded olive drab -Gunze Dark green H-73 -Highlights Tamiya Flat green XF-5 -Tamiya Buff thinned for filter -Tamiya TS-17 Gloss aluminium (underside) -Tamiya X-22 -VMS satin coat Sorry, for it being a little picture heavy. Please also find the WIP: That’s all, thanks for watching. Regards, Rob

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

Dora Wings has a family of Bloch MB.151/152 & 155 in project Source: https://www.facebook.com/pg/DoraWings-1929101897320378/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2257706667793231 - ref. DW48017 - Bloch MB.151 - ref. DW48019 - Bloch MB.152C.1 - ref. DW48021 - Bloch MB.155C.1 - ref. DW48039 - Bloch MB.151 - Foreign service: Greece & Luftwaffe V.P.

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.