Hi everybody!
This is the Hasegawa Ju87G-2 Stuka in the markings of the famous German ace Hans
Ulrich Rudel on the Eastern Front in autumn 1944. This is a commission
build for my friend Luca who wanted the 1/32 scale model of "a relevant
airplane in Luftwaffe's history". The deal was quickly done: the "commissioner" would have provided the
kit and I would have taken care of the rest. The price? A heartfelt "Thank
you, pal!" and a couple of beers at the local bar.
I was ready to tackle the obvious '109 or '190 but when one evening Luca showed
up with this big box containing a tankbuster Stuka, I was caught somewhat
off-balance.
Though, thinking about it, the Stuka do is one of the most famous planes in
aviation history and this particular Stuka was also the personal mount of one of
the Luftwaffe's top aces!
So, now that I had the suitable subject, it was up to me to earn myself those
two beers...
The kit is well
engineered, the surface detail and the cockpit are very good. The only part that
is not correct is the propeller: the blades have the wrong shape for a D or G
Stuka and should be replaced with aftermarket parts.
Construction proceeded without any big drama. An area that needed attention were
the wingtips that had to be carefully sanded down to conform to the wing's
profile. Another tricky part, at least for me, was the canopy. As many of the frames in
the real plane were internal (and I suck painting canopy frames from the inside)
I had to resort to the kit decals which are very fiddly and tedious to apply.
Although I trimmed down the decal film in each and every one, still the result
is not completely satisfying. You're going to hate that canopy! (at least I did).
I built the model without any aftermarket parts, adding only scratchbuilt
details to the cockpit and the guns.
I added some wiring in the cockpit along with seatbelts and ammo belts made from
lead sheet. I used thin copper sheet for the add-on armor plates, because the
kit ones are way too thick and would be good only on a Panzer IV!
The gun pods are already nicely done but they deserve some extra work to really
bring them to life.
I carefully hollowed out the muzzles with a Dremel tool and drilled the tiny
holes on the flash suppressors. Also, I added the missing plumbing that
complete the cannon mechanism.
For all this scratchbuilding I used pictures found on the Net as reference, but
especially some great articles by other fellow modelers found here on ARC and on
other sites like Largescaleplanes.com and
Hyperscale.com.
In particular, Alan Troi's article on Lsp.com has been of great help and
inspiration, check it out!
Click on
images below to see larger images
Time to paint this fat @ss bird.
First, I pre-shaded the panel lines with black on the upper surfaces and
red-brown on the lower ones, then I used Gunze acryls (RLM 65 and 71) and
Humbrol enamels (Hu 91 for RLM 70) for the camo. A lighter shade of the base colors was sprayed in the center of the panels
and this, together with the pre-shading, created a quite convincing
result. The kit painting instructions call for a RLM 70 prop spinner with white
spiral, though I followed Brett Green's route as he explains in his
article on Hyperscale.com: some sources suggest a RLM 25 (Bright Green)
spinner and I painted it this way to add a little splash of color to this
rather dull scheme. The spinner was then masked off and the white spiral
was sprayed on.
All of the national markings and tactical symbols have been masked off and
painted (only the swastikas are kit decals). A coat of clear was sprayed before applying the various stencils, then
another clear coat followed to seal everything up.
A thin wash of black and dark brown oils was applied along panel lines and
with that same mix I simulated leaks of oil and coolant in the engine area
and on the plane's belly. A satin coat followed to prepare the model for the rest of the weathering,
obtained by spraying a very thinned down mix of Humbrol Matt Cote and
black and raw umber oils along panel lines with the help of Post-it notes.
Exhaust stains look very conspicuous in some Stukas wartime pictures. I
painted them with a dark brown/black outline near the exhaust stacks and
with a grey/light brown-ish mix streaked back along the fuselage well
beyond the wings' trailing edge.
Finally, I simulated caked mud around the landing gear covers applying
small lumps of putty diluted with acetone and texturizing them with an old
short-bristled brush and then painting the area with different shades of
browns.
It's the first time I build a model
for someone else and although I had to part with the "fruit of my
work", I must say I really enjoyed my friend's genuine appreciation.
But in the end, did I get those two beers? Yes, I did.
Though, Luca has broken our deal as well. Infact, he showed up with a big
surprise package! If you'd like to know what it was, please google up "The high
battleground"... 8-)
Thanks again, Luca!
Best,
Lorenzo Cassinadri
Click on
images below to see larger images
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