Revell (Monogram) 1/48 Do-335A-1/12

From the kit instructions: "Development of the Do 335 was a brilliant concept for a multi-purpose aircraft in which for the very first time all requirements were incorporated during the construction phase. The tandem engine arrangement was the logical progression of a well thought out aerodynamics, then with this concept the obligatory drag of the second engine was no longer present. This enabled the Do 335 to become the fastest series built propeller-driven aircraft of the Second World War. Despite all these superlatives, by the time it entered series production, the middle of 1944, the Dornier 335 was already militarily obsolete. The new jet engines gave a substantial increase in engine performance at a low material cost. An additional fact was also that since 1943, costly raw materials in a no longer justifiable amount were dearly needed for aircraft already in service..."

Six sprues come inside a single bag. Five are moulded in light grey plastic with one being moulded in clear plastic. There's a total of two decal options for two aircraft, Do 335A-1 2/1 and Do 335A-12 114. These two aircraft are painted in the late war camouflage pattern of RLM 81/82/65.

I began by painting the cockpit pieces with RLM 66 (Revell 78). While those pieces were drying, I tackled the wings. These are a a bottom and two top pieces, which also is where the flaps are attached. The flaps can be positioned at will. Back to the cockpit, I glued all the pieces of it together and let the glue set for a moment. When the glue had set, I glued the cockpit to one fuselage side, and left it to dry while I searched for a suitable nose weight. Once I found the weight, I glued it to the fuselage half which housed the engine detail, and left it aside to dry. Once the weight's glue had cured, I glued both fuselage halves, and then I glued the wings to it. It was at this time that I also decided to build the A-1 version, which looks better than the twin seater. I also glued at this time the horizontal stabilizers. I also tried to glue the radiator coolant intake that goes just in front of the rear engine, but it fell inside the model, and in order to retrieve it, I had to tear away the wings from the fuselage, which were glued again soon after.

The official RLM colour pattern for the Dornier Do 335 was of RLM 81, RLM 82 and RLM 65. These colours from Revell are NATO 46 Brown, 65 Bronze Green, and 49 Light Blue. I first traced the camouflage colour with a pencil, and then used masking tape to limit the areas where the paint would go. I applied first the RLM 81 and then the 82. I then masked the limit between the upper and lower colours, and painted the undersides with RLM 65. The decal option I chose has panels painted in natural metal, these were masked and painted accordingly. The model was then varnished with Revell's gloss varnish to prepare the aircraft for the decals.

The decals behaved perfectly and conformed to the raised detail very well. I estimate I spent 1 hour decalling the model. Once all the decals were dry, I left them to dry for a day. The next day, the model was coated with two coats of Revell's matt varnish.

I glued the propellers (painted in RLM 70/Revell 40), the landing gear (painted in RLM 02) and the wheels. The last pieces to be added were the clear parts, which fitted very well.

Revell's Dornier Do 335 is still a viable alternative to the much harder to find and more expensive Tamiya Dornier. Even though the molds are 46 years old, there wasn´t too much flash to clean up.

Francisco Santoro