Do 335B-2
The Do 335B-2 was to be a heavily armed Zerstorer which would be based on the M13 and M14 prototypes. It's main feature was two wing mounted 30 mm Mk 103 cannons contained in special fairings with 70 rounds per gun in addition to the normal engine mounted Mk 103 and two 20 mm MG 151/20's under the nose cowl. The B series also standardized on larger tires which required the nose wheel to rotate 45º for stowage during retraction and an armored windscreen. The M13 was first flown on October 14, 1944. The M14 was completed in late 1944 and captured by the French at Mengen airfield and subsequently tested over a period of three years after the war. Production of the B-2 was to be done at the Heinkle works in Oranienburg but due to numerous problems none were delivered until February of 1945. It is uncertain how many were actually begun prior to the end of hostilities.
The Kit
The Tamiya kit is mostly identical to their A-0 version with the addition of the parts that were different on the B-2. This consists primarily of the wings and a totally new sprue with new wings and new main gear doors. The larger tires used on the B-2 required larger bulges on the gear doors. Some additional parts were added to sprue E, labeled L it includes the larger nose wheel that was used on the B-2 as well as the muzzle brakes for the Mk 103 cannons, a fuel tank for the Bomb bay and a slightly different instrument panel for the cockpit. Two additional clear parts are supplied, the main canopy with the blown bubbles for rearward vision. The original clear parts are included as well. Refer to the A-0 review here for comments concerning the quality of the parts and photos of the rest of the sprues. The kit contains about 14 additional parts in gray and two clear parts. See the photos below for parts exclusive to this kit.
The decals are moderately thin and include two sets of markings for the same aircraft. The German set for the late war and French marking for post war. The decals are in register, include some stenciling, seat harness and belts and instruments for the instrument panel as well as swastikas. See below.
The instructions are for all intent and purposes identical to those described in the A-0 review.
Except for the Eduard set listed in the A-0 review no other after market details are planned.
Conclusions
This is another excellent kit from Tamiya using most of the A-0 kit with additional parts to allow building this interesting variant. Highly recommend for modelers of all skill levels.
Links to kit build or reviews
A review can be found here and here
References
"Dornier 335 Arrow" by J. Richard Smith, Eddie J. Creek and Thomas H. Hitchcock
The Build
In this case I did not do a build log as the assembly is mostly the same as the A model so I'm only posting photos of the completed kit.
I decided to go
down a different path on painting. Most of these I see built use the
late war colors of brown violet and bright green. I'm not convinced
Dornier every used these colors. When the 81 and 82 colors were released
manufacturers were told to use up existing stocks of 70 an 71 first and
that these older colors could be used in conjunction with the newer
colors. Since Dornier had built mostly bombers I suspect they had a lot
of the older colors in stock when bomber production was ordered halted.
Since no color chips were ever issued for these colors manufacturers
were left to decide what they were. If you look at the painting diagram
below that Dornier issued for the 335 you will see they referred to both
81 and 82 as dark green.
That and the fact that many photos show the colors being rather low contrast to each other made me decide to do something different. My choice was to use 70 and my own mix for 82 which I matched to one of the paint chips supplied in one of my Luftwaffe Colors books (there are actually several all different shades of green) At least it provides some variety from my other 335s.
Last updated 12/17/20