1/32 Hasegawa Ju 87 D

[Will Vale]

Hi all,

I just started this last week or the week before, and joined up this week. I haven't done much yet so it should be safely under the 25% mark. My first big plane, I really hope I finish it and don't panic at the scary painting bit. Please excuse all the pics, this is a bit of a catch-up with where things are. If you should want to see all the glue stains and scratches and mess you can click on the pictures to see the large originals on Flickr

It's the Hasegawa kit, I think I was probably drawn in by the box art but it's a plane I've always rather liked, and it was on sale recently so...

The box is pretty full of sprues, but the sprues aren't excessively full of tiny parts, so it looks approachable. I did cut the major airframe bits away from the sprues and tape them together, establishing that yes, it's quite big:

I looked at a very nice build (by an armour modeller) on another site and was inspired to use the Eduard etches as well. I wanted the masks, interior and seatbelts, at which point the Big Ed set works out cheaper and you get the exterior etches included as well. It'll be my first etch on a plane although I've done a bit on a tank and a ship before.

I also have a metal pitot tube and some hollow resin exhausts to add which I forgot to photograph. For reference I'm using the Aero Detail book, which is great. Take that with a pinch of salt though - I'm not going to be re-shaping the airframe or doing anything complicated - it looks Stuka-ey enough to me. It is good for details though, and filling in places where the Eduard instructions are a bit vague.

So that's what there is, and this is what I've done so far - scrape file various bits of moulded detail off the cockpit sidewalls and floor, and fold up brass etch and stick it on.

The folding has generally gone better than expected - some bits were fiddly but I bought a pair of duck-bill pliers and some Tamiya etch scissors which make things approachable. I think the Eduard fold lines are very good - even when there's only space to partially fold the part in the pliers, it's not been too hard to complete the fold with my fingers and have it stay straight. The Tamiya gel superglue is also really helpful since it generally stays where it's put. Doing the bomb sight window/tunnel was the hardest bit so far.

I've generally built the boxes up around styrene strip to provide a gluing surface and a bit of stability at the corners. To date the only bit that has been eaten by the carpet is the tiny carrying strap for the battery, I'm sure that will change though!

I also did a little of scratch detailing by adding some wire runs and an oxygen hose since they are prominent in the real thing. The wires are a massive oversimplification but they go in vaguely the right directions and hopefully help make the cockpit look busier.

Eduard supply a very thin etched pilot's seat, but I thought it was too square and decided to scrape down the kit seat instead to take the rolled edges from something like 1mm to a bit under 0.5mm. I'm currently trying to decide if it's worth using the etched legs - they would be very fragile and I think they may be entirely invisible when the cockpit comes together. The last thing I've done is make a new seat cushion out of putty and prime the cockpit, I'm waiting for my local shop to re-stock TS-4 paint and then I can paint it and start applying the printed etch parts.

Thanks for following thus far - a bit of an epic post but it was catching up on previous doings. I'm sure progress will slow right down now...

Will

Edited May 27, 2012 by Will Vale

[jacksdad]

Great start Will.

I'll be keeping an eye on this build as I have the Gustav in the stash.

Steve

[Will Vale]

I'll be keeping an eye on this build as I have the Gustav in the stash.

Thanks, I may end up demonstrating "what not to do" though - we'll see

I must confess this was almost a build of the G but it sold out while I was making my mind up... I assume that there was some inventory clearance going on given that Trumpeter are supposed to be releasing a new 1/32 Stuka very soon?

Will

[jacksdad]

I assume that there was some inventory clearance going on given that Trumpeter are supposed to be releasing a new 1/32 Stuka very soon?

I believe Trumpeter are releasing the Bertha.

[Will Vale]

I believe Trumpeter are releasing the Bertha.

You're right of course. But I do wonder if the prospect of shiny new might put people off the old ones, hence the discount? I'm happy either way.

[Radleigh]

Superb!

[Will Vale]

Thanks, that's very kind of you!

Not a very exciting update follows: I've not done anything this week, mainly because I've been waiting for my LMS to get the paint I wanted back in stock. I primed the cockpit parts in black and was intending to use that as a pre-shade for a TS-4 (German Grey) base coat. In the interests of progress I went hunting around in the garage for more paint and decided that I'd try Gunship Grey 2 as it appeared to match various cockpit elements (such as the radios) in the Aero Detail book. I sprayed diagonally from the top of the cockpit and then again straight onto the side walls to try and keep some black in the recesses.

