HKM Do335 B6 - IPMS Telford Build

Hello!

I like the interior details a lot. You didn't write what scale it is, though.

Thanks for sharing and have a nice day

Paweł

I'm sorry, Pawel! it is a 1/32 scale kit and is Hong Kong Models' latest release with the Lancaster in 1/32 due very shortly as some might have seen on social media.

of the original and actual aircraft, this would have been a development of the B zerstoyer series but with a cockpit added for the radar operator, the wing 30mm cannons removed, radar mounted and extra fuel tanks installed in the bomb bay and external tanks installed on both wings.

These were on top of the fuel tanks in the leading edge of the wings and a fuel tank right behind the radar operator, which was half the size (and capacity) of the single seat version. This aircraft could stay airbone for a long time and the armament of 2 20mm and 1 30mm nose mounted cannon was a fearsome punch.

James

Thanks guys.

I continue with my 'canter' through this. The majority of the time is painting and that slows you down as you need to let things cure properly.

Here's the flameguards

I wanted a darkish used look which will be slightly at odds to the brand new "What if" paint job and it's time to get creative so....

A matt primer coat of grey followed by AK Xtreme metal Bronze.

Once cured, a very gentle whistle over with Xtreme metal Metallic Smoke. Not enough to change the base colour, but tnough to see a difference.

They are quite dark in reality... it's the camera! Now all that is needed is a coat of clear matt to knock all the shine off.

The rear engine is painted with AK blue black... actually one of their Japanese paints for a zero cowling as the anti-glare, but it matches the DB paint colour for the engines better than a standard black. Also, all 4 of the exhaust flame hiders, waiting for their clear matt coat.

loads of parts that have been primed on one of both sides (depending on colour) and are just drying!

Front and rear props. Primed, and painted, dry fitted together for the photo and waiting for their matt clear coat. Colours... Blades RLM 70, nose cone, RLM 22 & RLM 24.

Again it is the light in my workroom that's just putting the colours off. I am working under half natural light backed up with a large daylight flourescent tube. My big window faces out onto some gren trees which cast a green light into the room!

It is at this stage where I will problably do the exterior paint job annd then do any patches once it comes together.

James

Looks great so far! This is a stout bird in 1/48, I can’t even imagine 1/32!

I really like how you painted the engine and flame dampers. Very well done. 

Another update.

I was going to do a very detailed blotchy hard line night camo of RLM 75/76 and after spending most of a day drawing squiggly blotches onto a sheet of Tamiya masking tape and dreading cutting them out I had a moment of inspiration.... What if... Hard line night splinter camo! Got to be easier and quicker!

With the upper surface painted overall with RLM 75 the splinter pattern was put on

then the RLM 76 overall and the masking removed.

It is much easier done now so lines can be matched to parts that will be open and they don't look out of place.

detail painting to the exhaust surround with metallic smoke

minor patching needed then time to put a matt clear coat over so I can happily mask and do the interior

Matt clear coat put over flame dampers. It knocks all the shine off, protects the paint and looks quite good in real life!

I will do the same technique with the exhausts, but with copper and burnt metal.

quite a few more parts done. Some given stencil decalling and all given a matt clear coat. These will be ready for the insides priming and painting later. Masking the eexterior will be done.

It's not the putting together that takes the time.... it's the bloody painting!

You are doing a fantastic job on this build!  Great job on the splinter camoflauge.  I’ll be following your very detailed WIP.  I wish my WIP was as good as yours!  Thank you for sharing.

Your friend, Toshi

Thanks Toshi.

Good to see you around and I hope Mrs Toshi is doing OK.

I do hope that this build will encourage you to have a bash at one of HKM's kits. They are really nice builds And I am sure that you will enjoy it.

James

This is the second recent thread on the DO-335. The earlier thread was a "what if" DO-335 that I haven't been able to find. I'm following this closely, snapdragonxxx. I picked up a Monogram P-47/DO-335 combo kit at Modelpalooza and I am thinking about a "what if" JG-52 scheme maybe. Can't wait to see your plane when it's finished.

snapdragonxxx

Thanks Toshi.

Good to see you around and I hope Mrs Toshi is doing OK.

I do hope that this build will encourage you to have a bash at one of HKM's kits. They are really nice builds And I am sure that you will enjoy it.

 

James

 

Your friend, Toshi

Go for it Toshi!

Thanks for your support guys.

Time for another update.

Things progress and I start with the exhausts and to start with an all over copper.

More a little later.

Canopies are masked with tape and painted. I cut the masks myself with a new blade.

Dry fit over the radar operator. The glass needs cleaning and there are still some parts to add before fitting.

Dry fit of the cannon bay and nose weight part. the major one is already in the engine.

Cockpit painted and in place.

Back to the exhaust pipes. The copper colour has been toned down by gentle application of both burnt metal and metallic smoke, followed by a coat of clear matt to knock off the shine and make them look used.

Inside of wheelwells, undercart,bomb bay etc primed with stylenrez metal primer.

