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Dornier Do.217J-1/2 (03814) 1:48 Carrera Revell The origin of the Do.217 was the Do.17 ‘Flying Pencil’ as it was colloquially known, in an effort to extract more power and therefore speed from the engines, extend its range and give it a better bomb load amongst other improvements. The resulting airframe was a capable and left the early war designs in its wake, becoming known as a heavy bomber in Luftwaffe service, something they were very short of throughout the war. It was also a versatile aircraft in a similar way to the Ju.88, and was adapted to many other roles like its predecessors, including the night fighter role, to which it was suited, although not initially. Various engine types were used through the endless rounds of improvements, with radial and inline engines fitted in a seemingly random pattern throughout the aircraft's life. The first night fighter was the J-1 with radial engines that had a crew of three in an enlarged cockpit and solid nose sporting four MG17 machine guns and another four 20mm cannons in the front of the gondola for concentrated forward fire. The crews disliked it due to the increased weight of the extra equipment however, and criticism led to an order to cease production of the night fighter variants, which Dornier either didn't receive or chose to ignore. The J-2 was little better, changing the 20mm FF/M cannons out for MG151s and removing the vestigial aft bomb bay, which was faired over with an appropriate drop in overall weight. Some of this weight was gained back with the installation of the FuG 202 Lichtenstein radar. This still wasn’t enough and the crews continued complaining, leading Dornier to produce the improved N series, which eventually entered service in small numbers as the N-1 and N-2 variants. The Kit This is a reboxing by Revell of minor tooling revision from ICM, based upon the sprues from the J series’ successor, the N series that was tooled first. The additional sprues cover parts for the backdating of the engines and nacelles to the earlier BMW 801 radials, as well as a new nose cone and cover for the radar equipped J-2 and earlier J-1 with its clean radar-free nose. Inside the large end-opening box are nine sprues in grey styrene, although the instructions show the two wings on separate sprues, but these are linked in our sample. A clear sprue, sheet of decals and the instruction booklet complete the package, most of which is held in a resealable clear bag, with the decals inserted within the pages of the instruction booklet. Construction begins with the well-detailed cockpit and fuselage, which is almost identical to the earlier N until you reach the nose cone, giving you a choice of the unadorned J-1 nose with cover for the tip where previous variants had searchlights, or the similar J-2 nose that has a pair of supports for the radar whiskers. The wings and tail are also identical to the N, although the new engines and nacelles are where things start to diverge properly. The radial BMW units are made up from two banks of pistons, the rear set having a bulkhead moulded in, then has the ancillaries and cooling fan added to the front. The cowlings are built in sections with exhaust stubs fitted to the insides, with three sections linked to complete the cylindrical cowling into which the engine slots before being locked in by the front cowling lip. This of course is done twice, as are the nacelles, which have ribbing detail moulded within and bulkheads to add detail and prevent see-through issues. The engine cowling slots onto the front of the nacelle and the retraction jacks are installed from above before it is fitted to the wing, as are the main oleos, mudguards and the two-piece wheels. You can also add in the gear bay doors at this point if you’re a masochist, or leave them off until main painting is over. The underside is completed by adding in the engine nacelles, completing the rear of the gondola under the nose with its glazing and inserting the closed bomb bay doors for the J-1, or by leaving the bay open, adding the extra fuel tank that was used to extend range, and installing the bifold doors in the open position. The retractable rear wheel also has its doors fitted with a small insert in front of the bay, finishing off the area. Flipping the model over shows the open cockpit, which needs the remaining parts adding before the glazing can be glued in place. Some small parts are added to the inside of the canopy before it is put in place, with the rear turret and defence machine gun added into the rear fairing. Additional appliqué armoured glass is present on the two front canopy panels, which can be “glued” with some clear varnish, making certain you haven’t trapped any bubbles between the parts before you set it to one side to dry. The next steps involve guns. Lots of them. All the barrels are slotted into the nose and your choice of nose cap is fitted, with the radar whiskers made up and cut to size for the J-2 decal options. The props are made up from a single part with all blades moulded in, then trapped between the front and rear parts of the spinner. The last parts are a set of cheek “pouches” that are fixed to either side of each nacelle with a set of curved grilles moulded in, and two exhaust deflectors on the top of the nacelles. Markings There are two decal options included on the sheet, both wearing a green/grey splinter over blue undersides, and differentiated by their markings and mottle patterns. From the box you can build one of the following: Do.217J-2, II./NJG101, Luftwaffe, Hungary, 1943 Do.217J-1, II./NJG1, Luftwaffe, 1944 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion The Flying Pencil and its variants don’t get as much love as the more popular Junkers or ‘einkels, but they played an important part in the Nazi war machine, so deserve the level of effort that has clearly gone into production of this kit. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
