Jump to content

Junkers Ju-87G-2 Stuka. 1:32


Shar2

Recommended Posts

Junkers Ju-87G-2 Stuka

Trumpeter 1:32

boxart.jpg



History
Even before the Battle of Stalingrad, German concern about the large quantity of Soviet mobile armour on the Eastern Front during 1942 resulted in the formation of an experimental air-to-ground anti-tank unit. Tests showed that arming the Junkers Ju87 Stuka with a 37mm cannon under each wing promised the optimal tank-busting weapon. This Ju87 variant was designated the Junkers Ju87G Kanonenvogel (cannon-bird).

The Ju87G-2 was developed from the long-wing Ju87D-5 Stuka dive bomber. It was a rugged design powered by a single Junkers Jumo 211J-1 twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled engine. The type displayed outstanding qualities as a tool for precision ground attack. However, in the air the Ju87G-2 was both cumbersome and slow. Defensive armament was limited to 7.9 mm Mauser MG 81Z twin-mounted machine guns at the rear of the large glasshouse canopy. A total of 174 G-2s were built before production of all Ju 87 variants ceased in October 1944.

The Ju87G began its career in February 1943 in the battles for the Kuban peninsula in Southern Russia. It was at this time that Oberstleutnant Hans-Ulrich Rudel began tank-busting operations, having recently become the first Luftwaffe pilot to fly 1000 operational missions. Later, in July 1943, Rudel took part in the epic tank battle for the Kursk salient. More than 350 Ju87's participated in these operations, including a handful of production Ju87Gs.

Rudel went on to fly no fewer than 2,530 sorties and notched up a total of 2,000 targets destroyed; including 800 vehicles, 519 tanks, 150 artillery pieces, a destroyer, 2 cruisers, the Soviet battleship Marat, 70 landing craft, 4 armoured trains, several bridges and 9 aircraft. Given the shortcomings of the Ju87G in terms of its speed, agility and defensive capability this speaks volumes for the piloting skills of Rudel himself and the marksmanship of his rear gunners.

Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the most decorated serviceman of all the fighting arms of the German forces. He was the only recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. Unswervingly dedicated to waging war against the enemies of the Third Reich, Rudel continued in active service following injuries sustained in February 1945 that resulted in a leg amputation. Such was his prowess and notoriety, that the Soviets placed a significant bounty on his head. Wisely deciding to evade capture at Russian hands, in a final act Rudel led three Ju87s and four Focke-Wulf FW 190s westward from Bohemia. He surrendered to U.S. forces, on 8 May 1945.

The Model
This is probably my favourite variant of the Stuka, what with the rakish lines of the canopy and the huge cannon in their winged pods, it just looks the business. So, it was with great news on hearing that Trumpeter where going to release one. The kit comes in one of Trumpeters standard top opening boxes with a very attractive piece of artwork on the front showing the aircraft in action over the Eastern Front. Inside there are fourteen sprues of medium grey styrene, two of clear, two small sheets of etched brass, three rubber tyres and the decal sheet. All the parts are well moulded with no sign of flash or other imperfections and only a few moulding pips, so cleaning up should be nice and easy once the parts are removed from the sprues. The kit comes with lots of lovely detail along with options for various weapons loads to be fitted in addition to the cannon pods.

sprue1.jpg

sprue2.jpg


Construction begins with the assembly of the Junkers Jumo engine. This consists of the three piece engine block to which the sump, crankcase, propshaft, rocker covers, oil tank, exhaust and intake manifolds, coolant tank and the four part fuel unit. The rear of the engine is fitted with the auxiliary pack with ancillaries such as the generators, pulleys, fuel pump and turbo intake. Once the exhaust plates have been added the two engine bearers can be fitted. The completed engine is then attached to the firewall, along with four other fittings before the two halves of the cowling are fitted around the engine with the large radiator sandwiched between them. Since there are no loose panels you will see very little, if anything of the completed engine unless the modeller carries out a bit of surgery, which is a bit of a shame as it looks very nice. The front fuselage is completed with the addition of the radiator grille, exhausts and propeller, which is made up of the backplate, three separate blades, hub and spinner. This section can now be places to one side as construction moves to the cockpit.

