1:48 Dornier Do 17Z undercarriage covers

Quickboost 1:48 Dornier Do 17Z — resin landing gear bay doors

Landing gear bay doors are a small thing, but one that shows the level of a model. In injected plastic they tend to be too thick and without detail on the inner face, so on a machine standing on its wheels they look clumsy. This resin casting in 1:48 scale offers a thinner section and a properly rendered inner face. Quickboost is a range of simple accessories that can be worked in quickly and without major changes to the model. It is an accessory for a kit already bought, not a model of the aircraft.

The real subject

The Dornier Do 17Z was a German twin-engine bomber of the early Second World War, known for a slender fuselage that earned it a nickname referring to the shape of a pencil. The Z version differed from the earlier machines in a reworked, heavily glazed forward fuselage with room for the crew. It was powered by radial engines and the main landing gear retracted into the engine nacelles, so the bay doors are clearly visible on a model.

Building and painting tips

Cut the original plastic doors off and level the area. Wash the resin parts, remove the casting blocks with a saw and sand the edge gently — a thin edge is the whole point of the accessory, so it pays to work on it carefully. Glue with super glue and pay attention to the position: the doors have to follow the outline of the nacelle. Paint the inner face in the shade of the interior of the bay, and carry the outer face over into the camouflage of the whole model. A dark wash that flows along the rims and light soiling at the bottom will underline that these are parts close to the ground.

Who the accessory is for

• Builders of German aircraft subjects in 1:48 scale
• Modelers who are bothered by thick plastic bay doors
• Anyone looking for a quick improvement without complicated work
• Competition builds, where the thickness of the edges is judged

This is an accessory for modelers, not a model in its own right. It is supplied unpainted; paints, glue and the base kit are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.