Junkers Ju 88A-4 Bomber

[Paul A H]

Junkers Ju 88A-4 Bomber

1:72 Revell

Designed to fulfil a Reich Air Ministry requirement for a fast bomber, the Junkers Ju 88 first flew in December 1936. By the end of the war in Europe in 1945, it had become one of the most versatile aircraft of its generation, fulfilling roles such as diver bomber, torpedo bomber, fighter, night fighter and photo reconnaissance as well as conventional bomber. The Ju 88A-4 was the ultimate development of the Ju 88 in its conventional bomber form. It featured extended wingtips and powerful Junkers Jumo 211J engines. The A-4 was capable of carrying 900kg of bombs in an internal bomb bay or up to 3000kg externally.

Unlike previous Ju 88s that have appeared in Revell boxes over the last few years, this is a completely new tooling and has therefore attracted particular interest within the modelling fraternity. The kit’s 125 parts are spread over fourteen sprues. Thirteen of these are moulded in pale grey plastic with the fourteenth sprue holding the kit’s clear plastic parts. The mouldings look excellent, with fine, engraved panel lines and plenty of crisply rendered detail. Sprue attachment points are reasonably fine and although there are some ejector pin marks in places, these have been kept to a minimum thought the use of removable tabs moulded onto certain parts. Overall this has the look and feel of a bona fide state of the art kit.

The layout of the sprues (many of them are small and hold only a handful of parts) betrays the fact that, just like Hasegawa’s Ju 88, this kit has been designed to allow a number of different version to be squeezed from the basic moulds through the use of additional sprues. Although I don’t have the inside track on which other versions Revell are planning at this point in time, the front fuselage (including cockpit) is a separate sub-assembly, which indicates that night fighter versions could follow. The extended wingtips of the A-4 are also separate parts which, when added to the fact that the sprues that hold the engine cowlings are very small, leaves open the possibility of earlier bomber variants too.

Before I get carried away with speculation about the future, I ought to turn to the kit in hand. As always, construction starts with the cockpit and I’m pleased to report that Revell have laid on a real treat here. No fewer than twenty-three parts make up this sub-assembly and each one is beautifully moulded. The detail on parts such as the consoles, the instrument panel and fuselage side walls is exquisite. The control column and rudder pedals are also beautifully represented, as are the crew seats and the mass of radio equipment at the rear of the cockpit. The Ju 88’s cockpit is extensively glazed so none of this detail will go to waste.

The main body of the fuselage is moulded in three parts (the upper part is moulded as a separate part) so a little care will have to be taken to make sure that everything lines up nicely and there aren’t any unsightly gaps or smudges of glue to spoil things. As mentioned previously, the wingtips are moulded separately to the wings and again care will have to be taken to make sure everything lines up properly. Landing flaps, ailerons and dive brakes are all moulded separately. The engine nacelles are nicely represented, as are the annular radiators that were a feature of aircraft such as the Ju 88. The underwing bomb racks look excellent and a choice of four 500kg and two 1000kg bombs is provided by way of a bomb load. The undercarriage is nicely detail although, as with other recent Revell kits such as the B-17G, the main landing gear wheels are not weighted. The MG 81s that make up the Ju 88A-4’s defensive armament are very nicely depicted. The transparent parts are thin and clear and with careful masking and painting will help to show off all of the lovely interior detail.

Marking options are included for two aircraft:

• Ju 88A-4 of 9./KG 30 “Adler-Geschwader”, Catania, Sicily, June 1941 finished in RLM 70/71 over RLM 65 with yellow engine nacelles and underside wing tips; and

• Ju 88A-4 of 5./Lehrgeschwader 1, Eleusis, Greece, March 1942 finished in the Mediterranean scheme of sand brown with patches of RLM 71.

The decals themselves have been produced to a very high standard. They appear to be perfectly in register, detail is very sharp and they look nice and thin on the sheet.

Conclusion

Although we are already blessed with a number of modern toolings of the Ju 88, this is nonetheless a very welcome kit. Everything has been produced to a very high standard and it should be possible to build a very detailed kit straight from the box. The kit has clearly been designed to allow other variants to be produced from the same basic sprues and this has increased the complexity of the kit, but other than that it looks excellent and can be highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[snowen250]

Nice review, could you please post the scheme info from the instructions if you get a moment? Would be nice to see. Piccies help me understand you see

Simon

[MikeR]

Looks really good, I think Revell have another winner on their hands.

I do hope they do a C and G model as those are the two versions I'd love to have.

Mike.

[AnonymousAA74]

Nice review. Much of this release is a scaled down, albeit simplified, version of the 1:32 kit, which is absolutely fantastic!

I don't usually build this scale, but I'm afraid I WILL be building this one

[Moofles]

This one is on my Christmas list. Looking forward to getting it.

[Tim T]

I picked one of these up at Modelzone today. The quality is unbelievable. I have never seen such fine moulding on a 1/72 kit. The cockpit has incredible detail. I have to say that Revell are leader of the pack at the moment. Particularly given the prices they charge, which are incredibly reasonable to my mind.

[gruffy]

Cos of this review I have bought one! Thanks britmodeller!

[Shalako]

New tooling? And probably with a decent retail price?

I WANT ONE !!!!!!

[gruffy]

Does anyone know anymore about - Ju 88A-4 of 9./KG 30 “Adler-Geschwader”, Catania, Sicily, June 1941 on the box top?

[Test Graham]

The scheme was discussed when the kit appeared, comments hinging around the use of the yellow on a Mediterranean-based aircraft that was too late for the Balkan campaign. I don't recall the details, only that the arguments in favour were convincing. If you want to follow this up it will be worth your while trying to trace the thread(s) from time of its release.

[gruffy]

The scheme was discussed when the kit appeared, comments hinging around the use of the yellow on a Mediterranean-based aircraft that was too late for the Balkan campaign. I don't recall the details, only that the arguments in favour were convincing. If you want to follow this up it will be worth your while trying to trace the thread(s) from time of its release.

Ive had a read of for and against the yellow engine cowlings on a JU88 A4. Everyone contradics themselves! I think i will stick with the box art!