A Tale that grows in the Telling: Refurb of Monogram 1/48 DO-335 (1974)

  I hadn't planned on making a blog post of this project when I began, however, like many projects, it ends up taking you to places beyond what you had planned...

Recently, in another post (See here) I had cracked a box of old survivors, looking for some short jobs to fill in as I waited for USPS to deliver paint and decals for other in-progress projects. One of the ladies-in-waiting was a vintage Monogram DO-335 from the 70's, which had survived the decades largely (but not entirely) intact, and outlasted periodic purges of old built kits. I thought to myself "it's made it this far, and deserves a better fate than a 50 year old finish and storage wear. How hard can it be?"

Overall, it was sound although missing a few bits - One front gear door; the actuator for a main gear door; and the intake for the rear engine. Assembly back in the day was uneven, and some panel fits would be left as is - I just wanted to make it better, not fix all its problems. If it could be addressed with a bit of glue and some sanding, I'd fix it, else leave it be. I removed all the old decals with water, a Q tip, and my thumbnails. The RVD and ID stripes would come off with Easy Off. The rest of the finish would be simply covered up with new.

National insignia gone...

All markings gone...

Stripes gone. Easy off sprayed into a glass jar; q tips, elbow grease, patience and persistence. Make sure you water scrub the areas after, lest caustic remains foul up your new paint...

Now - replacement part fab 1: Main gear door actuator. A simple structural piece, made from on-hand styrene and aluminum shapes. Styrene strip, styrene rod, and some aluminum rod bent to suit. Why aluminum? Because I had it in the right diameter, and I could bend it to shape.

Next to the remaining original

Installed.

Next in complexity, the missing nose gear door. This would be done in layers of styrene sheet; the outer layer (largest), the middle layer creating the reveal of the edge of the gear door), and the inner layer showing the "lightening depressions", to replicate a mirror image of this:

I took that photo, sized it to match the model, printed it on paper, and cut it out. I used it to measure and make my 3 layers. I did not try to replicate the gentle curve of the original, as it would be difficult, and since the door would be in the open position, not immediately noticeable. The outer and middle layer were simple trapezoids; the inner was made by cutting out the paper version with a sharp exacto, and using it as a pattern to cut away all the "depression" material, Then gluing together the three layers and adding the ridge seen above with a bit of styrene rod.

Assembled:

The keen -eyed will see my mistake, but once installed in place, unlikley to be noticed by the casual observer ;-)

Installed. That'll do.

Next comes the missing intake. A tapered, truncated cone, mounted on an axis not parallel to the centerline...how hard could it be?

I hit the parts box to look for something of the ~ correct diameter, with a taper, and found what looked like the type of antenna fairing one finds on some aircraft, 

(Prototype shown)

By adding to its length in both directions, and shortening severely its "foot, I thought I could get there. Cue up the Squadron Putty and sanding sticks...

....to recreate this. How hard can it be?

Add blobs of putty. Compare, sand, repeat.

Temporarily glued to a girder to check height and angle.

Blob, sand, compare, repeat.

It's not done when it's perfect; it's done when you stop working on it. Here it is, installed.

I ended up using some reliable Modelmaster Window Glue to add more "fairing" where it joins the fuselage. It'll do.

I also had to clean up the canopy to remove some incorrectly applied paint from back in the day. Bare Metal Foil Plastic Polish, Q tips, elbow grease. Masked with Tamiya tape and trimmed with a fresh exacto.

Now for paint and decals. There were large sections of the model that had been left unpainted originally, so I would prime first as I am planning on painting in acrylics. I pulled out the can of Army painter Army Green and shot away

I had found a set of aftermarket decals in this scale, Eaglecals set ec-164. They come with great instructions and background on rach featured version. I chose to decorate mine as #240108, VG+PO (or PN), the only known combat loss of this rare type. It is to be painted in either RLM65 or 76 underneath,  and the pattern of 82 and 83 above.

I go light to dark, so started with the "safe" option, Modelmaster RLM 65 enamel undeneath. Once dry, mask, and shoot RLM 82 on top. I used something new to me,  acrylic Ammo by Mig RLM 82. I had made my own color card for luftwaffe colors at the stsrt, to catalog what I had, what I needed, and how they compared:

It brushed on well,  but I would be spraying. 

Thinned slightly with Vallejo airbrush thinner it went on easily, covered well,  and dryed in a reasonable amount of time. I generally wait overnight before adding a mask and a second color. In.this case, it would be Vallejo air RLM 83. Tamiya tape for the mask. Challenges were primarily due to remembering that is was covering light green, leaving dark green. To help me remember,  I added tape x's in areas to be left unsprayed, and made small marks in RLM 83in areas to be painted, lest I screw up.

Vallejo air goes on quickly and easily, being careful to ensure good even coverage without creating runs.

Once it ceases being tacky, off comes the tape. No paint lifted, score one for Ammo by Mig there. After fully dry, lets do decals. The eaglecals were fairly sturdy and tolerated movement well. It takes a bit of time for solvaset to soften them and get them to hunker down, but once they do it's hands off, as they go from tough to gooey suddenly and without visible notice. Be Careful! 

After they are dry, there's usually a bit of water and q tip cleanup needed. I found that a bit of the RLM 82 was picked up by the q tip. I don't know if that is normal or not, but i did notice that on another plane on which i used it, that is, a certain fragility in the presence of water. I'll be happier after it all gets sealed in by clear flat....

Time for a bit of panel shading, mostly control surfaces, as this is from the Raised Panel era.

It helps accent the lines and break up that sea of dark greens.

Next, small generic decals, and some detail painting. Stay tuned!

Closing put the blog of this refurb with a set of glamour shots. A few details need attended to here and there, but this space will now be turned over to a new project.