Dora Wings has made a name for itself by releasing plastic model kits of relatively obscure aircraft, like its new 1/48 scale Curtiss-Wright CW-21B. Frankly, Dora Wings’ approach is a welcome change to a world replete with P-51s and Bf 109s — not that there’s anything wrong with those. If you’re looking for something different to build, this kit is a good place to start. Curtiss-Wright CW-21Bs fought during World War II despite no armor or self-sealing gas tanks and were even captured and repurposed by the Japanese.
The Dora Wings box art displays a nice image of the CW-21B that’s good for color matching. The decal sheet has markings for three aircraft, and there is a mask for the canopy and landing lights. The 12-page instruction book contains 31 steps.
The six parts trees have tiny part numbers, so be careful because some parts look similar. The kit includes parts for the CW-21A that you will not use.
The build starts with the photo-etched metal (PE) instrument panel. You’ll place a decal on it and align a central hole with a peg that looks like an instrument on Part A1.
The PE seat belts did not match those shown in the instructions and lacked shoulder harnesses; I made them look like the ones in the illustrations. I lost both pull switches (PE 8) due to their extremely small size and had to replace them with parts from my spares.
The engine proved the most difficult challenge of the whole build. First, the instructions are confusing when indicating the magneto as Part D6 when it should have been Part E6.
Then in steps 13, 14, and 15, the exhausts (parts A7, A9, D10, and D11) must fit and align perfectly on the engine, so they correctly exit the cowling. Test-fitting the engine assembly to the fuselage halves showed they wouldn’t close completely. I had to file quite a bit off the engine circumference to get the cowlings to close without leaving a gap.
For steps 29 and 30, parts PE 4 are passive actuators for the inner landing gear doors, though that isn’t clear in the instructions.
Despite the challenges, the CW-21B kit went together well—even the wing roots didn’t need filler. I used Tamiya lacquers and acrylics to paint before applying the decal over a gloss coat. Thick, the markings went on without any issues and no silvering. However, some camo showed through the Dutch orange triangle insignia on the fuselage.
Overall, the 1/48 scale CW-21B Interceptor kit is well designed, but, like other Dora Wings radial-engine aircraft kits, it has a slight problem with engine diameter. But nothing that would prevent an experienced modeler from completing the kit. I’m looking forward to the next “different” subject from Dora Wings.