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Louis Gardner
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1/48 Monogram Junkers Ju-87G-2 Stuka, backdated to a Ju-87 D-5, STAB 1 / SG5

May 22, 2017 · in Aviation · · 31 · 8.3K

It's been a while since I have posted anything here on Imodeler. Today I took a break from working on anything and decided to post something previously built instead...

Here's one from the display case that I built many years ago.

It's the really old 1/48 Ju-87 , that came with the 37MM under wing cannons. I made quite a few modifications to it. It's back dated to an earlier Ju-87 D-5. Around 200 of the later G-2 model cannon armed Stuka's were built using the extended wing from the earlier D-5 variant. I'm pretty sure that the dive brakes were not used on these planes.

I used brass tubing for the wing mounted MG 151 20 MM cannons.

The under wing 37 MM "tank busting" cannons were not used on this build. Stuka's had the option of carrying various underwing stores. It depended on what the mission was as to what they carried under the outer wing panels on the ETC bomb racks. Here's a photo showing some of the available ordnances.

I scratch built up a seldom seen option that was occasionally carried on ground strafing missions. According to the Squadron Signal "Ju-87 in Action" book,

these were called "Watering cans" and consisted of 6 "MG 81" machine guns mounted in a self contained pod. The "Z" listed in the photo is short for "Zwilling" which means "twin" if I'm not mistaken.

These were mounted in place of the outboard bomb racks, and had an ill fitting ETC rack cover. These MG's were 7.92 MM Mauser weapons if memory serves me. This would have certainly dispensed a LOT of MG rounds in a short order at any ground target, especially when you consider that 12 MG's were firing at the same time... (and possibly 2 X 20 MM cannons).

Another modification I did to the Stuka, was to get rid of the aileron and flap linkages. These were replaced with metal rod, since the kit parts were molded solid and looked rather crude. I think this looks much better and more realistic than the ones originally provided on the kit parts.

I also added three small strips on the wing walk way and detailed the bomb crutch.

Initially I wanted to build a typical Ju-87 in the splinter camouflage of RLM 70/71 over 65. However when I ran across this aftermarket decal sheet (Aero Master 48-141) I just had to paint it up with a winter time finish. The cool part is that some of the original splinter finish shows through, especially around the cockpit areas. This plane represents a Ju-87D-5 as flown by Stab 1 / SG5 marked as "L1 + CB".

Here are a few photos that I found online that show other Ju-87's from SG 5 in winter white wash paint. Notice the exhaust stains.

This picture may be of the actual plane I modeled mine after. I didn't have these photos back then when I built my Stukas...


Once I decided on the paint scheme, I gave a very light coat of white spray on top of the splinter finish. Then I brushed on rather haphazardly the white using random strokes like I have seen in photo's of various Luftwaffe planes. I did this step rather sloppy on purpose and it may have taken me about 2 minutes to do !

Lastly I dirtied the Stuka up some and gave it some serious exhaust streaks over the white finish. The Germans refined gasoline from coal (and other things besides oil later in the War), and because of this, the exhaust staining was more black than anything else. If you were to look at a WW2 US Navy Hellcat for example, the exhaust would look more tan / grayish in shades. This was due to the high lead content in AV gas used by the US.

Anyhow, this is a nice break for the day. I have taken more photos of a few other Luftwaffe builds, and plan to post them up here in a day or so. I wanted to try out a new base for photography to see how it looks. Eventually I may pencil in some lines to make it look more like a plane parking ramp.

As usual, comments are encouraged.

Reader reactions:
9  Awesome

22 additional images. Click to enlarge.


31 responses

  1. A very convincing field-applied "whitewash" paint job, Louis...ya can't beat those [old] Monogram kits for the money. The fit and accuracy was always 'good enough' for us modelers that bought 'em - and they still are if ya ask me. Nice work on this one my friend.

    • Thanks Craig. I really like the old Monogram kits, probably because that's what I grew up with (and Revell). This one was one of the later re-released Monogram Classics. It came with a cool sew on patch too. With a little elbow grease these older Monogram kits can really shine. I have seen others really work wonders with them.

  2. Great looking Stuka, Louis, it must have been very scary having one of these attacking you.

  3. Louis, great looking Stuka (I'm not sure if a Stuka can actually be called "great looking !"), but you model sure looks good. I've never seen / nor heard of those type of gun pods, part of what makes modeling fun, you get to check out a nice model and learn something along the way. Thanks for sharing Louis.

    • You're welcome Terry. I'll see about adding a picture or two of the real gun pods for you. That's one of the really neat things about our hobby is learning about the history behind our builds. Thanks for the compliments my friend.

  4. Beautifully finished, my friend! Stukas are not "beautiful" aircraft but they sure are interesting. Very important to the history of today. Love those winter-painted vehicles!

    • Thanks Jeff. These winter schemed vehicles and planes are pretty hard to get looking just "right". They got dirty very quickly, and since the paint was a white wash type paint, it wasn't that durable. It came off really easy revealing the colors underneath. I agree that the Stuka was a very important aircraft. Just think of it as the great grand dad of today's ground attack planes. The A-10 comes to mind here. It wasn't too pretty to look at either, but man what a plane !

      Thanks again for the compliments buddy... 🙂

      • A lot of the Stuka's had the wheel pant's removed during the winter on the Eastern Front, so as not to clog up the wheels and prevent them from turning. I decided not to do this with this one, since that is what held the wheels in place... I had my fill of scratch building at this point and just wanted to get it done.

