DONE @p.3 +++ 1:72 Do 217 F-0 w. SG 104 "Münchhausen", a maritime nutcracker

[Dizzyfugu]

Well, it's very early, but I had another idea for a (very) suitable submission/project, something with a real historic background and a great what-if model topic. It will effectively be a kitbashing, yet a very subtle one (using parts from two different kits of the same type to create a new, fictional one), and I have ordered an aftermarket conversion set (intended for a totally different purpose and scale, though ) that will become an integral part of the build.

There are currently two other (non-GB) projects on the bench, though, so that I assume that in this case here things will just start moving in 2022. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Hmmm, still gathering mojo for the project I had originally planned to tackle next, so that this one might materialize next/sooner.

BTW, a major ingredient (a 1:35 metal barrel for an ISU-152 SPG... ) has arrived in the meantime...

[loupgarou]

Yeees! I already imagine it on a 1/72 Vickers Vimy, or a HP O/400. 

[scooter]

Yeees! I already imagine it on a 1/72 Vickers Vimy, or a HP O/400. 

I was thinking one of FSL Jackie Fisher's 20" monstrous monitors

[Rheged]

"Curiouser and Curiouser!"   to quote Alice in Wonderland.    I am much intrigued and waiting with eager anticipation for the next episode.

[Old Wombat]

A quick calculation has the 152mm in 1/35 equating to about a 312.5mm (or roughly 13") in 1/72.

[Dizzyfugu]

 

Well, this one is actually rooted in real (WWII) life - and work has begun yesterday. However, after some work it stalled, because I found out that one of the donor kits had already lost vital parts to another, former build (the complete engines!), so that I have to improvise now. But I found a suitable solution among other donor bank members, and things proceed.

More details later, I have to post pics from an interim project first. But you can keep guessing... 

[NARSES2]

That certainly looks a nice piece a nice piece of work 

Yeees! I already imagine it on a 1/72 Vickers Vimy, or a HP O/400. 

Being flown by Dick Darstadley or Mutley ? 

[Mossie]

A quick calculation has the 152mm in 1/35 equating to about a 312.5mm (or roughly 13") in 1/72.

Or 3000mm/120in in 1/700! 

[Dizzyfugu]

So, here's a look at the major ingredients and minor donor carriers. It will be a Do 217, orgininally "only" a mix of the N nightfighter with the wings and BMW engines from the K bomber - but since the engines already went elsewhere (I think it was the upgraded He 115 some time ago...), I had to dig out the Ju 188 for its optional 801s. These do not 100% fit onto the 217's nacelles, but it's the best I could do/find, since I also did not want to use the nightfighter's DB 603s. The Ju 88 will probably "only" provide some underwings dive brakes. 

And the main attraction will become a "Sondergerät 104" under the belly - what if this thing had actually been fielded...? 

[Gondor]

I did wonder if you were going to do something similar but with a different aircraft to this. One heck of a recoilless cannon with only one shot at the target before you have to return to base though.
Will you be enclosing the middle of the weapon in a fairing which would lend itself to some kind of breach to allow for reloading?

Gondor

[Dizzyfugu]

It will receive a fairing (a belly tank from a Matchbox Gloster Meteor...  ), but re-loading this 14 inch monstrosity was/is out of any question. This thing was HEAVY, and bulky. More than 4 tons when loaded, just what a Do 217 could carry at all! I actually considered an "upgraded" version with an internal drum magazine, but even on a He 177 this would have been way too much weight (the complete recoilless round with two charges alone weighed almost 1.5 tons!) and complexity. That single shot has to suffice... 

However, if you want a literal "gunship", this is it. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Finally, something to show - and it's a messy affair! What I thought woudl be a simple combination of two variants of the same kit with a tube underneath escalates. As already mentioned, The donor Do 217 K bomber missed its complete BMW 801 engines (incl. props), so I had to procure them from a Ju 188. This caused collaterla problems: the adapter for the wings is quite different (wider/less deep), and the engines lack the cooling fans. Not certain if this is correct - I doubt it, and this had to be mended. To make matters worse the Ju 188 also lost a propeller... from one shortage to the next!

