Dornier Do 335 B
Test Shot Preview

HK Models, 1/32 scale

Reviewed by James Hatch

Eduard's Limited Edition 1/48 La-5 is available online from Squadron.com

There are a number of subjects that you sort of dream will one day be released in 1:32. Just a handful of years ago, it perhaps seemed that those subjects wouldn’t see the light of day for the foreseeable. Of course, we perhaps didn’t vouch for a company such as HK Models making a big hit in our hobby, in more ways than one. HK Models, in quite a short period, have already brought us a B-17, three B-25 variants, a Meteor, and there is a Mosquito expected, as well as other planned B-17 kits. Apart from the Mosquito, the other releases represent the bulk of planned releases that formed the original Wingscale brand that eventually became HK Models. The Dornier Do 335B represents the first release from HK that has nothing to do with Wingscale, and as you’ll see during the course of this preview, the future is looking very bright.

Large Scale Modeller had the privilege of being sent a test shot of the new Dornier Do 335B ‘Heavy Fighter’. Being a test shot, this isn’t entirely representative of what you’re likely to see in the final release. Being in regular contact with HK, I know that tooling revisions can, and are implemented very quickly. Our test shot arrived, crammed into a 1:32 Meteor box, with some protective bubble-wrap. Neil Yan only just managed to fit this kit in this box. I don’t know if this box size is indicative of what we’ll see with the final release. The test shot doesn’t include the decals, instruction manual or the shaped, cast weight which will allow the model to sit on its nose gear wheel, and not become a dreaded tail-sitter. There’s little doubt the final box will be larger generally, or certainly deeper in order to fit the extras in there. Neil hasn’t given any indication as to whether any photo etch parts will be included in here for things like seatbelts. However, there will be that cast nose weight I just mentioned. I don’t intend this to be seen as a review, and as such, I won’t be going into the levels of per-sprue detail you are used to seeing on our articles.

This kit is certainly no weekend project, and comprises of FIFTEEN light grey styrene sprues (inclusive of a couple of duplicated sprues for engines etc), and one clear sprue. As with the Meteor test shot that we looked at, the Do 335 sprues don’t yet have any nomenclature (Sprue A, B, C etc)  or parts which are numbered. All part number tags are blank at present. I will be expecting a draft copy of the instructions at some point, and I’ll build this one up for you. Test shot sprues are packaged into bubble-wrap, whereas your final kit parts will be in cellophane bags. The largest sprues just about shoe-horn into the Meteor box. In all, this looks an imposing project. Time to take a closer look at what you’ll expect from the final release.

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It’s obvious from the break-down of this model that HK intend to produce further variants of this aircraft. I have been told this anyway, but it is clearly seen in the way that certain parts of the aircraft are modular. A future two-seat machine will easily be facilitated due to the inclusion of the spine as a separate part. It will be easy to fit a smaller fuselage fuel tank into the area to the rear of the pilot, and the inclusion of a new spine, canopy and rear cockpit parts, and there you have it! This ‘Heavy Fighter’ variant had two 30mm MK103 cannon installed into the wings, and this intruded into the space reserved for the internal, leading edge fuel tanks. To remedy this, auxiliary fuel tanks were installed internally within the bomb bay. HK have also included those tanks in this kit.

Wing leading edges, where they have protrusions, can be problematic when it comes to finding a solution to creating these without troublesome and difficult to remove seams. This kits modular approach means that the inboard leading edge panes are moulded as separate pieces, INCLUDING the cannon fairings! This is accomplished via some rather nifty slide-mould technology. A small moulding seal exists around the outside edge of this, but that actually may be quite accurate with the fairing area itself. There must have been some sort of joint here on the real thing.

Even without the spinner in place, and the forward engine cowl/spinner, the Do 335 is an impressively sized model in 1:32. It seems that HK Models have gone ‘slide-mould crazy’ on this release too, and all for the greater good! Two sets of wingtips are included, one for M-13 and one for M-14 standard, and these are supplied as single pieces! No upper and lower parts to join. The whole parts are slide moulded, and when you consider the depth of the larger wingtips, that is some very impressive moulding.

Control surfaces are also slide moulded. Instead of upper and lower pieces where you need to remove seams, these are moulded as the main surface, with an insert for the leading edge. Very clever indeed. Each engine has an intake scoop. Normally these would be built up as halves, but again, slide-moulding has created these are single pieces that really do have to be seen to be appreciated.