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Dornier Do.17Z Wing Fuel Tank Panels & Filler Caps (4465 for ICM) 1:48 CMK by Special Hobby A few years ago, ICM created a range of 1:48 kits of the German Bomber that began with the Dornier Do.17, and evolved during the war into several variants that were sometimes only recognisable by their similar design cues and skinny fuselage, which earned it the nickname “The Flying Pencil”. The kits are modern, well-detailed and readily available, but as I always say, you can always improve the detail. This set goes beyond adding detail to the visible areas of the kit, and delves into the equipment hidden beneath the aircraft’s skin, specifically the wings. The inner wing areas of the Do.17Z were filled with fuel tanks that fed the BMW Bramo Fafnir radial engines that were mounted in nacelles under the wings outboard of the tanks. As usual with CMK's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar clear vacformed box, with the resin parts safely inside, and the instructions sandwiched between the header card at the rear. Decals and Photo-Etch (PE) is separated from the resin parts by a clear piece of acetate to prevent scratching and damage during transit. The box includes fifteen grey resin parts, plus a fret of PE that provides the bay surrounds where the individual panels were secured to the airframe. The lower wing is where most of the preparation is made, cutting out the panels on either side of the wing that are marked in grey on the instructions, while on the upper wing the three filler caps are drilled out to the correct size, one on each wing, one in the centre. After preparation, two circular resin parts that portray the filler cap and surround are glued together and inserted into each of the holes from below, and the flat cover panels are left free as they would be on removal by the maintainers. The lower wing has the rectangular bay areas inserted from within, filling the bays with the resin fuel tanks, which should allow the ribbing detail on the sides of the bays to remain visible from outside. The PE surrounds with fastening holes etched into them are glued to the perimeter of the bays, slightly below the level of the wing’s skin. The replacement resin panels will have been removed by the mechanics and either laid on the ground, propped against the aircraft or placed somewhere else convenient for later reinstallation. The extra detail will look good on your model and bring additional interest to the wing area, although they will be more obvious from above in a diorama situation with mechanics and other crew in the vicinity. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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Dornier Do.17Z (A05010A) 1:72 Airfix The Dornier Do 17, nicknamed the Fliegender Bleistift or flying pencil due to its slender fuselage, was a light bomber designed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke in the mid-1930s. Along with the Heinkel He 111, the Do 17 carried out the lion’s share of bombing raids against the UK up to the end of the Battle of Britain. The Do 17Z was the main production variant and featured a redesigned forward fuselage that was enlarged with an underslung gondola in order to accommodate a rear gunner. The Z-2 sub-variant featured new 1000hp engines that addressed an earlier problem with underpowered units, enabling the bomb load to be doubled from 500kgs to 1000kgs, but this increased load limited combat radius to 210 miles with a standard fuel load. For the crew there were additional side firing guns, however as the three guns in the gondola were served by one gunner he couldn’t serve all of them at the same time, limiting their effectiveness. After heavy losses over Britain the machine guns were replaced with heavier MG 151/15 cannons for more stopping power. Many former bombers were later modified with solid Ju.88 noses containing guns as night fighters, where speed and bomb load didn’t really matter, letting them install additional fuel in the bay for longer loiter time in their assigned box. The Kit This is a reboxing of the 2014 tool of this type, and is a product of the revived Airfix, and is very well detailed for the scale. The instructions give their thanks to the RAF Museum and a gentleman named Ian Thirsk for their help in creating the kit, and looking over the instruction booklet gives the impression of a kit larger than its scale, speaking as a 1:48 modeller normally. It arrives in a slender red-themed top-opening box, and inside are a generous four sprues of parts in grey styrene, plus a separately bagged sprue of clear parts, decal sheet and the instruction booklet that has colour profiles on the rear pages. Detail is good, and there are multiple options available to customise your model to suit yourself, as well as wheels up and wheels down options. Construction begins with the cockpit, which is well-detailed with a large number of parts and a choice of angular or curved pilot’s seat, side consoles with spare ammo cans for the defensive armament, control column and a crew of four, all of whom have their left hands on their laps, and their right arms as separate parts to allow you to pose them. The pilot’s seat is built on a raised platform and slots into the port fuselage half, as does the tail-wheel assembly in retracted position, or it is left off until later to be installed externally. Two more crew seats are inserted lower down in the cockpit, then the fuselage can be closed up, removing a small tab inside the oval cut-out in front of the tail wheel. The final seat is a 3-part affair that faces aft in the rear of the cockpit, and is inserted after closure to be followed by the rear glazing of the gondola, which has a circular window moulded in and a hole for a machine gun. The instrument panel with decal is glued to the front of the fuselage, and a C-shaped assembly that is made earlier with tons of ammo cans around the walls slots into place boxing out the rear seater’s area and forming the front bulkhead of the bomb bay. The bay is next to be detailed, having three cross-braces added, two of which are the main wing spar sections, and these are joined by a rear bay insert and a small window that is inserted from within. The bay roof is created (see the pic below) when the upper wing is glued onto the fuselage as a solitary part, leaving the rest of the wing to be built in-situ. The upper wing is offered up to the aperture’s leading-edge angled down so that it fits properly, and alignment is key here as it will be highly visible. The lower wings are prepared with aft bulkheads to the main gear bays before they are joined with the upper wings on the fuselage in advance of creating the engine nacelles. Each nacelle is made from two halves that drop into place around the bay roof, then have a front bulkhead