1/32 Hasegawa Ju-87 G-2 Stuka "Rudel's Cannon-bird" (FINISHED)

Beautiful, fantastic work!  I love it.  Someday I'll be good enough to build something like that.

Toshi

Lawdog, no thanks required for following you, more that we thank you for providing us with such beautiful work. Trully brilliant work mate, you can sign me up for the next chapter now.

I would be very keen to get your perspective on the Mission Models paint when you get a chance to use it. I like both the Tamiya and Gunze for AB purposes, thinned with Tamiya Laquer thinner, I get a good finish, not as nice as the MRP paint, but good.

Thanks again for taking us on this adventure, I really look forward to the next and the next and the next...

damouav

 

 

Sorry to go off on a tangent, I do need to pull the reins in sometimes with my communications.

 

No apology needed.  I welcome open discussion.  That's what the forum is for!  I just ordered some Mission Models RLM paints and I'll try them out on my next Lutwaffe build.  That's gonna be soon by the way, an FW 190 A-8 and a Battle of Brtiain Stuka (that order).  

Andy, I generally use Gunze's thinner with their paint, but you can get away with using Tamiya lacquer thinner or Isoprophyl Alcohol too.  I mix Gunze Aqueous and Tamiya paint all the time, particularly during weathering.  I haven't bought any in a while, but I've gotten them from luckymodel.com in the past.  They're based over seas and it takes forever to get stateside.  I've bought the off ebay as well.   

Thanks for the kind words all...

I finished this one up last night.  To recap it's the 1/32 Hasegawa Ju-87 G-2 in the late 1944 markings of Uber tank killer Hans Rudel.  This one got metal gun barrels, PE seat belts, resin exhausts and tires.  Other than a few typical Hasegawa issues, I'm pleased with how it turned out.  The white "frames" on the canopy were decals applied from inside.  I thought these were gonna be trouble but they turned out ok.  Paint started out MRP but was switched to Gunze Aqueous.  All main markings were painted on with the use of Maktar masks/stencils. These are worth EVERY penny.  

Thanks for following...

Lawdog - 

Your Stuka is absolutely amazing, and the attention to detail on the pit is top shelf. Along with the build your commentary was insightful and educating. My very first build is coming up, and I to will be building a Stuka....I will be using a lot of your information to help me with it. Thank you for sharing your build.

Beautiful "office" and delicious exterior painting/finishing work!

Taking notes.

Green with envy at your remarkable talents.

Another masterpiece coming out of your workbench.  Just a beautiful kit.  Thank you for the WIP.  I learned a lot.

Toshi

Hey Joe. I've been away for far too long and have missed much of your latast builds but, I'm glad I returned to find you working on this beaut. What a great subject and you certainly are putting your usual amazing talents to work on it. Really wonderful work that is making this a stunning Stuka. I'm honored to file in and follow along.

I'll be joining in on the MRP discussion myself a little later on as I've added some to my paint stash as well. But, for now, it's bed time.

Joe

That looks fantastic. Excellent work as usual dog.

Great looking build. After reading ride is book he really used them to better than good effect he preffurd them over his fw-190. Even though it was out dated it was a purpose built aircraft that did its job very well. I also like the part in his book how he describes using this slower plain in dog fights to out maneuver  against faster fighters. You may or may not like his views on the Nazi party. But his ability as a ground support pilot can't be taken away from him.

This plane looks fantastic.  I love the painted insignia.  After spending last night fighting with large insignia decals, I'll have to give the painted route a go on my next build.  Especially after seeing how great yours look. 

Cheers, Mark

Lawdog, I may have asked this before but where do you get your Gunze aqueous paints? I seem to be having a hard time finding them. Also, you say that you thin them with Taimya Lacquer thinner?

lawdog114

 

 

damouav

With that said about the MRP, it may take several coats more to obtain good coverage, but the results do speak for themseleves, in the great finish you get. The fact that it levels off extremely well and is silky smooth and dries quickly are pluses. But with that said, you can get almost the same effect with Tamiya and as you pointed out Gunze, at less than half the price per bottle.

 

 

 

 

Awesome discussion!

