Dora Wings New 1/48 Marcl Bloch MB 152 C1

[Radar]

 

I am currenty in the process of building fighter aircraft flown by Polish pilots in WW2.  My preferred scale is 1/48 because my eyesight isn't what it used to be but a couple of weeks ago I built a coiple of Mistercraft 1/72  (ex Heller moulds) fighters, an MB 152 and MS 406 to try out the Hataka paint set I had bought for the project. 

 

These two pictures are of the Mistercraft 1/72 fighters I built as a prelim test exercise.

Being very pleased with the results I decided to start the DW kit.  I purchased the kit from a vendor ar Scale Model World last year and on initial impressions having a look inside the box was satisfied that I had got my £25 worth. 

As you can see from the top photo it contains some unpainted PE and a set of canopy masks. Over all the recessed panel lines looked pretty accurate and not too deep. The decal sheet contained three different aircraft, so far so good.  However as you will see in subsequent posts this kit is definitey not in the Tamigawa class!

Edited January 30, 2020 by Radar
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[Mikey-1980]

Really like the result...and I have to admit, I am liking the kits from @dora

 

 

[Radar]

 

I started the build by priming most of the kit with Valejo black and the cockpit interior was painted with a Mr Hobby  Intermediate blue. As I said I’m not a fan if PE knobs and switches but used them in the cockpit anyway, the worst bit is the really fiddly seat frame which is a PE item, took ages to get into the right shape.

 

 Sadly I didn’t scrutinise the decal sheet closely enough as some of the dials that I attempted to hand paint are actually on the decal sheet. Here’s my first gripe, the instructions are a bit vague to say the least, they’re a bit like 1960’s Airfix blown up picture instructions with little lines indicating where parts are roughly supposed to be positioned. There are not too many references available to the modeller as there not a single example left of this aircrat. I have most of the excellent Mushroom Modellers books that include the MB152 but there are no interior photos of this aircraft in them. As I started to remove parts from the sprues it became evident how much work was going to be caused by the way the mould had been gated. Every single piece has to have a sprue dimple filed or sanded off. This is a particular pain on mating surfaces and items like cannons and pitot tubes. All I can say is thank heavens this is not a large kit with lots of parts as you would  go mad rubbing these off.

 

After painting the cockpit the fuselage halfs were put together, this is wher I noticed my second dislike.  There are absolutely no mounting pegs or holes, everything had to be very carefully lined up, held tight and Tamiya liquid cement applied very quickly.

 

 

 

Next the undercarriage well was constructed onto the lower wing half. Here again the instructions are very vague about the box section that ais formed whether the top sits on top of the sides or is slotted into the sidewalls.  It took me 3 attempts and a lot of cursing to get this right. It is essential that the U/C well box is not too high because if it is the wings won't mate to the fuselage properly, guess how I found that out! I really was not enjoyng this build and was starting reget selling my Tamiya Dewoitine at this point.  Once dry the wings were mated to the fuselage agin you need four hands to do this as just when you get one part to mate up, another part has a gap. Needless to say every join required some Squadron Putty and some sanding down afterwards.

 

 

 

The engine was built next, part of it a a PE wiring harness that I was sure would look cool at the front of the engine but could I get it to match up with the two banks of cylinders? No way, a little notch in the PE to match up with a notch on the crankcase would have been brilliant here but that would be too easy wouldn't it.

 

 

 

Not shown here is the propeller shaft, which had no way of being secured within the crankcase so at least the prop could go round without falling out. So it looks like the prop is glued in position then! The engine cowl is a very tight fit and the engine slides inside it but again it just free slides up and down the cowling, a little ridge or stop circle would have really helped here to get it in the right place. The model was pretty much intact now, I have left off the cannons, pitot tube and undercariage until the final stages so they don't get broken off and lost. The canopy was glued in place and maked off using the very handy masks provided in the kit all a very good fit. The wing tip lights were drilled, coloured and added to the wing tips and masked.  It was now that I realised that the wing mounted landing light lens, part C2 was nowhere to be found.  It wasn't on the sprue which is strange as the clear parts are also quite tricky to cut off the sprue. I have emailed Dora Wings via their "Contact Us" box on their website 3 days ago requesting a replacement part.  Sadly they haven't even bothered to answer let alone offer to send the part that I am willing to pay for.  So much for their customer relations!  so I have a gaping hole in one of the wings of a very odd shape that will be difficult to fill, great.

 

 

The engine cowling was glued in place next, agai a hit and miss affair in which you have to pay attention, as like the RC aircraft models i build you have to apply "side thrust" to the cowling.  Granted the instructions do show this but getting the angle right is not easy.  I have atempted the salt granules over aluminium paint weathering method on this one but fear I have damped the wing root too much, time will tell if the salt rubs off or not.  I sprayed the underside first and masked it off with Tamiya tape, then started free hand airbrushing the camo pattern on the upper part of the airframe. Again the Hatakan laquer paints thinned 50/50 are a joy to use and dry to a semi matt finish. 

 

 

This picture shows all three colours complete and a coat of Hataka gloss varnish applied. As feared all of the salt did not come off for the weathering but the problem was solved with some vigorous rubbing with a wet cloth that appeared to re-dissolve the salt off the mode, dodged a bullet there. Time now for some decalling.  I decided to use the old Micro Sol and Micro Set liquid as the decals looked a bit on the thick side.

 

 

Again a shout out for Hataka as I am used to stains and paint dulling at this stage when I use decal setting liquids but this stuff seems bullet proof. The decals were pretty good too, just a couple of issues with the white numbers folding back on themselves but that was most probably my ham fistedness. I have left the major declas for a while now to settle before applying the little stencils.  I will update as soon as there is some further progress.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Ian

Edited January 30, 2020 by Radar
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[Radar]

A full day in the shed finishing this one off today. The final small decals were put on and the model given a second coat of gloss varnish.  I then toned the decals down and attempted to hilight the panel lines by applying black oil paint dissolved in turpentine, being careful not to overdo it. Some burnt sienna wash was added to the U/C bays and legs as these aircraft used muddy fields.

 

Then all the guns, pitot and undercarridge were put on and the whole model give a coat of Hataka Matt varnish. Again I am very pleased with this product, it dries very quickly and gives a really good matt finish. All that was left was to unmask the canopy and wing tip lights and mount the propeller that has to fixed in place. Overall a pleasing model that causes far more work that it needs to because of the way the parts are attatched to the sprues.  The worst thing of all is the gaping hole in the wing leading edge where the landing light cover should be, still no reply from Dora Wings about the missing part, even though they have appended a "like" to this thread so they must have read about it. Very strange!

 

Here are some pictures of the completed model

 

 

 

Sorry for the unsightly gaping hole in the leading edge.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Ian

[Andy350]

Looks very nice, I would be very happy with that build.

[dora]

Hi Ian,
I missed your letter, because at that time I was very busy at the Toy Fair in Nuremberg. Tomorrow a new sprue will be sent to you.
Sorry for the inconvenience.

[Radar]

Thank you Dora, it will be nice to actually finish the model off properly.

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[Marklo]

Lovely build, I have to admit I’m a terror for losing interest in a model at the pitot, radio line, control cable point.

[Radar]

A big thank you to Dora Wings, they sent me a replacement Clear Parts Sprue that arrived  last week so I could finally install the missing landing light. Many thanks again guys.

 

Cheers

 

Ian