1/48 Promodeler Dornier Do 217 E5

by Tolga Ulgur

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History

Essentially an enlarged Do17, development of Do217 is a  direct result of a much succesful competitor: Ju88. Beaten  with Junkers, Dornier chose to  develop the thrusted concept.  Flown as a prototype in August 1938, Designated Recconnaisance version Do 217A-0 entered service by 1940. Though   primarly designed  as  medium fast bomber, imposed necessities and fuselage structure  successfully  resulted heavy fighter, torpedo bomber,  radar operated night fighter and  most notably missile equipped anti shipping versions. This last two variants continued to operate until the end of the war. 

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Kit

Promodeler’s huge cardboard box comes with 3 main sprues, a very good amount of external and  internal detail is evident.  Almost as an individual project, one sprue includes Hs 293 missile, with a very good detail level.  Construction is pretty straightforward  and painless. Notably two part nacelle joint is to good to be true.  A slight filling and sanding needed on wing joint. Possibly from multi part wing design, or simply  due my incompetence!  I begin  with cockpit,  spraying pretty much routine RLM66.  After  that,  area received it’s usual dosage of wash, dry brush  and Eduard’s P/E belts. 

RLM65 Under surfaces   painted with Gunze Sangyo Acyrlics easily. However, Upper camouflage colours RLM 72/73 have to be “re invented”  by adding gentle drops of Tamiya medium blue to Gunze Sangyo RLM70/71.  

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By using kit decals, I choose to depict a Do217E-5 with Henschel Hs  293 missile “white 52”. Machine’s  Unit, KG100 based at Biscay Bay against Allied shipping in summer 1943 . Unfortunately, ageing decals were useless and  resulted an unexpected masking adventure. The underwing Balkan crosses have to be airbrushed…  Rest of the decals  went well.

As an ever useful gadget, I used Eduard Canopy masks –No! not them, the new, yellow ones- on this project and they  worked well too..

Finally,  a nice coat  of Gunze matt  with  slight weathering prepared my Do217E-5 to it’s final flight  on  display shelf.

Tolga

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Photos and text © by Tolga Ulgur