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Zvezda is to release in 2015 a 1/72nd Junkers Ju-87B2 Stuka kit - ref.7306 Source: http://scalemodels.ru/news/8359-katalog-zvezda-2015.html V.P.

Welcome to my second project of this group build. This will be one with a personal connection, more on that shortly. Eighty years ago today marks what was once known as the start of the Battle of Britain. On this date the Luftwaffe's main target was Convoy PEEWIT, which attracted three sizable Stuka raids. The 24 ships had sailed from Southend in the early morning of 7th August 1940 and were first spotted by the Germans off Wissant that afternoon. The convoy was subjected to persistent and determined attacks, first by E-boats early in the morning of 8th August (in which three merchant ships were sunk), and then by Stukas throughout the day (which sank three more merchant ships and one Royal Navy escort). Many more ships were damaged by the time the convoy dispersed west of the Isle of Wight in the evening of 8th August. One of the pilots who participated in these attacks was Helmut Mahlke, Gruppenkommandeur of III./St.G.1. Mahlke was an experienced pilot having flown a number of missions in the Battle of France and early int he Battle of Britain. He flew twice on this day, in the early morning raid in which several ships were sunk as they attempted to join the convoy, and then on the evening raid. By this time however cloud thwarted the Stukas, and the attack was largely unsuccessful. Mahlke also participated in the 16th August attacks on airfields on the south coast, leading the attack on Lee-on-Solent. Finally to the personal connection. In 1941 Mahlke and his unit were posted to the Mediterranean and participated in the attacks on Crete. One of these attacks, on 27 May 1941, was on Heraklion. From what I can gather from my research (as he didn't like discussing the war), my grandfather was part of the British forces fighting around Heraklion at this time and he did talk about being dive-bombed by Stukas. I think although there were other Stuka units operating over Crete at the time, it could well have been Mahlke's unit's attack he was referring to. Unfortunately my Grandfather's unit was surrounded by the Germans after the the units on either side of his unit withdrew without informing his. He was captured and spent the remainder of the war as a POW. Mahlke was later to brilliantly describe his memories in the fascinating book "Memoirs of a Stuka Pilot". I happen to have decals for this aircraft courtesy of some old Italeri markings for an aircraft from Mahlke's Staffel, plus a couple of other letters from the spares box. Here's his aircraft, J9+AH. If you're familiar with Luftwaffe codes you may question the use of the codes "J9" for St.G.1 and the suffix "H" (as I did) - normally St.1G.1 carried the codes "A5". There is a simple explanation. This Gruppe was formed from I.(St.)/186(T), a unit originally formed as a naval dive bombing unit formed to operate from an aircraft carrier. Prior to taking over III. Gruppe, Mahlke was Staffelkapitan of 2.(St.)/186(T), hence the "J9" prefix and the naval emblem. Mahlke apparently flew this aircraft regularly until well into 1941 still with these markings, when it was damaged in an attack on Malta. I'll be back with a progress update and some photos soon! Matt

Per poll. Having trouble finding either in stock ATM. Thanks.

Hello! This is my recent project, a classic WW2 warbird. Nice kit, everything went well. Unfortunately, the clear part, which would allow to build a full open canopy, came damaged beyond repair. It had a L shape hole right on the top. So, I had to make it half open. Anyway, the plastic is very thin and clear so we can see a lot of details inside. Eduard PE were used. Hope you enjoy! Cheers!

