1/48 JU-87R-2 Stuka, Hubert Polz’s desert snake, 6./St.G 2, 1941, Tmimi, Libya
This is my interpretation of Hubert Polz’s JU-87R-2 Stuka while stationed at Tmimi, Libya in 1941.
There are only a few (4, I believe) photo’s of this aircraft, so a lot of the scheme is speculative (even the color of the snake is disputed!) I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible, based on the available photo’s. Most decal manufactures get the details wrong – even the codes! (should be T6+DP)
This is the Hasegawa B-2/R-2 kit with some detailing and scratch building, marked with Three Guys decals (modified and corrected), wing tanks from the Airfix B-1, painted with Tamiya acrylics, and weathered with pastels, and oils.
Hope you like,
Colin
16 additional images. Click to enlarge.
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- 1. Additional armor inside rear gunners canopy - made from brass scrap
John vd Biggelaar said on March 18, 2021
A beautiful looking aircraft, Colin.
You made it look very realistic.
Also the cockpit looks exceptional.
An absolute “Liked”.
Greg Kittinger said on March 18, 2021
A beautiful Stuka – the scheme is fabulous, and those extra details are a nice addition. Well done.
Cosgan said on March 18, 2021
Great job, i like it!
Eric Berg said on March 18, 2021
Colin: I like it very much. Looks just like those vintage photos. Bullseye!
Tom Cleaver said on March 18, 2021
You’ve done this very nicely Colin. I myself worship at the Church of the Red Snake, but the two denominations will never resolve things any more than the Church of the Yellow Cowl will ever acknowledge the Church of the Olive Cowl’s truth as regards a certain triplane. 🙂
You’ve certainly done some great work off those photos and made a strong case for your heresies. 🙂
Colin Latta said on March 19, 2021
Thanks! Actually, I also would prefer a red snake, I love the Revell 1/32 box art, but I’m afraid it’s probably not as historically accurate as we would wish. Also they got the scheme wrong, as well as the codes. Great painting though.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
dale travis said on March 18, 2021
Great looking Stuka.
Christopher C Tew said on March 18, 2021
Beautiful work, Colin! I wish the decal maker’s would have payed as much attention to the details as you did to the construction, but it’s a terrific looking bird all the same. Your Hasegawa wings look much better (straighter) than any other of their Stukas I’ve seen. Do you have a pattern for the gunner’s armor you could share?
Colin Latta said on March 19, 2021
Thanks! The pattern couldn’t be simpler. I just put a piece of masking tape on the inside, traced the shape with a sharp pencil, then put the tape on a leftover piece of scrap brass (photo etch runner) and cut it out. Bend it, flatten it and try again until you get the angle right!
About the decals, some aspects were oversized, while the snake was to short! Also the decals were so translucent, they had to be masked and resprayed!
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
1. This is how translucent the decals were. Lot’s of fun masking over the other decals to respray the "D". Which by the way started life as a "C". They had the code wrong!
Michel Verschuere said on March 18, 2021
Fabulous job in this one, everything is right about it: Build, painting and detailing! Well done!
Colin Latta said on March 19, 2021
Thanks everyone for the kind comments. The research took longer than the build, but that’s part of the fun!
Bryan W. Bernart said on March 19, 2021
Iconic. Like the heck out of it.
Louis Gardner said on March 19, 2021
Colin, @tail-dragon
This is a magnificent build. I have one of these kits in the stash. I think it is a Revell / Monogram kit with the snake markings for decals. However, I’m fairly certain the R/M box contains Hasegawa plastic. I will definitely mark this article to use as a reference when I start building mine. Every time I see this plane I think about the wonderful box art that Revell had on their big 1/32 scale Stuka back in the late 1960’s / early 70’s………
Thanks for sharing this beauty with us.
I definitely pressed the “liked” button. 🙂
DE4EVER said on March 19, 2021
🙂 … Greetings … 🙂 :
Love Stuka’s , just sitting in a spot always stand out for attention … this one for
sure is no exception Colin.
Nice work on the markings, camouflage, added details and good work on the research.
Thank you for sharing these images.
Spiros Pendedekas said on March 19, 2021
This is an amazing model, Colin @tail-dragon!
Please let me agree and echo all kind Gents comments above and congratulate you on your excellent job, research and improvizations definitely included!
Stellan Schroeder Englund said on March 19, 2021
Really nice job on this one. The camouflage is superb and from what I can spot you got the actual camouflage borders as close as one can ask for. Well done!
Haslam Yeoman said on March 19, 2021
This is a really great build Colin. A long long time ago I built the Revell 1/32 kit. I bought it out of saved pocket money because of the box art with the snake. I attempted to place the snake in one piece and learnt my first lesson about long thin decals. The other side I cut into several pieces with a much better result. Your build is worlds ahead. I still prefer the red snake but who really knows.
George Williams said on March 19, 2021
I love Stukas and I especially love this one, definitely liked.
Reinhard Spreitzhofer said on March 19, 2021
sweet work!
Giannis Asimakos said on March 22, 2021
Interesting theme and very beautiful construction. Congratulations!!!
Colin Latta said on April 4, 2021
After re-reading some of my reference material, I realized that the ‘mottle’ on the spinner was most likely “Italian sand”, not RLM 70/71. So, I’m in the process of stripping and refinishing the spinner.
… Oh well …
Jeff Pote said on May 29, 2021
Wow, terrific! Quick question about the camo colors. Upper surfaces look like 3 colors. I’m guessing RLM 79, 80 and ???? Thanks!
Colin Latta said on June 1, 2021
Thanks! These Stukas were finished in the standard RLM 65/70/71 scheme until their arrival in Africa. Then they were given a unit level partial disruptive scheme ( possibly using Italian sand – my option). No particular scheme was used, it seems everyone was different.
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.