For my next build I will be taking on the 1/48 Airfix Junkers JU-87B-1 Stuka. This was a World War II dive bomber use by Germany. I am not using the scheme in the kit. Instead the scheme will be that of the Staffelkapitan, 4th Staffel, Stukageshwader 77. It represents how it looked in June 1940 in France. I purchased the Eduard “Big ED” photo etch detail set (#49166) and will also be scratch building some other details.

Starting with the cockpit I added the photo etch details to the ammunition cartridges. Then I detailed the seat with the photo etch seat belts. The cockpit floor required some putty as the ejector points were a little on the deep side. Once filled and sanded it was painted using Vallejo RM2 gray. The spent ammo casing bin was assembled and a photo etch cover was added. I added the ammunition cartridges to the mount and the put the bin, ammo, and seat into the weathered cockpit. I am working on the cockpit walls. Again these have a lot of ejector marks which required putty to fill. The cockpit parts have very good details although it is kind of a shame that there is a lot of ejector marks.

You can see photos and details of the start in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-ju-87b-1-stuka/

6 attached images. Click to enlarge.

With your usual attention to detail, this is going to be an interesting build. sign me up David!

That is an excellent start, David.
Those PE parts do make it look much better.
I'm in to this thread.

Hard to believe it is 1/48...
Amazing work, David!

The Stuka is coming together very well. With the cockpit tub assembled I worked on the instrument panel and pedals assembly. The pedals are photo etch. This was attached to the instrument panel as well as the belly window. For details I mounted the window panel in the open position. The Inside of the fuselage was detailed with photo etch details, weathered, then assembled. There were only a few small areas that required some putty but overall the fit is very good.

The wings, rudder and rear horizontal stabilizers were added and the control linkage photo etch parts were added. The kit includes a detailed engine. I will be building the engine and detailing it. The kit only allows two options, one with all the nose panels off or all on without the engine. Many of the photos online show some of the panels on as they performed maintenance. So I will be modifying some of the kit panels so they can be installed to like they were in the field.

You can see all the photos and details from the start in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-ju-87b-1-stuka/

6 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Amazing PE enhancements and amazing looks so far, David!
This is a super Stuka!

Hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season and staying safe. This week was spent building and detailing the engine on the Stuka. Starting with the upper cooler the front and rear were cut out and replaced with photo etch replacements. The scoop for the supercharger received the same treatment of cutting the panel open and using the photo etch replacement. The engine block was assembled and I added some engine controls to match the reference photos and then added wiring to match.
The engine was then mounted to the fuselage and the wiring was fed into the firewall. The kit did not have any parts for the upper cooler hoses. I added shrink tubing that when shrunk was the correct size and added the hoses. The exhaust was added and the entire engine was weathered with black, gray, and brown pastel chalk. The front plate and the propeller shaft were added. As I mentioned previously, the reference photos show some of the panels still on the aircraft while maintenance is being performed. I will be doing the same thing. This however requires more work than I thought. I carefully cut the panels apart and realized the panels are too thick to fit over the engine and mounts. I am currently sanding and filing each panel to reduce the thickness.

You can see all the photos and details from the start in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-ju-87b-1-stuka/

8 attached images. Click to enlarge.

What an amazing engine, David!
Lots of quality work there!