Dornier Do 17 Z-10 by Revell

1/72 scale
Kit No. 03933
Retail: $30.00
Decals: Two versions – both Luftwaffe
Comments: Re-issue of ICM kit, engraved panel lines, highly detailed cockpit, landing gear and engines

History

The Dornier Do 17 began life as a rapid passenger-carrying airliner. In 1933, Lufthansa and Dornier entered into a contract for an airliner that would exceed the passenger space of the cramped Heinkel He 70. Unlike Heinkel’s He 111, which came into being as an airliner as a premeditated subterfuge ultimately intended to build up the Luftwaffe’s bomber force, the Do 17 was designed solely as an airliner. It took its maiden flight on November 23, 1934 — in its original form, it had a single vertical tail.

Although flight testing was satisfactory, Lufthansa rejected the three prototypes Dornier delivered for further testing on the grounds that the cabin was cramped and uncomfortable. Although roomier than the He 70, it still was not good enough, and their operating costs were too high or them to be economical solely as mail carriers. Dornier’s brand-new Do 17’s sat neglected for nearly six months, until a Lufthansa pilot, Flight Captain Untucht, saw them and was impressed by their graceful lines. Untucht secured permission to fly one. After taking it up, he declared, “That thing is as fast and nimble as a fighter.” Untucht felt that with improved lateral stability, “we’ll have the ideal high-speed bomber!”

To improve lateral stability, the single tail was replaced by a twin rudder configuration, a change which gave the machine gunner in the rear of the cabin an improved field of fire. Radio space and bomb shafts replaced the passenger cabin, but the airframe remained otherwise unchanged. In July 1937 the Do 17 caused a sensation at an airshow in Zurich. Fitted with Daimler Benz 600 engines of 950 hp each, it was 40 kph faster than the Dewoitine D.510, the fastest foreign fighter of the time. At this point, the DO 17 still had not entered production, but a total of 10 pre-production prototypes with different power plants had been built.

Series production began with the Dornier Do 17E, and the F-1, a long-range reconnaissance version, quickly followed. The airframe was laid out so that engines capable of a range from 600 hp to 1,000 hp could be installed. Despite repeated changes of armament and equipment dictated by military development, the basic design of the plane remained unchanged. After the success of the Do 17 at Zurich in the Summer of 1937, the type acquired a nickname that stuck. A British observer dubbed it “The Flying Pencil” (“Fliegender Bleistift”) owing to its slender fuselage.

The Do 17 E-1 and F-1 saw service in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Nationalists, where they proved to be superbly capable of shaking off enemy fighters like the Soviet I-16 at will. The Spaniards called the Do 17 “Pablo” and the Heinkel He 111 “Pedro.” In Spain it became obvious that the service ceiling of the BMW V1 engine was insufficient, and since the DB 600 and 601 engines were needed for Messerchmitt’s Bf 109 production, the Do 17 was equipped with Bramo 323 engines, which reached sufficiently high altitudes with superchargers.

With the introduction of the Do17 M, defensive armament was increased from two to three MG 15 7.92mm machine guns. largely due to Britain’s introduction of the Hawker Hurricane, a modern monoplane fighter of relatively heavy armament (eight Browning .303 machine guns).

Do 17 Z

The Do 17 Z, the subject of this kit, first appeared in early 1939 and had a roomier cabin than previous versions, allowing the pilot and observer to sit side by side. It also featured a larger greenhouse canopy offering the aircrew a 360-degree view, a first for the Do 17. Do 17’s also had a ventral machine gun installed, a nod to the fact that in Spain, enemy pilots had discovered this weak spot. When the Z-2 went into production, it carried 1000 kg of bombs and had a lower top speed and range, but it enjoyed great popularity with aircrews due to its ruggedness and reliability. The Z-10 version, developed exclusively as a nightfighter, had the heaviest armament yet seen on the Do 17, four MG 17 machine guns and a single MGFF 20mm cannon. This version saw no more than 10 machines built, and some sources claim fewer than that. At least one of them carried two MG 151/20 (20mm cannon), in addition to machine guns.

The Luftwaffe’s Dornier fleet took part in the Polish Campaign, with a few spared for long-range reconnaissance over France and England. As the Battle of Britain began to head up, with the Luftwaffe trying to bait the RAF by attacking British merchant shipping in the English Channel, the Do 17 had a prominent role, as it did in subsequent attacks against airfields near the coast in southern England.

The Do 17 is today under-rated, but at the time it was one of the best aircraft the Luftwaffe fielded during the war. Due to its speed, maneuverability and ruggedness, it was more feared by the RAF than the He 111’s or Ju 88’s. Being relatively fast and nimble, it could conceivably turn the tables on a Hurricane or Spitfire in the hands of a skilled pilot. Its responsiveness on the controls made it ideal for low-level “hedge-hopping” surprise attacks, and it was rugged enough to withstand a fair amount of punishment.

