'Flying Pencil' - Revell (ex-Monogram) 1/72 Do17Z

[thorfinn]

A 1969 Monogram classic, as reissued by Revell in 2011: the 1/72 scale Dornier Do17Z, affectionately known to Luftwaffe pilots as the Fliegender Bleistift ('Flying Pencil').

 

 

 

 

Designed (under the restrictions on German aviation imposed by the Versailles Treaty) as a high-speed mail plane, its production was officially greenlighted by the new (Nazi) German Aviation Ministry in 1933 as a "freight aircraft with special equipment"...in other words, a bomber. First blooded in the Spanish Civil War...where its speed and nearly fighter-like handling endeared it to German pilots...the type formed the backbone of the Luftwaffe's bomber force through 1940, when it began to be supplanted by the more-capable Ju88.

 

 

 

 

Kit-supplied decals mark a machine of the staff flight of 2./KG 3 "Blitz" in January 1941, operating from the Dutch airfield at Deurne. Only a few months later most of the Kampfgeschwader would be transferred east to support Operation Barbarossa, and remain there until the unit was dissolved in 1944. The unit's 3rd Gruppe would be an exception: the last unit in the Luftwaffe to operate the Do17, it would then transition to the He111...its new a/c to be used as delivery platforms to launch V-1 flying bombs against the United Kingdom during Spring and Summer, 1944.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

[TheyJammedKenny!]

That's superb!  It looks like a nice kit, too, though I can't say that from personal experience.  From outward appearances, it looks far better than the Airfix vintage product.

[Michael51]

A really nice result and great photographs.

[chrisbob12]

My eye was caught by the super-crisp transparencies! Nice one.

[thorfinn]

Thanks all.

I, too, was quite delighted to see the transparencies still crystal-clear after all these years. As long as Monogram...then Revell...had this kit in production, the molds must have been cared for quite tenderly.😁

[simont382]

Great looking model. I especially like reading the back story, always adds something extra to a finished kit

[RMCS]

Lovley build 

[Viking]

Very nice, I remember building the Monogram issue back in the 1970's. It stuck in my mind because I had never seen kit with such perfect fit all round.

Really good to see another beautiful example after all these years!

 

Cheers

 

John

[Epeeman]

What an excellent result on an old kit!

 

Regards

 

Dave

[IanC]

Lovely work on that venerable old kit. I like how you've added the stops for the beam MGs. 

[thorfinn]

2 hours ago, IanC said:

Lovely work on that venerable old kit. I like how you've added the stops for the beam MGs. 

Funny you should mention that.😄

 

I love to pick out little details from photos to add a little interest to my models. Looking at a photo of that area of the greenhouse, I kept trying to puzzle out why there were 'grab handles' in that particular location. After about twenty minutes...and seeing another photo with the m.g. swung a little farther aft...it suddenly hit (with the usual dull thud) what I was actually looking at!

 

Cheers...and thanks for noticing! 👍

[Mig88]

Lovely! Well finished indeed. A great job on that old kit.

 

Miguel

[SAT69]

I remember that kit from MANY long years ago. I never bought or built one, but your completed model makes me wish I had. Very nice work!

[72modeler]

What the others have said- the stops for the beam guns were a nice touch- have to remember those! The old Monogram kit was very, very good for its time, with crystal clear transparencies, and as has been stated already, very good fit! Just let down, compared to the much newer Airifx kit, by a simple interior, wheel bays, and raised panel lines, although they were very fine. Thinking about what Monogram kits would look like today, if they were still in business. That's a beautiful model that sure doesn't look its age!

Mike 

Edited December 7, 2021 by 72modeler
corrected spelling