Do 335 Pfeil

EagleCals Decals, 1/32 scale

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

Eagle Cals 1/32 Corsair Decals are available online from Squadron.com

The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil’s popularity as a modelling subject is out of all proportion to its historical significance – it was built in tiny numbers for an already doomed Luftwaffe – but also entirely understandable.  The Pfeil looks aggressive and brutish, even on the ground, and in the air its near-unique push-pull configuration made the Pfeil amongst the fastest of all piston-engined aircraft. 

Fair to excellent kits of the Do 335 are now available in all three major scales.  Dragon’s 172 Pfeil falls at the fair end, needing both putty and skill to finish to a reasonable standard, while Tamiya’s excellent 1/48 Do 335 family has recently been joined by several high quality 1/32 boxings from HK Models.

EagleCals’ 1/32, 1/48 and 1/72 ‘Do 335 Pfeil’ decals cater to modellers building any Do 335 A (as opposed to Do 335 B or A-12 trainer) versions of these kits.  A 1/32 sample has been provided for review, but apart from scale and price the sets are identical.  Do 335 camouflage was almost universally plain, and the aircraft EagleCals has chosen are no exception:  three of the four were finished in RLM 81 Brown Violet and RLM 82 Light Green splinter over RLM 65 Light Blue.  However the subjects make up in historical interest what they lack in colour, with details as follows:

• Do 335 A-2, VG+PH/W.Nr.240102.  This is the sole surviving Pfeil that is on display at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington, DC.  Decals are included to allow both pre- and post-capture versions to be modelled.

• Do 335 A-0, W.Nr.240105, München-Riem, Germany, April 1945.

• Do 335 A-0, VG+PN (or VG+PO)/W.Nr.240108, December 1944.  This is arguably the most interesting machine depicted here because it’s the only Do 335 known to have engaged in combat, shot down by US fighters on Christmas Eve 1944.  Wreckage recovered decades later suggested the plane was finished in RLM 82 and RLM 83 Dark Green (rather than RLM 83) over likely RLM 76 Light Blue.  The instructions concede that “there is plenty of conflicting data as the true identity of this aircraft”, with several marking alternatives therefore provided.

• Do 335 A-1, W.Nr.240162, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, April 1945.  This Pfeil’s  green splinter camouflage was broken up by its natural metal fuel tank access panel on the fuselage spine.

The decals, by Cartograf, are very well printed.  Colours are almost entirely black and white, with the exception of the US stars and bars for VG+PH. 

There are two sheets:  the first devoted to Balkenkreuz and Hakenkreuz (the latter supplied in two parts that will need to be carefully joined), and the second to identification letters and numbers, two US stars and bars, and a small number of stencils.

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Thumbnail panels:

The instructions are EagleCals’ usual full colour, A3 fold out offering and are packed with the following information:

• Port profiles of each subject that clearly show where decals should be placed.  Slightly unusually, the same profiles have been printed twice on the instruction sheet (in addition to the smaller profiles on the front page); I assume this is a printing error.

• A generic overhead view showing the camouflage pattern and wing decal placement.

• Underwing views of VG+PH, VG+PN and W.Nr.240162 showing decal placement.

• A written description of each aircraft including information about colours, markings, stencilling and references. 

• A separate sheet containing large, reasonable quality black and white period photos of VG+PK and VGPH.

This is another well-produced package from EagleCals.  There isn’t a lot of decal options out there for anyone interested in modelling the Do 335, so a release of this quality is especially welcome.

Highly Recommended

Thanks to Eagle Editions for the review sample

EagleCals decals are available from Eagle Editions Website

Text Copyright © 2016 by Brad Fallen
This Page Created on 15 August, 2016
Last updated 15 August, 2016

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