Revell Junkers Ju87G, 1976
MODEL ENTHUSIAST
What... another stuka?
At first sight, yet another kit of Junkers' notorious Ju 87 is needed by the modelling fraternity like a slipped disc, but another look reveals the fact that Revell's new 1/72nd scale "stuka" is something more than another example of unnecessary duplication. There has been no shortage of attempts to produce kits of the Ju 87 to this scale, with varying degrees of success but without complete satisfaction. Happily, the Revell product comes close to being definitive, being, in our opinion, the most accurate yet offered in 1/72nd by quite a margin.
This kit may be assembled either as the extended-wing Ju 87D-5 or its anti-armour derivative, the Ju 87G-1, and with alternative component parts for the two variants, there is a total of 59 in this kit, moulded in a medium green plastic and with neat surface detailing of the fine raised-line variety. The cockpit interior is quite well furnished and an unusual feature* at this scale is the detailed engine with removable top cowling. A 551 -lb (250-kg) bomb is provided for the swing-link crutch under the fuselage of the Ju 87D-5, plus two 110-lb (50-kg) bombs for each of the underwing. racks, while the Ju 87G-1 is provided with the two underwing 37-mm BK 3,7 cannon. The propeller is arranged so that it does not have to be fitted until all assembly and painting is completed — a useful feature. The decal sheet is very good indeed, including the instrument panel and many small markings. The units to which belonged the aircraft for which markings are provided are not specified, although the Ju 87D-5 (T6 + BK) belonged to l.Staffel of Stukageschwader 2 "Immelmann". In the case of the Ju 87G-1, the coding DJ + FT is offered and we would assume this to have been Werk-Nr 1097 of the Versuchsverband fur Par^zerbekampfung, the experimental tank-fighting unit that appeared on the Eastern Front early in 1943, this particular aircraft, which retained the factory call sign letters, having been shot down near Lepeschino. The accompanying instruction sheet is most lucid and includes adequate painting information.
F J HENDERSON
Air Enthusiast 1976-01 vol.10 no.01
Modelling world
James Goulding
The Brighton Toy Fair
For those who always await the annual Toy Fair at Brighton with eager anticipation of surprise announcements of new kits, this year's report will prove to be a disappointment. Usually there are exciting previews of test shots of kits to be released during the coming months, but this time there were few to be seen. 1975 looks like being a year in which most of the manufacturers will be concentrating on production of existing kits or on the re-release of earlier kits in revised form.
Fortunately, there were some new releases to brighten the somewhat gloomy Brighton show.
Revell showed a number of models of current products in a variety of scales, but the new releases mentioned for 1975 are mostly re-hashes of earlier kits or revised versions of more recent releases. The only wholly new model announced was a l/72nd scale Junkers Ju 87G-2 or D-5, a direct competitor for the Matchbox Stuka.
AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED 1975-04
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Matchbox Junkers Ju87D/G, 1975
MODEL ENTHUSIAST
the status quo
Siskin, Stuka and a 'spotter'
Three recent releases from that prolific Les-ney company in its l/72nd scale 'Matchbox' range offer noteworthy variety, ranging from the Armstrong Whitworth Siskin IIIA to the Junkers Ju 87 and the Henschel Hs 126B. Having a penchant for the bestrutted, wire-braced fighting biplanes of the late 'twenties and early 'thirties, with their built-in headwinds, the Siskin IIIA is the pick of the trio in so far as we are concerned. The Siskin was one of the mainstays of the RAF's fighter force during this period which has been sparsely covered by the kit manufacturers, so there is every reason for celebration when a kit wfc as this appears, especially when it is as good as this one.
