Background

The de Havilland Canada DH-2 Beaver is something of an icon in Canadian aviation, with over 1,600 built before its 20-year production-run ceased in 1967. Designed in the aftermath of WWII as a STOL utility aircraft, the type enjoyed huge success at home and abroad, and hundreds continue in service today fulfilling a wide variety of roles. 

As well as its civil use, the Beaver was widely adopted by military forces around the world, where its simple, robust construction and reliable Pratt & Witney Wasp Jr. radial engine proved ideal for service in harsh conditions. The largest user was the US Army, which evaluated the Beaver during the Korean War and ordered 970 airframes as the L-20 (later redesignated U-6) - more than half of all the Beavers built.

The Kit

I'll be showing my age by admitting that I first encountered the DHC Beaver back in the 1970s when Airfix released their 1:72 kit. Apart from a rather basic model by Hobbycraft around 25 years ago, the Beaver's been woefully neglected as a 1:48 subject - something that Dora Wings have put right with the release of a beautifully detailed new-tool kit that promises to be the first in a series of boxings.

Dora Wings' new Beaver arrives in an attractive and sturdy top-opening box, with the main parts bagged together and the transparencies and accessories in separate resealable bags for protection in transit.

The kit comprises:

184 x grey styrene parts (several not used in this boxing)

20 x clear styrene parts

55 x etched brass parts

A sheet of vinyl painting masks

Decals for 4 x colour schemes

The immediate first impression is the excellent quality. The parts are very cleanly moulded, essentially free of flash and, as usual with Dora Wings, lacking any ejection pin marks. Quite how Dora Wings do this, I've no idea, but it's become a very welcome "trademark" of their kits and potentially a big time-saver when preparing parts for assembly.

The surface finish comprises precisely engraved panel lines, with a few appliqué panels and very delicate embossed rivets that rival the best in current mainstream kits. All the control surfaces are separate and feature the distinctive ribbed finish of the originals.

Test-Fit

The full-sized Beaver's fuselage is basically a round-cornered box, so in order to allow the kit's fine surface  detail Dora Wings have modelled it as four parts - top, bottom and two sides. This makes a full dry assembly impractical for this review, but a test-fit of the parts shows they match up very well and should be a solid sub-assembly once the internal bulkheads are in place.

The wings and tailplanes are much more straightforward and fit together neatly, and a nice touch is that a short spar is included to support the wings along with the external struts.

All in all, I don't foresee any problems with the basic assembly so long as you exercise a little care ensuring everything is straight and true.

A Few Details

Construction begins logically enough with the cockpit, and this is very well detailed with some 54 parts creating a nicely busy "office" and passenger compartment.

The kit includes a choice of instrument panels; either a nicely moulded styrene version, or a classic "sandwich" with decal instrument faces behind etched fascias which should look excellent with drops of varnish to glaze them. You could also apply the decals over the styrene bezels for quite a convincing effect. Either style panel is embellished with tiny photoetched levers - and spares are thoughtfully provided in case of mishaps.

The crew and main passenger seats are fitted with etched seatbelts - full harnesses for the pilot and co-pilot in their military-style seats, and lap belts for the passengers. None are included for the rear seats, which I think could double as cargo stowage space, so I imagine there must have been some sort of straps on the full-sized aircraft. This is something worth finding references for.

The completed cockpit forms a jig around which the fuselage top, bottom and sides are constructed, and once everything's in place it should form a rigid foundation for the rest of the airframe.

The Pratt & Witney Wasp Junior is very nicely handled - 17 parts in all - with separate intake pipes and detail on the rear engine accessories area. With the addition of ignition cables (not part of the kit) it should look great, and the way the cowling is constructed offers the possibility to show it off if you wish.

The propeller is neatly moulded with a choice of a spinner or an open hub.

The undercarriage - particularly the tailwheel - is well detailed. The mainwheels are straightforward, with crisply moulded hubs and optional photoetched covers. By contrast the tailwheel is a complex sub-assembly, with an 8-part leg, plus its twin-track "anti-shimmy" tyre. It should look superb - a touch of eye-candy where you might least expect it.

There's a clue on the runners to what we can look forward to in future boxings in the form of a set of skis - and Dora Wings have also posted news of a floatplane variant, so fans of the DHC Beaver should be well served.

The clear mouldings are excellent quality, and the cabin doors are separate parts, so time spent detailing and painting the interior won't be wasted. The includes vinyl painting masks that will make life a lot easier than trying to cut out the round corners of many of the windows by hand.

Instructions & Decals

Dora Wings provide a classy 22-page A5 construction guide, printed in colour on glossy stock. The assembly diagrams are clearly designed and laid out in 75 stages, and the overall sequence is very logical and "builder friendly". The one point I'll draw attention to as a possible pitfall is the choice of equipment fitted to the exterior of the cabin roof; this is left quite late in the instructions, but there are 14 parts that can be attached in various configurations, so you need to decide early what you're going for and open up the corresponding holes.

Colour matches are included throughout for Mr. Hobby, Tamiya, AMMO MIG, Hataka and LIFEColor paints.

The kit includes decals for a quartet of US Army and USAF aircraft. The colour schemes are well-chosen for their variety and there should be something to suit all tastes:

1. L-20A Beaver s/n 52-6138, 81st TFW, RAF Bentwaters, 1960

2. L-20A Beaver s/n 55-0681, US Army, Command A-7, Dusseldorf-Lohausen, 1962

3. L-20A Beaver s/n51-6487, Command AF-1, 5th Air Force, Seoul, 1953

4. L-20A Beaver s/n52-6092, 539th FIS, McGuire AFB, New Jersey, 1965

The decals by Decograph look excellent, with precise registration and minimal excess carrier film except where it groups elements.

Conclusion

A 1:48 DHC Beaver has long been on my wish-list for an injection-moulded kit produced to the latest standards and Dora Wings look to have produced a real gem that deserves to be a huge success. The construction of the fuselage might be a bit tricky for newcomers to our hobby, but anyone with a bit of experience shouldn't find any problems, and the kit promises to be a very enjoyable build.

Dora Wings' DHC Beaver has caught me somewhat off guard and forced a hasty rethink of what to put on the workbench once Christmas is out of the way. Basically, I can't wait to tackle it!

Many thanks to Dora Wings for the sample kit.

Kit #DW48059 is available now from Dora Wings - Normal Price: $48.00

Special Christmas Offer until Dec 31st - $41.00

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