Dornier Do X

[Mike]

Dornier Do X

1:144 Revell of Germany

This lumbering beast was a feat of aeronautical achievement, and was the largest aircraft when it first flew. Constructed from metal, and having a wingspan of just under 160ft, and was propelled aloft by 12 license built Bristol Jupiter radial engines, arranged in 6 nacelles atop the large composite wings (duralumin and fabric) in a push/pull configuration. It flew successfully, but a series of accidents brought its use to an end well before WWII, and the final airframe was put on exhibition in Berlin, where it was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1943.

Revell have presented this kit of an unusual subject in their all too familiar side opening box with a lovely piece of art work of the subject. Full marks so far. So what’s inside the box?

As soon as I saw the 5 silver sprues and 1 clear sprue containing a total of 121 parts, something was niggling away at me, then it struck home; this is a re-box of the venerable Matchbox kit from around 20 years ago.

Being a later Matchbox kit, this Revell product suffers very little from earlier Matchbox kits in terms of trench panel lines or the other nasties many of will remember. In all, this is a very nicely moulded product with just a few traces of flash around the propellers, which are probably the kit's weakest points. These items are pretty fragile in 1:144 and will need some care to clean them up. Ejector pin marks are present, but they are minor and mostly occur within the fuselage and wings, and are therefore of no real consequence. I wish this was the case with some models I could mention of a more recent pedigree.

The Do X was a VERY large aircraft, with a wingspan of almost 160ft. This means that even in 1:144, you will end up with a model of quite a substantial size. You get a reasonable amount of plastic for your price too.

Panel line detail is a mixture of both raised and engraved, with the majority being neatly engraved, and looking quite realistic. The small amount of raised panelling lies on the fuselage, but I suspect that this would be correct on the longitudinal axis of the fuselage, as the vertical adjoining panel lines are engraved (recessed).

The wing surfaces have a proportion of their finish in a corrugated style, as per some Junkers aircraft. Getting your decals to set on here shouldn’t be as difficult as it would be in 1:72 or larger scale, but you will need decal setting solution. To be fair, the instructions do state this, so be warned!

The transparencies contain the ‘portholes’ of the fuselage in strips instead of individual parts, which is pretty common for this application, and the forward bridge area is a single curved piece. This will need some care when removing from the sprue as the gate is quite thick and short where it meets the part.

Assembly of the model is straightforward despite Revell stretching it out to 35 constructional sequences. Instructions are done in typical busy Revell style using outline drawings which are easy enough to follow and should present no issue.

A small decal sheet containing mostly the large serial codes is included. These are printed in perfect register and look to be of quality, despite them looking perhaps a little thicker than normal. The sheet does say that they are printed in Italy for Revell, which makes me suspect Cartograf were involved somehow.

This release comes with a display stand. I’m not too sure if this was included in the initial release, but its 1920’s style makes it a complimentary addition.

Conclusion

This is a very nice model of an iconic aircraft indeed, and represents a welcome return for the old Matchbox kit. I would say that despite there being quite a few smaller parts and six engine nacelles, this is a model suitable for everyone from seasoned modeller, down to a relative newcomer. Well done Revell for yet another kit presenting excellent value for money. Recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[Dave Swindell]

this is a re-box of the venerable Matchbox kit from around 20 years ago.

Which was a reissue of a much earlier Otaki kit

Being a later Matchbox kit, this Revell product suffers very little from earlier Matchbox kits in terms of trench panel lines or the other nasties many of will remember.

Cos it wasn't Matchbox

As you say a very nice kit, and nice to see it back in general circulation Oh, and it has 12 engines not 6 2 in each nacelle, cooling the rear engines was always a problem

[Mike]

As you say a very nice kit, and nice to see it back in general circulation Oh, and it has 12 engines not 6 2 in each nacelle, cooling the rear engines was always a problem

Tsk! I mentioned the 12 engines earlier in the review... I've added "nacelles" to satisfy the pedants in the 2nd mention though

[Dave Swindell]

Tsk! I mentioned the 12 engines earlier in the review... I've added "nacelles" to satisfy the pedants in the 2nd mention though

OK, how about the engine types then? It's all very well mentioning Bristol Jupiters, but the kit models the retrofitted Curtiss Conqueror engines

[Mike]

OK, how about the engine types then? It's all very well mentioning Bristol Jupiters, but the kit models the retrofitted Curtiss Conqueror engines

Now you're just showing off!

[CliffB]

Here's one I made earlier....

Never did work out whether the registration letters were supposed to be red or black? If the answer's black, please don't tell me!

Cliff

[Mike]

Nice work Cliff... Looks like current thinking is black, but don't let that worry you

[Fifer54]

Never seen one of those built up before. Looks a good kit, and that particular example has been very well put together.

May have to have a go at one of these!

[AnonymousFO98]

I built one fairly soon back into the hobby when the kit was issued by Revell as a gift set.

Came in a nice sturdy box, enamel paints and contacta cement, lots of interesting pics on the box inside lid and a poster.

iirc it went together well enough though there were some tricksy moments with spars and the walkways.

(Engineers could service the push-me-pull-yous during flight!)

Good to see the kit again - I gave the model to a friend's lad who I think still has it!

Wouldn't mind another crack now I have hopefully got some modelling experience since in the intervening years.

Certainly didn't look as nice as yours Cliff and the dio is doubling the urge to get another