There are 35 component parts in the kit and one should not be put off by the awful blue and yellow of the mouldings — this kaleidoscopic confrontation would now seem to be a basic tenet of Lesney's sales ploy — as this is soon hidden by painting for this product is a little gem! The rib effect on the wings and tail surfaces is very well done, as is also the very fine surface detailing.on the fuselage — in marked contrast with many 'Matchbox" kits. The struts are finely moulded and the two-row radial engine and the wooden-type propeller are particularly good. Extra detailing on the engine and in the cockpit, coupled with careful rigging and the addition of radio aerials will provide just that extra touch of class. Assembly is quite simple, with we 11-fitting parts, but biplanes always require a little more care than monoplanes so as to ensure correct alignment. The decal sheet is noteworthy in offering two complete sets of squadron markings and serials, these being for No 29(F) and No 32(F) squadrons. We can well imagine that many modellers will be tempted to build two Siskins merely to use both sets of markings and at 3Op per kit in the UK such would not be an expensive exercise. The 'Stuka' kit can be completed as a Ju 87D-3 or as a Ju 87G-1 and consists of no fewer than 69 parts, including alternative rudders and outer wing panels. Dimensionally the model checks out well but there are some outline errors, notably the top line of the engine cowling which has a marked kink whereas it should possess a straight tapering line from the base of the windscreen forward. The wheel spats are too long and the wheels are mounted too far forward by about 3 mm. The topline of the rear canopy should incorporate a slight kink in side elevation, not being straight as in the kit, but this is not too noticeable. There is a fair amount of surface detailing — rather coarse but not seriously so — and the fit of the component parts is generally good. A varied selection of underw ing stores is provided, with bomb racks and bombs for the Ju 87D-3 and 37-mm Flak 18 (BK 3,7) cannon for the Ju 87G-1. The markings on the decal sheet are for a Ju 87D-3 of l./St.G.2 'Immelmann'on the Eastern Front in 1943-44 and a Ju 87G-1 of 10.(Pz)/SG 1. also on the Eastern Front. The errors in this kit do not detract too seriously from its value and it is well worth having at its UK price of 55p.
The third of the trio, the Henschel Hs 126B, is in competition with the Italaerei kit to the same l/72nd scale and, frankly, we prefer the Italian offering as it possesses more detail and a certain finesse in the mouldings which is lacking in the 'Matchbox' release. Nevertheless, Lesney's kit is a good one and. carrying a very much lower retail price, will have an undoubted appeal. The surface detailing is rather sparse and what there is tends to be coarse, although not so bad as that of some earlier 'Matchbox' kits.
From the point of view of accuracy, there is little to choose between the Italian and British kits, both being good, but the relative detail is indicated by the number of component parts —-66 for the former and 41 for the latter. Les-ney has placed emphasis on ease of assembly, and the parasol wing with all its attendant strutting and the fixed undercarriage are very sturdy. The decal sheet provides markings for a machine operated by Aufklarungsstaffel 4.(H)/21 operating on the Eastern Front during 1942, with, as an alternative, an aircraft of Aufklarungsstaffel 2.(H)/14 in North African desert camouflage. At 30p in the UK, this kit offers very good value.
F J HENDERSON
Air Enthusiast 1975-12 vol.09 no.06
Пара несчастливцев
Ввиду той меры воображения и оригинальности, которую Lesney привнесла в свою серию наборов "Matchbox", несколько удивительно, что два из последних выпусков Orange Range, цена которых в Великобритании составляет 55 пенсов, не предлагают ни того, ни другого, оба представляют типы, которые уже как минимум дважды выпускались в 1/72-м масштабе. Оба представляют " неудачников" Второй мировой войны, один изображает Fairey Swordfish, который, к сожалению, оказался полностью устаревшим, когда его призвали на войну, а другой изображает Messerschmitt Me 410, который, к сожалению, так и не смог полностью преодолеть недостатки, которые были присущи его едва различимому предшественнику Me 210. Как мы уже говорили, существуют и другие наборы этих типов в масштабе 1/72: Airfix и Frog занимались Swordfish, а Frog и Lindberg предложили Me 410, и хотя, казалось бы, жаль идти по "проторенному пластику", по крайней мере, в случае с Messerschmitt мы имеем значительно лучший набор, чем любой из его предшественников.
Что касается Swordfish, то Frog предлагает относительно недавний и хороший набор, и можно было бы подумать, что Lesney могла бы направить свои немалые таланты на создание Albacore, но в своей мудрости компания, очевидно, решила, что нам нужен еще один Swordfish, так что...! Это хороший набор, который может быть выполнен как Mk I, так и Mk III, причем для установки под крыльями последнего предусмотрены ракетные направляющие с отдельными ракетами, а также радар, установленный под передней частью фюзеляжа.
Кстати, сборка крыльев требует некоторой осторожности, и мы бы рекомендовали провести "пробный запуск" перед окончательной сборкой. Тщательная и правильная установка крыльев абсолютно необходима, если нужно имитировать особый характер старой "Stringbag", и в этом, конечно, помогают сдвоенные межплоскостные стойки и стойки центроплана, которые встроены в верхние панели фюзеляжа. В наборе 68 деталей из белого, голубого и темно-синего пластика, плюс прозрачное ветровое стекло, а лист декалей предлагает маркировку торпедоносца Mk I из 824 эскадрильи ВВС флота, вылетевшего с HMS Illustrious для атаки Таранто 11 ноября 1940 года, и Mk III, оснащенного радаром, из 119 эскадрильи Берегового командования RAF в 1945 году.
