Well the major airframe components are assembled, sanded, re-scribed and moving towards the paint phase. The wing extension attachments were the only parts needing much attention. The rest of the a/c went together very easily with no fit problems or filler needed. The holes for the tail mounted “scatter” guns have been drilled as well. I still need to install the control yoke and instrument panel, mask the canopy (ugh), and detail the gear doors before painting begins. I should get all that done by the end of the weekend…in between home projects.
Whooaa! Those are verrryy long wings! Just how much was added to the wingtips for this version?
You’re making quick progress, and doing an excellent job. I can’t imagine rescribing an entire a/c, but maybe you get into the Zen mode as I do when masking canopies.
The scribing was not too bad actually Stinger…but it did take about a day and a half to get it done. The wings are much longer and the look of the plane now reminds me of a He177. The glazed nose on the Do217actually was inspired by the folks at Heinkel with the He177. Apparently Dornier engineers liked the idea and incorporated it into the 217K. The wingspan extensions on the K-2 took the wing from just over 62’ to 81’4" in span! Twenty more feet of wing needed to get this beast in the air with Germany’s new guided bombs or missles slung beneath.
Thanks Pix, yes the wings join where the filler can be seen. There was quite a bit of sanding to get a nice flowing joint that hopefully can’t be seen once painted. The tops of the wings mated very nicely but the bottoms needed some work. I am going to do one of the two schemes depicted in the instructions, though I won’t use much of the kit’s decal sheet. Its an earlier scheme of 70/71 and I believe 65 though I need to confirm this. It will be Major Bernhard Jope’s a/c, Commander of KG100 at Istres, France, during the summer of 1941. They were conducting ops in the Mediterranian Sea at the time.
BTW, your Jill kit looks great…that is a very detailed cockpit in that kit…even for 1/48 scale! It should look great when your done.
Joe, looking good there. Those wing tip extensions change the look of the machine quite a lot.
You really might want to look at the Eduard canopy masking set for that bird, I masked an He177 a while back and that drove me to distraction. So much so that the kit is still languishing in the cupboard!
I received the resin MG and wheels in the post at the weekend, and the wheels especially, are a massive improvement on the ones supplied in the kit.
I’m still scribing and filling and sanding away, I don’t know how you managed to rescribe all of yours in a day and a half!
Thanks guys…Karl, thanks for the info on the wheels…I will see if I can get a set on order. The masking will take a while but I don’t mind it as much as some, (my vision is still 20/20 thankfully!). The scribing really was a full day and a half…my wife and daughter compared me to a mad scientist because I was in my model room for so long! [:D] You have probably noticed some of the kit panel lines are inaccurate especially in the tail section area. I tried to correct all the inaccruracies I could varify though a copy of the reference book your using is something I really could have used. I do have all the references and goodies for the upcoming Do 17Z project though.
Joe, is it just me, or are the fronts of the engine nacelles too rounded off on this kit?
I was looking at the ones on mine last night , and compared with the plans they just don’t look right. I also compared them with my Fw190, and again it’s not right.
Wow, looking good. I’m sure you are going to have lots of fun masking that nose off, I certainly am not looking forward to doing mine. What do you plan to have hanging on that hardpoint under the wing?
Karl, I would tend to agree with you about the cowlings and I believe there may be some resin replacements from the Czechs available now. They include new spinners and cooling fan blades. I will definately use them on my next Do 217 build!
Swanny, there will be a glide bomb like yours hanging on the hard point. The Italeri bomb was made up of 8 parts I believe…and looks pretty good after a little tweaking though your 1/48 bomb looks more detailed. I am not looking forward to the canopy either!
Daniel, glad you like it also…I am very anxious to get on with the painting! Hopefully the paint will have arrived by the time I get home from this work week!
The curvature of the cowling ring is just not right when compared to the plans, but when I test assembled a complete engine last night, complete with prop etc, it looked OK. Go figure.
Post some more pictures as I’d love to see what progress you are making.
Karl
I had a look for resin replacements, but was unable to locate anything, apart from a complete resin BMW 801D engine, dio possibility there! I’ll stick with what I have, especially as the Eduard set comes with replacement PE cooling fans.