  5. I like it a lot Louis! Great work on a classic. Monogram kits usually offer a lot of bang for the buck and in the hands of a great builder, they can really shine! You prove it again Louis. 🙂

    • I'm pleased to hear that you like this one Gary. 🙂

      In hindsight, I probably should have drilled out the barrels on the under wing pod weapons. I just noticed how plain they look after studying these pictures. Maybe I'll visit that part again soon. (and add the antennae cable back on while I'm at it. I knocked it off while removing this one from the display case).

      But for now, this one is back in the display case "hangar".
      Thanks again my friend.

  6. A great looking beast! Nice mods. I get a tinge of fear looking at one these, too many war movies as a kid I guess.

    • The Stuka is a scary looking beast for sure. Add in a screaming siren and you have the stuff nightmares are made of. Thanks Robert for the compliments.

  7. Very nice! I've got a Fujimi D-5 in the stash and want to do the whitewash finish to it as well - what medium did you use for that overcoat?

    • Thanks Greg ! 🙂 🙂 🙂

      The first coat was sprayed on as a very light coat, using thinned down Model Master "Flat White" for the color. You can see traces of this coat near the pilot's windscreen. Once that dried I went back with a wide brush, (1/4 inch or so) and brushed on the top coat. This time I simply used the paint right out of the bottle and didn't thin it out. I made sure not to get too much paint in the brush, almost like a "Dry Brush" technique, since I wanted the base colors to show through in some areas. I did a very quick random pattern and tried not to get the paint to cover completely. I purposefully tried to rush this part to replicate how the Luftwaffe ground crews would have done. I think this is the key. I just slopped it on.

      Next I gave it a light mist coat of Testor's Dullcoat spray to kind of level things out and seal the decals. The last thing was a dirtying up using earth brown and black that was highly thinned. The exhaust stains were made by spraying on some flat black. The exhaust stains were air brushed on from the front of the plane, to try and simulate how the exhaust gasses would have passed over the fuselage panels. (sometimes this gives a pretty cool effect).

      Hope this helps you on your Stuka Greg. Thanks for the compliments buddy...

  8. It always seemed to me that German designers tried to create a scary "look" to some of their creations, this being a case in point. Always reminded me of a pterodactyl, particularly with the wheel pants looking like outstretched talons. Italeri had a 48th set of various Luftwaffe underwing weapons, I think the gun pods were included. I always remember Evelyn Waugh's comment about being under Stuka attack on Crete. He remarked "Like most things German, it was very loud, very efficient, and went on for far too long!"Gotta love the British!

    • The Germans do have a knack for creating some sinister looking things...the Stuka being one of them. Plus they seem to be ahead of their time, almost futuristic even, with some of their weaponry. Just look at a Me-262 jet, Me-163 Komet, V-1 Buzz bomb, V-2 rocket, MG 42, MP 40 or even a P-08 Luger and you will see what I mean.

      You are correct about the Brits. You just gotta love them...

      I didn't know about the Italeri 1/48 weapons set. It sure would have been nice to have when I was building this one.

      Thanks my friend.

      • Louis, I found it in the Hackett plastic archive.
        Italeri 1/48 WW II German Aircraft Weapons, No. 2961 (2010)
        2 WB 81 gun pods. 2 AB70, 2 AB250, 2 AB500 2 ER4 adapter, 4 ETC50, 16 Preife gerat,2 PC1400, PD500, 2 SC50, SC250 ZAR, 2 SC500, 300Lt Fuel tanks, 2 SD500 2 SC1000 2 SD1700, 2 900Lt fueltanks.

  9. Built one of these, but it doesn't look as nice as yours. Nice job.

    • Thank you Tom. Sometimes I get lucky and the plane will turn out how I originally envisioned it to look. This happened to be one of those times. I sincerely appreciate the compliments buddy.

  10. Great to see another Monogram classic done justice, fantastic job! And we all know how I feel about Monogram!

  11. Thanks Rob !

    Like you, I "cut my teeth" building Monogram planes... Once in a while I would get a Revell model kit too. These were my favorites growing up, and I still hold them in high regards to details for the cost. They're simply a fun build. Granted most of these kits seem to have some sort of fit problems somewhere, but it's nothing that can't be resolved with a little patience and putty...

    I don't remember having to use any fillers on this Stuka build though.

    Thanks again for the compliments buddy.

  12. Nice work! And great timing too - I just bought the Revell G-2 repop and pulled out my two older Monogram and Revell D kits to start some quick detail work (cockpit details, rear basket seat, DF panel aft of the gunner's position, spat-less gear on at least two of them. The Stuka has always held up well in Monogram's lineup, and it shows in yours!

    • Thanks Mike. I'm sure you will have a good time with your Stuka builds. I thought about re working the landing gear to remove the wheel pants but by then I just wanted to get the project done. I had done a lot of scratch building and other modifications to the plane by that time. I really like the Ju-87. It's a cool looking bird. You either love it or hate it. I would really like to see some pictures from your Stuka builds. Please post some up if you don't mind.

      Thanks again for the compliments my friend. Take care.

      • Already making a mold for a read fuselage plug to include the rear cockpit bulkhead and a recess for the RDF equipment - we'll see how it goes lol.

        • That is the fun part about this hobby. You can always try something new. Sounds like you're going to some serious detail work with yours. Sounds like a great plan.

  13. Outstanding mods and paint work

  14. Very nice and the white weathered finish as well. Looks and smells like a flying tank!

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