1/48 Pro Modeler Ju-88 A-4 (FINISHED)....

Ohhh sweet! I love the 88! I build Dragon's G-6 awhile back. The fit is actually pretty good, the main issue I found was the panel lines on the fuselage halves don't line up, so it looks weird when you give it a wash. Its tough to re-scribe without starting over on some of the panel lines. Watch the clear parts! They are brittle. I broke mine in half and had to resort to a Vac canopy for the rear portion. The engine nacelles don't fit that great to the wings either. At least you have the Promodeller boxing. Those instructions are wayy better than Dragons! I had to watch out on the landing gear assembly, as dragon didn't tell you there was a specific left and right for all the landing gear and bulkhead components! I like your cockpit, you made the pe belts really stand out! Goin for any AM? Decals at least?

Oh Man Joe, That is going to be an excellent model to watch you build. You're certainly of to an amazing start with that magnificent cockpit

If the pit is the fore bearer of things to come... I'm in!

Impressive! I like! Keep it coming.

Hurray!

I always look forward to seeing a new WIP thread started by you Joe.

Allen

Nice I started this about a year ago I got it all the way up to putting the decals on then found out the kits was unusable. The smaller decals go on alright but the bigger ones just fell apart as soon as micro sol hit them.

Did you ever find a replacement set for them, Rambo?

Impressive looking.

Hey Joe,

I'm almost finished with the Dragon Ju-88 P1 varient.   The cockpit looks very similar to the Dragon kit.  Same molds perhaps?   I have pics in the Reich Defenders GB if you want to see them.  Like your start on this.

Steve

Devil Dawg

Did you ever find a replacement set for them, Rambo?

Nope lol its still sitting in its box waiting for the day I find some or scrape enough spares together

Thanks folks.  Steve, I'll have to go over there and check it out.  Yes I do believe its a re-boxing of the DML Dragon kit.  The more build articles I read about this kit the more anxiety I'm getting.  It sounds like its going to be a real pig assembly-wise.  I may get Monogram P-61 flashbacks.  Alot of ill-fitting parts and huge gaps.  Speaking of gaps,  I just got some "Mr. Surfacer 500".  Does anyone know how to use it?  Will the acetone trick work on it?  (For those not familiar, you  fill a gap, such as a wingroot, then wipe the left over putty off with an acetone soaked Q-tip...works great on Squadron putty).  Any information would be appreciated.  

Rambo, thanks for the tip on the decals. I'm actually considering the ordinary version (without the squiggles) from the Russia front, but I'm still perusing decals though. Ebay doesn't seem to have much and I won't touch Techmod.  

I should get working on frame assembly soon.  

Joe

Looking good!  Will watch this with great anticipation, Raymond

Wait this isn't a single engine fighter.  Joe you're slipping. Just teasing looking at this WIP with great anticipation. Have 5 of these in the stash but no A,-4.  John

I use the acetone trick with their Mr. Dissolved Putty but I've never tried it on the Surfacer 500. Not really sure if there is a difference in material or if its just a thickness difference.

lawdog114

Thanks folks.  Steve, I'll have to go over there and check it out.  Yes I do believe its a re-boxing of the DML Dragon kit.  The more build articles I read about this kit the more anxiety I'm getting.  It sounds like its going to be a real pig assembly-wise.

....

Well stop reading all that stuff!!! Cockpit looks good Joe!

Joe- I use the same trick with Mr. Surfacer, only I use Mr. color lacquer thinner. Acetone might work though? As far as decals, Eagle Cals just released a few sheets for A-4's in 1/48. Also, check out AirDoc and AIMS.

awesome work on this, can't wait to see more.

Bish

awesome work on this, can't wait to see more.

Yeah, too right Bish!  You just know it's going to be fantastic!   Joe, you da man, man.

Gary

Beautiful job so far on the cockpit. I can't wait to see the finished build.

