--Originally Posted 2/8/09--

Here is the crew of my Do217k2, rolling around laughing their butts off:


I don't know what they're laughing about; they've all had their shoulder joints chopped up - the radioman even had his feet cut off - and now they've all just been drenched with Testors Natural Wood (#1241)! I realize this is a pretty brown color for these Germans' flesh tones - but I figure these jokers, operating out of Italy to attack HMS Warspite off Sicily, have been getting quite a tan under the Mediterranean sun.

Seriously, I do rather like the Italeri figures, with their separate upper- and lower bodies, adjustable at the waist, and separate arms. Crew figures really take a lot of time, for what they are - so it is gratifying to be able to depict them actually doing something - with both their hands and feet - rather than just sitting there.

No doubt my crew, above, are finding it outrageous that my last installment on this build was virtually an entire year ago! But they don't know Uncle Matty - who will finish this build, just like I did with my Nell - and am in fact just now completing what has by far been the hardest work of all:


Click on Image to EnlargeThe wing extension; expanding the kit's Do217k1 wings to the longer ones of the -k2, has a long and tortuous history, as attested by the many colors of plastic and putty visible here. Some of these plastics were of very different hardness - and the various putties even more so - which made smoothing extremely difficult. Particularly while trying constantly to preserve the panel lines, etc.; tediously taping and re-taping over the (raised) detail, protecting it while sanding.

When looking into the glare of a light (right), some minor "wows" are still visible - good thing this plane isn't getting a shiny aluminum finish - but I don't think they will show under the complex and flat-finish camouflage to be applied.

It took all weekend - of intermittent sanding, re-puttying and re-smoothing - to get to this point. But just one more sanding pass, on one wing, and these should be done!

After which I will paint some clothes onto my shameless crew, above, so they can be strapped into the fuselage, along with a few other necessary items, before closing her up, permanently.


Cheers,

-Matty