Several excellent detailed histories have been written for the aircraft and can be found in the preview and review sections of this website. 

For kit details, please refer to my kit preview at this website.

As the build proceeded, I re-sequenced many of the steps to make handling of the model easier.  The model gets tricky to pick up and hold as the multitude of easily breakable parts are added.         

The cockpit parts fit with no problems.  Note: The instrument panel is not readily visible in the cockpit once the build is complete, but most everything else is.  The kit is designed such that the rudder can move.  The rudder required a bit of sanding to get a good fit.  I opted to glue it in place.

I installed the engine later in the build since the mounts were flexible enough to allow it.  This made for easier handling during construction and painting.  The fire wall required some material to be ground away to make adequate clearance for the radiator pipe when the engine was installed.    There are two sets of exhaust stacks for either the side cowling installed or for the side cowling off.   

The crew harnesses were installed at the end of the build.  This is a photo etched, pre-painted set from Eduard, #23003.  Two small notches were put in the seat back using a hot exacto knife blade.  The shoulder harnesses were mounted into these notches using cyanoacrylate. 

 The wings had very pointy rivets on the surfaces.  I removed them using a sharp razor blade and light sanding.  I don’t think decals would have been workable without removing the rivets.  The downward angled inboard sections of the wings were glued to the fuselage and allowed to dry.  The instructions call for an 8 degree dihedral on the outboard section of the wing.  I cut a paper template to attain the proper angle when the outboard sections were glued in place. At this point I glued the flap mounts to the bottom of the wings, using the flaps to align the mounts.  The flaps themselves were installed much later in the build after painting.

 The wheel spats can be trimmed down to simulate a ‘weight on the landing gear’ configuration.  The plastic is thinned where it needs to be trimmed off.  I did this prior to joining the spat halves together. I taped both landing gear assemblies into position prior to gluing and measured the height of the wing tips to ensure they were even.  Just light sanding of one of the spats was needed to get the height even.  I painted them before installation on the model.

 The canopy comes in four pieces.  The inside framing is raised so I was able to mask and spray them from the inside.  I used the interior gray color for these frames.  The outside frames are slightly raised and easily masked.  Installation was trouble free with just a bit of sanding to obtain a good fit.

The holes on the fire wall that the bomb trapeze mounts to had to be opened up to enable the proper alignment of the trapeze with the bomb. The backs of the propeller blades had considerable sink holes and required puttying. The top cowling needed material to be ground away in several areas for it to fit properly. I fabricated the aerial from stretched sprue and used a couple dabs of grey paint pigment from the bottom of the jar for the isolators.

The camouflage pattern is that of a field applied sand color (RLM 79) painted over the original 2 tone green splinter (RLM 70 & 71) pattern found on aircraft that were removed from European operations and sent to North Africa.

I painted the white fuselage stripe and wingtips first, then the blue undersides.  Rather than attempting to paint tan over green on the model, I painted the upper surfaces tan first then applied RLM 70 / 71 green in a random pattern over the tan. Model Master plastic enamels were used.  Black and brown water colors were applied in the panel lines.  Lacquer gloss and dull coats were sprayed prior to and after the application of the decals respectively.

A ‘cross section’ of the cross was painted on the dive brakes as no decal was provided for this.  I temporarily set the dive brakes in their proper location over the already completed cross on the wings.  Placing a mark on the dive brake where the pattern should start, I then used a photocopied decal as a guide for masking. When the dive brakes were permanently installed, they lined up reasonably well.

 Kit decals were used along with xtradecal X02-32 swastikas.  The crosses on the undersides of the wings are very large so I opted to paint the inside black section.  I then cut out the corner sections of the cross from the decal sheet and applied them around the painted center section. Two applications of solvaset were used when needed to set the decals down into the panel lines. 

 This kit is best suited for an experienced modeler.  It was a lot of work.  If you have the time to build it and the room to display it, I recommend it.

Stuka: (Barker)

Luftwaffe 1935-45 Part 2, camouflage and markings: (Jaroslaw Wrobel)

Mike Kleber