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Dornier DO-335 A-12, by Zoukei Mura


Dpgsbody55

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It's taken four months, but my Do-335 build is now complete.  The plane I built is Werke Nr. 230112 which became a war prize at the end of WW2.  It was subsequently taken back to Farnborough UK, for testing and it impressed it's captors with it's fine handling, range, power and speed.  If developed, it would have made an excellent nightfighter, heavy fighter and fighter bomber, perhaps Germany's best "Zerstorer" and probably have bettered the capabilities of the D-H Mosquito.  It is very well described in Eric Brown's book "Wings of the Luftwaffe".  Unfortunately, the plane met a sad end on 18th January 1946 when the Farnborough CO, Group Captain A. F. Hards took it up for a solo flight.  As he returned to the field, the rear engine was seen to be alight.  Whether he was aware of this is unknown, and perhaps he was trying to get such a valuable prize back to the airfield, but at about two thirds of the circuit, the plane suddenly plunged vertically into the ground, hitting a school house and killing it's unfortunate pilot.  It had been noticed in testing that the rear engine ran much hotter than the front engine, so probably the control cables were burned through in the fire, and this may well have caused the sudden dive into the ground.

 

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And here's my rendition of it, as it was when captured.  I've added hinges of my own manufacture to the basic model for both cockpits and engines, so I can change the display and keep out dust.  The model also needs a lot of weight to stop it being a tail sitter too.  You can read my build here  for more info and pictures of it's build progress.

 

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Cheers,

Michael

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On 3/15/2022 at 1:36 AM, bobster said:

Very nice, clean build Michael. I bet this is a monster in size! And, you have opened everything. Makes for an impressive display. I have always liked this air frame. Now I want one too!

 

Good to hear.  I don't believe that Z-M kits are as fearful as some say.  Everything fits well making the job a pleasure.  And given the parts in the kit, it's good value given that you could build 2 other kits in the time it takes to build this and you won't have anything as unique and likely have spent the same amount of money.

 

On 3/15/2022 at 12:24 PM, MikeMaben said:

Nice Mike, I like the 2 seater best  :speak_cool::thumbsup:

 

So do I.  I've got the old Monogram (?) 1/48 scale version of the same thing on my shelves built a couple of decades ago.  And that bone replaced one built before that!!.  But after this, I'm tempted to do a single cockpit version some time in the future.

 

13 hours ago, Eagle Driver said:

Size matters!

 

Agreed.

 

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Cheers,

Michael

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  • 3 months later...
On 6/17/2022 at 1:57 AM, John Stambaugh said:

Please don't take offense but I must say that IMHO the Do335 is as ugly an aircraft ever produced. 

 Nevertheless, this is a magnificent kit and an epic build. Bravo!

 

No offense taken.  I think it's a very impressive looking plane, but I'd agree it's no thing of beauty.  Not to be photographed next to a Spitfire, either.  Like I did...  :whistle:

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

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