Dora Wings 1/48 L-20A/U-6A Beaver

The de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver is a single engine, all metal, high wing, propeller driven, short takeoff and landing, utility aircraft. It has been primarily operated as a bush plane and has also been used in a wide variety of civilian and military aviation duties. The aircraft made it's maiden flight on August 16, 1947 and, by the time production ceased in 1967, over 1600 examples had been built. The Beaver's versatility and performance led to it being the preferred aircraft of bush pilots servicing remote locations in the Canadian North. It is considered to be a Canadian icon. The Beaver served in the military of 37 nations and over half of the production run was purchased by the U.S. Army.

The Ukrainian firm, Dora Wings, has released a 1/48 scale kit of the L-20A/UH-6A (U.S. military designations) Beaver. The kit has 159 parts molded in gray styrene, 15 parts molded in clear styrene, 19 photo-etched brass parts, and a set of vinyl masks. A 22 page, full color instruction booklet illustrates 73 construction steps and include decal placement and painting guides. The surface detail is a combination of engraved panel lines and recessed rivets. All of the control surfaces along with the cabin and cockpit doors are molded separately. Parts for optional main wheel hubs, optional propeller spinners, and optional antenna fits are included. A set of skis are also included, but none of the aircraft featured on the decal options are so equipped, perhaps hinting at a future release. The photo-etched parts provide instrument panels, seat belts/shoulder harnesses, various control levers and switches, antennae, control surface and door hinges, and intake screens. Decals for four different markings schemes are included. Three are for USAF machines in primarily natural metal finishes and one is for a U.S. Army Beaver in overall olive drab.

Construction starts with assembling the very detailed cockpit and cabin. The fuselage is in four parts; top, bottom, and two sides. When joined, they trap the cockpit/cabin assembly, the cockpit ceiling, and the wing spar inside. The instructions show the windshield, the cockpit windows, and the cabin and cockpit doors being attached to the fuselage at this point, but since these parts can all be joined from the outside, builders may want to wait until later in the construction process before attaching them. The horizontal stabilizer and elevators are assembled next followed by building the very detailed engine. The landing gear leg fairings are then assembled and attached to the fuselage. The engine is now attached to the fuselage and the cowling is assembled. In the next step the fin and rudder are assembled and, along with the previously assembled horizontal tail plane and cowl, are attached to the fuselage. The next two steps are for choosing between the optional antennae fits and attaching all the various antennae, fairings, and beacons to the upper fuselage. The builder may wish to hold off on attaching these parts (some of which are quite small) until closer to the end of the construction process. Now the wings are assembled and attached to the fuselage. The remaining construction steps address attaching the propeller, the propeller spinner, the flap hinges, the aileron balances, the cabin door steps, the exhausts, the carburetor intake, the tail wheel assembly, and the main wheels.

This appears to be a very nice kit of a popular subject. I'm willing to bet that other boxings will follow given the Beaver's widespread civilian use. Surely Dora Wings won't miss the opportunity to issue a kit of the float equipped version(s). The high parts count, level of detail, strut braced wing, and lack of locating pins/sockets make it a kit for experienced modelers. Recommended for Beaver enthusiasts who have previous experience building short run kits.

Rob Hart

April 2025