Special Hobby Ju 87A-2 WiP (Complete pics Page 3)

Wow, sparse is right! Bob

Unfortunately that's the price for unusual subjects from companies like SH. Even in this scale, most modern kits have pretty well filled cockpits.

It's good to see an Anton getting done, and by Bish no less!

There's just something cool about those oversized spats... they've got more surface area than the tail.

Thanks Dre, and your not far off, those spats are rather large. To me they give it a real 1930's look.

Well, got the pit done and fitted with a bit of a squeeze. I added one of the supplied saddle drums for the MG 15, PE seat belts and a Quickboost Revi C 12 sight. I think the small flecks are from the dry brushing, but they can't be seen with the naked eye, taking these close up pics really does show everything.

Then the fuselage was prized into the wings, just.

At least it comes with the pilots viewing window,  on the Academy kit last year I had to cut this out.

Now comes the sanding. 

Great modeling so far! Keep on working!

Thanks Alek.

With the exception of the bomb cradle, the delicate ends of the pitot and the propeller, construction is now complete. Those other bits will be added later. This has gone together really well since fitting the wings. I did need a little filler at the top of the spats, but that was it. I did have to cut open the canopy as that comes in one piece. It has a nice set of PE dive brakes.

Tomorrow I will give it a coat of primer just to check the sanding, especially on the wing roots, that it will be the paint job which looks like its going to be a lot of tricky masking.

Thanks for looking. All comments welcome and appreciated as always.

Slick work on your Stuka Bish. Another fine example of your scratch building skills. I'm curious Bish, how did you cut your canopy. I've always been rather hesitant to try it myself but, would certainly like to change that.

Looks great Bish.  Love those huge spats.  I hope to be in that GB soon.

Joe

Thanks guys.

Joe, I was going to try using some thread, I had seen that mentioned on here before. But I just couldn't get to grips with it. So I ended up sawing it. The main issue with that method is the amount of plastic it removes which leaves you with a gap. I need to put a fine pice of styrene strip around the edges just to close that a bit. Its not something I find I have to do to often as I find many kits now come with canopies open. Quite often, if I do have a one piece canopy, I will replace it with a vac form one which are much easier to cut open, but that was not an option here. Doing diorama's, most of the time I need an open canopy, so its something I need to do on occasion.

lawdog, thasnk. They are rather large ain't they. Look forward to seeing your build there.

Great work for such a small scale Bish - and a Stuka, who'd have guessed? 

ruddratt

and a Stuka, who'd have guessed? 

Looking great Bish!!!

ruddratt

Great work for such a small scale Bish - and a Stuka, who'd have guessed? 

But who you calling small.

Bish. Loving this build coming together. Built a few Stukas myself but never with that impressive set of spats on surrounding the landing gear. Very unusual and very hard to find a lot of references for this particuar variant. Extra special shout out for that remarkable 'office'. Staying tuned for paint!!

Thanks Bob. Your right, there's not a great deal out there on the A. Fortunately, the Stuka section of my reference library is the largest part, I am a bit of a Stuka fan to put it mildly. Most of the stuff I have do make some reference to the A and I find the Airdoc books really useful. And there is one Schiffer book which is dedicated to this version. So between these I have manage to cobble together enough to work with.

And those Spats are something else ain't they.

This is the aircraft I will be doing. I have a couple of photo's of it and the scheme is slightly different to that on the instructions, so I will be using a combination when I do it.

Why the second Balkan cross on the starboard wing?

I'm not to sure. The kit has a decal that goes there but its just two thin white lines, but now I can see what its meant to be. I can only guess these are old markings. You can see the small wing crosses at the very end are not the same as was used later or earlier. For some reason its been fully removed from the left wing but not the right.

One of the photo's I have of the aircraft does show it from above and that marking is there, though its more like the decals portray it than what is shown in that plate. I have the pic in a book, but I can't find it online.

Bish

.......... there's not a great deal out there on the A. Fortunately, the Stuka section of my reference library is the largest part, I am a bit of a Stuka fan to put it mildly. Most of the stuff I have do make some reference to the A and I find the Airdoc books really useful. And there is one Schiffer book which is dedicated to this version. So between these I have manage to cobble together enough to work with.

Very nice work, as usual! 

Nice seeing a kit of that aircraft, I did not know of it till now. I will need to look for that one.

I have been looking for a 1/72 Ju 87B Italieri kit in hopes of joining your GB.

If I may add some reference titles that I happen to own:

Junkers Ju 87A STUKA  MPM Profile : printed in Prague but mostly English text- MP1000.....no ISBN on the copy I own...... Excellent drawings of the cockpit interior layout as well as various aircraft structures and general layout in an unstated scale..

Polish / English Kagero ISBN 83-60445-08-7 series on the Ju-87

I own only Vol 1 by Marek J. Murawski #3025

An excellent series; wish I could afford to buy all of 'em. 

Thanks for the tips Bish. I have yet to give the thread technique a try myself. I've considered stretching a line of thread onto my flexi-file and see how that would work. It would seem to give me a bit more control.

Spruce, thanks for the info, I will check those out. I have got the two new Kagero titles on the 87D/G, but those older ones are tricky to find. Is this the MPM Profile you mentioned.

www.asisbiz.com/.../REF-MBI-MPM-Profile-Junkers-Ju-87-A-Stuka-0A.html

Not heard of this before, will defiantly have to look into that.

