VonkeyVong Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 As a member of N.O.R.C.S. (No Old Rivet Counters Society) I have decided to practice what we preach and have a go at the venerable and obsolete Airfix 1/48 Stuka. I have obtained the most recent boxing of this kit for the bargain price of £5. It has had a bit of a make over in the form of some nicely printed decals and a colour painting guide. Here are some pictures of what you get in the box: Not a bad looking kit, a bit soft in detail, lots of raised rivets, some flash here and there, but the shape looks good, the transparencies are clear and for its age the cockpit is quite detailed. So, I will start cutting plastic this evening and see how I get on . Matt. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logical Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Norcs sounds like just the place for me. As long as the model looks good I don't care if it's super accurate or not. I don't build them for accuracy. Just to enjoy the build and the results I do love the Stuka though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonkeyVong Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 Norcs sounds like just the place for me. As long as the model looks good I don't care if it's super accurate or not. I don't build them for accuracy. Just to enjoy the build and the results I do love the Stuka though. That sounds 'logical' to me. I build models for exactly the same reasons. I enjoy building them, it is my escape from the chaos of every day life, and I enjoy the end result and sharing my work and experience with like minded people. I am not bothered about absolute accuracy and am happy with a result that gives a good representation of the subject. I will make some improvements to my models but I am not in the business of making my relaxing hobby difficult, and tend to go no further than some small scratch built improvements or if it is to much work to improve a bad kit part like wheels that are way too small or have bad sink marks I will then look to the after-market, otherwise its build from the box all the way. Matt. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Built one of these a few years ago and it is actually quite good. Obviously it's not up to the standards of the new Italeri mold but it looks like a Stuka to me. As you say there are the raised rivets to be careful of but it is nothing to be scared of. I look forward to seeing the end result. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Tadhg Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Does the N.O.R.C.S. accept members from outside the UK? Send me an application form! I'm looking forward to this build! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonkeyVong Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 No, N.O.R.C.S. isnt a proper club, just three mates having fun building lots of model kits, and exhibiting at the odd show here and there. I got some work done on the Stuka today, pictures to follow later. Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Built one of these a few years ago and it is actually quite good. Obviously it's not up to the standards of the new Italeri mold but it looks like a Stuka to me. As you say there are the raised rivets to be careful of but it is nothing to be scared of. I look forward to seeing the end result. from what I have seen of the Italeri kit I doubt it's as good accuracy wise. IIRC the Italeri cockpit isin the wrong place and it has a horrible spinner. the Airfix kit was done a few years after they did the 1/24th Stuka, which still is a good kit AFAIK. The kit is a bit clunky, but it was tooled in about 1980. The vertical fin maybe a bit high, it is certainly higher than the Monogram and Hasegawa fins. the real Ju-87 was rivetty old beast anyway. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonkeyVong Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 So, progress to date is that I managed to reshape the gun fairings on the wings to better represent the real thing: As you can see the top one has been reshaped, it is still a bit prominent but is a vast improvement. I also put the cockpit together and painted it. I intend to add the two crew figures to fill it out a bit. I have not compared it to any reference on the real thing as I want this to be a quick build and dont want to start scratch building parts for it. The paint process on the cockpit was: Black shading (to give depth) RLM 02 (leaving some shadows and shading) Pick out the radio boxes and other odds and ends in black Some brown enamel wash (to make it look well lived in) Pale blue dry brushing (to lift the detail out) Some selective aluminium dry brushing in areas of high wear So tonight I hope to paint the instrument panel and close the fuselage, then tidy up the wings and dangley thingies!! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Damn! Now I want one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Nice to see a fellow modeller modelling without the spectre of the 'Grim Riveter' looming large. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Just count those rivets!! The older 1/48 releases from Airfix were my own introduction into the larger scale. Now I'm fumbling with the tiny parts, I think it's time to go up one to 1/32! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winenut Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Post away! Interesting to see the 1 48 Airfix against my 1 72 build. So much more detail in the office and I'm looking forward to seeing where you take it. Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 I honestly don't consider this kit obsolete. It looks more like a Ju-87B than any other kit in 1/48, and the surface detailing is far more appropriate than some of the newer kits. Plus as fas as I can see it is very accurate and has a decent interior. What more would one want, eh? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonkeyVong Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 I honestly don't consider this kit obsolete. It looks more like a Ju-87B than any other kit in 1/48, and the surface detailing is far more appropriate than some of the newer kits. Plus as fas as I can see it is very accurate and has a decent interior. What more would one want, eh? In terms of the amount of detail, the fit of parts and the crude nature of things like the gun blisters, the radiator opening which the back of it looks into the open fuselage, and the thick edges on things like the vent on top of the engine coweling it is eclipsed by the Hasegawa kit. However this kit only cost £5 on offer from Airfix, and I had low expectations to start with, but with some applied modeling skills and a little added detail here and there it will build into a decent replica which I believe will not look out of place next to the 'uber' kits we have now become accustomed to. The most satisfying part for me is that it is a cheep and simple kit that you could have done from start to finish in one week and have a decent result at the end of it (if you dont rush assembly and take time test fitting and trimming a little off here and there). Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonkeyVong Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 As I am enjoying building this kit so much I have changed the title from 'obsolete' to 'classic'. Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonkeyVong Posted December 17, 2014 Author Share Posted December 17, 2014 So, more progress made and its starting to take shape. The main fuselage and wings now have most of the major components assembled. As you can see in the above picture I have used a piece of sprue to spread the nose sides slightly so the upper engine cowling panel fits better. In the above image you can see a strip of plastic card along the rear edge of the cockpit, this is because the fuselage top is short and there is a gap between it and the canopy. There was also a little filler needed to hide the join between the fuselage halves. I have also used my scriber to make the rudder hinge line deeper. Above you can see that it takes quite a lot of filler to produce a good join on the lower fuselage. To achieve a good wing to fuselage join I removed the locating pegs from the wings and lined the joins up myself. I have also scribed panel lines on the radiator gills. Above shows where the radiator front fits inside the nose, this should be more of a rounded 'V' where the bottom of the nose meets the radiator, you can also see that some filler was required. In order to give the radiator front some depth I represented the radiator matrix with stretched sprue laid over the kit's raised lines. Tonight I hope to get the tail planes, ailerons and wheel spats tidied up and ready to go on the model. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Great work Matt. This build is moving along at a fair old pace. Just goes to show what you can do with an "obsolete" kit. Watching with interest. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winenut Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 looking great ...keep it up. great start and you're right......it "looks" like a Stuka! Great lines, gull wings, nice tips.... I said..tips.... Cheers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 In terms of the amount of detail, the fit of parts and the crude nature of things like the gun blisters, the radiator opening which the back of it looks into the open fuselage, and the thick edges on things like the vent on top of the engine coweling it is eclipsed by the Hasegawa kit. However this kit only cost £5 on offer from Airfix, and I had low expectations to start with, but with some applied modeling skills and a little added detail here and there it will build into a decent replica which I believe will not look out of place next to the 'uber' kits we have now become accustomed to. For me all of that's what makes the Airfix kit fundamentally a more attractive thing to build than the Hasegawa one. The detail stuff is easy to fix up on the Airfix kit. But what I can never do is give the Hasegawa kit the surface detailing that the Airfix kit has, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonkeyVong Posted December 20, 2014 Author Share Posted December 20, 2014 For me all of that's what makes the Airfix kit fundamentally a more attractive thing to build than the Hasegawa one. The detail stuff is easy to fix up on the Airfix kit. But what I can never do is give the Hasegawa kit the surface detailing that the Airfix kit has, All those rivets are exactly what is missing from the Hasegawa kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonkeyVong Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 So, I am now home from visiting family over Christmas and have picked up the Stuka again. I have now completed the majotity of the assembly and am almost ready to start painting. Above you will see that I had to lengthen the tail plane struts as they are both to short, I did this with some thick plasticard and then sanded to blend to the original strut. Above you can see the aileron and actuator detail. The detail is nice as all the actuators and balance weights are separate parts. The ailerons did take a lot of cleaning up and careful sanding to get them tidy and in a decent shape, I also scribed lines where there would be a break on real Stuka. You can also see the wing racks, they are very simplistic but I will find some nice bombs to go on them and hide them to a larger extent. I have deliberately not attached the dive brakes as the cross decal sits directly under it, there are also no decal sections to apply to the dive brake so the missing insignia segments will need painting on. The above image shows the wing from the rear with the ailerons attached. Above is a general overview of the model with the canopy, upper engine cowling and propeller placed on but not yet secured. I hope to make some progress over the weekend with finishing the cockpit and crew figures so I can complete the fuselage assembly ready for paint. Matt. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Jolly good, it continues to look splendid. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Nothing wrong with the Airfix Stuka at all. I am not a rivet fan, but I don't count them either! Just one small detail, which I am sure you have noticed. On your photo of the wing underside, the aileron actuators should fit inside the oval recesses. Such a great machine! Keep up the excellent work. JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonkeyVong Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Just one small detail, which I am sure you have noticed. On your photo of the wing underside, the aileron actuators should fit inside the oval recesses. They do. There are three actuator rods which go into the recesses and two balance weights which dont per side. The two which are outside the oval recesses are balance weights and the recesses are clearance for them to go into so they dont limit the travel of the aileron. One thing I am not sure about is the accuracy of the balance weights or the angle they should be installed at so I have guessed based on what would be a sensible deflection angle for the weight to need to go inside the recess. Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azureglo Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Happy new year Matt, I shall be keeping a close eye on these uncounted rivets! Anil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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