Do 215B-5 Nachtjager - Now with New Tool Kit! *Finished!*

[vppelt68]

I wouldn't dare skipping those bulkheads either. The fuselage halves are quite thin and it might end up in a weak structure without them. I did leave the bomb racks off my Z-2 though, because they're not visible. V-P

[Walter]

19 hours ago, vppelt68 said:

I wouldn't dare skipping those bulkheads either. The fuselage halves are quite thin and it might end up in a weak structure without them. I did leave the bomb racks off my Z-2 though, because they're not visible. V-P

Vp, I wouldn't be concerned with those bombay  braces, it won't add to the structural integrity. Just my experience being on my third do 17 build.

[vppelt68]

That's good to know, Walter! I'll probably add them anyway, it's only a few minute job to clean the parts and cement them in. V-P

[Andwil]

Cockpit painted up, picked out some dials and knobs and a bit of a black wash and silver dry brush to bring out some detail.  The woven seats got a wash of sepia.  Still have to add some belts.

 

 

 

 

I followed ICM’s colour call outs, although I suspect the whole cockpit should be RLM 66.  At least this way some of the detail will be visible once the canopy is on.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[81-er]

Nice work! I'm going the same way with the cockpit on mine and having it RLM 02 rather than the accurate RLM 66, as the pre-painted PE I'm using for some of the details is RLM 02. Like you say, it should make a lot more of it visible, even if it's not technically correct.

 

James

[vppelt68]

AW, I found a Lent option at an Xtradecal Do 215 sheet. Will you be doing the all-black scheme? V-P

[Andwil]

19 hours ago, vppelt68 said:

AW, I found a Lent option at an Xtradecal Do 215 sheet. Will you be doing the all-black scheme? V-P

I was planning on doing R4+DC in the 74/75/76 scheme, but after reading the recent posts in the Chat thread, I’m in a bit of a quandry.  The 22/77/76 suggestion is very tempting, but 

 

AW

[Andwil]

After a week of real life getting in the way, I found some bench time this afternoon.  Attached the seats, instrument panel and that odd wheel that sits behind the pilot’s seat and closed up the fuselage, remembering to fit the little window in the side:

 

 

Then cemented the three main parts of the wing, which required a fair bit of clamping:

 

 

Also started on some other parts, the tail assemblies and main wheels:

 

 

Tomorrow hopefully I can these cleaned up and the elevators and rudders attached.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[Walter]

Nice, how about that pilot it's not to scale is it?

[Andwil]

2 hours ago, Walter said:

Nice, how about that pilot it's not to scale is it?

??  Sorry, I don't follow. There is no pilot.  My tape seat belts are probably over scale however.

 

AW

[Walter]

17 minutes ago, Andwil said:

??  Sorry, I don't follow. There is no pilot.  My tape seat belts are probably over scale however.

 

AW

Aha, sorry I meant the pilot seat.

[vppelt68]

The wing parts are indeed flimsier compared to their radial engined kits but once the three parts are assembled they are sturdy enough. Did you notice the "spacer pins"? I didn't on the first wing half and broke them. Very tidy work, do you think it was worth swapping the kit generation or not? V-P

[Andwil]

17 hours ago, vppelt68 said:

Did you notice the "spacer pins"? I didn't on the first wing half and broke them.

Well now, that explains the following.  I took the pegs off the wing and the three parts had set nicely, I gently rubbed down the leading edge joints and offered up the wing to the fuselage for a dry fit.  It clipped in nicely, the top join looked very good.  Then I turned it over:

 

 

The mother of all gaps and steps   To say I was disappointed would be understatement of the century.  Then I saw V-P’s post and realised what had happened.  I had seen the dinky little pins and wondered what they could possibly be for. I think spacers should be a bit more substantial.  Anyway, the wing lower halves are quite flexible so I was able to lift them into position, run some Tamiya Extra Thin into the joint to hold it in place, I then wedged some needle nosed tweezers in to the wing through the space for the nacelle to hold it in place and applied sprue gloop to the joint.  When it had set I repeated for the other side.

 

 

 

I think this is a save.

 

17 hours ago, vppelt68 said:

do you think it was worth swapping the kit generation or not?

Definitely the beet thing to do!  The only trouble I’ve had with this new tool kit can be squarely laid at my door.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW 

 

Edited June 12, 2022 by Andwil
Typos

[Mottlemaster]

Good save there AW looks like a perfect fit now . 

Out of interest is the side window in place ?

 

Cheers

Alistair

[vppelt68]

1 hour ago, Mottlemaster said:

Out of interest is the side window in place?

 This seems to be quite popular question!

 

And now I thought I was smart assembling the nacelles before attaching the wings to the fuselage... but that build sequence now denies me the chance to fix the lower wing to fuselage fit like AW did, through the nacelle opening

 

Maybe I have to fix the lower seams first and leave the upper side "floating" until the "armpits" are set .

