Special Hobby Junkers Ju 88 C-4 - first look in box review

just arrived! ICM re-boxing with a nice packet of detail resin parts, including wheels, tailwheel and exhaust flame dampers. Also provided by Special Hobby is a new plastic sprue featuring a new solid  nose, Bola and MGs. Also new clear parts..impressed! Decals by Cartograf feature 3 different marking options including those of 16-victory ace Ofw. Hermann Sommer of 2./NJG 2. A quick look in the box..

Zvezda Junkers Ju 88 G-6 in 72nd scale (4)

Two completions inside a week. Well its been a few months since I was last able to get to a club meeting and since I knew I was going to be able to go to July's I was very keen to take along something new. This is my Zvezda Junkers Ju 88 G-6 night fighter in 72nd scale with the addition of resin Jumo engines, exhausts and spinners from AIMS. The engines feature finer detail and perfectly engraved supercharger intakes. I have built this model as a representation of Eduard Lindinger's machine -see below.

Below; seen here after an undercarriage malfunction on landing at Lueneberg in early 1945 this is 'C9+ET' flown by Ofw. Eduard Lindinger of NJG 5. This 9. Staffel machine is fitted with a 'shortened' 2cm SM installation and single MG 131. Note the cabin roof-mounted Naxos - and the re-located upward-firing SM installation. And I can see now that I've missed the 'old-style' solid fuselage Balkenkreuz. Wasn't expecting that on a late-war G-6!

Lindinger was awarded the Ritterkreuz for 300+ sorties in KG 1 but enjoyed a singular lack of success as a night fighter - he returned no night victories while in III./NJG 5. Lindinger died on 1 September 2004.

..and, below, on the club table for the July meet...

Zvezda Junkers Ju 88 G-6 in 72nd scale (2)

While struggling with the Airfix Blenheims recently, I picked up the Zvezda Junkers Ju 88 G-6 again. I am amazed to think that it is five years since I started this kit and that I haven't touched it in all that time.

It is a great looking kit, for less than half the cost of the Hasegawa model. I have replaced the rather short tail fin with the Quickboost resin replacement and fitted the AIMS resin Jumo engines as the Jumo charger intakes supplied in the kit are very poor - perhaps copied from the equally poor Hasegawa intakes.

Engines on and the new tail has also been fitted. The undercarriage - as on most Ju 88 kits - was far too 'stalk-like' and has been cut down a little and repinned. Still a little unsure of which machine I actually want to model, but my choice will no doubt be inspired by the latest AIMs decal sheet - Ju 88 Fighters which arrived here last week.

1:72 scale Revell Junkers Ju 88 A-4 (new tool 04672)

Second finish of the year/month/week - although this one wasn't started this year, or even last year come to that! The 'new tool' Revell Ju 88 in 1:72nd scale finally finished - here as a machine of KG 76 in Wintertarnung from the AIMS Ju 88 Bomber decal sheet. Reference photo is on page 37 of the AirDoc Junkers Ju 88 A/D monograph. This kit was released around November/December 2011 and I started building it straight away. It stalled about a year ago, some time around the painting stage, but having finished the Wellington, I've spent a few days getting this one off the 'shelf of shame'. The rather rough winter scheme was achieved more by accident than design after I tried out the hairspray technique and ended up peeling off most of the upper white layer off in one go, making a re-spray necessary. That looked terrible but in the end I've grown to like it. According to AirDoc this machine has had an engine change but in the photo the sunshine is so bright that not a lot of detail is visible. I encountered similar difficulties when trying to photograph this one - too much light and everything is bleached out...you can click on the images to see a larger view..

The kit itself is extremely detailed but overly complicated IMHO - the cockpit and forward fuselage alone has around 50 parts, but little can be seen. Each piece of ordnance comprises seven separate pieces. The canopy glazing was masked with Tamiya tape in a marathon session. I've added some brake lines from wire and an aerial wire from hypo-glue for the photos. I think perhaps the model looks a 'stalky' on its undercarriage. Those parts of the kit decal sheet I used worked very well.. for Revell.

In-box review from December 2011 and lots of Junkers Ju 88 reference here
http://falkeeinsmodel.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/new-tool-revell-junkers-ju-88-4-04672.html

The AIMS decal sheet used in this build is reviewed here
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/new-junkers-ju-88-decals-from-aims-john.html