Ju 87 Stuka GB

Thanks guys. Still a few more things to do before reaching the finish line.

Greg

No I did not use a circle template even though I have one which I use for painting tank wheels. I used masking tape that I lay down on my bench and using a sharp blade, cut at a steep inside curb to match the spinner line. Took me about three attempts  to get the correct shape but that works out every time.

I must remember to get one of those this month for my armour wheels, but that would certainly be another good use for it.

What a great tip, I'd never have thought of that!

Thanks, GAF.

A circle template is good for a lot of things, including cutting out curved masking for complex curves.

Maybe even doing your own insignia! 

Ernie, looking good. Was that you who was out buying a circle template a wk or so back for the spinner? The masked tip looks very good. I'm curious because a template has been on my buy list and I've not tried this yet.

BTW, I missed the link to Rudel you posted for me a few pages back until now, interesting stuff, thanks!

plasticjunkie

Revell were thick and hard to apply even with tons of Solvaset.

Scott: That's a nice looking plane so far bud. Can you stick something in the pic like a coffee cup or even your hand so we can see just how big this thing is? I can only imagine at this point.

She's looking great, Ernie! I love the snakes on hte fuselage sides!

Shooter: Those decals turned out really nicely!

Glad you found that link PJ. She is looking good.

Check, Gaf and Bish

Thanks all for your positive comments.

I have been busy building pullouts for the kitchen cabinets so it's been taking a lot of my time but I managed to do some work on my Stuka today. I found an old thread  where Bish posted a very useful link: www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/.../index.html

Yesterday I mixed some raw umber and payne's gray artists oils  to make a panel  line wash that was applied with a brush. I let it sit for an hour or two then use a thinner dampened Q Tip to clean up the excess.

My Instructions were listing the bomb color as RLM66 which I suspected to be incorrect then I found the above link. I painted the 250 kg dark Alclad steel and the SC1000 RLM65 as described in the link. I still need to weather it just a bit and add a wash to pop some of the details. I wish the instructions would be more accurate but then we know better. I also shot the spinner tip RLM04 and the props RLM70.

I also attached the dive brakes and applied the thin decal strips on the bakes.

CMK02>  Nice save on the prop.  It's looking great.  Someone suggested using straws or tubing also for painting.

PJ>  Snake!  This is a well done example.  Good work!

Shooter>  My eye is drawn to the prop hub, having had so much trouble with my own.  Excellent work overall.

Enjoy seeing what others do with their builds.  :)

Shooter, looks really nice, always good to se the markings going on.

Thanks, PJ.  Your snaky Stuka looks really good.  What an appealing outfit it's wearing!

Thanks, Greg.  First time I've tried re-grooving tires.  I was apprehensive about it, and relieved that it worked as well as it did.

Thanks for the info on Stukas, Bish.  I'm looking forward to picking up the new moulding, but this GB piqued my interest enough to buy two more of these old ones.  Old Jedi mind-trick again.

Great-looking Stuka, too, Archangel.  Another attractive outfit.  Makes a real "fashion statement."  Good work on the three-color prop spinner.  I hope I can do as well in that area.  I got a circle template yesterday and will make the attempt this weekend.

Shooter, can't get enough of watching this one come together.

Thanks for all the great progress pics.

Shooter

She's looking very good from here.

Greg

You are most welcome.

Here's a few progress pics. I started slapping on some of the decals which makes an improvement in appearance. Running into issues with a couple of the Cam decal slivering as I apply them, one was the R/H fuselage national insignia which the the lower left portion of the cross broke up. I fixed that by cutting part of the Airfix decal which it did match up to the broken decal and is nearly unnoticeable The CAM sheet didn't have a lot of panel markings, Sprue Bros is out of stock on a markings decal sheet so I may wind up having to use the old Airfix sheet. Can't really complain since both sheets are some 13 plus years old.

Looking at the below pic I thought I had overspray of the blue on the flaps but it must be the light of the flash bouncing.

For the walkway I used thinned MM acrylic flat black, letting it flow in and around the edges.