Greetings, All - this is my debut, so please be gentle! After many years of messing about I decided to get serious and tackle the stash. First up is the Revell 1/32 Stuka which I understand is actually Hasegawa plastic. I used the Eduard Interior & Exterior PE, the Eduard masks, the HGW fabric seat belts and Quickboost resin (exhausts, propellor blades & machine gun barrels). The interior is a mini-project on its own and I discovered that (in this scale), some thicknesses of guitar strings do a very good job of resembling hoses and cables in terms of texture & bendability (new word). The exterior came together reasonably easily, with Vallejo's plastic putty used from time to time to make good my own clumsiness in jointing. I found the seating of the canopy pieces on the fuselage frames quite problematic, and fitting the rear-facing machine guns through the tiny opening while preserving the minute PE gun sights on the ends of the barrels tested the limits of my patience. I have always appreciated the look of the eastern front Luftwaffe aircraft that received field-applied "whitewash" which subsequently wore off. As a tip: this is a great way to ease into model building and painting as you have multiple opportunities to cover your mistakes! These two reference images describe the look I was going for: Because I was going to cover them up anyway, I used some old Xtracrylix paints for the upper surfaces (RLM70 & RLM71) and for the undersides. I find Xtracrylix quite tough to use as it ends up splotchy within 90-odd seconds of use and the only way forward is to regularly remove the airbrush's (Iwata Neo-CN) nozzle cap and clean up. I thinned the paints with Xtracrylix thinners, without which I find the paints unusable. After some hairspray and because I wanted a very fine misted-on mottled whitewash cost on the upper surfaces, I reached for the more reliable Tamiya acrylic flat white which went went on like a dream. Planning ahead saved the day here, as I had done a trial piece before and figured out that I could only do so much of the hairspray/white/wait/scrubbing at a time. The Revell decals scored a solid 3/10 (thick and clunky carrier film) - I will not use these again in a hurry unless there is no alternative. In hindsight, I would self-criticize the build by finding these opportunities for improvement: 1. I should have flattened the tires. 2. I should have got the aerial cable between the canopy and tail on, but I had already weakened the mast part by bending it so wasn't going to risk it. 3. I got the pitch of one the propellor blades wrong, but tried to hide it by orienting the offending blade downwards and therefore making it hopefully less visible. 4. Golden rule for yellow fuselage bands No. 1: never, never, never use the decal, and always paint it on instead, The bigger the decal, the greater the opportunity for disaster. 5. Golden rule for yellow fuselage bands No. 2: never, never, never try to paint yellow over a dark camouflage colour - it won't work unless you do at least 10-15 coats. Instead, pre-spray a white base under the yellow. Simple rules and I broke both of them, then had to take the long road to recover as best I could. The Revell kit is fantastic value for money with lots of detail and it kept me busy for many months. If I had to do it again, I would leave out the Eduard Exterior PE but still use the rest of the after-market goodies I threw at it.

With a bit more room here, I was thinking about suitable types for a STGB. One aircarft type which crossed my mind was the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. There are great kits out there in all the scales and an upcoming new release from Airfix in 1/48 and I couldn't see it listed in the completed GB listing, so it looks like it was never done before. Also the type flew from the Spanish Civil War up to the end of WWII and was operated in many different colour schemes by all the Axis Air Forces plus captured examples. And with its 3.7 cm canons, it was the closest thing to a flying tank. Any takers to put the name on the list? 1. Basilisk (Host) 2. Arniec 3. Caerbannog 4. jrlx 5. SimonT 6. Knight_Flyer 7. John 8. Black Knight 9. franky boy 10. vppelt68 (co-Host) 11. GREG DESTEC 12. modelling minion 13. Sgt.Squarehead 14. SleeperService 15. Valkyrie 16. Corsairfoxfouruncle 17. jrlx 18. CliffB 19. Mottlemaster 20. MarkSH 21. DaveyGair 22. Stew Dapple 23. Greg Law 24. Niknak 25. Silonez

This is a collection of all the small scale models myself and David (the husband) have built so far. These were all pretty hard to photograph being so small so i hope you don't mind my less than perfect photography skills (plus I should have dusted a couple first!) Lets begin with the Eduard spitfire, made by David. It was painted using alcad and tamiya acrylics. This model goes together like a dream and wing of this aircraft is phenomenally thin! Next up is the Stuka. This is the older eduard boxing with the snake (I presume the one coming out soon is the same kit just with different decals). This was also a great fit, although the photoetch and the flaps on the wings were fiddly and required a little bit of an extra file to make sure that they were staying put. The splotches on the undercarriage legs are done freehand. More to come....

