Gazzas Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 HI everyone, A small update as I blunder forward with this kit. Interestingly enough this kit doesn't have the nacelles in the standard two-halves set-up. Instead you have two halves and two large tops and bottoms. There are also small intakes to bore out with fine drill bits. The wheel well covers have generous attachment points and passable details. The AIMS conversion drag Chute. Dornier tried both drag chute and air brakes attempting to comply to the demand that every bomber can also be a diver bomber. With the drag chute, the fuselage becomes quite long. My knife is in front for size comparison. Finally all of the wings and engine dry-fitted. There was a bit of a shape difference between the rear fuselage and the rear of the upper wing piece. I've decided to shim the wing up a little at the back to avoid thinning the fuselage too much at the spine seam. The underwing seam looks very fine. The lower wing tucks into the upper wing. The MiG-25PD had the same type of setup... no split at the trailing edge. Same deal for the wing tip. No reason to accidentally sand off the large wingtip lights. Thanks for looking! Gaz ringleheim, AlanG, Uncarina and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadBaron Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Very nice work! Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 I've been stuck in the doldrums of aircraft modelling for some time. Fixing and re-fixing surface detail takes a lot of time as you try not to affect nearby features. A major work was incorporating the AIMS 'plywood' fairing where the power turret has been removed. Fit was great, with minimal putty required. I took extra care trying not to scratch up the clear plastic while sanding and smoothing the joints. I used Milliput in the seam between clear parts and the resin. The white putty around the back is modelling paste that was allowed to dry, then smoothed with a wet Q-tip. For further smoothing, I treated the seam with Future which was buffed with polishing compound later. The AIMS conversion supplies these four fairings for the Shräge Musik. The Blind Flying aerial underneath the aft fuselage was historically covered with a plastic fairing. I'm going to rough the clear part up as I can't see these aerials in any Do 217 photos. In the photo below, the plastic blister forward of the dorsal turret on a 217E appears to be semi-opaque plastic: Of all of the 217 photos I saw of a landed aircraft, it appears that the landing light wasn't automatic. So all I did was used some aluminum foil underneath the clear plastic part. The wings come with two large protruding knobs where the wingtip lights will be. So, I cut them off and made recesses which I drilled out then inserted a bit of copper wire to simulate a bulb. I'm waiting on some 5-second fix to use for the clear parts. The instructions would have you attach the landing gear and wheel well doors before gluing the nacelles to the wing. I'm not going to do that! I've decided I'm going to mount this kit to a wooden base. I filled the main wheels with milliput before closing them around the screws. I've weathered the tires and struts with pigments and acrylic washes. I've still to find a good detail photo of the brake lines. Anybody got one? Thanks for looking! LSP_Kevin, wmoran, mpk and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dog Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 Nice work so far ! I'm looking forward to building mine. I have the Lone Star resin set which was designed for the old Monogram kit that I'm hoping I can modify for the fairings and the like. A couple notes, the drag chute and air brake mods on the night fighter version were designed to slow the plane down quickly so as to not overtake or run into their quarry. I believe the blister on the top of the fuselage covered the radio direction finding antenna and did not need to be optically transparent and I have seen photos where this was painted. Looking forward to seeing this one finished ! Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 I like what I see so far, and the Sturmtiger looks great too. Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 7 hours ago, Old Dog said: Nice work so far ! I'm looking forward to building mine. I have the Lone Star resin set which was designed for the old Monogram kit that I'm hoping I can modify for the fairings and the like. A couple notes, the drag chute and air brake mods on the night fighter version were designed to slow the plane down quickly so as to not overtake or run into their quarry. I believe the blister on the top of the fuselage covered the radio direction finding antenna and did not need to be optically transparent and I have seen photos where this was painted. Looking forward to seeing this one finished ! Thank you! I've seen the fairing painted, too. But I like the idea of varying the look of the feature other than painting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 1 hour ago, LSP_K2 said: I like what I see so far, and the Sturmtiger looks great too. Thank you! I've stopped work on the ST as I'm making a directional change in my armor weathering process. LSP_K2 and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monthebiff Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 Hi Gaz, Absolutely stellar build and super impressed with your work. Very, very clean work around the rear cockpit fairing. Keep up the fantastic work on this one. Regards.Andy Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 11, 2019 Author Share Posted October 11, 2019 Thank you, Andy! The cockpit area has been a place I've needed to improve my skills for some time. Naturally I've always feared scratching the clear parts, but now that I have learned of fine grit papers and polishing compounds I can be a lot more brazen than in the past. Gaz monthebiff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ringleheim Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 Looking good all the way around. I'm enjoying watching it come together. Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpk Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Your p.e. work looks great. I bought a Do 17 in Finnish markings. I remember building the old Airfix 1/72 when I was a young child. I recall being surprised at the thin pencil like fuselage and the broad wing plan form. I am looking forward to building mine. Gazza did you manage to fix your MiG 25 tail fins? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ade rowlands Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I’m now tempted to move my 215 Recon version up the build pile after seeing this. mpk and Gazzas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Molitor Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Love the Do 17. Looking good Gaz. You certainly don’t see these being built everyday. Thanks for sharing. Troy mpk and Gazzas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 16, 2019 Author Share Posted October 16, 2019 16 hours ago, ade rowlands said: I’m now tempted to move my 215 Recon version up the build pile after seeing this. I have their 17Z bomber, too. It’s been sitting prominently in the back of my mind for a while, now. 14 hours ago, Troy Molitor said: Love the Do 17. Looking good Gaz. You certainly don’t see these being built everyday. Thanks for sharing. Troy Thank you! ICM has really been productive with the German twins over the last few years. The level of detail is nice and the fit is exceptional in this kit. I can easily see myself buying more of them. As I may have stated before, their only detractors are the soft plastic, the occasional undesired texture, and placing all of the opaque sprues in one bag. mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 20, 2019 Author Share Posted October 20, 2019 (edited) Hi everyone, I'm still plugging along on my ICM Dornier Do 217N1 with the AiMS conversion to make it an N2/R22. I used 5-second fix to make the wingtip light covers. If you look real close you can see tiny bubbles inside. Pastor John even give you 4 extra aerials! How generous is that! With some effort I used the conversion to improve the kit's FuG 212 aerials. I think next time I'll use brass tube and rod and forego the plastic parts. They look OK without my glasses on. While I'd spend a lot of time working on engine and fuselage and lower wings I hadn't spent any on the upper wings. To my horror, just when I thought I'd get to priming the beast, I discovered two sink lines in front of the ailerons. It would have been less egregious had there not been to raised details on each line. Anyway...primed today and discovered a few minor blemishes. The propeller attaches to the nacelle by means of a beveled ring slightly smaller in diameter than the spinner boss. It's held on here with blutack. Gluing the beveled ring will be a tricky proposition if I want the propeller to spin. While the kit engines are available and not too shabbily detailed, the inside of the nacelles would require some love to make believable. Does anyone know the true color of FuG 212 aerials? Thanks for looking! Gaz Edited October 20, 2019 by Gazzas Kagemusha, mywifehatesmodels, mpk and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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