Unfortunately the cold weather (I assume) has meant the finish over the pre-shade is a bit splattery and dithered-looking. Luckily the solid areas are pretty smooth, and the dark bits are either in recesses or hidden below protruding instruments and the like. It's also a bit lighter than I thought it'd be, but hopefully that'll provide a basis for washes and so on.

Dark washes and detail painting are probably the next steps, then adding the coloured etch and more washes and weathering.

[edit] Having looked at this a bit more I think it's maybe much too light? I've applied a dark pin wash and started scrubbing some black pigment into the floor - it looks nice and grubby but it does seem v. light even with the sidewalls on. Mind you, the Eduard etch which should match is both lighter and bluer than my too-light-too-blue grey... I dunno. Will see what it looks like in the a.m.

Will

Edited March 4, 2012 by Will Vale

[Will Vale]

After the washes dried (mostly!) last night I couldn't resist adding some of the coloured etch. There is definitely a colour mismatch but I think I can live with it. I'll probably apply a wash/filter over the etched parts to try and tie things together since they look very clean at the moment.

As I suspected, the radios are my favourite bit. Despite having to move them to the right to clear an instrument, then move them back because they hit one on the other side! I also lost one of the tiny needles, but the carpet monster gave it back and it's stuck on firmly now. I did lose a 2x1mm placard though, but I can replace that with paint.

The seats and sidewall are loose here, which is why the seat is resting on the bulkhead - the Miliput cushion makes it top heavy. I feel vindicated in my decision not to add the etched seat frame for the pilot because it would be ultra-flimsy and 100% invisible once the cockpit is closed up. Less pleased with the assembly and clean up of the gunner's seat, you can see where the glue has squeezed a bit where the base joins the sides (weld seams??) and there are some mould lines visible in the mesh bit.

I could do with help on a couple of issues: How safe is it to paint over Eduard's printing with enamels or acrylics, and what colour should the oxygen hose be? I added it from a line drawing in the Aero Detail book but it isn't there in the photos.

Thanks!

Will

[Will Vale]

And yet more cockpit stuff (sorry!) I tried to get some other things in shot this time and use a more realistic exposure to show what the dark (or is it?) grey looks like:

Most of the sidewall etch is on now apart from levers and the free-standing dials by the radio which I'll leave until as late as possible. I found some suggestions that oxygen hoses were often blue, so there it is. It's a bit bright though! Probably needs toning down?

It turns out GW Adeptus Battlegrey is a very close match to the Tamiya Gunship Grey 2 - just a tiny bit darker. I've been carefully painting this over the bare edges and plain grey areas on the pre-painted etch and I think it looks like it belongs a bit more now. The panel with the breakers has had this treatment and another layer of wash, the others have just been painted. I also had a go with a Taklon brush I bought last year but hadn't used much yet. For this kind of detail work with acrylics it does a nice job - the bristles are slightly more self-supporting than something like sable so it's easier to keep the paint where you want it without going down to a tiny size. My hands were a bit shaky tonight but I don't think that's *too* obvious in the result.

I'm quite pleased with how the seat cushion is going - it reminds me of a leather chair we had when I was a kid. I think once this wash has dried really hard I'll add some subtle highlights and start working on the belts.

Comments and suggestions most welcome - is there anything I haven't added that really should be in there? Apart from the instrument panel obviously

Will

Edited March 5, 2012 by Will Vale

[Muller]

Looking good

[Metallicus]

WoW your cockpit looks SUPERB!!! Great work so far, I will be watching this!!

Cheers

Brenden

[tony7]

very nice

[AndyC]

Very impressive indeed! Good stuff

Andy

[Will Vale]

Thanks all, my ears are burning I haven't had much time the last three days, but the next things to do are repaint the oxy hose in a darker blue, and highlight the seat leather. Then paint chips, I think. Hopefully I can get it closed up this week.

[cheeley]

Lovely job Will, that cockpit looks brilliant. Onwards and upwards!

Chris

[Will Vale]

Thanks again for the kind comments, it's been fun so far. I hope I manage to make the transition from fiddly cockpit to scary smooth airframe soon.

Today's progress was finishing the painting on the pilot's seat, and assembling the seatbelts. They're from the Big Ed set and were mind-blowing-ly fiddly to put together. I lost two buckles in the carpet but had to find them again because there are no spares on the fret. Take that carpet monster!

