HAPPY NEW YEAR! Work continues on the Stuka. The nose cowl panels have been separated, painted and weathered. The two lower panels that will be on the aircraft fit well once thinned. The panel that goes forward of the sight window did need to be corrected. It did not have the slot for the lower cooler hose.

I will be mounting this on a base that will be accessorized to like an airfield. I already have the base. I ordered ICM’s German Luftwaffe Pilots and Ground Personnel set which has 7 figures (it arrived a couple of days ago) and I also ordered the Tamiya 1/48 German Kettenkraftrad which has a power cart, a maintenance tractor, and two figures. (This is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.)

With the panels completed I added the landing gear and flaps. The scheme I am doing has the aircraft with RLM 70 SCHWARZGRÜN on top and RLM 65 HELLBLAU on the underside with yellow cowl and yellow rudder. I base coated the aircraft and the bombs. I need to make the decals for this specific scheme then apply them. There are also quite a few photo etch parts to detail the canopy that need to added.

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.

Incredible progress, David.
I'm curious how that diorama will look like.

Looking great, David!
Weathering is just "right".

Just joined the following, looking great. That kit looks pretty good straight out of the box. Your added aftermarket bits have really dressed it up nicely. I don't know if you have built the Kettenkrafyrad before but it is one hell of a fun little kit. I actually got best armor a local show with one. Looking forward to more.

Unbelievable modelling skills, David.
Received my Stuka from Airfix last week and are eager to start with it when seeing yours.
Hard to achieve your quality level.

This week the diorama base for the Stuka is being built up. The base is a 16” diameter, 1/8” thick maple base. I started by painting the base with forest green and dirt tan in patches. Using the Scene-O-Rama accessories the base was sprayed with spray glue and sprinkled with the medium green and dark green “grass”. I then added some “weed clumps” and added some “yellow flower” spots on the weeds. A sheet of thin styrene was then trimmed to fit one edge to be part of the runway. I used medium gravel to trim the edge of the runway and sprinkled a few “rocks” around the base. The area where the aircraft and vehicles sit was then scraped to show bare spots.
I then assembled the Kettenkraftrad. I painted it the dark green with leather seats. It was then weathered using black, dark gray, light gray, and mud brown pastel chalk. Once the vehicles and aircraft are mounted on the base I will add bits of grass and dirt to the wheels and tracks. I was looking over the figures and one of them shows a mechanic kneeling holding a tool. With the height of the aircraft engine off the ground I searched the internet and located a few photos of Stuka’s being worked on. They all show a maintenance platform with a sandbag keeping the wheels stable.
Using the photos I scaled out the size of the platform. I then used styrene rods to make up the frame and sheet styrene for the steps and platform. I then scaled out the wheels and sandbag. These were then put into Solidworks and finally 3-D printed. The platform was then painted medium gray and weathered. I then built up a couple of jerry cans and fuel drums to add to the display. Next I will be working on all the figures that will be used.

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/

13 attached images. Click to enlarge.

David, @davids_models
This is a magnificent build... You have worked your magic with it and it really shows. Sorry that I haven't stopped by to comment as often as I should, but that doesn't mean I have not been checking this out.

I especially like the scratched details on the engine. But each time I take another look at this, I notice something new. Thanks for taking the time to post this for us. It looks great in the headlines section too.

Well done !