Airfix 1/48 Ju 87B Stuka

Started by Keith · 33 · 2 years ago
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    Keith said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Recently debated between starting either a Stuka, SBD, or a Nakajima. Ultimately I ended up going with the Stuka after discovering the ROS os 1/48 Stukas over the African Battlefield decal set.

    First off, it was very difficult to locate the decals in stock. Fortunately, I persisted and was able to find a set at a shop in CZ.

    This will be my second aircraft build in 1/48, and am looking forward to the process.

    Just starting the cockpit for this build today, but had a question regarding the photo etched parts. I am pretty green when it comes to working with the PE additions. I am curious if I paint the whole thing, or if I need to tape them and only paint certain areas? I am including an image of the PE parts with a line to two distinct sections to outline what I am talking about. Some areas appear to have a shiny brass finish, while others a more dull or matte appearance.

    3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Great entry, my friend @greenterrorz!
    If the PE parts are unpainted (which looks to be the case here), they will have to be painted. The matt texture imitates the real looks: those parts should have been matt-ish in reality.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Really looking forward to this build, @greenterrorz

    I do have that Airfix kit in stash and will be paying good attention to your approach.

    Toy have a very nice set of PE and decals.

    The mattish parts are indeed as described by Spiros @fiveten, they will reflect the orignal matt appearance once painted.

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    Keith said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    I was able to finish the cockpit over the weekend. Excluding the seatbelts which will arrive one day this upcoming week.

    So far, the photo etched parts in addition to the kit are coming together nicely.

    Paint- From my research, it seems this Ju 87 would have had an RLM-02 interior. To achieve this, I combined Tamiya XF-22 + XF-49 1:1.

    I applied a black oil wash, in addition to light brown dry pigment. The light brown pigment is meant to simulate sand/dirt as this Ju 87 is replicating the African theatre.

    Before calling it quits, I joined the fuselage together and have it clamped to cure. My next step will be to apply filler if needed.

    Sorry for the poor picture quality, still just using a phone camera.

    9 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Tom Cleaver said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Nice work so far. The Airfix (new) Stukas are very nice kits and make up into excellent models.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Nice work indeed, my friend @greenterrorz!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Your work has resulted in a very nice interior, @greenterrorz
    Well done.

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    Keith said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Thank you. This is my second Airfix kit, and so far really enjoying it.

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    Erik Gjørup said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Nice work on this one. Just a word on the photoetch parts - the matt finish is there because there has been a bit of the metal etched off. It usually looks that way as layers are etched off to make the details. So it is not because the replicated parts are matt, but a part of the production of etched parts.

    Do have fun with the build!

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    Keith said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    @airbum Thanks for the reply! So far I have been using a metal ruler to bend all my the photo etched parts. I wouldn’t mind upgrading to a more dedicated tool before long. I noticed there is a handful of options out there.

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    Keith said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Was able to get the seat belts attached and the cockpit into the fuselage a few days ago.

    I was fortunate enough to upgrade from my phone camera, to a Nikon D810 with a few lenses. I downloaded Photoshop and messed around with it a bit.
    My father is a professional photographer, so I will have a knowledgeable mentor to help grow my photo taking skills.



    Going into the weekend, I plan on getting the wings attached and any gaps filled with putty.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Looking great, my friend @greenterrorz!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Impressive interior, @greenterrorz
    The pictures do already look great.

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    Keith said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    I ended up having a semi-productive weekend on the Stuka.

    This is my third plane build, but the first with such flat exhaust. Which made it pretty challenging to open them up.
    To open the exhaust, I slowly cut small lines in the tip over and over until it I was satisfied.


    The Quickboost resin exhaust would have looked slightly better, but for the price. I decided to do it myself.

    Another hiccup I ran into was with the flap attachment points. Both flaps had numerous attachment struts snapped off in the box, requiring me to re-attach them with Tamiya plastic cement followed by sanding.



    To fill the seem lines, I utilized Tamiya Putty (basic type) for the fuselage and Vallejo Plastic Putty on the wings.
    After sanding the putty away, I touched up panel lines/rivets where needed.


    Before priming, I added a few PE parts to the horizontal/vertical stabilizers.


    Sorry - no picture of the plane after priming.

    Tomorrow once the primer has had time to cure. I will check for imperfections, and try to remedy them before moving onto paint.

    Thanks for looking,
    -Keith

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Fantastic progress, my friend @greenterrorz! Great detailing!