Hi All, For this group build (my first!), I'll be building a Ju87B from the Airfix kit. Still a month left for the GB and from memory this kit should fall together nicely. I have a few goodies to go with it: My plan is to represent a Battle of Britain aircraft, and to narrow down a subject I couldn't resist summarising what the Stukas achieved. The charts below show information compiled from my references. Hopefully this comes out OK for everyone. I'm planning to build one of the aircraft that flew on one of the major Convoy Peewit raids (8th August), but if possible I'll try and find one that is likely to have also participated in other major Battle of Britain raids such as the Tangmere Raid (16th August) or the "Hardest Day" raids (18th August). We'll see what I come up with as I go! Thanks for looking - and I'll be back with progress soon! Matt

I see we have a couple of the wonderful looking Airfix Ju87B already in the GB and I wonder if i can join with the same. I intend to build the boxed Condor Legion option. I started this last week at my local modelling group as it was a build night, so here is starting pic and progress to date. Obligatory and excellent box art! Interestingly 'designed and manufactured in the UK' - surpise and welcome. To prove not started! Cockpit progress on build night - I take my time! Main cockpit parts painted. Matt black primer then RLM02 light spray to hopefully pick out the detail Seems to be a step up in quality from other Airfix kits I've built. Now waiting for aftermarket pilot seat with seatbelts.

Hi there! First GB of the year done (Mustang), time for another This will be my model, once again, like all my 1/48 prop planes, is from my dad's stash. And it will return to my dad's shelf once done. But I get the pleasure to build it and don't have to worry about storing it. Win-win? Pretty artwork I must say! Quite a lot of small sprues! Looks decent, though - Hasegawa kits tend to be pretty good. Will be doing the winter camo version. Looking forwards painting the splinter camo first and do some weathering with the white winter paint, should be fun! I will start building this weekend - but probably need to get couple of RLM paints before I can start painting properly. Thanks for checking this out, feel free to to join the fun & comment & offer constructive feedback!

I'm back into plastic modelling after getting on for 40 years I love the idea of Group Builds and this is my Stuka STGB entry - an Academy 1/72 JU87G-1 "Tank Buster". Whilst thinking about this Group Build I happened across this YouTube documentary Dive Bombers And Combat Aircrafts Of WW2. The Stuka certainly had an interesting history throughout WW2. This Academy model features two decal sets, one of which was flown by Hptm Hans-Ulrich Rudel one of the most highly decorated Luftwaffe airmen. Many thanks Tom

Happy New Year all! Here is my entry to the GB, yet another Airfix Stuka, which is looking like a popular choice so far. I am not overly enamored with the choice of transfers ootb so i will source some AM versions for my build. Will get started shortly, thanks for looking, Cheers! Greg

Junkers Ju 87D-5 Stuka Kit: Hasegawa Junkers Ju 87 D-5 Stuka (09053 / JT53) Scale: 1/48 Paints: Vallejo Model & Air Weathering: Flory Models Wash, MIG weathering products, oil paints Built for the Stuka GB. Good solid kit, had a lot of fun with the weathering and making this thing worn and beaten. Went little bit 'artistic' on this one, truth to be told did not look a lot of reference pictures. Out of the box - only added pitot tube and weapon barrels (injection needles). WIP thread: Comments & constructive criticism welcomed!

This will be my entry build to this group, Italeri's Junkers Ju 87B in Italian service, or "Picchiatello." Here's the box art: Several sprues in light grey plastic, one in clear plastic, and a single photoetch fret. And the decal sheet, nicely printed by Cartograf. It covers four schemes, two Italian, one British captured, and the legendary Snake Stuka B-2/R2. I won't start building this right now because I have an Me 262 on the bench, but this Stuka will be my next project.

This is the special edition of the Hasegawa kit, which includes some white metal parts for the 20mm cannons, flame damping exhausts and the different antenna for the top of the canopy. As usual the Hasegawa kits go together without much fuss with the decals and detail being just fine for this scale. I did add some seat belts to the kit though. The aircraft depicts one of Nachtschlachgruppe 9 in Italy that carried out night harassment raids against the allies. Camo was done free hand.