inserted, having the tapering fairing with exhaust collector ring and two inserts put together and mated to the front ready for the engines. Each engine has the bank of cylinders moulded as a single part to which you add the intakes and ancillaries at the rear, and the bell-housing with stators at the front. They are fixed to the collector rings and have the three-piece cowlings slipped over the engine and around the twin exhausts that exit over the top of the wings. A T-shaped insert closes the top of the cowlings, locking in the exhausts for posterity. The elevator fins are made of three parts into a single assembly that can have its angle of incidence altered by up to 15°, and the elevators themselves are a single full-span part that can be deflected up by 24° and down by 22°, and have inserts underneath for the actuators, and two-part rudders at each end. You’re not given a degree value for the rudders though, so make your own investigations. The flying surfaces of the main planes are all separate, and building them begins with the flaps, which you can install deployed using a shortened aft-section of the nacelle, or ‘clean’ by removing the hinges and choosing the full rear section of the nacelle. The process is repeated in mirror-image on the other wing, and the two ailerons are added with 20° deflection possible in either direction. For a flying model you simply plate over the gear bays with single parts that have a panel line down the middle to depict the two doors, making your life and alignment very much easier. For the landed Pencil, the H-shaped gear legs with sections of the spar are inserted into the bays, then backed up by linked retraction jacks with a mudguard near the lower end, the angle of which is shown in a side diagram for each one. The wheels have flat-spots moulded-in, and are each made of two halves that flex-fit between the gear legs. The bays are finished off by a pair of doors attached to the sides on hinge pegs. The closed bomb bay is achieved simply by adding the one-part doors over the aperture after deciding whether you will drill two holes for an Airfix stand. For the open bomb bay, there are four ladders with five bombs each, or two larger bombs on their own mounts that sit centrally with the empty ladders to each side. If you want to depict your Dornier on a long-distance raid, you can insert a two-part ancillary fuel tank in the front of the bomb bay, sacrificing either two ladders of smaller bombs, or the front large bomb and two empty ladders. Each option has a scrap diagram to show how it should look on completion. The bay is finished off with two bay doors on three hinge pegs, then it’s time to put some glass in your Pencil. There’s a new twist on an old saying! The faceted nose dome has a machine gun with twin mags pushed through the hole near the middle, and the main glazing has another two, one offset at the front, the other in a ring at the rear. Another gun slips through the glazing in the rear of the gondola from above, while the front is glazed with another angled section that has the crew hatch between them, either left open for access, or with the hinge snipped off to pose it closed. When installed, the main canopy has an antenna and D/F loop inserted into holes in the roof, taking care to slip the two side-facing machine guns through the loups in the side of the cockpit before applying glue. Four small clear panels are inserted into sockets in the upper wing centre, plus one last bit of clear that slides into a matching hole in the leading edge of the port wing. A pitot probe is mounted next to the light, and an odd little antenna on a cylindrical base is inserted into the fuselage just behind the canopy. The last job is to put the props on, which are made up from three blades moulded to a central boss that is clamped between the spinner cap and base plate, then is completed by inserting a pin through a collar and into the rear of the prop, taking care to keep the glue off the collar, and again when the collar is glued into the front of the engine’s bell-housing, leaving you with a rotating prop to play with. There are two of them. You got that, didn’t you? Markings There are two decal options in this boxing from early WWII, but in very different locations. Both are wearing early war green splinter camouflage over RLM65 as their basic scheme. From the box you can build one of the following: 9/Kampfgeschwader 76, Cormeilles-en-Vexim, North France, shot down on 18th August 1940 near Biggin Hill in Kent after a raid on RAF Kenley 1/ Kampfgeschwader 2, Menidi (Tatoi) Aerodrome, Greec, May 1941 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A welcome re-release of what must have been a welcome modern new tooling back in 2014. Although that’s eight years ago as of writing, it still looks plenty good for the task in hand. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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Dornier Do.17Z Bomber Guns & Wheels (648608 & 648609 for ICM) 1:48 Eduard Brassin ICM have been busily flooding the market with variants of the Flying Pencil for a while now, and it’s a good thing as there is plenty of demand. They’re also detailed, modern kits and fill a void in my favourite scale. Eduard have even released their own special edition that uses ICM plastic, and have created these sets to upgrade the detail, regardless of whose box it is in. If you have a Do.17Z of any other brand, these two sets would probably fit too, although that’s for you to decide. Don’t blame me! As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, they arrive in the shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around, acting as padding. The smallest Brassin sets arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Do.17Z Wheels (648608) This set is bagged, and includes the three wheels with a slight weighted sag, each on their own casting blocks, plus the tail wheel yoke and the fairing that is trapped between the fuselage halves during main construction of the model. Also included is a sheet of yellow Kabuki tape (not pictured) that has masks for each of the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation neatly with very little effort. A scrap diagram shows the correct orientation of the wheels on the gear leg, with an arrow showing the direction of travel. Detail is excellent as you can see with radial tread and sidewall detail crisp and visible. Do.17Z