Only have a couple more of the major decals to apply then work on paint touch up's, gluing on the remaining parts, add more wiring to the engine area and attach the shoulder belts to the pilot seat. Now if I can just keep my fingers from knocking off the r/h inboard flap. Sure would be nice if there were an AM pilot/gunner set to sit in the cockpit, the Airfix crew is modeled after the BOB with the oversize lift vests. Hmmm....wonder if I can photoshop myself into the cockpit?

Thanks for taking the time to confirm my suspicions about the wet Future, Ernie.

TJ, Cmate , Shooter and Greg. Thanks for the kind d words.

Greg

I only use the wet Future method if there are little or no surface details as you said. The Future will make the silvering vanish but will not snuggle the decal down into recessed or protruding details as when using Solvaset that will melt down even thick decals. I have used it over some panel lines and after 10 or 15 minutes after application, I will lightly use a toothpick to press the decal into the recessed line. I do several light passes till it looks good then let it cure overnight.

Looking very nice there PJ, looks like another one nearly finished.

Check, yes, the B-1 would certainly be suitable for that period. Yours is a B-2, the main visual differences are the exhausts and the cowling over the oil cooler underneath the engine.

Looking at the images of the Airfix B-1, it looks like a later version with improvements made in late 1939 and my guess is the markings will be for a 1940 era aircraft.

CMK, looking very good mate.

I like your idea about using tube glue on the tire halves then sanding and re-notching the grooves, thanks for that. Great save on the propeller issue.

Ernie, that bird just keeps looking better and better. Great job on the snake.

Your camo scheme is one of favorites from this GB. I really like it a lot.

Thanks for the tip about wet Future under a stubborn, silvering decal. Hadn't heard that one before. i would think that would adversely effect underlying detail, such as panel lines? Yes? No?

That snake scheme looks great! I wish there was a decal set for it in 1/24. There's a mask set out there but with the problem I'm having with my air brush I didn't want to attempt painting one on.

And now I learn something new here about applying silvering decals to wet Future.

PJ. What an awesome looking machine. I agree wet future cures all silvering. John

Thanks Mustang. What a difference between your decals and Revell's. The Cartograph decals were a joy to apply while the crosses and smaller stencils from Revell were thick and hard to apply even with tons of Solvaset.

Those snakes sure look a lot better on the bird than they did on the decal paper! lol

Good lookin' bird you got yourself there Ernie!

CM

The paint and decals look outstanding. Goes to show you sometimes can't follow the building sequence of the instructions so good recovery on fixing the prop issue.

I finally made progress with the snake  decals that Mustang so generously provided. Had to raid the spares for the tail Swaz as none are included in the kit. Some of the smaller stencils are from the kit decal sheet and had a tendency to silver so I had to apply them over wet Future to kill the ugly silvering. Works every time.

Next will be some pin washes then clear flat and then more weathering. 

Thanks, Bish and SS!  Very kind of you.

I don't know much about Stukas, Bish, but is the B-1 variant suitable for Dunkirk or the Battle of Britain?

And what specifically is this current Airfix Stuka supposed to represent?

Very nice looking decal and weathering work, Checkmate!

That's some nice progress there Check.

You are right, Airfix are due to release a new tooled Stuka late in the year, Nov I believe. That will be a B-1, not a variant that's well covered with I think only Fujimi producing that variant.

Thanks, TJ and TB.  I appreciate it.

TB:  it's the old Airfix kit.  The cockpit is there; might be an upgrade from somewhere along the line if it wasn't in the original kit offering.  It's pretty crude and basi.

I understand Airfix is going to do a new-mould Stuka later this year.  

I agree that trapping the prop shaft is pretty outdated and inconvenient.  It's not at all helpful if you're going to mask and spray paint.  Probably worked OK when all there was to use was a paint brush and a bottle.

CMK02 -- that's brilliant work! You're doing great justice to this subject! Is this a new-tool Airfix kit? I don't think the old one had any interior at all! I like the way the landing gear assembles exactly the same way as the larger kits -- form follows function! Nice save on the prop too -- one thing that irks me about even the new tool Airfix range is they preserve the 1950s idea of trapping a spinning prop shaft at the point of closing the fuselage, and that truly does not fly.

So many great build still happening here!!!

Cheers, M/TB379