Xtreme metal polished aluminium applied in the hope that there would be a bit of bright reflection.... but it didn't happen!!!  :angry-banghead:

Time to do some work on the undercart. I needed hi reflectifity on the schock absorber and so I went back to basics after the failure with the interior parts. The area was primed with metal primer and then gloss black base was applied.

Once cured, stainless steel was sprayed to full depth over that.

Here we are. Not sure if the camera captured it correctly, but I just have to put a coat of shine enhancer over this as a protective coat and then I can mask and paint the rest RLM 02

Dry fit of rear engine. still parts to add before fixing!

Next time things start to come together and it will look like an aircraft.

Suddenly things come together.

The wings were the first things put together and all the small stuff, engines, cockpit interior etc take the time in painting. It starts to come together and when the fuselage goes together then things suddenly look different. a pile of parts become an aircraft!

Wings dry fitted. top cover dry fitted. You get the size now of this beast. The card on the bench is A3 in size!

I think that time might be against me but all of a sudden things come together. Now is the time to put the wings on and look closely at the exterior paint job and do any repairs, patching and fix any wonky lines Also the decals will be put on and I think that the two tail fins will receive a RLM 23 Red ID stripe on the very top and bottom. This will match the prop boss and also I will maybe do the front of the cowling the same.

What it has come down to now is the undercart, covers, bomb bay hatch, decals finalising paint job, radar antennae and other sundries. What a gallop through!

Here's another update.

Normally for national insignia I use masks and paint. However, I don't have German ones in at the moment and it takes about 2 weeks to get them so I just have to use the kit decals.

Wings done and a clear matt coat over to protect them and dampen the decal shine.

Now the main fuselage is together it is time to correct some wonky lines!

overspray needs fixing!

Much better

Undercart ready for painting etc.

The national insignia needs splitting over the rear engine access panels. Normally I would use masks and paint for this, but not having any it's decals, a really sharp knife and prayers!

door taped in place. Both side will be done as I want the door panels in the open position.

Decal applied. a brand new scalpel blade was used to cut the decal on the lower edge of the panel.

Centre cut out.

There is some tearage of the decal, but once it is dry and has a protective matt coat which will stop it from coming off, there will be some masking done and corrective black paint.

The other side didn't go as well. Half the decal went missing. It was found stuck to my wrist and applied.

Once again, a clear matt coat followed by some masking and black paint to correct.

The top has been put on. I did have some fit issues, but I think that ther might have been some part shrinkage in the mould! It wenty on in the end. There are gaps, but paint will hide those.

Wings on. It's startimg to look like an aircraft!

That's all for now!

More or less finished now. There are still one or two things to do and painting the radar antennae is proving to be a pain.

I have moved on to the Mosquito IX which will be a Met flight version. I will post highlights of that build on a separate thread and finished photos posted of both aircraft just before Telford.

I do hope that this build has inspired some of you to go big and have some fun!

Hi Clint,

Sometimes with these kind of big kits you have to have a finished picture in your mind before you start. In other words you know exactly how it is going to look when it is done, and work towards that with a mind of the finished exterior paint job. Quite often you have to work forwards and backwards from the start and end of the project at the same time.

with this bird having a "what if" paint job which is a half way house version of a splinter pattern and a blotch pattern I had to consider very carefully how to do the straight line across panels that are to be in place and open... The engine ones. This meant that those panels had to be done quite early in the build as you can see from the photos. Also, the national insignia has to be split across not only the panel/fuselage gap but also the gap where the exhaust comes out and the flame dampers fit.

As the hinges for this panel are moulded on to be fixed in the open position you can't just slap it in there and do what's needed at the last minute. You can see my approach in my posts above.

normally, when faced by this and the need to split national insignia over open panels and gaps I use masks from Maketar and paint them on. I didn't have any in this time and it usually takes 2 weeks from order to dropping onto my doormat for which, with this build I couldn't do with the delay.

You need to get to know the kit and the instructions really well before starting. Know what the finished kit is going to look like in regard to open cockpit canopies, engine covers/cowlings undercart etc exterior paint job and work backwards formulating a plan as to what needs painting and the best time to do it in regard to the instructions and build with a view of the finished display. Also, build in to the plan plenty of flexibility and the ability to jump around the kit to keep your interest because if you get bogged down in a certain area then all bets are off

the first things I usually look at are tyres and props usually reasonably quick to paint but quite often looked at closely by other modellers. In this case, the prop boss took a lot longer to do (White is a really nasty colour to deal with) and cook some really creative masking.

Luftwaffe subjects are quite often the hardest subjects to paint with mottling and hard edge straight line splinter patterns with both being used on late war aircraft.

also, don't forget that quite often you'll be handling these parts and so a good clear protective coat is a must and paint repair work quite often happens on a regular basis.

I will be building ZM's Shinden in the near future and will be deviating from the all over dark green upper side of the original prototype to a camouflage pattern often seen on the Ki-45 Nick.

I will be jumping around this kit from the start and doing lots of changes and adding PE detail, seat belts, metal barrels etc. I will post the build on here and it will be well worth watching as I will be explaining methods, madness and reasons

James