Dora Wings Curtiss-Wright AT-9 Jeep

⬅️ Watch the unboxing video here!

The Curtis-Wright AT-9 twin-engine advanced trainer was used by the United States during World War II to bridge the gap between single-engine trainers and twin-engine combat aircraft. It was purposely designed to be unstable and difficult to fly and land, which made it particularly suitable for teaching new pilots to cope with the demanding flight characteristics of the new generation of multi-engine airplanes like the Martin B-26 and Lockheed P-38.

Dora Wings 1/48 scale AT-9 makes a welcome addition to the list of available American trainers. With 168 parts, it’s not overly complex. The gray plastic parts show good detail and little flash. However, there are no locator pins to align the fuselage and nacelles. A few of the small parts, including an engine mount (Part G7) and exhaust headers (parts F17 and F20), were broken or broken and missing. The instruction’s 31 steps are very detailed, so study them carefully before starting.

The cockpit went together with no problems. The instrument panel comprises a piece of clear film with printed dials sandwiched between a plastic backing and a photo-etched metal (PE) face. I painted the back of the film white so the instruments would pop. Some of the PE controls are crazy small; I lost the trim wheels. I fastened the overhead panel (Part G22) to the canopy with Testors Clear Part cement to avoid crazing the clear plastic. Bending and painting the seat belts and levers was fiddly. The sides of the cockpit (parts B10 and B12) fit well, and the fuselage halves captured the cockpit without problems. I had to use a little filler at the wing roots.

Step 12 requires patience to install the canopy and the doors, which are supplied in clear plastic. Precut masks are supplied for both the outside and inside of the windows in the doors. I attached the canopy and let the glue dry before adding the doors.

The engines proved to be trouble-free assemblies, but the same can’t be said for the mounts. It took patience to get them positioned exactly as indicated on Part F21. The propellor crankshafts (Part G11) were too wide so I bored out the corresponding openings on the engines. Be sure to test-fit the three-part cowls to get everything aligned. I left the gear off for painting.

The kit offers four marking options: three natural metal birds at stateside training fields and an olive drab and neutral gray AT-9 with the 338th Fighter Squadron in England in 1944. I painted my model with Testors spray-can Olive Drab (No. 171106) and Neutral Gray (No. 172502) for the last option.

I spent 28 hours finishing Dora Wing’s AT-9 and I would happily build another in a natural-metal scheme. The kit requires a little extra work for fit, but the result is a nice replica of a not-too-famous but important aircraft. I would recommend it to anyone with some experience refining parts for fit.