Bomber Guns (648609) This delicate set is boxed for protection, and contains three bags of parts. One bag has six insanely fine MG15s, which are chambered for 7.92mm rounds. The other casting blocks contain fourteen twin drum mags for the guns and as spares for the racks that surround the gunner’s seat, with a choice of egg-shaped bags for the spent brass, or a larger concertina bag for the same use. The third bag has a small piece of white card that protects the Photo-Etch (PE) that contains the fronts of the drum mags, a strap for each one, plus a pair of ring and bead sights for each gun. The very aft of the gun’s breech and the bubble-catcher on the barrel should be removed with a sharp knife, and the cocking handle is replicated by a piece of 0.5mm wire or rod that you supply from your own stock. Painting instructions are included throughout using Gunze codes and colour names as usual. Handily, the pencil carried a complement of 6 of this type of gun. Review sample courtesy of
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Dornier Do.17Z-2 WWII Finnish Bomber 1:48 ICM (48246) The Dornier Do 17, nicknamed the flying pencil due to its slender shape, was a light bomber designed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke in the mid-1930s. Along with the Heinkel He 111, the Do 17 carried out the lion’s share of bombing raids against the UK up to the end of the Battle of Britain. The Do 17 Z was the main production variant and featured a redesigned forward fuselage that was enlarged in order to accommodate a rear gunner. The Z-2 sub-variant featured new 1000hp engines which addressed an earlier problem with under powered units. This enabled the bomb load to be doubled from 500kgs to 1000kgs, this full load did though limit combat radius to 210 miles. For the crew there were additional side firing guns, however as the three guns in the pod were only served by one gunner he could not do all at the same time. After heavy losses the machine guns were replaced with heavier MG 151/15 cannons. As the Germans supplied equipment to their allied No.46 Sqn (Later 46 Bomber Sqn) of the Finnish Air Force would receive 15 Aircraft in January 1942. Ten of these would be lost to operations but the remaining five would serve through to 1952 when they were scrapped. The Kit ICM have been releasing plenty of Do.17 and Do.215/7 variants in the last couple of years, which has been great news for the Luftwaffe modeller in 1:48, with only a few kits and variants to choose from previously. The Z-10 was first of the Do.17 variants to hit the shelves, with the Z-2 and Z-7 all based on the same basic sprues but with additional parts added to depict the differences. The origin of the tooling is 2015, and is part of the newly ICM that has been improving their mould manufacturing techniques, so is of good standard, with plenty of detail. There are a number of parts that will be left on the sprues after construction due to the nature of the tooling, and these are marked out on the instructions. The box is standard ICM fair with the inner flap protecting the parts, and inside the sprues are protected by a single resealable bag with another separating the clear parts within to prevent any issues. Construction begins with the cockpit, but unusually it is the sidewalls details that are inserted within the fuselage, which even includes the small raised platform on which the pilot's seat and control column sits. The other crew seat is fitted to the starboard fuselage side along with more details, and aft of this there are three bulkheads that bracket the bomb bay, which also has a stiffening lip added long the sides. The rear gunner's seat is fitted last on frames at the rear of the cockpit, and what passes for a cockpit floor is first glued to an insert that then attaches to the underside of the nose. The underside nose glazing is then added. A main internal tank is then made up and fitted behind the cockpit section. The upper wing is full span, and the lower wings are separate, with cut-outs for the landing gear bays that expose moulded-in detail within the inside of the upper panels. It has separate ailerons and fits over the top of the fuselage, covering the bomb bay over. If you're planning on opening the bay doors, remember to paint the inside of the wing a dark colour so it can't be seen, as it doesn't have any internal structure, but does have some recesses and ejector pin marks that could possibly be seen past the fuel tank or in the aft portion of the bay that is empty. The elevators are separate and form a H-shaped assembly with the rudders, which are also poseable, and these fit flush with the top of the fuselage by the usual slot/tab arrangement. Taking care to align these properly now will save a lot of work blending them in later. Building up the engine nacelles commences with the firewalls added to the lower wing cut-outs, following which the aft bulkhead has the retraction struts glued in place, and they too slot into the wing. The inner sides of the wheel bays are added to the wing, and these have pegs on their backsides that locate the outer nacelle skins on the airframe correctly, after the engine mounts are inserted into the port sides. The starboard sides are mounted in the same manner, and the radial engines are then constructed from a healthy number of parts, including detailed pistons, crank case, exhaust collector and fishtail tips, fitting onto the exposed engine mounts in each nacelle. The cowlings are provided as a frontal section with the annular radiator behind them, and then a framework that allows the access panels to be posed open or closed to show off the detail provided within. The props are single parts, with a spinner that fits over them, and if you're so minded, you could leave them able to spin just for the fun of it. A few scoops are fixed to the nacelles, the sturdy twin undercarriage legs with large tyres slot into the front of the bays, with two bay doors per nacelle, one each side fitting onto little hinge-points within the nacelle lip. The landing gear is made up of a two part wheel added to the main strut. A mud guard is also fitted. For the inside of the bomber full bomb racks and bombs are supplied which are now built up and slotted inside. The bomb bay doors can of course be closed as well as open but it would be shame not to include all the detail. The rear of the nose gondola is a clear part with two