"GERMAN ARROWS" - OFFICIAL DO-335 GB

Finally was able to start up on my Arrow and completed the plumbing on the other well to busy up things a bit

Since the bomb bay is going to be open to show off the extra fuel tank, I separated the doors and cleaned up the sink marks and got the cowl parts together 

I have several of these black plastic containers that are actually frozen dinner microwavable trays. I use them for grouping model parts

Some nice stuff there PJ.

I agree with Bish: Great work!

Thanks guys!

I was hoping to leave the landing gear off to be detailed and installed after painting the plane body but no recessed attachment points are provided in the wells which will make for a stronger join. I will have to Plast I Weld the gear now before painting to ensure a good bond.

Nice detailing! PJ... shes really looking good.

Thanks Doug!

The mains are in place and unfortunately she's a tail sitter. I was unable to add any nose weight because the CMK resin engine takes up just about all the open space up front. I wanted to display this on a wooden plank area as seen in late war pictures so no problems as I will attach the nose wheel to the planks with a pin to keep her nose down.

slightly ot but i built a spitfire based on this

She has nice legs

It looks like you used the wheels supplied in the kit. Are they any good?

Spartan

Have nothing but great grades for this kit. Everything fits like a glove. The wheels are excellent and includes the bigger nose wheel for this version.

That's nice to hear! My goal for this build is to use as little AM stuff as possible. What's your opinion on the cockpit details? I want to close up the canopy, so i think there's no need at all for a resin replacement (if it's similar to Tamiya's P-47 kits I won't even think about replacing it).

The only AM sets I'm going to use are some seatbelts (I'm not sure if I'm going to use HGW belts or simply rob the PE belts from one of my Eduard 190) and some Eduard masks.

I want this to be a relaxing OOB project...

Oh, I almost forgot: Is there a nose weight provided?

Looking good there PJ.

For my nose wheel aircraft I drill a small hole in the bottom of the wheel and put a piece of brass rod in then. Then drill a hole in the base and glue it in. Of course that only works if your not planning on moving it.

Spartan

Yes, a nose weight is provided but since I used a resin engine in the nose, there was no room to add it. The only aftermarket thing I used in the cockpit was a set of Eduard seat belts. The molded cockpit details are just fantastic and it would be a shame to close the canopy. This is an outstanding kit built OOB and if not for the resin engines and tank, this build would have been completed a long time ago.

As you can see here, only PE belts were used

and punched out the dial decals and used the Tamiya IP

I did add wires to the IP back

Thanks Bish!

I plan on doing the same thing with the pins on the wheels since it will be depicted as being serviced.

Spartan....Forgot to add Fräulein  Dornier does have nice legs!

Thanks for answering all my questions! I know it's a shame to close her up, but I don't want to obscure her beautiful lines...

SchattenSpartan

Thanks for answering all my questions! I know it's a shame to close her up, but I don't want to obscure her beautiful lines...

Got mine started this week!  Hopefully I can get some WIP pics posted this weekend. Doing the Monogram kit from the Dual set w/ a P-47 and found an Eduard PE set in the box that I got in 1999. I bought the kit in 1988 according to my kit log so it's about time to git-er-done!

Well I finally got open my 335 box again last night.  Started working on the exhausts and the office.   the exhausts are from Quickboost.   I think I dropped the exhausts at least 6 times before I got them glued onto my styrene plate to be mounted in the fuselage.  

Looks like you're off to a great start!

freem

Got mine started this week!  Hopefully I can get some WIP pics posted this weekend. Doing the Monogram kit from the Dual set w/ a P-47 and found an Eduard PE set in the box that I got in 1999. I bought the kit in 1988 according to my kit log so it's about time to git-er-done!

I'll be watching, same kit I'm doing.

Spent about 2 hours slicing masking tape to form the outlines of the frame, then larger pieces to cover up the windows.

I attached the windscreen with clear parts cement and the canopy was tacked down with Aleen's Fast Grab Tacky Glue in a couple of spots. The canopy will be removed and positioned open after all the exterior painting is done. I shot the frames RLM66 so that it will show thru the clear plastic as the interior color. The engine panel is from the CMK resin set primed in black.

