COBI Dornier Do 17Z-2 Set 5754

COBI's Dornier Do 17Z-2 is a 1:32 model built from 1,383 blocks, 49 cm long with a 57.5 cm wingspan. New two-colour moulded bricks were made for the glazed nose and cockpit. The propellers, ailerons and bomb bay doors move, the bombs and wheels detach, and two pilot figures printed front and back are included. The underside uses a new shade of blue brick. No stickers.

The Flying Pencil

The nickname describes the fuselage, which is extraordinarily narrow — you can see it on the model from above. That shape came from the aircraft's origin story.

Germany in 1934 was not permitted a bomber force, so the Do 17 was ordered as a fast mail and passenger aircraft for Lufthansa, with a slim body carrying six passengers. Lufthansa rejected it as commercially useless; the cabin was too cramped to sell seats in. The airframe went back to Dornier, reappeared as a bomber, and by 1937 was flying combat missions in Spain.

The slimness that made it fast also meant it could carry very little: about 1,000 kg of bombs, against nearly four times that for a Lancaster. It was quick enough in 1937 to outrun the fighters of the day and not quick enough in 1940 to outrun Hurricanes, and by then it could not be given more power or more load without redesigning the fuselage that defined it.

Production of the Z-2 ended in 1940 and the type was withdrawn to training, transport and glider towing.

Specifications

Pieces: 1,383 · Figures: 2 pilots · Scale: 1:32 · No stickers
Model dimensions: 49 × 57.5 × 13 cm (19.3 × 22.6 × 5.1 in)