1/32 Battle of Britain build part 2- Stuka! Trumpeter's Ju 87 b-2

[Ian M]

This is looking fantastic so far. Great photos as well.

Ian M

[tr1ckey66]

This is looking fantastic so far. Great photos as well.Ian M

Thanks Ian

I'm trying (where possible) to describe any alts, build techniques and deviations from the kit instructions in pictures as well as words. I'm trying to make the pictures clear and describe what's going on visually. I hope in this way that the build is useful to anyone reading.

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that the tail wheel has changed colour. I don't know why I painted it RLM 02 to begin with it's now RLM 65!

Cheers

Paul

[Ian M]

I missed that. I did note that the main struts are well painted and then hidden in the spats... You know its there...

Ian M

[flyjoe180]

Oh wow, that is amazing Paul. Great conversion to the accurate nose area.

[tr1ckey66]

Oh wow, that is amazing Paul. Great conversion to the accurate nose area.

Thanks Joe, shouldn't be too long before I get some paint on this now...

I missed that. I did note that the main struts are well painted and then hidden in the spats... You know its there...

Cheers Ian, I know that not much of the landing gear is seen inside the spats but if you turn the model over and peer in you can still see the struts (just). In my book that's enough for the parts to be painted

A little more progress...

Stuka Bomb Load and Wing Machine Guns

Trumpeter really messed up with the bomb load for this Ju87b-2. Normal load out for a B-2 would have been a main 250kg bomb with a pair of 50kg bombs suspended under each wing. For some reason Trumpeter have supplied only two 50kg bombs, ten x 10kg(?) bombs (in a rack and configuration I've never seen before), and a 1000kg 'Hermann' bomb. The B-2 Stuka would not have had the power to carry such a large bomb. With this payload it would have simply taxied to to the channel coast and plummeted onto the beach below!!! The B-2 could have carried a 500kg bomb but at the expense of the 4 x 50kg bombs and probably the observer!

The Trumpeter bomb sprues...



For the build to continue obviously replacement bombs have to be obtained from somewhere else.

One of the easiest and most cost effective I've found is to use the Eduard 109 Bomb set...



This has the 4 x 50kg bombs and the 250kg bombs required

MDC also produce nice 250kg and 500kg bomb sets...



Bomb Comparisons...



Left to right: MDC 250kg, Eduard 250kg, Eduard 50kg x 4, Trumpeter 50kg (with air burst fuses) x 2, Above - Trumpeter 10 x 10kg(?) bombs in racks, Trumpeter 1000kg 'Hermann' bomb, below - wing racks. Note: I lost one of the bomb sways to the carpet so had to make another from plastic strip. Also, this is my first look at 'the looper' and it did prove useful for glueing the PE fins and struts to the bombs.

In my build I plumped for the Eduard SC50s and the MDC SC250 (I felt this had the edge in terms of detail)

Once the bombs were finished the bomb swing was altered to take the smaller payload. This was by far the most difficult part of the build so far but I think it turned out ok. Again, my reference proved a bit contradictory so I went for a configuration that seemed both most plausible and achievable in plastic.



The next Trumpeter conundrum is the wing machine guns which are completely missing from the instructions, not a single mention or picture! The B-2 Stuka would have wing machine guns which are housed in fairings. Trumpeter actually provide these parts but have elected not to let you know about them?!!! So for anyone following this the parts are: Fairings - B2 + B3, B5 + B16; Machine gun muzzles A32 x2.



Note: I elected to use replacement brass MG barrels from RB Models

Once assembled these parts can be placed on the wings. Marks on the wings are provided although they seem to be slightly too high up the wing as the muzzle does not line up with the MG in the Gun bay. Check references. Also, the 2 fairings may be handed so experiment which fairing fits best on which wing.



...And that's it for now. Next up is the canopy framing, building a few final parts and then it should be time for some paint...

Cheers

Paul

[Vaughan]

This is turning out to be a very interesting build Paul with some great research which seems to be paying off.

[tr1ckey66]

This is turning out to be a very interesting build Paul with some great research which seems to be paying off.

Thank you Vaughan.

The build is coming together quite quickly (not my usual glacial pace) and I'm really enjoying it. Shouldn't be too long now before I get to the painting stages and finishing this.

Paul

[Guest]

Excellent work Paul, really looking forward to seeing more

[Ian M]

Looking rather tasty Paul.

I might of missed it, but have you any links to all those rather nice resin bits, or just where you have found them....

I rather fancy a "kannonvogel" version.

Ian M

[tanktrack]

I am mainly a British armour builder , but there is no doubt that the Germans built some beautiful equipment such as the stuka . it is like some of the German armour- prehistoric, looking like a tyradactyle I like your work Paul well done on a fantastic build so far , you never know I may stray over to the dark side at some time

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Ian

I might of missed it, but have you any links to all those rather nice resin bits, or just where you have found them....

At the end of the build I'll round up by giving all the reviews and product info. In this way it will be easy to find rather than having to sift through the thread. A Kannonvogel is a popular Stuka choice and I've seen some very, very, very good examples online. It is a cool looking aircraft and one I wouldn't mind modelling myself somewhere down the line. Hasesgawa is the only player in town in terms of kits of this type (in 1/32) but I'm sure you already knew that.

The Canopy - Internal Framing?

There has been much made of the fact that the Stuka has some of it's canopy framing on the inside. The 1/24 Airfix kit follows this notion by not moulding some of the vertical framing on the outside. Looking at other builds I've determined that the internal framing should be as shown on the photograph below (Chicago Museum of Science and Industry Ju87B-2).



I've got to say, looking at this museum piece, I just don't see it. For instance, the canopy for the pilot definitely looks to be all external framing.

It is possible that this Stuka had the framing added in restoration work, and reading all the expert advice on the subject the weight of opinion is leading me to believe that this is the case.

I've therefore decided to take the plunge and sand back these frames from the kit canopy and polish back to a clear finish. This is obvoiusly a task I would rather not do so if anyone has any documentary evidence to the contrary then please get in touch!!!

Back with the altered canopy soon...

Cheers

Paul

[tr1ckey66]

I am mainly a British armour builder , but there is no doubt that the Germans built some beautiful equipment such as the stuka . it is like some of the German armour- prehistoric, looking like a tyradactyle I like your work Paul well done on a fantastic build so far , you never know I may stray over to the dark side at some time

Hi Steve, I also build armour as well (you may have seen my 1/16 Tiger). There seems to be a growing number of modellers going over to 1/32 and if you ever decide to build something with wings on it I for one would welcome it. I'd count myself as a modeller and not an aircraft modeller and I think it's fun to build different things.

I'm glad you like the build and thank you for the kind words.

Cheers

Paul

[eddiesolo]

A stunning build so far Paul, a real testament to your skill and dedication to get, as near as damn it, a perfect replica. Outstanding workmanship.

Si

[Guest]

you are making this stuka look mighty sexy mate thnx

[stona]

Some images of Ju 87 canopies.













And the bomb mechanism with an SC 500.





Cheers

Steve