Dornier Do215B-5 Night Fighter, ICM 1/48 (kit No.48242)
The Dornier Do215 bomber was the export designation of the successful Do17Z which first flew in 1938. Soon the conversion of the Do17Z-3 in the Do17Z-10 for night fighter role prompted, in the late autumn of 1940, a similar conversion of the Do215B-4 reconnaissance-bomber, primarily for nocturnal intruder sorties. The superior performance of the DB601A powered Do215B, compared with that of the BMW-Bramo 323 powered Do17Z, offered considerable advantages for both offensive and defensive night operations. Designated Do215B-5 the new night fighter entered service late in 1940 with 4./NJG 1 (Nachtjagdgeschwader - Night Fighter Group) in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. The Do215B-5 employed a solid nose cone, mounting four 7,9mm MG17 machine guns and two 20mm MG-FF cannon pack in an under fuselage gondola. An infra-red sensor protruding through the windscreen was part of the Spanner-Anlage system, intended to pick up the hot exhausts of enemy bombers, was connected in a Telefunken radar set, known as FuG (Funk-Gerat=Radio Set) 202 Lichtenstein, with a Q-Rohr display screen for the radar operator in the cockpit. Working on a 490 megacycle frequency it had a minimum range of 180 meters and a maximum of 4km. The first kill of a RAF bomber (probably a Vickers Wellington) came on 9 August 1941 with more to follow. Some 20 Do215B-5 night fighters were built and dwindling numbers remained in service until early 1944. Total number of Do215 (all variants) produced was 105 aircraft. Not an impressive fleet but quite a platform for advanced IR target acquisition & radar systems! An oasis of learning to satisfy the curiosity of modellers.
The ICM kit in 1/48th scale
ICM had released a Do215B in 1/72nd scale in 2008, so it was a matter of time to see this in 1/48 (for 1/72 scale lovers two new tool kits have been released in 2017, No.72305 & 72306).
ICM released the 1/48th scale new tool Do215B-4 reconnaissance/bomber in 2014, so the B-5 night fighter was a logical sequel about a year later.
ICM's Do 215B-5 in 1/48th scale (kit No.48242) comprises: more than 200 grey styrene parts (plus 33 unused) in five sprues (one of them is double), 10 clear styrene parts (plus 4 not needed) in one sprue and decals for two colour schemes.
The kit arrives in a sturdy and very attractive flip-top box. All the grey colored sprues are contained in a single poly bag with only the clear parts separately packed. The moulding is of very high quality, with finely engraved panel lines and crisp detail all over. The clear parts are blemish free and remarkably clear, which is a good job, as there is quite a bit of detail within the cockpit area. The canopy is acceptably thin and realistic with its cut-out for the IR night sight and comes with a choice of separate external armoured windscreens - with and without a matching cut-out. The streamlined DF fairing dome is nicely reproduced.
For some reason the characteristic under fuselage cannon-gondola with two 20mm, MG-FF cannons, is missing from this kit (strangely it is included in both the ICM’s 1/72 and Revell’s 1/48 re-release of this kit).
The assembly guide is produced as a 20-page A4 booklet, with clearly shaded drawings. There are 88 stages and the layout is easy to follow with logical sequence. Colour matches for Model Master paints are given along with RLM names in most cases.
The cockpit is very well detailed. Interior detail includes crew seats, rudder pedals, control column (moulded in two parts), throttle box, compass housing, side consoles, map case, radio gear, auxiliary instrument panels full of levers, other sidewall details and a large number of spare magazines for the defensive machine guns. The instrument panel is made up from two parts and is really nice in terms of moulded detail, decals being provided for the instruments. Internal frames for the bomb bay and wing spar are also included, as is an optional fuel tank for the forward part of the bomb bay.
For the aft part of the bomb bay some nice bombs are included (bonus from the former B-4 bomber version) but of course these should not be used for the night fighter variant – good for the spares box though. However all internal bomb bay detail, bomb racks, etc, can be seen by posing open the separate doors.
The upper wing is moulded as a single span, complete with interior detail for the main landing gear bays. The two lower sections are fitted with two part radiators and fairings. The ailerons are moulded as separate parts, which is always welcome. The rest of the flying surfaces, with the rudders and elevators, all are moulded separately. The elevator balance mechanisms and a landing lamp cover are also included.
Two complete DB 601 engines are presented and are nicely detailed, giving the modeller a good starting point for some super detailing and opening up the possibility of finishing the model in some form of maintenance diorama.
Each engine is made up of a five piece block, engine bearers, separate rocker covers, inlet manifold and a three piece turbocharger. Each nacelle comes in two halves and are fitted out with the engine mounting bulkhead, radiator, radiator inlet and outlet doors, main gear bay rear bulkhead, exhaust stubs, gear retraction jacks and linkages plus the upper and lower cowlings, which can be left open to show all the detail. Each main landing gear is made up of two part wheels/tyres, the two oleos, complete with crossbraces and fitted with the mudguard and its mounting beam.
Defensive guns sport ammunition drums and spent cartridge bag. They seem very delicate and fragile though, so they will need very careful removal from the sprue.
The horizontal and vertical tailplanes are each made up of two halves to which the single piece rudders and elevators are attached along with the elevator control arms. The aerials for the radar are carefully assembled from four aerial masts to which four dipoles are attached to each and fitted to the nose cone. The aerials are quite convincing but, for those who want to depict something more to scale, aftermarket sets can be used instead.
Two pages of profiles and plan views show a pair of colour schemes:
1.Do 215B-5, Stab II./NJG 2, Leeuwarden, Netherlands, Spring 1942
2.Do 215B-5, flown by Oblt. P. Gildner, II.NJG 2, Giltze-Rijen, Southern Netherlands, Autumn 1941
The decals are of very good quality. However they are extra thin and sensitive so be careful if using strong decal solvents. The sample set is nice and sharp, well printed in excellent register but (for well-known reasons) no swastikas are included.
Epilogue
We liked this kit very much. It fills an important gap in Aviation & Luftwaffe history in 1/48 scale, is very well detailed and forms a base for superdetail to be added by the discerning and demanding modeller. An impressive addition to a collection and highly recommended!
Useful links:
http://www.icm.com.ua/news/364-do-215-b-5-wwii-german-night-fighter.html
http://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Do-215/Do-215-NJG2.2-(R4+DC).html
http://www.fasmamodels.gr/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=15551
http://www.gehobbies.gr/el/aeroskafi/29893-dornier-do-215b-5-.html
