Hello!
You are
probably well familiar with this Nazi twin, so I won't dwell into detailed
history. It suffices to say that it was an evolution of JU-88 and
that it came "too few and too late" to have any real impact on WW2
in Europe.
This is still
the best kit of this airplane in 1:72, even if it dates from 1970s!
It has raised panel detail and simplified cockpit details. Still,
there is plenty to like. It has the correct shape, separate tail control
surfaces, 2 types of engines and nicely molded gun armament. I built
one when I was a teenager and have been wishing to repeat the
experience ever since - now, some 15 years later, armed with my
accumulated knowledge and better equipment. But a funny thing happened;
when I decided to buy one, suddenly there were none to be found!
Italeri stopped making them years ago and if they reissued them from time
to time in limited numbers, I never really bothered - until now.
So I asked a
friend for help and he ordered it for me from Hannants in UK. They only
had limited numbers left and they weren't Italeri kits, but some obscure
Czech kits from Bilek!?! Still I wanted the kit badly enough and
decided to risk my money on it. Fortunately this Bilek proved to be
nothing more than a repackaged Italeri :-) with resin torpedoes.
Click on
images below to see larger images
For
such an old kit, the fit was spot on and I built it without any major
problems. I only replaced some cockpit parts with remains from Italeri
JU-88A. The main challenge was how to make it stand out. I
prefer to
make interesting models, especially if they are big! So I searched
and found this interesting striped pattern on an early reconnaissance D-1
version. It seemed unique enough.
First two
types of Green were used on the upper surfaces as was the custom on Nazi
bombers. Masks were used for sharp edges. Then I mixed my own mix for that
elusive Nazi Light Blue colour and applied it on the undersurfaces. Using the
very same paint I airbrushed the stripes freehand all over the upper
surfaces.
I chose to use
generic markings since the original airplane had 2 much peculiarities for me
to bother with at the moment. Weathering was done with dry pastels.
Raised
surface details were nicely enhanced as I think that rescribing those
older kits isn't always necessary.
And there you
go!
Josip
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