1:48 Dornier Do-17Z-2

The flying pencil on three fronts

Its slender fuselage earned the Dornier the nickname the flying pencil. The Z form was the last production stage of development and differed from the older versions in its glazed forward section, into which a crew of four fitted together. The Z-2 variant was given more powerful radial engines and strengthened defensive armament, yet even that was not enough for it to survive the daylight fighting over England without heavy losses.

Three machines, three units

The first aircraft offered carries a code beginning with the group 5K and the manufacturer's information places it with the 3rd bomber wing on the Eastern Front in 1941. The second machine, with a code beginning F1, belonged to the 9th Staffel of the 76th wing and is dated July 1940, that is the time when the attacks on southern England were only just gathering strength. The third aircraft, with a code beginning U5, served with the 3rd Staffel of the 2nd wing in 1941.

Before applying them and after

The code letters on the sides of the fuselage are large and long on this type, so it is advisable to carry them over character by character and to keep checking the spacing against a side view. Settle a marking on a gloss layer, straighten it while it is still wet and then leave it alone for an hour. Only then comes the solution for settling it into the panel lines, and finally an evening matte overcoat.

The combination of three units on one sheet gives pleasant freedom: the type can be captured both at the time of the fighting over the Channel and a year later in the east, where it was already serving out its time in the second line.

The set holds only the print on paper. The model of the bomber and the paints are obtained separately.