1/48 Dornier Do-17 P Part 1

Now that the P-47 is finished it's time to start something new! I know I know, lots still to finish. I had a bash at a couple from the 'shelf of shame' but could not resist starting something new.

As with any new build, the first hurdle I find is deciding what to build. After staring at the stash for a while my choice boild down to the safe choice Revell's 1/48 Rafale versus the risky 'might-get-bored-if-it-and-end-up-on-the-shelf-of-shame' Hobbycraft 1/48 Dornier Do 17P/M.  As the title suggests the risky choice won through!

The plan was just to build this model out of the box - no scratch building, no after market, just a simple build. I started with the best intentions on the cockpit, all the parts were snipped off the sprue and after a test fit I decided it just was not good enough and from that point it has snowballed!

First up was the kits seats which were over sized and simplified. So, I cut off the sides and added some new sides out of plastic card then drilled and filed out the two holes in the back of the seat.

Seat frame added from plastic rod and an altogether much more convincing seat if I don't say so myself!

And here is one of the original seats for comparison.

Next on the agenda was the cockpit floor which was the wrong shape.  After cutting out the right hand side of the floor some frame work had to be added as it can be seen quite clearly through the cockpit glazing.

 A little work was needed on the instrument panel as the right hand side was devoid of the instruments at this stage. All I have done is add the shapes on the right hand side.

The kit has no radio operators detail but I do not plan to do anything about that as that would require a lot of scratch building.

The kit also has a known issue with the rear fuselage being banana shaped which I plan to correct once I get to the stage but this is it for now.......