Like much of this build, I haven't done this before, I feel like it's a milestone of sorts

I highlighted the seat and then glazed it a couple of times to take the edge off the highlights and restore the sheen, I think it still looks a bit like a Penguin biscuit though. When that was mostly dry I attached the very ends of the belts with CA gel, and weathered them with a mix of GW Devlan Mud and Knarlock Green to try and get a canvas colour. That gave the glue time to set properly. Then I bent them to follow the seat and tacked them in place with more CA. Finally a few shadows with Badab Black under the buckles, which you probably can't see in this picture since it's got a strong directional light in it. Ah well.

I think I need a lie down and a stiff drink! Possibly both...

Will

[mick]

that seat looks excellent

[Metallicus]

that seat looks excellent

+1 on the above comment. That seat looks superb!!

[Will Vale]

Thanks guys! It's been a bit of a slow week owing to a lot of work (and also Mass Effect 3!) but I have managed to make the instrument panel and fit some of the levers to the sidewalls. I'll try and finish the cockpit at the weekend and post some pics then.

Will

[Will Vale]

I managed to do bit more on the cockpit at the weekend, mainly weathering and final assembly. I got distracted by some light relief in the form of a Bandai submersible. That actually helped since it put in me a modelling frame of mind and I came back and weathered the cockpit parts last night.

So here's where things are at the moment:

I haven't made the sight or the gunner's MGs yet, I thought they would be fragile so I was going to add them much later on.

The instrument panel is from the etch, with glass from a layer of OHP film (this looks way better than the Klear I used on the side panel dials). It was tricky to get it to stick using CA but it seems to be OK now that it's together. I used Peco track pins for the knobs in the lower corners after losing some Eduard parts. They're still flat, but they show a better curvature than the Eduard ones, so I'm pretty happy with that. Once it was dry I repainted all the glossy blue-grey areas with the more neutral colour I picked as the RLM-66.

I also added the glazing for the bomb sight and ammo box windows.

The floor is weathered with acrylic paint stippled on, plus some final MIG dark wash for shading. This ran into the paint a bit but I don't mind because the exaggerated definition helps when the thing is closed up. As you can see, a lot of detail gets hidden:

So just about done with this bit. I see other people are onto their second build by now! I think I'm just a plodder...

Will

[Metallicus]

Looking superb!!

[Mottlemaster]

Pleased i'v seen your build .Your time has been well spent.

Alistair

[Iain Ogilvie]

Really is looking nice...

Iain

[Will Vale]

Thanks folks! I had a bit of a break with this submersible which was quite good at getting me motivated again. Especially since I've now got to do some really fiddly scratchbuilding on the sub. Today I assembled the gunsight (two parts!) tried three times to fit the tiny Eduard reticle pointer thing, and decided not to bother I did finish the rudder pedals and join them to the panel, sight, and cockpit fairing.

That done I thought I should get the fuselage closed up. I attempted to glue the cockpit sidewalls in place with CA but the end result felt really creaky and I didn't like it, so I pulled them apart again, scraped the paint off all the mating surfaces, and did a proper job with solvent. Now it's nice and solid and fits nicely into the fuselage.

Getting the pedals and cockpit into place was a bit of a juggling act - there's not enough room to add it from above afterwards. I opted to glue the cockpit to one side of the fuselage first, then slot the fairing/panel/pedal assembly into place (loose, with tape) and glue the cockpit floor to the other fuselage half. I then welded the top edge of the cockpit walls to the fuselage parts and worked along the seams with Tamiya extra thin cement and clothes pins. The tail took a couple of goes to get lined up but I think it'll be OK.

Finally I glued the coaming into place properly. The reason I didn't fix it to one side was that I was worried about centering it. As it is there's a bit of a discrepancy on one side - there is actually a panel line there in reality but it's not that deep so I think a spot of filler will be needed.

I'll take some progress pictures tomorrow when there's a bit of light.

And a question: is there a seam/panel line along the top of the fuselage on the Stuka D? The kit has a noticeable ridge there, whereas other mating surfaces feel smoother. In one of the pictures in the Aero Detail book it looks like there is a seam, in another (and the line drawings) it looks like there isn't. Any advice either way would be appreciated!

Cheers,

Will

[Will Vale]

Here are some pics. The rudder pedals are almost invisible, but I can just about make them out in real life. Just.

Cheers,

Will