circular windows that will need masking off, and the canopy is moulded as a single part. Four ball-mounted machine guns slot through the front, rear, and both sides (at the rear), an aerial fits into a recess on the roof, and a blade aerial fit on top. The canopy can then be mounted. The nose glazing can also be fitted with its ball mounted machine gun. Decals There is a choice of two markings from 46 Sqn of the Finnish Air Force. Both are in Black/Green camo with blue undersides. They have yellow fuselage bands and underside yellow wing tips. One Aircraft also has large areas of white winter camo. Decals are in good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion Another of ICM's excellent line. Good detail with a slightly narrow choice of decals, which given only one sqn of the Finnish Air Force flew them its hardly surprising. It's now more possible than ever before to build a wide range of Do17s in 1:48, for which ICM are to be congratulated. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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Dornier Do.217J-1/2 (48272) 1:48 ICM via Hannants The origin of the Do.217 was the Do.17 Flying Pencil as it was colloquially known, to extract more power from the engines, extend its range and give it a better bomb load amongst other improvements. The resulting airframe was a good one and left the early war designs in its wake becoming known as a heavy bomber in Luftwaffe service, something they were very short of throughout the war. It was also a versatile aircraft much like the Ju.88, and was adapted to many other roles like its predecessors, including the night fighter role, to which it was suited, although not initially. Various engine types were used through the endless rounds of improvements, with radial and inline engines fitted in a seemingly random pattern throughout the aircraft's life. The first night fighter was the J-1 with radial engines, had a crew of three in an enlarged cockpit and solid nose sporting four MG17 machine guns and another four 20mm cannons in the front of the gondola for concentrated forward fire. The crews disliked it due to the increased weight of the extra equipment however, and criticism led to an order to cease production of the night fighter variants, which Dornier either didn't receive or chose to ignore. The J-2 was little better, changing the 20mm FF/M cannons out for MG151s and removing the vestigial aft bomb bay, which was faired over with an appropriate drop in overall weight. Some of this weight was gained back with the installation of the FuG 202 Lichtenstein radar. This still wasn’t enough and the crews continued complaining, leading Dornier to produce the improved N series, which eventually entered service in small numbers as the N-1 and N-2 variants. The Kit This is a minor tooling revision from ICM, based upon the sprues from the J series’ successor, the N series that ICM tooled first. You can see our review of the N-1 here, and you might recognise the main sprue pictures below if you view them side-by-side (hint: they’re the same pics). The additional sprues cover parts for the backdating of the engines and nacelles to the earlier BMW 801 radials, as well as a new nose cone and cover for the radar equipped J-2 and earlier J-1 with its clean radar-free nose. New Sprues Construction begins with the well-detailed cockpit and fuselage, which is almost identical to the N until you reach the nose cone, giving you a choice of the unadorned J-1 nose with cover for the tip where previous variants had searchlights, or the similar J-2 nose that has a pair of supports for the radar whiskers. The wings and tail are also identical to the N, although the new engines and nacelles are where things start to diverge properly. The radial BMW units are made up from two banks of pistons, the rear set having a bulkhead moulded in, then has the ancillaries and cooling fan added to the front. The cowlings are built in sections with exhaust stubs fitted to the insides, with three sections linked to complete the cylindrical cowling into which the engine slots before being locked in by the front cowling lip. This of course is done twice, as are the nacelles, which have ribbing detail moulded within and bulkheads to add detail and prevent see-through issues. The engine cowling slots onto the front of the nacelle and the retraction jacks are installed from above before it is fitted to the wing, as are the main oleos, mudguards and the two-piece wheels. You can also add in the gear bay doors at this point if you’re a masochist, or leave them off until main painting is over. The underside is completed by adding in the engine nacelles, completing the rear of the gondola under the nose with its glazing and inserting the closed bomb bay doors for the J-1, or by leaving the bay open, adding the extra fuel tank that was used to extend range, and installing the bifold doors in the open position. The retractable rear wheel also has its doors fitted with a small insert in front of the bay, finishing off the area. Flipping the model over shows the open cockpit, which needs the remaining parts adding before the glazing can be glued in place. Some small parts are added to the inside of the canopy before it is put in place, with the rear turret and defence machine gun added into the rear fairing. Additional appliqué armoured glass is present on the two front canopy panels, which can be “glued” with some clear varnish, making certain you haven’t trapped any bubbles between the parts before you set it to one side to dry. The next steps involve guns. Lots of them. All the barrels are slotted into the nose and your choice of nose cap is fitted, with the radar whiskers made up and cut to size for the J-2 decal options. The props are made up from a single part with all blades moulded in, then trapped between the front and rear parts of the spinner. The last parts are a set of cheek “pouches” at are fixed to either side of each nacelle with a set of curved grilles moulded in, and two exhaust deflectors on the top of the nacelles. Markings There are four decal options available from the decal sheet, only one of which is a J-1, the rest being J-2s of course. There are a variety of paint schemes too, with three using splinter on the upper surfaces but with three different heights of demarcation between the top and bottom colours that will require you to stay on the ball when masking. The other option is an all-black machine with all the opportunities of weathering and fading that black allows. I remember my art teacher telling me there is no such thing as true black, but that was before Black 3.0 was released! From the box you can build one of the following: Do.217J-1 II./NJG 1, Hungary 1944 Do.217J-2, Germany Spring 1942 Do.217J-2, Germany Autumn 1942 (with optional camouflage variation) Do.217J-2, 4./NJG 3, Denmark, 1944 The decals aren’t marked by its printers, but they’re in good register with colour density and sharpness that should be more than acceptable for use and have a glossy carrier film that is cut close to the printing, with a few exceptions on the codes. Conclusion Another detailed kit of the Flying Pencil and its relatives, filling a gap in the range that’s now available from ICM. I can’t wait to see what’s next? Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of