I agree with your assessment, but........I don't have the patience for that.  I can get a silky smooth finish with Tamiya's Lacquer thinner using Tamiya and Gunze paint too, and the finish will still be matte enough so I can see what I'm weathering. Gunze has really nailed RLM colors to my eye too.  I think MRP missed the mark, particularly the RLM 70.  Tamiya dries almost immediately, but you have to be careful with Gunze Aqueous.  Not sure about their Lacquers....

I hear this new Mission Models paint is supposed to great.  I may look into that too.    

 

+1 on the Mission Models paint, will do some investigation.

Sorry to go off on a tangent, I do need to pull the reins in sometimes with my communications.

Cheers LD. haveing never used masks for markings before, i wasn't sure which way to proceed, especially with the white outline crosses.

I have been looking at the Missions models as well, but all of these new paint ranges are rather expensive. But one of the guys at the model club swears by MRP so thought i would give it a try. I've no plan to switch away from enamels, especially for aircraft, but doesn't hurt to look.

damouav

With that said about the MRP, it may take several coats more to obtain good coverage, but the results do speak for themseleves, in the great finish you get. The fact that it levels off extremely well and is silky smooth and dries quickly are pluses. But with that said, you can get almost the same effect with Tamiya and as you pointed out Gunze, at less than half the price per bottle.

 

Awesome discussion!

I agree with your assessment, but........I don't have the patience for that.  I can get a silky smooth finish with Tamiya's Lacquer thinner using Tamiya and Gunze paint too, and the finish will still be matte enough so I can see what I'm weathering. Gunze has really nailed RLM colors to my eye too.  I think MRP missed the mark, particularly the RLM 70.  Tamiya dries almost immediately, but you have to be careful with Gunze Aqueous.  Not sure about their Lacquers....

I hear this new Mission Models paint is supposed to great.  I may look into that too.    

Bish

 

Was it all the wite markings you painted after the scheme had gone onor just the wing crosses.

 

Thanks Bish...I painted the white portions into the large under wing crosses before the scheme, but the rest were done afterwards.  

With that said about the MRP, it may take several coats more to obtain good coverage, but the results do speak for themseleves, in the great finish you get. The fact that it levels off extremely well and is silky smooth and dries quickly are pluses. But with that said, you can get almost the same effect with Tamiya and as you pointed out Gunze, at less than half the price per bottle.

Looking really nice there.

Interested to see what you say about the MRP, i have just bought 3 bottles for mine, mainly to avoid raised edges around the masked areas, especially as i am useing stencils for the markings.

Wasit all the wite markings you painted after the scheme had gone onor just the wing crosses.

damouav

Did you make your own paint mask, or are these commercial manufactuered. Which ever they are, the end result was excellent.

I hear you with regards to the MRP, but as I have invested a small fortune in them I will stick with them for the time being. I found the coverage of my corsair required 4 coats over a grey primer to get the depth I desired, in hind sight, black primer may have been a better option.

 

Thanks guys.

Damian, the masks are by a company called Maktar. They are similar to Montex if your familiar with them. They come with canopy masks too. Thanks to these two companies, I may never use decals again (at least for insignias). 

I hear ya....I invested a small fortune as well, mostly because of all of the praise the stuff has been getting. I used black under it and I think it was actually worse In that regard.  I can say I had better results with the RLM65 than the other two. Maybe I didn't shake them long enough or there is a special primer I was supposed to use.  I'll probably kill off what I have then go back to Gunze. 

My "wow" meter is accelerating again...Looking foward to seeing thise on!

Your work on the cannons, let alone the rest of the build is better than the real thing, but in 1/32 scale!

Did you make your own paint mask, or are these commercial manufactuered. Which ever they are, the end result was excellent.

Seriously stunning work mate, truly deserving of high praise.

I hear you with regards to the MRP, but as I have invested a small fortune in them I will stick with them for the time being. I found the coverage of my corsair required 4 coats over a grey primer to get the depth I desired, in hind sight, black primer may have been a better option.

I look forward to the next chapter.