Was researching and read that DO335's built after the autumn of 1944, more than likely had the lowers painted RLM76 instead of RLM65. The only two B2 versions that were made came out by November 1944 so I shot my B2 lower in RLM76. The gear wells and bomb bay are RLM02.

I think I'm going to go with the boring original paint job just to keep it historically correct.

Worked on the base which I made from a left over piece of pine. Broke out my router and fancied the edges some with a nice profile then put on some stain and oil. Got a bunch of wood flat sticks from Michael's and cut them down to size in my band saw bunches at a time to be used as a parking area as I have seen in some late war pictures and glued them down with Elmers. Used Craft acrylic burnt umber paint on the planks which still need some touch ups as the grassy area does too.

Shot the 81/82 paint with MM enamels thinned about 60/40 and a nice smooth even finish is produced. I then Brushed on a couple of coats of Future to prepare the surface for the decals.

Working from some reference photos, I added some more plumbing to the rear engine.

The rear engine covers which I separated were a treat to tape together and were held in place in the fuselage for the masking stage so that the camo demarcation lines would line up. I think that MM has done a great job in their paint matching as I have read that you should have a very low color difference between the 81 and 82..

Shes looking great! and boring or not, they still get my vote for one of the coolest looking aircraft of the era!  

Doug

That's some truly fantastic work, PJ! THe camo looks great and the base is awesome as well! Is it just me or is it way easier to achieve a glossy finish with enamel colors than with acrylics? I don't really plan on switching to enamels because they are damn hard to get in Austria (most of them are banned here) and I love my acrylics. I am very tempted to buy a few bottles of enamel paints for glossy finifshes (like the gloss sea blue on korean Navy planes)...

Doug....Thanks man! these birds were pretty unique and like the Type 21 U Boat, both very late for combat. I read about a Tempest or Typhoon pilot who spotted a lone 335 out and about but couldn't catch up to it. The 335 pilot dropped it into 5th gear and got the hell out of Dodge leaving the pursuing pilots to eat his dust. This aircraft was very fast and wonder how it would have tangled with the Mustangs. Very cool looking aircraft. This version had 2 30mm cannons mounted on the wings, and another firing thru the prop hub and two 20mm cannons mounted on the nose. Quite a deadly gun platform.

SSpartan... Thanks and glad u like my base idea. I cannot spray Future to come out smooth but yet, lacquer or enamels come out smooth as glass. I find that 2 hand  brushed coats of Future produce excellent results to apply the decals and kill any silvering. I like to give it another coat over the decals to get rid of any thickness that may show as a step around the edges. Then I shoot MM clear flat to dull the finish.

I shot the enamels at about 8-10 psi with 60-40 ratio and was just smooth as glass, even being a flat base. The MM Dark Sea Blue FS 15042 sprays out very nice and super glossy.

Looking good there PJ, I am really liking the base!.  Keep up the great work.

I, on the other hand, have not begun work on my kit.  I have a resin upgrade kit to make it a B-1 as well as the Aries resin engines kit.  Not sure if I want to open her up now though.  I am currently building a 32 scale Me-262 that is eating up all of my bench time.  Hope to have that one done in the next two weeks or so.

Keep up the great work everyone!

Matt: Take your time. I don't want you to rush that 262 because of this GB...

PJ: Thanks for the info on those enamels paints. Looks like I somehow have to get me some dark sea blue. I really hate trying to achieve glossy finishes with acrylics... I'll stick to acrylics for everything else though. I jsut love the short drying time and the low odour of acrylic paints and my Gunze paints spray super-smooth as well when thinned right (just not glossy).

Reasoned:

Just a suggestion but I think the Monogram front cockpit is fine out of the box.  I used an Eduard PE set and after looking at Falconmod's pic on Jan 23 and studying photos of the real thing I'm not convinced the PE added anything other than better rudder pedals and a slightly better instrument panel. A good dry brush job over the dark grey and maybe some AM belts and your good to go I think. Guess I'm disappointed. :(

PJ, that's looking really nice, and love the base.

Hey guys, I just wanted to report that Zoukei Mura has announced a Do 335 kit!!!