SH have 3 Ju 87A kits. they are all the same kit with different markings. Apart from this one, there is one in Condor Legion markings, that's needs a little work to be accurate as the rudder should be a slightly different shape as it should be an A-0/1. The other kit is in Japanese markings.

Joe, I hadn't thought of the flexi file. I don't have one yet but have been meaning to, might be a good reason to pull my finger out. I tried taping the canopy down and wrapping the tread round a finger on each hand. But the canopy kept moving. The flexi file sounds a much better idea.

Bish

Spruce, thanks for the info, I will check those out. I have got the two new Kagero titles on the 87D/G, but those older ones are tricky to find. Is this the MPM Profile you mentioned.

www.asisbiz.com/.../REF-MBI-MPM-Profile-Junkers-Ju-87-A-Stuka-0A.html

Not heard of this before, will defiantly have to look into that.

SH have 3 Ju 87A kits. they are all the same kit with different markings. Apart from this one, there is one in Condor Legion markings, that's needs a little work to be accurate as the rudder should be a slightly different shape as it should be an A-0/1. The other kit is in Japanese markings.

Bish:  that MPM profile is the publication I own.

Worth getting for the detail drawings even if never incorporated into a build.

I missed out on the Kagero Ju 87D / G publications but do have the Japanese Aero Detail publication on that STUKA. version.

The Kagero Vol 1 has information and layout drawings on the A and B,  color profiles of those two marks plus a couple color profiles of the D 

I will definitely look for the SH kits. 

I will look into that MPM profile for sure. I also have the Condor Legion kit, and I plan on getting another for an A-1 build. Those kagero D/G books are pretty new so should still be easy to get. I keep looking for the A/B book, I will get one as soon as I find it.

A Northern Illinois IPMS Contest /  swap meet is scheduled for this weekend ..

http://www.finescale.com/events.aspx?page=info&eventid=37413

............something of a drive for me but dealers usually attend bringing books as well as kits to the shows so I will check for the Kagero books as well as some 1/72 STUKA kits if I attend.

I need to start going to stuff like this. people seem to get some great deals and I am sure the ones here must be the same. There's a lot of good 72nd Stuka kits out there. I don't have any Airfix, Italeri of Hobby Boss Stuka's, but the others are all good kits, you can't go wrong really. Even these SH kits are nice seeing as they are Limited Run kits.

Bish

I need to start going to stuff like this. people seem to get some great deals and I am sure the ones here must be the same. There's a lot of good 72nd Stuka kits out there. I don't have any Airfix, Italeri of Hobby Boss Stuka's, but the others are all good kits, you can't go wrong really. Even these SH kits are nice seeing as they are Limited Run kits.

Looking impressive, especially the interior.  Fear alone must have you miles away from the carpet monster!  With my luck that gunner's seat would have been devoured by that insatiable beast.

Spruce, I guess you have to take the good with the bad in places like that. I get the vast majority of my kits on line. We don't tend to have as many of these shows as you guys seem to have. And there a lot of kits you just can't get in the UK so I often find myself buying from the far east or US.

Airfix have been producing some pretty good new kits lately, I am sure they will get round to at least one Stuka soon. Now if only someone would produce a C before I have to scratch one, I could die happy.

deattilio, thanks. O I do lose my fair share to the monster, though I am able to recover the odd bit here and there. I dropped one of the PE foot peddles on this one but thankfully I managed to prize it away from the carpet.

Bish

............. there a lot of kits you just can't get in the UK so I often find myself buying from the far east or US.

Airfix have been producing some pretty good new kits lately, I am sure they will get round to at least one Stuka soon. Now if only someone would produce a C before I have to scratch one,

I have noticed many kits are only available from far east sources and I really should take the time to order on-line but have usually been too busy multi-tasking. 

As for companies issuing kits I want;.....that usually occurs after I scratch build the model...........

I got the painting finished last night. During my research I came across several photo's on the aircraft I am doing, 52 C24. This showed that the scheme suggested by SH is different to the real aircraft. Upon further searching, I came across another A-2 of the same unit with the code 52 D24. The scheme on this matched that on the SH instructions. So, using the photo's I have of C24, 3 in total, I have tried to replicate the actual scheme. Its been a bit tricky as the top of the wings are not clear to see and its hard to determine the demarcation between the green and brown, so this is a best guess.

The scheme at this period was not as standardised as the later 70/71 scheme. Many aircraft had more of the light grey than this one. I rather like this scheme. I have another A Stuka which will be done in Condor Legion markings which also carries this scheme, but I would also like to do other types in these colours. This period in the lead up to WW2 seems to be often over looked (guilty as charged) so its nice to be able to redress that, if only in a small way.

So here's the pics.

Thanks for looking. All comments, suggestions and pats on the back  welcome as always. 

Next up my favourite bit, the decals.

Ok, time for another update. I got the markings on followed by exhaust staining using Tamiya XF-19 and then a flat coat. As you can see, this carries the pre war 5 digit codes, these were replaced by the more familiar 4 digit codes in 1939, just a few months before the war.

The white marks on the right wing are a bit of a mystery. They are clearly seen on the photo's of this aircraft. There is no marking for the left wing and its not visible on the real thing, but this could simply be because they can't be seen against the light grey background. I can only assume its an old marking that's been replaced, but its a bit odd that it has not been painted out completely.

 Next up will be some weathering, as a peace time aircraft, this will be rather light, and that should be about it.