With these flight characteristics, any RAF pilot who downed a Dornier had indeed achieved something.  If it had a critical flaw, it was that as a bomber, it could only carry relatively light payloads due to its size. It never caught on as a nightfighter despite indications it would have performed well, only because the Junkers Ju 88 and Ju 188, and to a lesser degree the Heinkel He 219 were well-established and effective in the role with somewhat heavier armament.

It is unknown how many Do 17s were built prior to and during World War II. As of 1940, 475 bombers, 16 reconnaissance planes and nine night fighters had been built.

Construction

To call construction of this kit complex would be an understatement. The cockpit/fighting cabin alone consists of 33 parts (thankfully a paint guide is provided for all the equipment). On the up side, given the Do17’s greenhouse canopy, the bulk of all the rich detail will be visible once the kit is complete. That said, the sheer number of parts may be a touch of overkill for 1/72 scale. It appears ICM (this is a Revell re-box of an original ICM kit) were seeking to outdo the now-defunct Accurate Miniatures in realism of construction, with multiple internal fuselage bulkheads forming what would have been the bomb bay, but for the fact that this is a nightfighter.

The fuselage, wings and tail assembly go together easily enough, with separately mounted control surfaces for the wings and elevators — not so for the rudders. The landing gear likewise are well-detailed. The kit starts to become challenging when you get to the engine nacelles, which are relatively complex six-part assemblies into which the landing gear struts are cemented. The fit of the nacelles could be better, as they did not snuggle up flush against the under surface of the wing and required a bit of filler to eliminate a visible gap.

A critical flaw, however, was the parts for the landing gear struts. They protruded from the nacelles rather naked and exposed, and were a little too spindly given that there is quite a bit of handling of the kit during painting. The interior surfaces of the wheel bays in the nacelles are to be painted RLM 02, and this area must be protected during airbrushing of the under surface of the plane in Matt Black. This is problematic, since you do not have the option of cementing the struts in at a later point during construction. After breaking one of the gear struts during masking, I tore them both out and decided to depict the kit in flight. I had already painted and assembled the very attractive landing gear, wheels and all, so I hope to use them on a future Dornier project.

The next major hurdle was the exhaust manifolds for the engines. Here is where the kit’s engineering falls down, in my opinion. The parts for the manifolds are cemented to a face plate of sorts, and this step went smoothly. The trouble occurs when you cement the manifold assembly to the radial engines in Step 46. Although the manifold assembly and the engine assembly are designed so that they can only align and fit together at one point on the compass, this combined assembly in one case did not fit smoothly onto the four points of the engine mount protruding from the forward part of the nacelle.

The port engine went onto its engine mount without incident, but the starboard assembly put up quite a struggle, falling apart and requiring reassembly before it was subdued, and even then the exhaust pipes of the manifold assembly did not align perfectly with the openings in the cowling — for the five-part engine cowlings are next, fitting over the entire flying circus. While it eventually came together, it is accurate to say that this step (Step 50) was an adventure in frustration. For my money, the engine assemblies may duplicate those of the original aircraft, but for model building purposes they are unnecessarily complex.

The remainder of the kit went together smoothly. For the machine gun and cannon armament that are cemented into the nose cap at Step 62, I recommend adding them in the latter stages of construction, as these small parts can be easily torn out during handling, and I had to replace two of the machine guns before I was done.

Painting

While I built the kit as a nightfighter, I did not want to paint it in overall Matt Black. The upper surfaces are airbrushed in enamels in a splinter camouflage pattern of RLM 81 Braunviolett by True North Paints, together with Model Master’s RLM 70 Schwarzgrun, or Black Green. True North produces high quality enamels which I highly recommend as an alternative enamel source now that Model Master has gone under, however they can be fairly thick so be advised that they may require liberal thinning. Both paints airbrushed on beautifully, flowing smoothly through the airbrush with no stoppages. The under surfaces are airbrushed in Tamiya’s acrylic Flat Black.

Markings

The kit provides markings for two different Luftwaffe aircraft of unspecified units. The first is painted in overall Matt Black and has the call letters R4 + LK. The second is painted as a day fighter (possibly used as a bomber interceptor against American daylight raids over Germany) in a splinter camouflage scheme of RLM 70 (Black Green) and RLM 71 (Green) over RLM 65 (Light Blue), with the call letters PK + DH. The decals are excellent, of high quality, thin yet movable so that you can position them before applying decal solvent and fixing them into position, with very minimal silvering, which can be a common problem with letter decals in particular. Not so with this batch.

Conclusion

This is a challenging yet satisfying kit to build, but frankly I found its engineering a little too complex for my taste. It’s beyond Accurate Miniatures; while putting this kit togeter, I felt more like a journeyman aircraft fitter at Dornier AG than a model builder! The fit and construction of the engines in particular could be greatly simplified. That said, the finished product has great interior as well as exterior detail and looks very realistic indeed. Thumbs up overall.

Reference

The Flying Pencil: Dornier Do 17 and Do 215 by Heinz J. Nowarra; Schiffer Military History Volume 25; Copyright 1990 Schiffer Publishing Company, West Chester, Pennsylvania.