The third entry in my Year of the Axis Build is Tamiya's Dornier Do335 A-1 Pfeil in 1/48.
I built the old Monogram Pfeil back in about 1974 when it was first released, so when I saw this Tamiya release around about 2000, I knew that I had to have it. It has been in my stash for a long, long time. When I decided this year would be a year of Axis-only builds, I did so with an eye toward building this kit.
I have to say, the Tamiya Pfeil does not really measure up to the lofty reputation they currently enjoy, or even to the standards of their kits of that time period (like, say, their P-47 kits, which are widely regarded as among the best ever kitted). Fit is 99% excellent, but I had some difficulty with the wing attachments and aligning the horizontal stabilizers. The wings fit onto a spar that will give them the proper dihedral, but the fit was excessively tight. I felt like I was putting too much pressure on the wings to get them attached, but in the end I was able to get them into position. The horizontal stabilizers attach onto a stub, and the fit was acceptable as far as getting the stabilizer onto the stub, but they did not mate up to the fuselage as they should have.
But the bigger issue was the number of sink marks located in very visible areas all throughout. Grrrr, come on. They littered the interior doors of the bomb bay and the wheel wells. I cleaned them up as well as I could and moved on.
Tamiya does provide a nifty nose weight that slots into the forward fuselage behind the forward prop and stays in place with a couple of well-positioned tabs. Nice touch.
For paints I used mostly Vallejo Model Air colors, although there are some areas with Model Master Enamel and Tamiya paints. Weathering is a Flory dark dirt wash, some silver pencil, and Model Master Enamel flat black airbrushed for the exhaust stains, which I augmented with dark brown pencil. I didn't figure this particular aircraft would be terribly worn given how late it came in the war, so I tried to mimic that.
Finally, I used a Montex mask set intended for the Ant-eater (two seat) version of the Pfeil. This set included canopy masks but also masks for the insignia and other markings. So the balkenkreuz markings, the swastikas, and the tail insignia are painted. Thank you to lawdog for recommending these masks (I had used them just for canopies, but had no idea they also had sets including masks for markings). Those masks are worth every penny!
[
Here is a close-up of the instrument panel. Tamiya provides a decal only for this detail, but I liked the paint job I did more than I liked the decal, so I opted to not use the decal and decided I could live with a lack of instrument facing.
Close-ups of some of the painted markings.
So that is it for this one. Next up, a Japanese build, Tamiya's recently re-issued old Ki-84 Hayate that comes with a jeep and a landscaped base. And yeah, I already have a Montex mask for a Hayate kit on order.