DORNIER DO 335
First look at Zoukei-Mura 1/35 Do 335
Z
oukei-Mura (ZM) released
their first 1/32 scale Dornier
335 fighter in 2016, and at
2017’s Scale ModelWorld they
followed this with a revised
tooling to produce the two-seat
trainer. We have not featured
this kit until now, as at both
Telford and the US Nationals
in Phoenix, Zoukei-Mura were
unable to provide a sample as
they sold out all of their stock.
On opening the packed box,
you will that more than ninety-five
per cent is unchanged from the
fighter boxing, and this includes
the use of frosted clear plastic
for the fuselage and wings. ZM
supply most of the visible interior
and I think the idea is that you
can see through the fuselage at
the detailed engines and interior
parts. But this feature is negated
by the use of frosted clear plastic,
as the detail below it is obscured
so much its use is pointless. This
is a surprise as the clear parts
like the canopy are really super.
Fortunately, a coat of grey primer
will soon reveal that the surface
detail is as beautifully rendered as
on every other ZM kit I have seen.
All the details of the two-seat
A-12 are perfectly reproduced,
including the very basic seat for
the instructor instead of the ejector
seat supplied for the trainee up
front. The instructions are in ZM’s
normal comprehensive style,
which means that if something
does not fit as shown you have
done something wrong.
Though only a few examples
of this version were produced,
the aircraft on the decal sheet
carried a surprising number of
markings, including US and RAF
national insignia. It was a bit of a
surprise, therefore, that ZM have
missed a trick by not includingthese national insignias on the
decal sheet, as they have odd
proportions which will be a bit hard
to source from the aftermarket.
If you have the space to house
this surprisingly large aircraft
I believe that Zoukei-Mura’s
version is the best on the market,
especially if you want to go to town
on opening up panels to reveal the
detail revealed underneath. Now
if only someone would do somehigh quality aftermarket parts to
lift the kit to an even higher level!DO 335 EXTRA PARTS
At the same time as ZM released
the fighter kit they also produced
a number of aftermarket
additions, some of which have
been produced especially for
them by other manufacturers
around the world. Some of these
parts are generic and are suitable
for all ZM Do 335 variants, not
just the two-seat version.SWS10-M01DO 335 METAL STRUTS
This simple set replaces the plastic
kit’s legs with much stronger metal
ones. If you are going to be movingyour kit to shows or competitions
these are a recommended addition,
as the Do 335 legs are very tall and
spindly for such a large aircraft.SWS-M02 DO 335 WEIGHTED TIRES
Produced in resin with a
subtle weighted effect, all you
have to do is drop in the kit’s
plastic hubs and paint.SWS10-M03 TURNED METAL
MACHINE GUN AND PITOT TUBE
This set supplies turned brass
barrels for the MK151 fuselage
mounted cannons, as well as a brass
pitot tube and underwing antenna
for FuG 25. These are produced
in Poland by Master Models.40 • NOVEMBER 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
FIRST LOOK!
040-45-FirstLooks-1118.indd 40 12/10/2018 15:59