Dornier Do17Z - 1:72 Airfix

[Paul A H]

Dornier Do17Z

1:72 Airfix

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. During the early design period the aircraft was euphemistically referred to as a high speed mail plane, but it's highly likely that it was always intended to fulfil a combat role. The Do17 was able to carry a bomb load of 1000kg, but range was limited when carrying heavy loads. Defensive armament was comprised of MG-15 machine guns carried in various positions in the forward fuselage.

Along with the Heinkel He 111, the Do 17 carried out the lions share of bombing raids against the UK up to the end of the Battle of Britain. The 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 engines that provided additional take-off power which in turn allowed heavier bomb loads to be carried.

The Dornier was the penultimate of Airfix's 2014 range to hit the shelves (with the exception of the delayed Supermarine Swift), although it took a while for our review sample to make its way up from Margate. Airfix have covered a few of the essential Luftwaffe subjects in recent years, such as the Bf109 and the FW190, and while the Dornier is a slightly less obvious choice, it dovetails beautifully with the Battle of Britain era Spitfire, Hurricane, Defiant and Blenheim kits, as well as the forthcoming Ju87 and He111. Inside the largish bright red top-opening box are four sprues of light grey plastic and one clear sprue which together hold a total of 170 parts. The airframe is covered in crisp, recessed panel lines which look pretty good, except on the surface of the upper wing where they are slightly too pronounced.

As usual, construction begins not with the cockpit. The sub-assembly comprised of the pilot's seat (of which there are two different types) and surrounding framework, compass and control column comes first, followed by sidewall details such as the spare magazines for the MG15s. The quality of moulding is extremely good, with fine, sharp details that are up there with the best I've seen from the Margate manufacturer. Seats for the bomb aimer, lower and upper rear gunners are also provided, along with the crew figures themselves. The retracting rear tail wheel can also be added at this stage (step 10 in the instructions) although if you want to fix this part in the deployed position, you'll need to skip this step completely as the latter option is not covered until step 61.

Once the fuselage halves have been joined, the remaining interior detail has to be dropped in to the fuselage. This includes the wing spars and some of the details for the bomb bay, the interior walls of which are moulded as part of the fuselage halves. Some of the clear parts have to be added at this stage too. This could prove to be a bit of a headache in terms of masking, so you'll want to plan your painting carefully to avoid overspraying these parts. It isn't long before you can add the upper wing. This part also contains moulded details for the roof of the bomb bay and the inner surface of the landing flaps, so remember to paint the inner surface before you fix it in place! The main landing gear bays are moulded in place with the lower wing halves, onto which you have to fix the rear portion of the engine nacelles as well as the engine firewalls.

Staying with the engines, the forward part of the nacelle has to be assembled next, along with the engine air intakes and exhausts (again, pre-painting of this part is essential). The engines themselves are next, and although moulded in just three parts, detail is more than adequate. The cowlings are moulded in four parts in order to capture the shape of the original accurately. Engines dispensed with, construction moves on to the variable incidence tail plane (which can be posed across a 15 degree range) and elevators. The latter are also poseable, but the elevator control rods are very fragile and one of mine was all but broken off when I opened the kit. The rudders are also poseable, as are the ailerons and flaps, all of which are a nice touch and typical of the new Airfix.

The landing gear is next, and as you would expect, it can be finished in either extended or retracted positions. I recommend the former as the parts are superbly detailed, but they look incredibly fragile so please take care when removing them from the sprue. The tyres have flat spots moulded in place too, which will please some modellers but no doubt annoy some others. The bomb bay can be finished in open or closed positions as well. If choosing the former, a superb range of ordnance is provided, including a full load of twenty 50kg bombs, a pair of 500kg bombs or an additional fuel tank in the forward section of the bomb bay and half of the aforementioned loads.

Finishing touches include the defensive armament, radio antenna, DF loop, pitot tube and the propellers. The clear parts are very good, although if I look very closely, I can see a couple of tiny flaws caused by the meeting point of the two flows of molten plastic in the mould. It shouldn't be too obvious one the canopy framework has been painted though; you will only see it if you go looking for it.

Two options are provided for on the decal sheet:
Dornier Do17Z 3Z + G, 8./Kampfgeschwader 99, Laon/Couvron, Northern France, July 1940. This aircraft is finished in RLM70/71 over RLM65; and
Dornier Do17Z A1 + B, 15. (Kroatische) Kampfgeschwader 53, Eastern Front, 1941. This aircraft is finished in RLM70/71 over RLM65 with yellow wing tips and fuselage band.
The decals, advertised on the side of the box as being printed by Cartograf, look excellent and include a good selection of stencils.

Conclusion

When I first developed an interest in this excellent hobby almost thirty years ago, kits like the Blenheim, Defiant and this Dornier would have been high on my shopping list (in fact the old Airfix Dornier Do17E/F was the first kit I remember owning). Happily the intervening years have not diminished the desirability of these subjects, and if anything the resurgent Airfix is stimulating my appetite yet further. Overall this is a well made and cleverly designed kit which is packed with detail. The only real drawback is the resulting complexity and the delicate nature of some of the smaller parts. Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[Knikki]

Thanks for the review, I might have to pick one of these up, I do rember making the other Airfix on which I think was in blue plastic many many many years ago

But no swastikas?

Having just looked at a couple of other reviews I notice they are missing out of many new kits these days, shows how old my stash is as they are included in the decal sheet.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Knikki