Airfix Ju 87B Stuka 61011-5 Classic Kit Review

[Cheezburger]

I dug up another classic kit recently. It is the first molding Airfix had created of the Ju 87. The kit was in production until 1976 I think. As I was looking online to do some research I found almost no proper images of the kit and its contents. So I thozght before I get some glue and paint on this badboy, I take some pictures for posterity. I hope that's interesting for you guys, either if you are a classic kit fan like me and enjoy having a look or you are not and need some affirmation in your decision to not spend money on this kit. As soon as it is built, more pics will follow. I used Revell's H-149 kit for some comparison shots. Especially the canopy and the wings are substantially smaller than Revell's offering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[John]

Ah, memories!

 

That's the somewhat retooled version, as evidenced by the upgraded crew figures. 

 

This kit started my lifelong interest in Stukas. I remember my dad taking me to Woolworths after going to see The Battle of Britain when it came out, and going home with one of these. I remember the bomb being quite a tight press fit onto the pegs under the fuselage so you could drop it in the dive. I had the Dinky diecast as well but that was a bit bigger, around 1/64 perhaps?

 

It was painted with my dad's stock of gloss Humbrol paint, most likely Brunswick Green over Sea Blue, because as everyone knew in those days Stukas were only one shade of green on top - I can still remember the shock of reading Neil Robinson's article in Scale Models that stated Stukas were splinter-camouflaged!

 

The late, great Brian Philpott had an article on making an accurate Stuka B-1 from the Airfix kit in Airfix Magazine way back in 1976. I think he used the Revell G (or maybe the FROG kit) for the wings which he cut down to size. A long since redundant exercise though.

 

Happy days.

 

John

[Vicarage Vee]

Ah, this was the first kit I ever made, probably when David Cassidy was the Justin Bieber of his day.  I made it again a while back from a blister pack that contained FIVE wing halves (no port upper though!).

 

Smashing stuff.

[Cheezburger]

Interesting to hear! Well, I started the kit already now. Mainly to get some distraction. I was about to put the decals on my 1/32 Ju 87 A today. Not only did the mark setter dissolve the paint a bit. The Trumpy decals I wanted to put on just curled and wrinkled together with no way to disentagle them. I have no idea what to do now.

[Wm Blecky]

4 hours ago, Vicarage Vee said:

Ah, this was the first kit I ever made, probably when David Cassidy was the Justin Bieber of his day.

I think you've just insulted David Cassidy...  

Edited January 22, 2017 by Wm Blecky

[glatisant]

Still have the canopy,one tailplane the machine gun! and the wheels!in my spares box.One of the kits from way,way back.

[Work In Progress]

Well, there's an old soldier. Until just now I'd forgotten that I built one of those, out of a bagged kit with a type 3C header card. Seeing those parts has just brought it ll back. Must have been about 1970 or '71 or so that I did mine.

[Michael51]

Lovely memories, and look at those two crew figures.

 

I wish they were still included in all Airfix kits.

 

A chap simply cannot dive bomb a whippet - or a German shorthaired pointer for that matter - in an aeroplane with no people in it

 

Michael

[RJP]

I'm wondering about those crew members.  The original Airfix pilot blobs weren't that good, especially back in 1957 or so when this kit first saw daylight.  These guys look more like the mid 60s ones and I wonder if the moulds were retreaded as time went by?

 

The rest of the parts seem as I remember them, sixty years (!) on.  I must have had one of the very early bagged ones - 29 cents at the time - because I remember painting it Pactra yellow with black blotches to match the bag header.  

Edited January 23, 2017 by RJP

[RODH2]

Yes, those pilots are a lot healthier than the original original pilots, which pretty much looked like matchsticks with the wood scraped off!! 

 

[tempestfan]

3 hours ago, RJP said:

I'm wondering about those crew members.  The original Airfix pilot blobs weren't that good, especially back in 1957 or so when this kit first saw daylight.  These guys look more like the mid 60s ones and I wonder if the moulds were retreaded as time went by?

 

The rest of the parts seem as I remember them, sixty years (!) on.  I must have had one of the very early bagged ones - 29 cents at the time - because I remember painting it Pactra yellow with black blotches to match the bag header.  

The Mk I pilots/blobs (look into the original baggings of Lysander and Brisfit for real blobs) were replaced in I think just about all kits that featured them originally from some time around ca. 1968 or thereabouts onwards. In many but not necessarily all cases this may have coincided with the Addition of the number Tabs for the parts. This updating seems to have spread over a considerable period. Not sure when it happened for the Stuka, but probably with late Type 3 baggings. The rivets (on those kits that didn't Feature them from the outset, that is everything before the Defiant) were added earlier, however, apparently mostly during the period when sold with Type 2 headers or upon the Change to Type 3. Mark II pilots seem to have survived much longer, e.g. in the Boomerang - I don't think that one was ever replaced.

[Hook]

Nostalgia! I am currently in the middle of converting one to a what-if Sea Stuka with folding wings and underslung torpedo.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[Seahawk]

Ah, old SZ-FS!  Bought mine (in the header and bag packaging and with spindly crewmen) for 1/9 (9p).  The instructions said "for a desert version use 2 shades of brown instead of 2 shades of green", same transfers though.  Life was so much simpler in those days.

[gingerbob]

17 hours ago, Vicarage Vee said:

Ah, this was the first kit I ever made, probably when David Cassidy was the Justin Bieber of his day.

 

Whaddya mean?  We've been watching the DVD set of the Partridge Family, and listening to David Cassidy's albums!  OK, I admit, I never would have thought I'd be doing that in 2016-17...  We managed to escape the Biebs- I think my daughter was just young enough.

 

bob

[Vicarage Vee]

45 minutes ago, gingerbob said:

 

Whaddya mean?  We've been watching the DVD set of the Partridge Family, and listening to David Cassidy's albums!  OK, I admit, I never would have thought I'd be doing that in 2016-17...  We managed to escape the Biebs- I think my daughter was just young enough.

 

bob

Ah, well, merely that he was the biggest 'boy singer star' type that made it impossible for some of my contemporaries to concentrate on anything else.  

I preferred The Brady Bunch to The Partridge Family (confesses massive 1970s taste failure , although it could be said that the whole decade was a bit questionable!).

[Seahawk]

Could this be The Thread That Died Of Shame?

[gingerbob]

Well, it did start with a crappy old Stuka kit, so it didn't have far to go!

[Cheezburger]

Just to make the thing complete, here is the plane.

 

 

 

 

[Wm Blecky]

Great pic! It sure it amazing to see just how far kits have come since then, especially considering the new Airfix Ju 87B kits. 

[glatisant]

What a good looking build!!Brings back memories!

[Martian]

The original was my second ever kit build at the tender age of six way back in 1966!

 

Martian

[old thumper]

Nice job on a lovely old classic kit.

I remembered building one or two of these back in the 1970's and decided to have a go at building another one last summer. When I finished it I found the propeller was missing.