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Do 17Z-7 WWII German Night Fighter 1:72 ICM The Dornier Do 17, nicknamed the Fliegender Bleistift or flying pencil due to its slender shape, was a light bomber designed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke in the mid-1930s. Along with the Heinkel He 111, the Do 17 carried out the lion’s share of bombing raids against the UK up to the end of the Battle of Britain. The Do 17 Z was the main production variant and featured a redesigned forward fuselage that was enlarged in order to accommodate a rear gunner. The Z-7 was a dedicated night fighter, featuring a solid nose borrowed from the Junkers 88C. The new nose was was fitted with four guns; one 20mm cannon and three 7.92mm machine guns. An additional fuel tank in the bomb bay improved loiter time and for those dangerous head-on assaults, additional crew armour was fitted to the front bulkhead to protect them from defensive fire. This kit is the fourth iteration of ICM's excellent new tool Dornier. The plastic is essentially identical to the original Z-2 kit, but with a small extra sprue containing the new nose. Inside the very sturdy top-opening box are three largish frames of light grey plastic, a single clear plastic frame and the aforementioned nose. Together they hold a total of nearly 200 parts. The airframe is covered in crisp, recessed panel lines which look very good indeed, and the mouldings are crisp and clean. The instructions are an A4 stapled booklet which has been printed in colour and the decal sheet is clear and well printed. The overall impression is of a well-executed kit which looks like it should be thoroughly enjoyable to build. Construction begins with the very well detailed cockpit. Interior detail includes crew seats, rudder pedals, a control column (moulded in two parts), radio gear and other sidewall details. The instrument panel is made up from two parts and is really nice in terms of moulded detail. Internal frames for the bomb bay and wing spar are also included, as is the additional long range fuel tank for the forward part of the bomb bay. Interestingly, the instructions suggest you assemble and fit a full load of bombs into the aft part of the bomb bay. I think it's safe to say you can ignore this stage and save yourself the trouble of painting ten bombs! The upper wing is moulded as a single span, complete with interior detail for the main landing gear bays. The ailerons are moulded as separate parts, which is always welcome. The rest of the flying surfaces follow suite, with the rudders and elevators all moulded separately. The elevator balance mechanisms are also included. The bramo radial engines are presented in their complete form and are rather nicely detailed, which opens up the possibility of finishing the model in some form of maintenance diorama. The main landing gear legs have to be installed as part of the construction of the engine pods, so take your time making sure everything fits well together and is painted ready for installation. With the engines in place, the rest of the build is occupied with finishing details. The canopy is nice and clear, while the rear-firing MG15 is included. The new nose includes the muzzles for the cannon and machine guns, all of which were already included on the original sprues. Decal options are included for two aircraft, both of I.NJG 2, Glitze-Rijen, Autumn 1940 (R4+HK and R4+FK). Both aircraft are finished in the overall black scheme shown on the box artwork. The decals look nicely printed but no stencils are included. Conclusion ICM have certainly made the most of their investment in their new tooling, unlike Airfix who stopped at the classic Battle of Britain bomber. While both kits are excellent, ICM's effort is slightly ahead of the Airfix kit in terms of detail. The mouldings are high quality and the surface structures are fine and crisp. Overall this is a well executed and carefully designed kit which looks as though it will be thoroughly enjoyable to build. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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Ready for inspection is my 1:72 Airfix Dornier Do17z. The kit was a joy to build, no flash, nice attention to detail, pretty good decals and 2 colour schemes. I really enjoyed the challenge of airbrushing the splinter pattern on this aircraft, it's the second one I have attempted and they look really effective once finished. I have painted the canopy by hand, deciding it was easier than painstakingly masking up all the clear sections, and I'm happy with the result. Just hope I've done the aircraft justice.
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My next build will be the first German bomber I have attempted, and looking inside the box I'm already eager to get started! I am building Airfix's 1:72 Dornier Do17z, the box contains detailed instructions and decal instruction sheet, and 2 varients of decals. There are 4 detailed sprues, with no flash and a clear sprue (lots of canopy to mask!) All in all it looks a lovely little kit. I plan to build the aircraft flown by Croatian voulenteers of 15/ Kampfgeschwader 53 in 1941, and aim for an out of the box build with gear down. Doing a little bit of online research this morning, I have found several documentaries online about the surviving Dornier found off the coast of Margate, now at RAF Cosford under restoration. Definitely worth a watch. Anyway, back to business......the kit is washed and awaiting attention.
