1/72 Italeri Junkers 52

Tante Ju

by Tigre del Aire

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Greetings from Colombia, this work is very special because it is the resurrection of an old kit that was originally an Italeri civilian version that became a military version of the Ju-52.  This model I presented to a friend of Cali, Colombia, Andres Ocampo called "Kater," confident in my abilities to restore this model and here are the results!

But first, some history:

The Junkers Ju 52 (nicknamed Tante Ju - "Auntie Ju" - and "Iron Annie") was a transport aircraft and bomber manufactured 1932 – 1945 by Junkers. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with well over a dozen air carriers including Swissair and Lufthansa as an airliner and freight hauler. In a military role, it flew with the Luftwaffe as a troop and cargo transport, with a secondary role as a medium bomber. The Ju 52 continued in postwar service with military and civilian air fleets well into the 1980s.

In its original configuration, designated the Ju 52/1m, the Ju 52 was a single-engined aircraft, powered by either a BMW or Junkers liquid-cooled engine. in 1936, James A. Richardson's Canadian Airways received (Werknummer 4006) CF-ARM , the sixth ever-built Ju 52. The aircraft, re-engined with a Rolls-Royce Buzzard and nicknamed the "Flying Boxcar" in Canada, could lift approximately three tons and had a maximum weight of eight tons. It was used to supply mining and other operations in remote areas with equipment too big and heavy for other aircraft then in use. The Ju 52/1m was able to land on wheels, skis or floats.

However, the single-engine model was underpowered, and after seven prototypes had been completed, all subsequent Ju 52s were built with three engines as the Ju 52/3m (German drei motoren, meaning "three engines"). Originally powered by three Pratt & Whitney Hornet radial engines, later production models mainly received BMW 132 engines, a refinement of the Pratt & Whitney design. Export models were also built with Pratt & Whitney Wasp and Bristol Pegasus engines. The upgrade improved performance and load carrying abilities. As a Lufthansa airliner, the Ju 52 could seat 17, and could fly from Berlin to Rome in eight hours.

The Ju 52 first saw military service in the Spanish Civil War, as both a bomber and transport aircraft. In the former role it participated in the bombing of Guernica. It was again used as a bomber during the bombing of Warsaw during the Invasion of Poland of September 1939. The Luftwaffe then relied on the Ju 52 for transport roles during World War II, including paratroop drops, most notably in the Battle of Crete in May 1941. Lightly armed, and with a top speed of only 165 mph – half that of a contemporary Spitfire – the Ju 52 was very vulnerable to fighter attack and an escort was always necessary when flying in a combat zone. Many Ju 52s were shot down by anti-aircraft guns and fighters while transporting supplies, most notably during the desperate attempt to resupply the trapped German Sixth Army during the final stages of the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943. During the final phase of the North African Campaign 24 of the Junkers were shot down in the infamous "Palm Sunday Massacre" on 18 April 1943, another 35 staggered back to Sicily and crash-landed. The transports' escorts, JG 27 claimed just one enemy fighter.

Various Junkers Ju 52s continued in military and civilian use following World War II. In 1956, the Portuguese Air Force, who was already using the Ju 5s as a transport plane, employed the type as a paratroop drop aircraft for its newly organized elite parachute forces, later known as the Batalhão de Caçadores Páraquedistas. The paratroopers used the Ju 52 in several combat operations in Angola and other Portuguese African colonies before gradually phasing it out of service in the 1960s.

The Swiss Air Force also operated the Ju 52, with three machines remaining in operation until the early 1980s. (source Wikipedia)

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The restoration of the model was wasteful but not complicated, Kater sent me the model disassembled, saving me that complicated step.  I began with assembling the wings and painted some parts of the fuselage. I searched a lot of information about the military version of Ju-52 and I had to put a piece of transparent plastic on the floor of the cabin to hide spaces for the chairs of the civil version.

I took the legs of chairs to make the civilian media seats for military passengers, the benches were done with a piece of card, the rear bulkhead where the door is located in the luggage compartment and the chair of the hostess and I altered other bulkheads to match the military version.

The bulkhead that separates the cockpit was also redone and got him the job of radio operator and navigator.  While the cabin was drying, I proceeded to paint the landing gear and engines to give a "burned" finish showing use, the engine exhausts also received a coat of copper colored paint  to make them more real and the propellers were arranged so they could return to tumble!

When the pews were painted with seat belts for passengers and installed.  I was then to install the rear bulkheads, I closed the fuselage with the interior installed.  Once I closed up the fuselage I realized the roof needed to be removable to show off the interior detail.

On the roof of the military version is a machine gun for air defence, which required cutting a hole in the roof and sourcing machine gun parts from my spare parts bin.  The support and ring so that he could operate the gun were next.  The ring was a bomb in a kit that I had not used and I could make a machine gun so that it would be as realistic as possible. When the fuselage was stuck and I proceeded ready to give the first coat of paint and locate the wings to the fuselage.  It was finally beginning to look like a plane again.

With wings attached to the fuselage, I could focus on the assemble of the engines and complete certain details such as one of the backdoors that will separate and a ramp to load bulky items into the cargo area. Once ready with all that, I could organize the figures to accompany the diorama when the plane was completed and finally give them the first coat of paint!

After painting the yellow marks at the ends of the wings, the model received a clear gloss coat for the decals.  I applied a dull clear coat  to seal the paint and decals, I then installed the windows using transparent acetate and the Junkers was completed and ready to be placed on the base.

Finally, to give a more realistic touch, I prepared a base with green sawdust and carefully placed the figures of mechanics, pilots, soldiers, passengers and 2 horses.  One of the mechanics had a ladder so that he could reach one of the engines and the same material was used to make a ramp for a kettenkrad struggling to climb aboard the ramp, I hope you like this work!

Tigre del Aire

COLOMBIA ES PASION!

Greetings from Colombia, the land of Juan Valdez!

Saludos desde Colombia, la tierra de Juan Valdez!

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Photos and text © by Tigre del Aire