Well, concerning the fans I was lucky to find two in the scrap box, but they came from different kits.  One came IIRC from an old Italeri Do 217 (its "sister" part recently went into the radial-engine Airacobra!), and I found another one which might come from an Italeri Fw 190 A/F. They were pretty different, and both had to be adapted to the Ju 188 engines.
The propeller problem was solved thorugh another spare box find, I am not certain to which kit it originally belonged - looks like an Academy Grumman F6F (interpreting the shape and the color of the material), but I never built that kit, so its origin remains obscure. However, with the tip cut off and some trimming of the blades' traling edge it could be modified to resemble the original Ju 188 part. Then, both props were mounted on a metal axis, together with the modified fans, and these eventually fit into the BMW 801s. If you do not look too closely the result looks pretty good. But what a mess! 


1:72 Dornier Do 217 F-0; aircraft "1A+BA" of the Deutsche Luftwaffe, Erprobungskommando (EKdo) 104 "Münchhausen" (assigned to 1. Gruppe beim Stab KG 40); Bordeaux/Merignac (Western France), summer 1944 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Dornier Do 217 F-0; aircraft "1A+BA" of the Deutsche Luftwaffe, Erprobungskommando (EKdo) 104 "Münchhausen" (assigned to 1. Gruppe beim Stab KG 40); Bordeaux/Merignac (Western France), summer 1944 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In parallel, work on the fuselage started. It comes from the Do 217 N-1 night fighter, because of its solid nose, which appears more suitable for the kind of weapon the aircraft is supposed to carry. The cockpit was taken OOB, together with the dorsal turret, but the ventral gondola had to disappear. Additionally, as a kind of dive bomber, I gave the aircraft a detail that had actually been used on the Do 217 E-2/5 bombers: a dive brake in an extended tail "sting", which unfolded with four air brake petals. This extension was scratched with 2C putty over a styrene profile core.


1:72 Dornier Do 217 F-0; aircraft "1A+BA" of the Deutsche Luftwaffe, Erprobungskommando (EKdo) 104 "Münchhausen" (assigned to 1. Gruppe beim Stab KG 40); Bordeaux/Merignac (Western France), summer 1944 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Dornier Do 217 F-0; aircraft "1A+BA" of the Deutsche Luftwaffe, Erprobungskommando (EKdo) 104 "Münchhausen" (assigned to 1. Gruppe beim Stab KG 40); Bordeaux/Merignac (Western France), summer 1944 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Here's a look at the belly of the beast, with more PSR on the tail, the ventral gondola has disappeared, and a streamlined basis for the SG 104 dry-fitted - a conformal belly tank from a Matchbox Gloster Meteor night fighter, but that's just the beginning of the weapon installation. In the meantime I also decided to scratch the gun, because the 1:35 white metal barrel is just too wide and massive for the aircraft. But the brass muzzle brake can be used, and it comes very close to the correct size (its muzzle diameter ist just 0.3 mm too small, that should be O.K.). However, the whole gun is HUGE. It will be more than 6" (15 cm) long, I hope that I get enough ground clearance, also for the longer tail! 


1:72 Dornier Do 217 F-0; aircraft "1A+BA" of the Deutsche Luftwaffe, Erprobungskommando (EKdo) 104 "Münchhausen" (assigned to 1. Gruppe beim Stab KG 40); Bordeaux/Merignac (Western France), summer 1944 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Old Wombat]

So, Dizzy, what putty do you use?

I need to buy some get-rich-quick shares to pay for Christmas.

[loupgarou]

So, Dizzy, what putty do you use?

I need to buy some get-rich-quick shares to pay for Christmas.

In the Frankfurt Stock Exchange there is an ETF based on the "Dizzy's putty use" Index...