Just got the four most recent Dora Wings releases for review. This MB 152 (late), the MB 155, MS 230 and J-9 (P-35A). All really nice. The MB 152/155 turn the Classic Airframes kits to door stops. The P-35A demonstrates how unfixably wrong the Hobbycraft P-35A is. The MS 230 is one no one has ever done before.

They are all "top end limited run", but you need to remember "limited run" if you want a "top end" result.

I started fiddling with the MB 152 last night, seeing how the complex (but not complicated) parts breakdown came togeher, and got this result. Figured I had better take photos and post them before it fell together.

With the low-pressure plastic molding, some shapes are difficult, which is why the parts breakdown is as it is.

Each fuselage is in three parts: main fuselage, lower forward fuselage/wing join, and vertical fin. If you take real care in cleaning up the parts and test fitting five times before gluing once, you can get good fit. You will still have to fight ghost seams where the lower forward fuselage joins the main part because it doesn't happen along panel lines, which means the seams have to disappear. I used Mr. Surfacer, followed by two applications and sand-downs of CA glue.

The wing is in six parts: two upper parts, which the two lower parts fit into in order to get a thin trailing edge and thin wingtip, the lower center section, and a spar to glue the lower wing outer parts to. The sequence is: spar and wheel well to lower wing; each lower outer wing to center section; upper sections to now one-piece lower.

The cowling is three parts. Careful fitting gives a good result.

If you do all this with care, test-fitting and modifying - sanding the interior of the lower wings thinner inside where they fit inserts, checking the spar and wheel well fit to the fuselage, each half separately - you can get a good tight fit that will need a minimum of filler.

The kit has four different painting and markings options. If you like early WW2 French fighters, these are good kits and worth the price.

6 attached images. Click to enlarge.

A very nice aircraft, Tom @tcinla.
Have you already decided which scheme you will apply?
Looking forward to that.

@johnb - there's one 1940 wartime scheme that's very different from the others - I'm thinking that one.

Assembled.

I didn't scrape the cockpit floor, and when I brought the fuselage halves together it was just wide enough (and positioned just above the joint line) for the main fuselage and lower forward fuselage part to pop on the right side, necessitating re-gluing, puttying that side and sanding smooth. The wing fit OK but the fuselage/wing joins all needed some filler and sanding smooth. Did all that, rescribed lost panel lines.

No so worried about the closed canopy - the cockpit is all dark blue so there's not a lot to see anyway and closing the cockpit preserves the lines of the airframe.

One very neat thing is that Dora Wings got the engine offset. If you look at this airplane, it is technologically quite advanced: the cockpit is positioned forward, giving better view over the nose, with the fuel tank immediately to the rear, over the CG, improving stability. The engine is offset to the left, to counteract torque. And as a bomber interceptor, it has two 20mm cannon - much better anti-bomber armament than 8 Colt-Browning .303 machine guns. The downfall was an unreliable and underpowered engine, which was a problem for all French aircraft of the period.

But you can already see the advanced technological thinking of the designer, Marcel Bloch, far better known after the war when he legally changed his name to his Nom de Resistance: Marcel Dassault.

5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Great progress, Tom.
Those were indeed advanced thoughts.
I didn't know that Bloch and Dassault were the same person, really interesting, thanks for mentioning.

Preshaded. I pained the canopy interior color from outside, then sprayed grey over it so the extrerior would be uniform.

3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Looking great indeed, Tom!

Looking good, Tom. That is a cool scheme.