There are two sprues in this release of which two each are supplied. These relate to the engine, engine bearers, plumbing and also the exhausts. The latter are supplied as individual parts, with a hollow end and very realistic weld seams. A long tab is included for easy fitting to the engine itself.

This model has a fully detailed interior, including bomb bay. No bombs can be seen in this kit though, despite an image on the HKM Facebook page showing one. The bomb is slated for the future ‘A’ variant, and not this one. I’m pretty sure that the whole bay was taken over by the two auxiliary fuel tanks anyway. Fuel tanks have been moulded with the various pipes etc already in place, just as ZM did with the fuel cells on their He 219 release. I have to say that this looks every bit, if not more refined than that kit

Numerous internal bulkheads are included which contain some excellent detail. Unfortunately, it is the case that the reverse of these have some ejector pin marks in amongst the detail. These may be lighter in the final release due to tool adjustment.  We’ll have to wait and see. Some of these I will add thin plasticard discs into, and skim over with putty.

Of course, the cockpit is always a focal point for the modeller, and when you are doing something in this scale, it needs to look correct. Bearing in mind that I have no instructions at the moment, and no way of absolutely seeing exactly what goes into the cockpit, the parts I can identify look very good. The main part of the ‘office’ is based around a single part tub which has some great console detail. There seems very little need to add any aftermarket to this at all. The parts I can identify as from the cockpit do indeed look very good. We will bring you more information on exactly what is included when we review the full, final product. The only thing I can see which most definitely needs changing are the quite small, thick rudder pedals. Some Eduard or RB Productions parts would look better here.

This model also presents weighted wheels with separate hubs, amazingly detailed undercarriage bays, and great looking u/c struts. Ejector pin marks on the inside of the main gear doors will be hidden by attaching the strut.

There’s also no need to worry about removing a seam along the front edge of the wing. The upper panel is moulded with the leading edge in situ, and this butts up against the forward edge of the lower wing panel. This is the sort of technical innovations I like to see on our kits.

Surface detail is some of the very best I’ve seen in this scale. The exterior is indeed riveted, and that riveting is quite complex looking. Panel lines are extremely fine, as are access panels and plates. You can also see some of the finest screw/fastener detail I’ve seen in any scale, and it is so TINY! The whole exterior is very, very refined, and reminds me very much of the Tamiya Mustang and Spitfire releases, for which I have here and can directly compare.

As a general aside, moulding quality is excellent, but some parts have a minimal amount of flash, which is also evident on the sprues too. I’m not at all concerned about this as this is usually just a symptom of the tooling needing a little adjusting. Having seen production standard HK kits, they aren’t ay all ‘flashy’. I expect this will be the same for the Do 335 when in its production run. Another thing which makes me think that this is just a tooling adjustment issue is that a couple of parts which have thin edges are a little short-shot in the most minor of ways. This was evident on the Meteor test shot, but eradicated on the final product. The only sink marks which are evident are on the rear faces of one propeller, near the pitch collar. This seems to be a ‘feature’ with many propellers on various kits. If this is seen on the production standard model, you’ll need to pop a little filler in there. Most ejector pin marks are in areas which won’t readily be seen. However, there are some which are in prominent places and will need to be addressed. These can be seen in the interior of engine cowlings, and also on the interior of the bomb bay doors. A more troublesome ejector pin mark is seen on the compression strut on the undercarriage, but again, I do expect the tooling to be adjusted at this point.

The clear sprue exhibits excellent clarity, and sharp, well-defined canopy framing. Strangely though, the two main hood bulges which aided the pilot’s rear view, are separately moulded, and attach to the outside of the main canopy, but with no cut out in the main canopy into which the mirrors would fit.

I do believe that HK Models is now going to correct this and re-tool it. We should be able to show you this in the final review in the near future.

This looks an exciting release, and as soon as we have more news to bring you about this, then you can count on us to do so.

Our sincere thanks to Neil Yan of HK Models for this test shot.

Review Text and Blue Background Images Copyright © 2014 by James Hatch
White Background Images Copyright © 2014 by HK Models
Page Created 2 June, 2014
Last updated 2 June, 2014

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