Special Hobby
Dornier Do-27 in 1/72 scale
Post War 1945 aircraft production was forbidden by the Allies in Germany. The German aircraft designer Dornier re-started after the war in Spain with his company OTEDO. The first design was the Do 25 for STOL short take-off and landing on very short runways. The type evolved into the Do-27 with a Lycoming GSO 480 270 shp engine, first flying June 1955. Back in West Germany, Dornier production started in the mid 1950s when the production ban was over. A big order came for the new West German armed forces. CASA in Spain also manufactured some 50 of the type as CASA-127. The Do-27 was used by various air forces, not only West Germany and in Spain but also Israel, Portugal and a few at smaller air arms. Also, civilian operators used the type, also in the "bush". It has a crew of one or two and could seat some 6 passengers. The Do-27B had dual controls. Stall speed was only 75 km/hr and cruise speed 250 km/hr. A few were even fitted with floats.
Some 571 aircraft were manufactured, most were flown by military.
This 1/72 kit from Special Hobby is very welcome after old short-run kits. The kit came in some different boxes with different markings.
This kit #SH72392 is for a kit with markings for:
-A- Do-27A-3 Israel 1967 in a camouflage;
-B- Do-27A-4 Israel in another camouflage scheme;
-C- Do-27 Israel in a white - red scheme;
-D- Do-27A-1 Israel camo with also some day glow;
-E- Do-27A-2 South Africa Air Force 1962 in a tan scheme;
-F- Do-27A-1 for a camouflaged Portuguese Air Force.
The parts are very crisp and neatly set in 4 sprues with grey-blue plastic and a clear sprue. A small etched metal fret has tiny parts like antennas.
Panel lines are recessed and fine and the wing movable surfaces and slat nicely depicted. There are some small parts not used (as intended for other kit releases).
You can set the entry doors open or closed and all fits well also when set closed. In fact, this is one of the finest fitting kits I have made in years.
The model was finished not as per kit scheme but in a rare Do-27 of RWANDA for my World Air Forces Collection. Only a few old photos were found on the internet. Do-27 coded "20L05" has a yellow overall scheme.
Some smaller details had to be "guessed" as no clear photos were found. The dual controls were installed and the cabin bench #19 + #62.
Main colours in the cabin were painted light grey as well as the insides of doors. On the vertical tail part #29 was set in stead of #30.
In the wing leading edge nicely a light panel is to be fitted, I added a shiny spotlight behind the glass #CP7.
For the undercarriage I opted to use main wheels #43,44 and the struts type #49,50. The small tail wheel selected was #37.
The propeller #11 was airbrushed black at the rear and aluminium at the front with yellow tips.
The assembly is really easy, no putty required. Just some sanding.
For the RWANDA scheme overall yellow was airbrushed with Gunze Sangyo H413 (RLM04) acrylic paint.
The doors on the left fuselage side were set open.
On the engine cover, the etched part #PE5 for an intake scoop was also added. The gap behind the prop was closed with white glue and painted.
On the wing tips tiny plates were seen that were added to avoid blinding the pilot by the anti-collision wing tip lights at night. On the fuselage, a tiny wire antenna was added. (and no other antennas like #PE6).
The RWANDA markings seen on the photos are just some old style country flags and the black registration code "20L05". These markings were "home designed" and custom laser printed by a friend. No stencilling was added except some tiny red and black dots (kit decals #7,12,17). The model was completed with an airbrushed final gloss varnish coat.
RWANDA
< old flag
[ area: 26,338 sq.km | population: 12,5 million | capital: Kigali | GDP 900 USD per capita nominal ]
Rwanda is a land locked African country and was a German colony (as Ruanda-Urundi) from 1884 to 1916 when the Belgians in Congo took over. Rwanda became independent July 1962 (and Burundi). In the 1960s, a Dornier Do-27 was used by the military that was yellow and carried the (old) flag.
For more information about the Rwanda armed forces, look at my Mi-24 page here...
- Svenska Flygplans, mr. Karlstrom, scale drawings, 1991
- Flug Revue , August 1980, pages 55-57
- IPMS Nederland, MIP 2021-5 magazine (article by me)
Internet:
- Wiki page Do-27
- YouTube Do-27 film
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Created this page
Dec 15, 2021