Valiant Wings has produced a second book in its Airframe Detail series. This series continues to concentrate on either lesser known or single variant . This time it has chosen the Dornier Do-17Z, probably the most produced variant of the Do-17 series of aircraft. Unlike some previous planes, the Z was powered by BMW radial engines, providing the additional power required to haul a heavier load and give a little bit more speed.

The book starts by providing a history of the type as well as all the different variations. It also provides a bit on its combat operations as well as use by other nations, specifically Finland, who probably got the most use of the plane, not retiring their last one until well after the war. Lots of great photographs in this section.

However, the meat of the book is on the bits and pieces of the aircraft. Though there is no fully extant example to use for photos and drawings, there are technical manuals and typical of airframe manuals, there are a lot of superb photographs and drawings of the various bits and systems used in the airframe.

This is followed by a larger than normal section on camouflage and markings, a section that also includes a large number of full color profiles. These are a real boon as they help modelers with their kits. Speaking of kits, while there have not been many kits done of this aircraft, Valiant Wings' timing couldn't have been better thanks to a brand new tool Airfix kit having been issued late last year. Not only is there a full listing of kits and reboxes, but also decals, aftermarket bits and books. A nicely done full build article is also included. Naturally, the builder adds a lot of scratchbuilding and such to the kit, something most of us will not do, but he also points out several areas that will make building the kit that much easier as apparently the instructions are not all that logical in terms of building the kit.