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When: 22/4 - 22/7/2022 To quote Jerzy-Wojtek @JWM from the He 111 STGB Chat (why should I try to rewrite something already so well written if I can quote it?!): "...if you consider all variants of Do 17 - starting from E & F (Spain, early Blitzkrieg), P &M (Blitzkrieg, Balkans, Eastern Front), K (Yugoslavia 1941, Croatia, Yu Partisan, Bulgaria, Italian ex-Yu and even ex Yu as RAF on exile in Egipt) then Z (Blitzkrieg incl BOB, Balkans, Africa, eastern Front, Finland), 215 (German fighter and bomber as well as Hungary recce) - there is perhaps enough types and schemes for a STGB." So, let´s give it a shot, don´t we? I built an ICM 1:72 Do 17 Z in the Nordic GB earlier this year and I liked that build very much. V-P vppelt68 (host) Corsairfoxfouruncle JWM Rabbit Leader Greg Law Mottlemaster klr modelling minion Fatcawthorne Arniec stevehnz SoftScience CliffB DaveyGair Potato Pete feoffee2 Adam Poultney Andwil fightersweep Walter Jabba Dansk Toryu TonyOD wayne 0 Tim R-T-C LorenSharp JohnT 81-er jean JOCKNEY Richard Tucker Shorty84 MigEater ...

Some ideas in case someone is interested in very real Luftwaffe models. The subject that deserves a closer look is the famous Kampfkopf. The glass monster, where you have to be very careful anyway during modelling, both when gluing and when painting. After seeing beautiful models over and over again, I notice that essential details are completely ignored due to the ignorance of the manufacturer and the modeller. I was lucky to have both a Ju-88 pilot and a pilot who had instructors who flew with the He-111 in my environment. When I started modeling, I built these types, but I lacked the ability to incorporate these details. In the case of the He-111, it should be noted that a flight could quite well proceed in such a way that the entire bow pulpit ran up from the inside and became milky opaque. That's why you have a long, narrow ( almost rectangle) window in the upper left above the pilot that can be opened like a windshield. The pilot had to stand so that the control horn can be extended, and then he had to steer the aircraft while standing upright and while wearing a leather hood and glasses. Imagine that! Like on a ship! Well, with the Ju-88, He-111 and Do-17/217 etc. Have you ever imagined how pleasantly warm it had to be when a machine like this was in Sicily? And later that day they had to take a seat inside with the flying suit. Something very warm is an understatement. So there were a lot of curtains. Already seen? Well. Now in general these little things are forgotten in museums or simply not done. They're on the same topic in case you come across a Bf-108. Elly Beinhorn also wrote about it in her book. Well, you are sure to find more interesting results in your literature. I'm curious when I'll find a Ju-88 with curtains in the forum for the first time. Just to show you what I want to explain: Ju 88 first Ju 88 second Happy modelling

I've tried to make pictures in a descriptive way. Thus, very little text. In case of questions, just let me know! For future builders of this kit, here’s a list of improvement- and awareness points regarding the Airfix- and Eduard-parts. Safe a few exceptions, this advice merely regards the Airfix Dornier 17z + aftermarket specifically. The mentioned numbers are the paragraphs in this topic where the issues are discussed. Everything is treated chronologically, in the order of my findings. Please note that every modeller is in charge of his or her own build; everything is possible, nothing is obligatory... the hereunder is solely meant as help for those modellers who want to build this magnificently moulded Airfix-set. #0: plan well ahead. Personally I don't follow the instructions' order. Biggest deviations except those discussed hereunder: picture 32 -> exhaust will be fixed only after airbrushing and decalling the plane. Pictures 34-37: the engine will only be fixed after airbrushing & decalling. Picture 38: first, sand thin and prepare for priming. Eventually, the engine will be pushed inside those and the subassembly will be fixed to the wing. It's absolutely necessary though to fix the engines. Pictures 69-74: the glass and the MG15s are fixed before airbrushing the body. #2: the ribs of the upper flaps are best broken off and then glued in place. #4: mind that the upper flap is fitted perfectly, it's a very tight fit. Take great attention when using CA, something I really don't advice. #19: remove inexplicably moulded plastic from the MG15s. #23: put photo etch on, and paint, all MG15-cartridges. In Airfix' instructions, no less than 21 are forgotten... same with Eduard, most cartridges are forgotten. #25: mind a possibly twisted beam near the pilot seat, correct this before you won't be able to reach it. #29: before curving the oxygen pressure thingy, make the fold first. #36: on this picture you see that I ignored picture 6 of the Airfix-manual. This is not my original idea; I read it in another build report of this model. Picture 6 is utopia. position part C8 as a sandwich, whilst combining the two fuselage halves... #43: dryfit everything thoroughly, especially the rear seat. With my Dornier the legs weren't far enough apart. #45: thin the instrument panel. #46-49: make the instrument clock housings, in case you want to 'busify' the front side (those housings will be very well visible from the front). #71-74 (after #52-61): make a step plan before tackling a bomb rack. And do yourself a favor purchasing a bottle of Gator Glue (not being "Gator's Grip glue"). #67: with the 50KG-bombs: make slits into the plastic, don't stick the PE fins toegether. Alternatively: soldering. #69: connect wires to the instrument clocks. #75: thin the bomb bay doors (even if you won't use photo etch). #78: consider removing the ejector pin marks in the bomb bay (especially if the bomb racks are not used). #80: with the pilot's seatbelts, ignore the fold lines of the upper buckles. #85: mind the ejector pin marks topside of the bomb bay. #90: the MG15s are opportunely replaced by metal or resin upgrades. #90: choose well if the cockpit should be painted in RLM02 or RLM66. See the discussion about this at the beginning of this topic. #104: don't trust the stickiness of self-adhesive Eduard photo etch parts. Always add glue, to prevent parts from sagging of falling off after six months. You won't be able to repair it then. #106: use oil paint to improve realism of the Eduard panels (glittering + color) within seconds. #107: the front side seat can't be fixed on the attachment points. Use CA-glue as a bridge. #112: I found out the fuselage was warped. It's so important to check this out, the whole build success depends on straightness of the fuselage. Warped fuselage = wrongly placed wings etc. etc. #127: nacelles PE: glue 'the lid' together with a small L-piece. #129: nacelles PE: sand 'the lid' at the front, otherwise it won't fit. #130: nacelles PE: ignore the gap. #132: thin the walls. #136: nacelles PE: do a lot of dryfitting, don't use CA for fixing. The positions as suggested by Eduard, are incorrect. #140: thin the side walls of the engine. Not only because it's more realistic, also because otherwise the engine won't fit. #146: be extremely careful when cleaning the plastic of the landing gear. #152: don't glue the PE-doors of the landing gear houses to the plastic. Instead, throw the plastic in the spare box. Scratch some brass 'hinges'. Just as easy, much more realistic. #155: drill the exhausts. #171-182: consider vacuforming the glazing. #189-191: make the hinges for the landing gear doors. #196: prime + RLM02 attention point! #198: prime + RLM02 attention point! #200-202: make up your own mind as to what kind of weathering is realistic and desirable on 1/72 scale. #211: priming + RLM02 attention point! #212: priming + RLM02 attention point! #213: use the Eduard-mask as template for an inside-mask. #216: priming + RLM66 (or RLM02) attention point! #219-220: add wire for operating the bomb bay doors, e.g. Uschi van der Rosten wire + Gator's Grip glue. #238: correct a moulding deficiency to the vertical stabilizers by some simple sanding. #239-245: correct the position of the landing gear, using a small intervention. #246: place and remove the landing gear parts by only touching the three spots mentioned in this paragraph, to prevent fracture. #Future: add hinges to the flaps, so that they can be connected to the wings. #Future: airbrush glass beneath gondola RLM66 internally. #Future: airbrush front RLM66. #Future: airbrush glazing above bomb bay RLM02 (from above). #Future: thin mudguards. #Future: resin wheels. #Future: thin pitot tube. #Future: scratch FuG12 dipolar antennas. #Future: covers for side-MG15s. #Future: antenna wire with ceramic insulators. Really enjoying this build thus far. Airfix's kit is of great quality. Eduard's photoetch is not the easiest I've done but is, eventually, doable. Bit of scratch involved but not much. Should be a moderately fast build, especially compared to my other builds. A lot of pictures in this first post, follow-ups will be less picture-heavy. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 11. 12. The parts to the right of the arrow will all be positioned within the green circle. 13. 14. 15. 16. The strength of Gator Glue (not Gator's Grip, which is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Gator Glue): 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. Airfix as well as Eduard's instructions feature way too few MG15 drum lids & ties to be positioned. Fortunately there are reasonably enough specimens on the fret. The arrows point out the positions of all the drums. They are not equally easily recognizable as such in plastic. 25. Repairing deformation of a port side part: 26. 27. 28. 29. 29. 31. 32. 33. Scratching one of 3 oxygen regulator boxes, after having spent an hour looking for a finished PE version: 34. 35. 36. After glueing in place the scratched oxygen regulator, guess what I see... probably had been stuck underneath something. Quickly swapped pieces. 37. 38. 39. 40. Dryfit is always important... 41. Impressive, Airfix! 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. Template for making instrument houses: 48. 49. 50. Macro pictures are often very handy to correct my work. Such as the instrument house lower left corner, 2nd from the right. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. Difficult to bend photo etch part. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. Don't follow Eduard's instructions re. the bomb rack. In a further post I'll specify a better order. 62. And don't follow Eduard's dreamy bomb construction philosophy either. First I'll show a few failed specimens. Changes: don't glue the fins to each other + use a knife + razor saw to make 4 incisions into the plastic. Put Gator Glue in those slits and then clean with thumb (except the slits). Put the photo etch in place and use Eduard's cross template. 63. 64. 65. 66. Even after taping... ugly glue residue. 67. Finally! Revenge on Eduard! 68. 69. 70. Dryfit: click this short vid. Total spent time till now: 32 hours.