Hey Joe,

I wouldn't worry too much about fit with the kit.  The only issue that I had was a bit of a gap at the upper wing to fuselage.  A bit of filler and careful sanding and it was fixed.  The engine nacelles fit very well and I had no gaps where they attached to the wings.  Be careful with the tail wheel - I broke mine off and had to drill and use a short length of tubing to fix it.  

Steve

Mr Surfacer is some amazing stuff! I always use it on top of putty to get a better smooth surface!

Hi Luft Modeler, your Shinden is very nice and looks like mine 

Thanks for all the kind words and tips regarding the Mr. Surfacer.  I have put it to good use on this project (you can see where this is going....lol).  Anyways, I got to assembling the airframe recently.  Well, the kit isn't exactly a "pig", but its no walk in the park either.  I started by sealing up the fuselage and then discovered the panel lines along the bottom are slightly misaligned.  Its not too bad but its still noticeably annoying.  I then turned to assembling the wings.  There are wing tips that need to be added for the A-4 variant (Hasegawa style).  These are too thick and will leave a step if glued together first and then added.  Its best to attach them to the respective upper and lower wing and get a good fit, then sand them from the inside.  Once sanded, join the wings together.  Thats what I did and it worked.  My biggest headache came when I went to add the wings to the fuselage.  They just dont fit very well.  The wings are slightly too narrow for the wingroot fillet, which leaves a slight step at the bottom.  I decided to seal the top seams with Tenax which then left good sized gaps on the lower seams.  Once these top seams were dry, i used masking tape along the bottom and forced  the wings down which joined the lower seams.  These were then fused with Tenax.  This technique restored the diherdral.   The seam looked sloppy to me with a few small gas here and there (either my fault or the kits), so I used Mr. Surfacer in the seams.  Once dry, I removed the excess with 91% Isopropyl rubbing Alcohol.  Its not perfect but they are passible. I added the tail elevators and rudder without issue.    I then test fitted the engine mounts and to my chagrin, these fit perfect.  

A test fit with the Jumos in place.  Its starting to look like a Ju-88...

You have to install the landing gears before attaching the engines, so I assembled them as well.  These are nicely detailed. I painted them Gunze Aqueous RLM 02, added brake lines from fine wire,  Later they will be given a Detailer wash to grunge them up. 

I test fitted the gears and they fit perfectly as well....

Thats where I left off.  I'm about to start on the canopies........ugh...

Joe

Joe, maybe I'm just extra "blank" after a hard day but could you expound on this a little:

" i used masking tape along the bottom and forced  the wings down".  How does the making tape play a role in forcing the wings down?   I'd like to build one of these someday (that indeterminate point in the looming future, lol) so I'm watching and, hopefully learning!  Thanks, Gary

Gary...sorry, that would have been easier to show than tell.  My fault for not snapping a pic.  I'll try again....lol.  Take a long strip of masking tape (cheap kind) and fasten it to the wingtip.  Pull it firm across the bottom and attach the other end to the other wing tip (the tape is now wing tip to wing tip spanning the bottom.  Once in place, start at the wingtips and press down on the tape working your way towards the fuselage (the tape will stick to the plastic).  As you do this, the wing dihedral will be forced downward.  When its where you want it, glue the seam and leave it to dry.  This same technique works like a charm on the upper wingroot gaps too.  

Joe    

Alright Joe!  That I understand; thanks for taking the time to explain further.  That sounds like a good technique to remember and use.  You know, sometimes just remembering these tips when you need them is the hard part.  One of these days I gotta get myself organized...(apologies to Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver")

That build looks great! Although as a newby, I would have no idea how to make those mods to bring it all together and look that great. How do you know what knob is what color, or where there should be an extra oil line or wire that's not part of the kit? Most of the Squadron books I've seen have black and white photos and most are a little blurry at best.

Jeez!! He breaks out the Luftwaffe build!! I'm REALLY looking forward to the scheme youre gonna bust out with this one!

BTW do you have a pre cut mask for the canopy/ or are you going solo on this one?