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Dornier Do.17Z-7 WWII German Night Fighter (48245) 1:48 ICM The Dornier Do 17, nicknamed the Fliegender Bleistift or flying pencil due to its slender shape, was a light bomber designed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke in the mid-1930s. Along with the Heinkel He 111, the Do 17 carried out the lion’s share of bombing raids against the UK up to the end of the Battle of Britain. The Do 17 Z was the main production variant and featured a redesigned forward fuselage that was enlarged in order to accommodate a rear gunner. The Z-7 sub-variant featured a new nose that was borrowed from the Junkers 88C, and was fitted with four guns, one 20mm and three 7.92mm machine guns, all concentrated in the nose for maximum destructive effect. An additional fuel tank in the bomb bay improved loiter time, and for those dangerous head-on assaults, additional crew armour was fitted to the front bulkhead to protect them from the defensive fire of the bomber stream. The nickname Screech-Owl (Kauz) was coined, and the Z-7 was later replaced by the Kauz II, which was the Z-10, fitted with an infrared searchlight, an infrared detection suite and four machine guns instead. The Kit ICM have been releasing plenty of Do.17 and Do.215/7 variants in the last couple of years, which has been great news for the Luftwaffe modeller in 1:48, with only a few kits and variants to choose from previously. The Z-10 was first of the Do.17 variants to hit the shelves, with the Z-2 and now the Z-7 based on the same basic sprues but with additional parts added to depict the differences. The origin of the tooling is 2015, and is part of the newly invigorated ICM that has been pushing their mould manufacturing techniques, so is of good standard, with plenty of detail, sensible construction and so forth. The plastic in the box is almost identical to the Z-10, save for the nose-cone, which has been tooled on a separate sprue, and the decal sheet of course. There are a number of parts that will be left on the sprues after construction due to the nature of the tooling, and these are marked out on the instructions. The box is standard ICM fair with the inner flap protecting the parts, and inside the sprues are protected by a single resealable bag with another separating the clear parts within and preventing chaffing damage in transit. The decal sheet is hidden within the glossy colour printed instruction booklet, which has the painting and decaling guide on its back pages. Construction begins with the cockpit, but unusually it is the sidewalls details that are inserted within the fuselage, which even includes the small raised platform on which the pilot's seat and control column sits. The other crew seat is fitted to the starboard fuselage side along with more details, and aft of this there are three bulkheads that bracket the bomb bay, which also has a stiffening lip added long the sides, none of which will be visible, so don't waste any time painting them unless you are planning on opening the bomb bay doors to expose the additional fuel tank that will be fitted there. The rear gunner's seat is fitted last on frames at the rear of the cockpit, and what passes for a cockpit floor is first glued to an insert that then attaches to the underside of the nose. The lower glazing behind the nose is preserved, giving the crew a good view below them, which the solid nose curtails. The upper wing is full span, and the lower wings are separate, with cut-outs for the landing gear bays that expose moulded-in detail within the inside of the upper panels. It has separate ailerons and fits over the top of the fuselage, covering the bomb bay over. If you're planning on opening the bay doors, remember to paint the inside of the wing a dark colour so it can't be seen, as it doesn't have any internal structure, but does have some recesses and ejector pin marks that could possibly be seen past the fuel tank or in the aft portion of the bay that is empty. The elevators are separate and form a H-shaped assembly with the rudders, which are also poseable, and these fit flush with the top of the fuselage by the usual slot/tab arrangement. Taking care to align these properly now will save a lot of work blending them in later. Building up the engine nacelles commences with the firewalls added to the lower wing cut-outs, following which the aft bulkhead has the retraction struts glued in place, and they too slot into the wing. The inner sides of the wheel bays are added to the wing, and these have pegs on their backsides that locate the outer nacelle skins on the airframe correctly, after the engine mounts are inserted into the port sides. The starboard sides are mounted in the same manner, and the radial engines are then constructed from a healthy number of parts, including detailed pistons, crank case, exhaust collector and fishtail tips, fitting onto the exposed engine mounts in each nacelle. The cowlings are provided as a frontal section with the annular radiator behind them, and then a framework that allows the access panels to be posed open or closed to show off the detail provided within. The props are single parts, with a spinner that fits over them, and if you're so minded, you could leave them able to spin just for the fun of it. A few scoops are fixed to the nacelles, the sturdy twin undercarriage legs with large tyres slot into the front of the bays, with two bay doors per nacelle, one each side fitting onto little hinge-points within the nacelle lip. Open and closed bomb bay doors are included, and all that's left to do now is finish off the glazing. The rear of the nose gondola is a clear part with two circular windows that will need masking off, and the canopy is moulded as a single part, with an additional armoured glass panel in front of the pilot's screen. A ball-mounted machine gun slots through the rear, an aerial fits into a recess on the roof, and a cowling for one of the sensors (I want to say NAXOS?) sits behind it. My Do.17Z-7's got no nose. How does it smell? Vaguely plasticky now you mention it. The new nose has four holes for each of the guns, the largest of course being the 20mm MG151 cannon, the barrel of which is tubular. The smaller 7.92mm MG17s have to be cut shorter according to a template before fitting to get the correct protrusion from the nose cone. Pop the kinked pitot probe on the port wing, and wind up your compressor. Markings It's any colour as long as it's black because it's a night fighter, so don't fall into the trap of actually painting it black, but use some variations on a very dark grey. There are literally thousands of shades, and you can mix and match to give it a more realistic colour, but as the matt black paint seems to have weathered quite quickly, there's plenty of scope for a really chalky, weather beaten finish if you check your references. You get two decal options from the box, both from the same squadron and location, so if you fancy anything different, you'll have to do your own research and find some more decals. From the box you can build one of the following: I./NJG 2, Giltze-Rijen, Autumn 1940 – white tail band coded R4+HK I./NJG 2, Gilze-Rijen, Autumn 1940 – white tail band coded R4+FK Decals are in good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion Another of ICM's excellent line of Flying pencils. At this rate we're going to need a pencil case to put them in! Good detail with a slightly narrow choice of decals, which is a pretty minor issue, especially when price is taken into account. It's now more possible than ever before to build a wide range of the Pencil's engineering history in 1:48, for which ICM are to be congratulated. Where you'll put them all is entirely down to you. