mywifehatesmodels Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) I thought about putting this one in the Double Trouble Group Build, as it would qualify (two seats and a "pair of pants"? ), but decided to just put it here, since I already have one build going in the GB and I didn't want to give any more meaning to the phrase "Double Trouble", by having two builds there! The Ju 87 Stuka was born in an era of radical change within aviation history. It's kind of unique in that it incorporated a lot of theories and features that were considered state of the art for the time, yet it still clung to some of the old school thinking, as well as having some of the limits of the technology of the time. It's perhaps because of some of these things that this plane is usually regarded as being so ugly. I prefer to use the term "purposeful". Okay, it's plain ugly and there's no getting around it. I was excited when Trumpeter announced and released this kit, as I was fairly certain that we would NEVER see it from a "mainstream" manufacturer. I applaud them for taking that chance and bringing it to us. Even for those who couldn't care less about a Stuka, it may bring hope that they have a chance of getting something more to their liking, that they thought wasn't going to happen. I like having hope. It keeps me building and buying kits. My intent is to do a "quick build" of this. I wanted to do it straight OOB. However, I have decided that there are few minor tweaks that I want to do to it and I also bought a set of brass barrels for the two guns. When looking at everything in the box, it looks like a really nice kit. There are only a few things (that are rather small and easy to fix) that stand out as being a little off. They are the prop blades, spinner and tail wheel strut. Also, the Anton only had one forward firing MG 17 and it was located in the starboard wing. Trumpy has access panels and guns for both wings. However, it looks like covering up the port wing panel will be fairly straightforward and the gun fairing/barrel would just not be installed on that side. Easy enough. So, here's what I have to start with. The kit: The gun barrels, which are actually intended for the Revell Arado Ar 196, which had the same armament as the Ju 87A: And, here's the plane I intend to do (not on the kit decal sheet). My references are telling me that this was the 10th production machine off the line. It's still carrying it's civilian registry code letters, "D-IEAD" on the fuselage, as well as top and bottom of the wings, which I will likely try to mask and paint, instead of making decals. I'm hoping to get things rolling right away, this week. I'll post pictures as soon as the work is underway. Thanks for looking, John Edited November 19, 2014 by mywifehatesmodels Iain, Kagemusha, Mal_Belford and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal_Belford Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Nice John. been a while seeing a Stuka kit being built, so im looking forward to see this one coming alive John.. /Mal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Looking forward to it !...........Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Nice project John! I haven't seen one of these being built anywhere, so it'll be good to follow your progress. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Looking forward to this! Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 (edited) I was actually able to get to work, this evening. I started with step one on the instructions, which begin with the engine. I know there are a couple others who bought this kit already and will be building it, so I may as well take this opportunity to point a few things out, as I've come across them. First of all, in the very first part of the first step, I found a slight issue. The part for the back of the engine block, C4, is shown attached to C29 before adding the sides (C23 and 24). I tried this and the location is a little vague, even when you put the two parts together. Instead, attach C23/24 to C29, first, and you will get a better idea of how C4 fits. Probably best to test fit all four parts before adding any glue, just to get a feel for it. Nothing really wacky, but it makes more sense to do it this way, than what they show in the illustration. Also, there are two parts in this step (so far) that are misnumbered in the instructions. The part shown as F29 should actually be F32 on the sprue. The front of the block/crankcase is shown as part C27. However, that part is much smaller and was used in an earlier step and the correct part number is C28. Easy to figure out by looking at them, but just thought I would mention it so that people can watch out for it. Other than that, the rest of the parts for the engine are easy to assemble. Heck, a lot of them pretty much "snap" into place, the fit is so good. I'm no expert on the Jumo 210, but this looks the part to me. It's a shame that it will be completely covered with no option for displaying it, for the guys who are into that sort of thing. The main engine assembly is made up of something like 36 pieces and that's not even counting the bearer arms or firewall and it's details. My intent was just to slap the bare minimum together to get this built. However, I decided to use all the parts, because I wasn't exactly certain of whether or not the radiator, or other parts in future steps, would go together properly if something was missing. I didn't want to take any chances and, so far, the engine has taken less than an hour to get to this point, so it wasn't really any pain. Here are a few shots of the engine. Before going any further, I wanted to check the fit of the engine within the nose/cowl area. Without the engine bearers, it fits like a glove. I'm hoping that it will fit as well once they and the firewall are in place. However, if i had one complaint, I