Набор "Matchbox" Me 410 может быть выполнен как A-2/U4 Zerstorer или как B-1 Schnellbomber и состоит из 55 деталей, выполненных из пластика светлых оттенков синего, серого и коричневого цветов. В целом точные контуры с достаточной, если не сказать обильной деталировкой поверхности, но мало деталей в кабине пилота под очень прозрачным фонарём, они хорошо подходят друг к другу. В набор входит 50-мм пушка BK 5, которой оснащался Me 410A-2/U4. Маркировка, представленная для этой версии, относится к самолету, который эксплуатировался 5. Staffel из Zerstorergeschwader 26 "Horst Wessell", а маркировка для Me 410B-1 относится к самолету 1. Staffel из Kampfgeschwader 51 "Edelweiss", который эксплуатировал этот тип из Бове, Франция, в феврале 1944 года.
F J HENDERSON
Air Enthusiast 1975-12 vol.09 no.06
KIT COMMENT
BRHIGTON BLUES
FEW NEW MODELS ON SHOW AT TOY FAIR
THIS year's Brighton Toy Fair, unlike any previous one we can remember, was significant in that the major manufacturers had few new kits to show. Probably caused by the national reticence of manufacturing industries to invest money during these inflationary times, the trade seem to have cut back on all new projects, prefering an optimistic caution to announcing hard and fast programmes.
LESNEY RANGE
The Lesney stand had many made-up models on display out of which we could see four that were not yet on the market, though three of these have been announced in last year's catalogue. The new one was a JunkersJu.87D but it was difficult to see the quality of this model as it had been painted in what we took to be a representation of Russian Front winter camouflage which obliterated all chance of seeing much detail.
Out of all the manufacturers displaying their wares we thought that Revell had the least to show. The only really new model we could see was a 1:72nd scale Junkers Ju 87G but this was only represented by the box art so the actual model could not be viewed.
Aviation News Vol 3 Num 19 21 February - 6 March 1975
KIT COMMENT
NEW MODELS FROM MATCHBOX
Siskin, Ju.87 and Hs.126
MATCHBOX have released three new models in the last few weeks. They are the long awaited Armstrong Whitworth Siskin, pre-war RAF fighter, a Junkers Ju 87D and a Henschel Hs. 126. With the exception of the Siskin both other models have been produced by other manufacturers but in the case of the Frog Ju 87D this is now difficult to get .
CANNON ARMED STUKA
The Junkers Ju 87 has always been a popular model to produce and at well-spaced intervals most of the leading manufacturers have produced one or other of the variants.
Matchbox have now added their contribution with a well produced 'double' featuring the Gl and D3 variants. The former is the 40 mm cannon armed aircraft and the latter the bomb carrying variant that saw service mainly on the Russian front. We found little to critisise in this model. The dimensions seem accurate and the panel detail is good. The cockpit like all Matchbox kits is sparsely furnished but this gives the enthusiast the opportunity to add his ingenuity to bettering the model.
Points to watch are the way in which the tailplane fits and the careful attachment of the full-span flaps. A certain amout of filling is needed around the wing roots and the joints between the outer and inner wings. Perhaps it was necessary through moulding limitations to make the outer wings separate from the remainder but we would have thought this rather uneccesary as it involves getting the dihedral correct and the consequent gap also needs attention. The joint between the two is in fact rather a thin one and we found that it broke off very easily when rubbing down the body putty. Other minor points that we found when checking the accuracy against published information were the single, rather than standard twin machine gun mounting, in the rear cockpit, landing lights from the leading wing edge missing and an absence of wing mounted machine guns. The engine exhausts too, arc slightly inaccurate in shape and the pitot tube is absent from the starboard wing. These are very small points all of which can be quickly obtained by a little surgery or addition. It is also interesting that many of the Ju 87s in use, particularly on the Russian front had the lower part of the wheel spats removed to ease taxiing over muddy ground. This is not an easy modification to make but can be accomplished by those with a little experience and a good selection of bits and pieces in the spares box. An illustration in Aircam S6 'Luftwaffe colour schemes and markings' shows aircraft 'E' of the 10(Pz)SGl, the aircraft featured in the kit decals, without the spats on and this could be used as a good reference source.
It is a fair bet that Matchbox artists used this book when preparing the kit decals as the aircraft illustrated, next to the one mentioned, is the other machine for which decals are provided. This is a Ju 87D-3 of l/StG2 'Immelmann' in winter camouflage when on the Russian front. It is worth having a good look at these colour drawings as the paint work extends over the national markings and not as shown in the illustrations on the box art.
The Matchbox Stuka is certainly one of the best on the market and capable, with a few additions and modifications here and there to be a first rate production.
Aviation News Vol 4 Num 6 22 August - 4 September 1975
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