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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This is my first build thread on Britmodeller and I will apologise in advance if the images don't show. This is not the first Do 17E from Hobbycraft I have built. The first was a failure, sloping engines, no undercarriage and paint that peeled. The second never got finished. I tried using vacuum canopies from Squadron. The resulting mess ended up being dumped in the bin. This is the third attempt and was started before I joined Britmodeller. The photos show progress to date. The fuselage has been straightened to cure the banana shape of the kit. There is an 8 swg steel spine fitted into my model making absolutely sure the fuselage is straight and in the photos you can see the 10 swg spar I fitted to make sure the wings are straight. (It's also a good way to straighten the droop on the Revell Ta 154) The later version of the kit had instructions stating the nacelles should be mounted 1" in from the root to the inner face of the nacelle. The early versions of the kit had no such instruction and left it to the builder. The nacelles are moulded to suit the 1" measurement. Unfortunately it's wrong. The instruction's figure should be 0.81", or 29.5mm to the nacelle centre line. The problem is that when nacelles are moved, they no longer fit and when the do fit on the wing the engines have a down thrust of 10°. The pictures therefore show the cutting and filling needed to get the nacelles to look something like. I have also cut out the lower wing to make a wheel well. The interior of the wells are fictitious.When they were done I did not have any images or drawings to show what it should be like. They were a pain to do so I am leaving them alone. The front fuselage was cut off so the I could get to the interior. I originally cut the front away, planning to use the Squadron vacuum ones. Again I found them ill fitting and too difficult. It is easier to cut and sand the kit ones to shape. Image showing upper fuselage with 6 swg wing straightener. Image showing nacelles fitted before the wing was cut out. At top is the front of the upper fuselage after being cut from the kit part. After the cut outs and the fictitious nacelle interior Image showing correct tail The kit nose glazing fitted ready for interior. Bottom was sanded down and new windows polished in. The show the kit canopy with the side window cut out and new clear parts glued in. These are needed because the kit canopy doesn't have enough depth. Once its dried I will put the framing back. That's it so far. Other kit on build is a Revell 1/32 Me 262B. This is another previous failure. This time the fuselage has had a 5mm insert fitted in the bottom of the fuselage and wing centre section which seems manages to put everything back in line.
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Do.17/Do.215 Monograph Kagero The Dornier 17 and 215 have become quite high profile of late with the discovery of the submerged wreck of a 17 that now resides at Cosford, Airfix's 1:72 kit, and now ICM's lovely and growing new range of kits in 1:48, so this book should find favour with a great many modellers, myself included. It is written by Marek J. Murawski, and extends to 136 pages in a portrait oriented oversize A4 format that is perfect-bound in a card cover. It details the genesis of the aircraft from the drawing board and its humble beginnings as a faux passenger aircraft before WWII, through the upgrades that gave rise to the 215 and through to the end of its life in text, with plenty of pictures and drawings, all of which are well captioned. The sections are broken down as follows, but without an index, which is unusual for Kagero's offerings. Pages 3-10 Introduction Pages 11-15 design & development Pages 16-38 Prototypes & serial production Pages 39-99 Operational service Page 100 Endnotes Plus 2 double A3 pages & 24 pages of A4 3-view drawings 11 pages of colour profiles plus one on the back cover (pictured above) The quality and diversity of photos is good to see, and there are many in the book that I have not seen before, as well as details of the changes that the aircraft went through during its career. The drawings are captive to the book to keep them safe from loss, with the A3 sheets folded to ensure they don't get damaged. Conclusion A great reference book for this type that will turn you into an instant expert if you read it from cover to cover. If you're looking for detail photos for your project you'll find them in droves, so whatever your point of view it's well worth acquiring one for the shelves. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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Valiant Wings Publishing Dornier Do.17Z – A Technical Guide
Mike posted a topic in Reference material
Dornier Do.17Z – A Technical Guide Valiant Wings Publishing The flying pencil has received a lot of attention this last year, with the raising of a crashed example and the release of the new Airfix kit in 1:72, so this book from our friends at Valiant should be of great interest. It will also find favour with those owning the Classic Airframes 1:48 kit, as well as general aviation enthusiasts. Written by Richard A Franks, it covers the aircraft from its earliest prototypes, where you can see how it came by its nickname due to the slender fuselage and fairly pointed nose, right through to the end of the 17Z's career and eventual replacement by the do.215 that started life as the export variant, which was in turn supplanted by the 217. The book is a perfect bound softcover, comprising 80 pages plus covers, and is split into four main sections plus appendices, as follows: Introduction An eleven page history of the aircraft from conception to completion, including some photos of the early prototypes and test airframes. Technical Description Thirty eight pages of detailed pictures, drawings and diagrams of the airframe, and its internals, including cockpit, crew compartments, electronics, fabrication, gun installations and bays, all of which is accompanied by detailed captioning. Camouflage & markings Eighteen pages of photos, text and six pages of profiles showing the various schemes worn by this quirky-looking aircraft. Building a Do.17Z Libor Jekl builds the new Airfix 1:72 Do.17Z over seven pages, showing just what can be done with the kit and his amazing skills. Appendices Do.17Z Kits, accessories, decals, bibliography The appendices only take up four pages, and are tightly packed with information, rather than drawn out to fill pages as happens with some titles. Conclusion If you're interested in the Do.17 and its successors, you'll find plenty of interest in this new title, and a lot of photos that I've not seen before. I'll certainly put my review copy to good use when I tackle my CA kit. It will also come in handy if you're waiting for the proposed Do.17Z kit from ICM, who have been gracious enough to give us two excellent 215 variants so far. One of these for each of the 215 and 217 would be my next wish. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of