Bish

 

 

lawdog114

Thanks Bish and Jamie... I remember my B had the wing guns too. Bish, I did follow your advice on armor plates and left them off. ..

 

 

 

 

i was wondering if it would be feasable to line the inside edge of the hold with styrene strip. Do you think that would work or would it close it up to much.

 

Thanks all...

Bish, I don't think so....the panel lines are just wide enough to be annoyingly bigger than the rest.  Perhaps I was just being a-retentive in rescribing them...lol. 

Anyways, I have been plugging away at this but have had little time to update the thread.  Where was I?.......oh yeah.

I sprayed yellow (XF-3 Flat Yellow with a drop or two of XF-7 Flat Red) where needed then taped these areas off.  I painted as needed (black then white) then added the Maktar masks to the lower crosses (intentionally crooked per instruction sheet??.....looks weird to me) then began the MRP RLM 65 paint.  I should mention that the more I use MRP, the less I like it.  I find it too translucent and it takes too long to build up the color.  I just don't have the patience or do I want ridges when I remove tape because it added too thick.  Maybe this stuff won't do that.  It's also too shiny for my liking.  I prefer my paint flat or at least matte so I can see what I'm doing, particularly in weathering. In this area Tamiya shines....  

I then flipped it over and began the RLM 71.  At this point I became fed up with MRP's translucency so I dug out what was left of my Gunze (which wasn't much) finished it up with it.  I added some Tamiya XF-57 Buff and weathered the panels a bit.  

I taped off the splinter scheme and decided to give MRP one more shot with their RLM 70.  This color was way too green for my liking, like pine green.  I scrounged up a few drops of Gunze Aqueous RLM 70 and then weathered it in the same manner.  Moral of the story? If it isn't broke don't fix it..............back to Gunze for my RLM needs. 

Now it was time to paint in the markings that are white. I added a touch of XF-19 Sky Grey to the XF-2 Flat White to tone it down.  These are easier to do in stencil form thusly...

This would include the tail code, swastikas, crosses and the outlines on the fuselage "arrow" markings...I'm pleased with how Maktar performs. The spinner spiral was done with a Maktar mask too... 

Now it was time for weathering. I started with the exhausts.  I wanted it to be noticeable but not a disrtaction.  I used diluted XF-57 Buff and XF-19 Sky Grey then layered it in slowly.  I outlined it with diluted XF-69 NATO Black.  I think this is close to some pictures I used as reference...

I then weathered the airframe with extremely diluted XF-64 Red Brown and XF-69 NATO Black, particularly the underside and engine area.  I must say I'm really enjoying my new Iwata for this type of detail painting. My Omni 4000 has earned a well deserved retirement.

I then turned my attention to the 37mm cannons.  The metal barrels are beautiful and highly recommended in this scale. I was fortunate as they came with the kit. 

Here we are painted and weathered...

I got it clear coated and decaled.  Since all of the big markings are painted on, this took minutes....lol.

That's where I'm at so far.  I should be done soon.  

Lawdog excellent progress mate, you really do bring a blank canvas to life.

Keep the images and great work coming.

Oh My Goodness !

 That is a BIG Boom Boom ! ! ! Nice work in the cockpit . Reminds me of the big 1/24 Bird Airfix used to do .

Excellent progress and great recovery on the panel line issue.  

Hasegawa Tomcacts also have a lousy front to rear fuselage fit so looks like they carry it on to other models as you said. 

I also like using Tenax to get solid joins.

lawdog114

Thanks Bish and Jamie... I remember my B had the wing guns too. Bish, I did follow your advice on armor plates and left them off. ..

 

Glad it helped.

The gap around the panel, i was wondering if it would be feasable to line the inside edge of the hold with styrene strip. Do you think that would work or would it close it up to much.

As always without a miss, your correcting the mishaps that the model company screws up to no avail.  That's why there's assemblers like me and artists like you.  

Great jon thus far, itching to see the rest of the finished product.  Thank you for sharing!

toshi

Excellent work!! The interiors are gorgeous ... very nive effects!! 

I can see you're mainteining the same level in the building ... I love this kind of "correcting" works with the panels, ribeters, etc.. It makes your model unique!