Evening all, My fourth completion of the year, the lovely little Airfix Ju 87B-1 Stuka. I added some Eduard seat belts and main markings came from an Xtradecal sheet, otherwise it's completely OOB. Finished with what has become the usual Hataka Orange Line Lacquers and W&N matt varnish. 1/72 Airfix Junkers Ju 87B-1 Stuka by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr 1/72 Airfix Junkers Ju 87B-1 Stuka by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr 1/72 Airfix Junkers Ju 87B-1 Stuka by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr 1/72 Airfix Junkers Ju 87B-1 Stuka by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr 1/72 Airfix Junkers Ju 87B-1 Stuka by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Thanks for looking, comments welcomed Shaun

Finished this Stuka yesterday as part of the Ju 87 GB, which ends in April. This plane was also my first entry ever into a group build! It's not a bad kit. The clear parts are the worst parts, they're narrower than the cockpit opening, so they don't sit properly over the opening.

Hobby 2000 is to repop the Fujimi 1/72nd Ju-87 Stuka kits - ref. H2K72019 - Junkers Ju-87D-1 Stuka North Africa http://www.armahobby.com/h2k72019-junkers-ju-87-d-1-north-africa.html https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/H2K72019 - ref. H2K72020 - Junkers Ju-87D-3N/D-7 Stuka http://www.armahobby.com/h2k72020-junkers-ju-87-d-3n-d-7.html https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/H2K72020 - ref. H2K72021 - Junkers Ju-87G-2 Stuka Last Flight http://www.armahobby.com/h2k72021-junkers-ju-87-g-2-last-flight.html https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/H2K72021 - ref. H2K72022 - Junkers Ju-87 G-2 Stuka Winter 1944/45 http://www.armahobby.com/h2k72022-junkers-ju-87-g-2-winter-1944-45.html https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/H2K72022 V.P.

Finished today. The model depicts Hans Ulrich Rudel's Ju 87G 494193.

Ju-87B Stuka exhaust + radiator cowling set for Airfix kit (72053) 1:72 SBS Model The Airfix kit is a good one, however resin replacements can add extra details, this is a drop in set once they have been removed from their blocks. Conclusion This is a good set and should pose no problems. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of Insert other media

Hi guys, So this will be my next build hasegawa's 1/48 JU87-R2 which I believe is a extended range version of the B2 the only difference being two external fuel tanks. If that's not true then please correct me because I'm thinking of just doing a B2. The reason being because the 1994 decals don't look great and there's more options for B2 schemes. If anyone has some desert or winter schemes that are a bit different that they could share images of I would be most grateful so am open to suggestions. The kit looks ok I know there are some issues with the flap mass balancers or arms (one of the two) so am ready for that, and I will be showing it with the Aires resin engine and cockpit set which looks nice, there will no doubt be a bit of scratch and may even open it up a bit more but we'll see. It won't be a quick one I dare say. Thanks for looking. Phil