 

Nice work, AW, and indeed a Fabianski- class save. V-P

[Andwil]

1 hour ago, Mottlemaster said:

Good save there AW looks like a perfect fit now . 

Out of interest is the side window in place ?

 

Cheers

Alistair

Yes, its in!

 

41 minutes ago, vppelt68 said:

Maybe I have to fix the lower seams first and leave the upper side "floating" until the "armpits" are set

That should work.  Definitely a trap for the unsuspecting.

 

44 minutes ago, vppelt68 said:

I thought I was smart assembling the nacelles before attaching the wings to the fuselage.

I almost did the same, glad I didn't.  I’ve been trying to work out whether it is possible to leave out the engines and still be able to attach the props (I don’t do spinning props on my models) as building up engines that wont be seen seems like too much trouble and I don't want to have detachable cowl panels.  It might be nice to have a stand alone DB engine on display though.

 

AW

[modelling minion]

Nice work on the lower wing gaps, the 1/48 kit is very similar in that respect but is sorted in the same way you did it.

 

🇺🇦

[vppelt68]

3 hours ago, Andwil said:

Yes, its in!

 

That should work.  Definitely a trap for the unsuspecting.

 

I almost did the same, glad I didn't.  I’ve been trying to work out whether it is possible to leave out the engines and still be able to attach the props (I don’t do spinning props on my models) as building up engines that wont be seen seems like too much trouble and I don't want to have detachable cowl panels.  It might be nice to have a stand alone DB engine on display though.

 

AW

I thought about the same. In my opinion the DB:s can be left off. The spinners need then be cemented to the front of the nacelles... but in my build, the prop shaft doesn't look completely centered so I'll probably snap it off and use cement anyway. In any case, no need to paint anything from the engines! V-P

[Andwil]

A few more bits added to the fuselage, the cannon pack under the nose and the tail wheel.  Fit of the cannon pack was a bit iffy, I may have something in the nose slightly misaligned.  Nothing that a bit of filler and sanding cant fix.

 

 

I also made up the nacelles.  These were very fiddly and reminded me more of the original kit, lots of parts, very small mating surfaces and a 3D jigsaw puzzle.  However, if care is taken they go together quite well, just don’t make the mistake I did and mix up the halves, as they are handed.  The first one I did I had all sorts of trouble with the fit and it would not fit the space on the wing before I realised that I had used the the wrong nacelle halves and had to pull it apart.   I have left out the engines.

 

Gradually coming together.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[vppelt68]

I doubt ICM could have made the radiator assembly any more complicated, it is indeed fiddly enough as it comes now!

[Andwil]

20 hours ago, vppelt68 said:

I doubt ICM could have made the radiator assembly any more complicated, it is indeed fiddly enough as it comes now!

And its virtually impossible to see!

 

I got the nacelles and tailplanes on today:

 

 

Really looking like a Do-215 now.  But its not so pretty underneath:

 

 

I had a real fight getting the nacelles to fit and ended up with big gaps.  The “tabs” that make up the sides of the gear bays were fouling the wing and needed to be sanded down quite a bit.  I think this is a continuation of the wing fit issue.  I wonder whether my kit has a moulding gremlin because it seems that the lower wing “halves” are far too flat and should have a more pronounced curve in profile?  This would alleviate both the wing root  and nacelle fit problems.  I don’t think the tiny little pins moulded on as spacers are anywhere near strong enough to hold the wing out to the correct shape.  I see a lot of filling, sanding, repeat in my future.

 

AW

[81-er]

It may be a fight, but you appear to be winning. I might make up some spacers for the wing roots when I get to them, thanks for the warning.

 

James

[Andwil]

Still plugging away on the wing/nacelle joints, I reckon its time for some primer to see how bad they really are.  With that in mind and in preparation for priming the undersides I have attached the nose and the towel rail antenna.

 

 

 

Pleased to report that the nose and the clear part fitted perfectly.  Must remember to mask the windows before priming.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

 

 

 

 

Edited June 17, 2022 by Andwil
Typo

[vppelt68]

From below she looks quite different compared to a Do 17Z. Nice progress, AW! 👍

[Andwil]

Inching toward paint.  I have primed the underside and checked out a few joints that required some more work, but its getting there.  Unfortunately I don’t  think the nacelle/wing joints will ever be as good as I’d like, but being underneath wont really be on view.  I have masked up the canopy and attached it, I bought the P-Mask set which is for the Do-215B-4 which has slightly different framing to the B-5, mostly due to the deletion of the forward firing mg for the co-pilot and provision of the night sight for the pilot, but also, for no apparent  reason, at the rear of the canopy.  Some little pieces of tape filled the gaps.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW