Airfix 1/72 Dornier Do-217J/E

AIRFIX 1:72 DORNIER DO 217 J/E
(& Mistel boxing)
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Dimitriy Levin (emt147@yahoo.com)
Addendum supplied by Andre Braun re: Mistel boxing by Airfix

Kit:
Airfix Dornier Do 217 J/E - 1/72 scale, kit 04020, series 4
- and Airfix Dornier Do 217 E "Mistel" with an Me 323, kit no. 05029 (see addendum bottom of page).

Aircraft:
(from the manual)
A development of the earlier Dornier Do 17 series of bombers, the prototype Do 217 first flew in August 1938. The 217 E four seater bomber version went into full production in the spring of 1941. They were widely used by the Luftwaffe in bombing raids over Great Britain and for anti-shipping strikes in the North Sea and Atlantic. It could carry a bomb load of 4000 kg (8800 lbs). The Do 217 J-1 was a night fighter version with a solid nose and four 20 mm MG FF cannons and four 7.9 mm MG 17 machine guns. Powered by two BMW 801 radial engines. Wingspan 18.95 m (62 ft 4 in), length of Do 217 ME-2 18.2 m (59 ft 8 in), length of Do 217 J-1 17.9 m (58 ft 9 in).

Parts:
The model comes with 90 parts molded in grey plastic with raised rivets and finely raised panel lines. There are four clear parts in rather thick plastic. All parts are on sprues and many, including the clear turret, show minor flash. Many control surfaces have round marks and pitting from the molds which will take some sanding to eliminate. Dry fitting revealed decent fit. Wing-to-fuselage joints will definitely require some sanding and gap-filling. An important note on clear parts. The aircraft has a complex cockpit and nose cone glazing but the clear parts are completely smooth with no indication of where the painted metal has to be. It is relatively easy to accurately replicate this from the manual and reference photos but the complexity of the canopies may be too much for people who are nervous around clear parts. :)

Instructions:
Typical Airfix manual, 20 steps plus a page of painting and decal instructions with left, right, top and down views for each variant. A fair amount of in-assembly painting is indicated. Step 7 is a little confusing as it shows the top turret inserted with the gun facing forward, that is, aiming at the pilots inside the cockpit. This should not be a problem however as the turret is made to rotate. Step 7 also includes a black instrument panel which can be cut out of the manual and glued onto its plastic counterpart. During the assembly you need to pay attention as the E and J variants use different tail cones and noses and it is not always clear which goes with which version. E variant also requires opening several marked holes for underwing fuel tanks and a chin machinegun. Color references are Humbrol numbers.

Versions:
You are given the option of making either the Do 217 E-2 bomber with clear nose, chin machine gun and underwing fuel tanks (but no fourth crew member! the bombardier spot is totally bare inside) or the Do 217 J-1 night fighter with a solid nose bristling with guns. E-2 (which is labeled as E-4 in the paint instructions... go figure!) is from 8/KG.2 Gilze-Rijen, Holland, 1942. The aircraft is painted with hard splinter dark green and black green camouflage on top and black on the bottom with scarlett propeller cones. The J-1 is from II/NJG.1 Gilze-Rijen, Holland, 1942. It is completely black.

Decals:
The decals seem to be of acceptable quality and fairly thin. The E-2 decals are U5 + FS with crosses only on tops of the wings, a 7 on the tail and a black-on-yellow emblem of a hand holding a hammer. The J-1 decals are G9 + HM with large crosses for tops and bottoms of wings and a small white-and-red on black shield logo on the left front. There are no swastikas.

Accuracy:
Not too bad. The overall dimensions are near perfect (within a few centimers), and the overall shape is quite good.

Detail:
You get three pilots, a paper instrument panel and seats. Not much else in the cockpit and the bombardier/bottom gunner spot is totally bare (not even a fourth crew figure) so if you make the clear-nosed E-2 you will be able to see all the way down the empty fuselage. I was disappointed with the engines which are already molded into nacelles. The detail is very poor, only the front row of cylinders which are repersented as smooth rods half-recessed in a solid wall of plastic. Some of the smaller antennae and control surface details seen in the photos and the box cover are missing as well. The panel lines and rivets are dense and seem accurate.

Options:
All control surfaces are separate parts. The aelirons definitely look like they could move, not sure about the rest. Aside from that, the usual fare of gear up/down and spinning propellers.

Impressions:
I picked up this model because it was a lot cheaper than other Do 217 kits. I am looking forward to making it as the kit promises to be relatively trouble-free. Aside from complex glazing, this could be a good beginner/intermediate model, especially in the all-black J-1 variant. I rate it Adequate because of unmarked canopies, lack of the fourth crew member leaving a gaping empty space in the nose, and mold marks on some parts.

Addendum:
The J-1 nightfighter version does not have radar antennae for the nose but my research shows that it's not supposed to because only J-2 and later versions had radar. So it's not a flaw in the model, if anyone's wondering.

Further Addendum Supplied by Andre Braun:
Airfix has reissued their Dornier Do 217 E/J as an Do 217 E "Mistel" with an Me 323, kit no. 05029.

This maybe is not any real news for most model builders, but the good thing is that it is still possible to build the Do 217 J-1 nightfighter (and the "E") variant with this kit. The necessary parts for this variant are still with the kit. I think that this is important information for any model builder who wants to build "Luftwaffe nightfighters".

The Me 323 has recessed lines and looks very nice moulded in light beige plastic. And it is a "small one"...
Best. R.
Andre

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