TopDrawings 77 Junkers Ju.87D, G (9788366148420) Kagero Publishing via Casemate UK The distinctive Gull Wing design of the Stuka, its screaming "Jericho Trumpets" dive siren and its fixed spatted landing gear made the Ju.87 a terrifying sight for the Allies and the civilian population of the countries they invaded. It also saw service in the period in and around the Battle of Britain, where its relatively slow combat speed first became an issue and required escorts on future missions to reduce the horrific attrition rates that unescorted sorties suffered. In the role it was designed for it excelled however, with an efficient almost vertical dive profile and semi-automatic pull-out system that catered for blacked-out pilots. The sirens instilled fear and confusion in their ground targets, a sound that has become a cinematic trope for almost every crashing aircraft on film (deftly parodied by the film Airplane), much to the amusement of anyone that knows about it about the subject. Production of new airframes ceased in 1944 after the main factory was obliterated, but the aircraft soldiered on to the end of WWII with various upgrades and role changes before cancellation allowing it to continue to be used, taking on the role as a tank buster with a 37mm cannon with armour-piercing rounds slung in a gondola under each wing, and known as the Kanonenvogel. In the hands of a skilled pilot they were lethal to armour, attacking from the side or from above where their armour was weakest. We have kits in just about every scale from 1:350 upwards (for the Trumpeter Graf Zeppelin), with most major and some minor manufacturers getting in on the act, as other people's Stukas don't make money for them, and it's a popular subject. The TopDrawings series majors on scale plans, which is the main thrust, but also includes a little background information, some pertinent profiles, and often a bonus of decals or masks targeted at the subject matter in hand. With this edition, you get a handsome A4 glossy print of a diving Stuka releasing his bomb from the swinging H-frame on some poor unfortunates, and a folded A3 sheet of plans printed on both sides with overhead views of D-2 and D-5 airframes. The book is written in English on the left of the page, with Polish on the right, which translates to top and bottom for the captions to the various drawings within. The book itself is bound in a card cover and has 20 pages, and the rear cover devoted to additional profiles of two G-2s and a loose A3 sheet printed on both sides with overhead plans mentioned above. The first half of the plans show the variants from the D-1 to D-5 including the outrageously peculiar glider towing D-1 that can only be described as a Stuka-and-sidecar. It genuinely has to be seen to be believed. After this the colour profiles of two D-1s, a D-3 with four view profiles, and two D-5s that are printed on four pages in colour, augmented by the aforementioned two on the rear cover. After the break there is another set of plans continuing the D-5, D-7, D-8, the odd canopy of the H-1, the G-1 and G-2, with some head/tail-on plans into the bargain. The final three pages show side profiles with the changes between the variants visible, describing the subtle changes, cannon pods and a torpedo fitted under a D-4. Throughout the book, there are numerous smaller diagrams that show the some of the weapons and bombs that the Stuka typically carried, plus prop profiles. Conclusion These books are essential for the modeller that enjoys comparing their models against scale plans, and wants them to be as accurate as possible, with the print a nice bonus that has drama and shows the lethal abilities of the Stuka well. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

my last built, enjoy :

Right now I am making and painting the airfix 1 48 Junkers Ju-87 and wanted to share it. I am very pleased with the detailed engine.

TopDrawings 54 – Junkers Ju.87B (9788365437914) Kagero Publishing via Casemate UK The Junkers Ju.87B Stuka was a weapon of terror that saw extensive use in the early days of WWII, soldiering on to the end despite needing fighter protection due its slow speed. It has been a popular subject with modellers for years, and that shows no sign of changing any time soon. We have kits in all scales for example from Airfix in 1:72, through the Hasegawa kits in 1:48, and a variety in 1:32 and even 1:24 from various sources. The TopDrawings series majors on scale plans, which is the main thrust, but also includes a little background information, some pertinent profiles, and often a bonus of decals or masks targeted at the subject matter in hand. With this edition, you get a set of pre-cut vinyl masks in 1:72 and 1:48, which will be a boon to speed the job of masking that greenhouse canopy. The book is written in English on the left of the page, with Polish on the right, which translates to top and bottom for the captions to the various drawings within. The book itself is bound in a card cover and has 20 pages, but in addition you get a sheet of loose A3 plans of a B-2 printed on one side in 1:48 and on the other, printed in full colour is a 3-view profile of a B-1 by Arkadiusz Wróbel. The first half of the bound plans show the variants up to the B-2 and includes weapons and the engine in 1:48. The four pages of profiles show eight B-1 and B2s, including a tropicalized airframe at the bottom. There are more plans in 1:48 of the aircraft from front and back, as well as the tropicalized B2 seen in the profile section. The final section of the plans shows the evolution of the aircraft through the B series in 1:72, with differences marked out in grey and captions discussing the nature of the changes, which were fairly minor and cosmetic for the most part. Conclusion These books are essential for the modeller that wants to compare their models against scale plans, to obtain as accurate a model as possible, with the masks a useful bonus if you happen to model in those scales. The 1:72 scale folks will have to do some quick calculations to scale down the plans, but it's good to be able to see the airframe at a good size on the page. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of