would say that the exhaust pipes don't protrude far enough. They're not supposed to stick out much, but in their current state, they're pretty much flush with the outside of the cowl. Even if I removed them from the engine and glued them to the cowl part, they still are molded in such a fashion that this is the limit. So, I think that I will have to remove them from the engine, thin out the cowl wall and then fit them to that, so that I get the proper protrusion. It shouldn't take much, but if I don't do that, it will bug me. I know it! Once I'm satisfied with the pipes, I'll attach the bearer arms and firewall to see where things line up, next. (Edit: I just realized, after looking at the last photo, that I better fit the various scoops/intakes and get their seams worked before gluing the exhaust pipes in place. They'll be much easier to work around if I do it in that order. So much for step by step via the instructions! LOL) Regards, John Edited October 20, 2014 by mywifehatesmodels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Great start ! I have to agree with you on the pipe fix. Sounds doable. Keep it up......Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simmo.b Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Got my kit today!! Willbe following your trail blaze. I have the Schiffer Stukas over Spain book, lots of great pics so someone PLEASE bring our decals for the Antons that served with the Condor Legion!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Following! I always like the Anton Stuka, and want a SCW version myself. Watching with interest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 Morning update: I went to work on fixing the exhaust problem, this morning. I had to go slow with the Dremel and a sanding drum to thin out the back side of the exhaust ports. I followed up with some 100 grit and a sharp blade to clean up the holes, from the inside. And a test fit of the pipes. This looks a lot better. After both sides were done, I started adding all the "bumpy things" to the cowl. The fit is really good if you take your time to remove all of the sprue attachment points. The smallest scoops were really hard to handle, being so tiny. I had them all on, spare the last one and was thinking to myself, "Are these tiny parts really needed? Couldn't they just have molded them as part of the cowl?". Then, trying to justify it in my mind, I said to myself, "But, that allows them to be open in the front." and "Besides, you're on the last one, anywa......" and that's when it happened. The tiny little scoop went flying, from the pressure of my fingernail, ricocheting through the clutter that is my workbench! I started sorting through the mess, trying to find the tiny part. I found parts I had lost of other models, parts I hadn't even realized were lost, but do you think I could find that little scoop? NO WAY! I finally decided that it would probably be faster (and less frustrating) to just make a new one. So I grabbed some scraps of styrene that were laying there (at least I found something useful in all that mess!) and roughed out a new little scoop, like this.... I've since cut and sanded it to more proper angles and have added a little putty in a couple of spots, which is curing right now. I should be able to sculpt a fair representation of the kit part and nobody will be the wiser (Except you guys. Don't tell anyone, though). Now would be a good time to go back and finish the engine bearer arms and firewall, I suppose. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Good start, looking forward to this build! Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 Thanks, Doug. I got the engine mounted to the firewall. Fairly straightforward, but some of the detail parts for the firewall are pretty fragile. I did break one and had to piece it back together. Next up will be the radiator assembly. It has more parts than I would have guessed. Thanks for following, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Good recovery on the exhaust and scoop ! Pipes look much better......Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 (edited) Thanks, Harv. I got the radiator assembled and attached to the engine. I probably should have painted it separately before attaching it, but I shouldn't have too much trouble masking it off from the engine. The complete assembly was then test fitted to the cowl panels. When pushed into place, it fits perfectly. This photo shows it without any pressure on it, so it's popping out of position, slightly. Now, in the second step of the instructions (where the radiator is assembled), it also shows the assembly of the cowl and it's various panels, as well as the bomb yoke and the prop/spinner. I'm going to hold up on all of this until I get the cockpit and fuselage together, just to be sure everything fits right (especially the yoke). The spinner will come much later, but I want to throw this out there for you guys, now. I have my own opinions about the shape of the spinner. However, I want to know what you all think about it. So, you can take a look at the photo of the plane that I put in the very first post. Also, I've included another image, plus two of the same shot of the spinner, but with one being rotated to the left. Tell me what you think. Like I say, I have concerns about it's shape, but maybe it's just me. I have already come up with a way that I think might fix it to MY eye, but I'm still open to opinions. Thanks! John Edited October 21, 2014 by mywifehatesmodels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 (edited) Looking good. IMHO, I think the kit spinner isn't pointy enough. Is that what you see ? I hope to get one of these at some stage of my life .Love watching.....Harv Edited October 20, 2014 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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