Cheetah11

Eventually a bit more progress on the Tornado. Work pressure and family seems to slow projects at the critical time for me. Got some more paint on. This model is eating up my Tamiya masking tape! A lot of masking for an almost all grey aircraft. I used some Tamiya lacquer mixed to match the Humbol tin lid for Barley Grey and Light Aircraft Grey. This looks fine to the eye compared to photos. I could not get the Humbrol to give a smooth finish. The Barley Grey was mixed with a small amount of black and white and sprayed at random places to break up the even finish and give an in service appearance. Sadly my efforts on the metal surfaces will still be mostly hidden by trust reverser soot in the near future. Nick

Hi Daniel great choice of subject. Phantoms are my all time favorite aircraft subjects. If you are like me and and also a bit of a history buff try and read the Osprey book on the Iranian Phantoms in Combat if you have not done so already. An incredible 160 plus air to air claims by the Phantoms alone. It opened my eyes to a conflict that largely took place without much knowledge and coverage in the West and inspired my 1/32 Tamiya F-4E build. Looking really forward to this build. Nick

Hi Rick, It was Dennis's build, I must still build mine. Nick

Just a last comment on the Stuka Here is the problem with plans and published dimensions. Squaron signal plans up scaled to 1/32 and 1/32 Hasegawa nose. The same nose superimposed on a side photo. Although the Monogram kit is perfect in length and matches the SS drawing, the Hasegawa kits seem proportionally better. Andrea I would try and find a good side on photo and correct the kit according to that. Nick

Hi Wegener and Darren I still think it is worthwhile comparing the different kits. The Hasegawa kit is not perfect by any means. The length behind the firewall seems spot on and that is the area of concern compared to the Trumpeter kits. I measured the fuselage length from tail to behind the firewall and then the nose section of all the kits in my collection and compared them against the few plans and published references I have, using 11.5 meters as the length for the D and 11,1 meters for the B. The relative lengths are as follows. Monogram 1/48 : Spot on as far as I can measure (Very old kit and very accurate in length!!!) Fujimi 1/72 : Spot on in length Same comment as for the Monogram kit Hasegawa 1/32 : Nose about 10 mm short Hasegawa 1/48 : Nose 7 mm short. (No surprise as it is the same mistake as in 1/32) Until someone measure a few points on the real prototype, all we can do is compare plans and kits, and as you are now aware different manufacturers all have their own take on the Stuka. Nick

Andrea here are some images of the Hasegawa kit to help if you want to scale it up.

Hi Andrea I agree with the above observation. Here is a comparison of the Hasegawa fuselage with an image of the 1/24 Trumpeter fuselage. It is a crude comparison but should show the extend of the problem. You can see the Hasegawa with rudder attached is almost the same as the Trumpeter without rudder. Nick

Nice one Danny. I hope her skin does not stick to the cold wing surface, it would be a real shame.

Sorry for the confusion Mark P, the answer was for Markjames

Very nice paint job John. How did you solve the paint lifting off with the masking? Nick

Well Mark if you call quoting commonly used modeling references such as SS 'throwing dimensions around', then I suggest the only reference you will not take with a pinch of salt is the real aircraft. You said you have access to both the Airfix and Trumpeter kits, so to solve the dilemma measure both and then ask someone close to Hendon to measure the same points on the real aircraft. In the mean time I agree with Anrdea's observation and if I were to build the kit I will cut it in front of the kink on the rear fuselage. Nick

Well if the model is 22 inches long and most published references agree it should be 18.9 inches long, how much proof do you need? And per chance all other models in other scales all scale out within millimeters of the published dimensions except the one in question.

The only handy reference I have available at the moment is the Squadron Signal book. It states the D engine cowling was lengthened compared to the B and quotes the following lengths. B-2 length 11,05 m and the d length 11,5 m. (36ft 3inches and 37ft 8,75inches.) The photo of the Trumpeter 1/24 scale Stuka is available on their website. Overlay any un-build 1/48 or 1/32 kit over the image sized to the proper scale and the problem will become apparent. Nick

Just a quick comparison with the 1/32 Hasegawa kit and photo reviews on the net, the 1/32 Trumpeter appears correct and the 1/24 Trumpeter is too long in the rear fuselage by approx the width of the rudder.

Hi Andrea Welcome to LSP!! My Hasegawa 1/32 Ju87D measures 348 mm and scaling up to 1/24 would give 464 mm. The Hasegawa G nose is 2 mm longer than the B nose in the 1/48 kits, excluding the longer spinner. The 1/48 G length is 231 mm which in 1/24 gives 462 mm. The official length of the B-2 is given as 11,0 m (36ft 1inch) which give a length of 458 mm in 1/24. Your 37ft 8inch would seem to be the length of the D/G and in 1/24 is 478mm. The D/G had a slightly longer spinner, so it seems Airfix and Hasegawa kits are pretty close on the length. If the Trumpeter kit is proportioned correctly, it would be closer to 1/20th scale. Hope it helps Nick