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1/48 Tamiya DO-335A w Kettenkraftrad


CANicoll

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My first German build in a LONG time, and a precursor to the HK 335 I have in the stash.  Kind of a habit before I do an expensive, complicated kit is to do a smaller version just to get a lay of the land (and practice on the paint scheme).

 

Bought this kit at a show in Chattanooga and with finishing the Nieuport 17 thought I'd give this a go.  Once I finish the Special Hobby P-39 it might just be time to start on Duchess Arlene - so stay tuned!

 

Here is the box, and I get a Kettenkraftrad too!

 

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As usual I start with priming the key parts to be painted, in this case Vallejo Gray Primer:

 

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Also started on the cockpit and interior using the Vallejo Model Air acrylics ( and a little bit of Tamiya acrylics too ):

 

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More to come.

 

Chris

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So finally decided to build #102 which conveniently enough is also at Udvar Hazy so will head over there at some point to check it out. 

 

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Making fairly quick progress and am happy with how the cockpit turned out.  Had a minor misstep, will get to that in a minute.  

 

Amazing detail in 1/48 scale so have to figure out how much to pull out as the references are not quite as extensive as with other aircraft, so you just can go where your whims take you for the most part.  This will be a pretty 'clean' build.

 

The cockpit is pretty well rendered in plastic, and pretty easily detailed with a toothpick.  The canopy can be positioned open so pretty much everything can be seen, and a seated pilot figure is also included.  Still thinking about whether to add the pilot or not.  If not, will add the seatbelts.  Amazing that the cockpit colors call for gloss black...

 

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The instrument panel really does call out for an Eduard or Yahu IP, but a pretty nice panel can be done with just using the decal, but you need to be careful on placement (which I clearly was not!).

 

After placing the decal, it snuggled down very nicely with MicroSol, and a bit of pushing down with a square paint brush.  After it was down, I did a flat coat.

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Then I picked out the instruments with a dot of gloss to simulate glass, as well as some color for switches and various warning lights.

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Remembered something from building the Tamiya 1/32 Mustang - if something is not fitting right, you probably did something wrong...

This is where I see that the IP should not be on TOP of that horizontal bar, but in fact attached to it... That became apparent when I closed up the fuselage.. OOPS!

 

Quick pry apart and some reattachment and things are much better now...  was tempted for a brief moment to wire the back of the IP.

 

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I like the Vallejo paint dropper bottles for detailing I will just put a drop on a palette and go from there.  For bottled paints I tend to do detail painting from the paint lids which works well too.  The big splotch of RLM 02 came from a clogged nozzle. At least it didn't explode all over everything.

 

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The kit comes with a custom-fitted nose weight so this will definitely NOT be a tail-sitter.

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It is very quick build when you don't have to do anything with the two engines (there are only the exhausts on the 1/48 scale kit), unlike in the HK kit where the engines apparently have 35 parts each.

 

Should get the fuselage closed up here tonight.  Need to dip the canopy parts in Future tonight.

 

Chris

Edited by CANicoll
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Thanks guys!  I'm pretty happy with the IP, and the mis-aligned instrument decal is not noticeable in the closed up fuselage so I'm declaring it done. :-)  Painted and added the gunsight as well (from the clear parts).  Canopies are dipped in Future and now will sit for a few days.  Ordered the canopy masks from SprueBrothers and found some camo masks online but coming from Europe they are quite pricy so may just use masking tape since the edges are long and pretty straight.  If the masks were cheaper and in the US, I'd do that just to save time.

 

Gaz - I keep a ton of toothpicks around for stirring paint and cleaning my airbrush, but also especially for painting knobs and switches and such small details. Sometimes when a smaller 'dot' is needed I'll sharpen the end a bit, or if I need a line that is a mm or two long I'll square off the end or whittle down a square 'toothpick'' and use that. 

 

The pointy toothpicks are also VERY handy for gently wiping up where you've gone over a panel line or over a box edge or something in the cockpit.  Just gently swipe the over paint with the toothpick end to wipe away the excess.  Amazing how often this works when both bottle painting or airbrushing.

 

Cheers guys!

 

Chris

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Guest Peterpools

Chris

Great choice and enjoying your progress. IP and the front office do look very good but are you sure about the gloss black for the interior of the office? I've found if there are some places Papa Tamiya does make a few mistakes, it's in the color callouts. No biggie and looking real good

Keep 'em comin

Peter

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Peter - You know, I have the HK 335 and I had a brief thought about pulling out those instructions, and just didn't.  If I had half a brain I would have gone with a satin black instead.  Oh well! 

 

Chris

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Since the P-39 is a bit slow now, fixing seams and waiting on the canopy, moved back to the Do 335.  I keep forgetting how well made Tamiya kits are.  Some of these pieces, when dry fitted, are very hard to remove so I can glue in. The main wing in particular was almost a press-fit.  The various fuselage panels too fit just perfectly - no gaps.

 

Minor mishap cleaning my razor saw:

 

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Now THAT is a sharp shard of metal!  Need to procure a new blade, but this one is still working...

 

Looking more and more like a 335...

 

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Sorry, not the best picture, but the join seams are amazingly tight.

 

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Ok, that's it for now.  Next will be working on the landing gear, and masking the canopy and then off to paint.  Have some research to do on various detail colors such as behind the vents.

 

Chris

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Thanks Tom.  I have the HK kit which I got from a friend and will do that build at some point too.  It is a VERY interesting plane and since #102 is at Udvar Hazy, that offers some interesting research possibilities since I know some of the guys that are docents there.

 

Chris

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