sprue3.jpg

sprue4.jpg


The nicely detailed cockpit consists of a single piece floor to which the pilots seat, (made up of three parts, six if you include the headrest and armour), gunners seat, (made up of three base supports and the seat itself), are fitted. The radio sets are fitted to the mid mounted dwarf bulkhead and fitted just forward of the gunners seat. Beneath the bulkhead mounted radios another set, made up from two parts is glued to the floor. Additional parts, such as the rudder bar, joystick, two oxygen regulators and the rear gun mount, with its two ammunition tanks, are also fitted. The cockpit sidewalls are fitted out with various control boxes, throttle quadrant and trim wheels before being glued to the cockpit floor, producing a nice sturdy tub. The completed cockpit is then sandwiched between the two fuselage halves, followed by the fitting of the rear cockpit panel, complete with clear circular cover and the pilots coaming, with added instrument panel and crash bar. At this point the horizontal tailplanes are fitted, along with the elevators, associated control horns and the end caps, followed by the rudder with separate tail light.

sprue5.jpg

sprue6.jpg


The construction of the wings begins with the assembly of the centre section. The centre panel is fitted with the lower viewing tunnel with clear parts at each end, followed by the front and rear spars, and completed with the two upper panels. Each outer wing panel is fitted with a machine gun bay. Each bay consists of four parts into which the three part machine gun, complete with ammunition feed, is mounted and covered with the optionally posed door. Before gluing the upper and lower wing halves together, ensure you have opened the correct holes for the weapons option you have chosen. With the wings closed up they are finished off with the separate wing tips and navigation lights.

sprue7.jpg

sprue8.jpg


At this point, the instructions call for the fitting of the cockpit windscreen and canopies. There is a choice of windscreen and pilots canopy depending on the model being built, along with a couple of panels that can be posed open or closed on the sliding section. The windscreen, no matter which type is fitted with two grab handles, a clinometer and aiming bar. The rearmost canopy is fitted with the twin machine gun mount, which comes with separate barrels and a two part hanger mechanism. The wing centre section is then glued to the fuselage, before being fitted with the two outer wing panels, followed by the front fuselage/engine section.

sprue9.jpg

sprue91.jpg


On the undersides of the wings the prominent flaps are fitted to the trailing along with the actuator rods. There is no option to display them in drooped, unless surgery is carried out. Whilst the model is upside down the two radiators are glued into position along with their covers. The main undercarriage is also attached, each made up of a two part wheel, two part oleo all sandwiched between the two halves of the spats. The tailwheel comes as a four part sub-assembly, including the two part wheel, the oleo and yoke half.

sprue92.jpg

sprue93.jpg

sprue94.jpg


Now it’s on to the weaponry build. The main 37mm cannon are used in all options and consist of six part mount, including separate crutches, to which the cannon fairing is attached, followed by the barrel. Each of the two “wings” are made up from folded PE, which are then glued to the fairing sides. Each wing has two blocks of shells slid into them, although since you won’t be able to see much of them you could just display them separately. The completed cannon are then glued into position just outboard of the wheel spats. The other weapons included in the kit are the centre mounted 500kg bomb, made up form two halves with two parts to complete the fins, plus the separate fin cross members and the bomb cradle/swing arm. The mountings are the same for the twin 50kg bombs, (each bomb comes as four parts and can be fitted with optional fuse extenders), drop tanks, Each from two halves, four mounting bolts and a PE strap), or what I can only describe as a six barrelled machine gun pod, (with four parts to each pod, plus three twin barrels. There is also the option of mounting two sets of five smaller bombs all mounted on a single cradle, making up what could be construed as a cluster bomb. I wish Trumpeter would label what things were. With the various weapons loaded the build is complete.

clear1.jpg

clear2.jpg

etch.jpg

tyres.jpg


Decals
The single decal sheet provides options for two aircraft, and comes complete with stencils for one. The decals are very nicely printed, with good colour density, in register and with very little in the way of carrier film, and what there is, is very thin. The Balkenkreuz do appear to have a bit of mottling on them as if they had stuck slightly to something. I would have thought that once on and covered in gloss/matt varnish this will disappear. The swastikas are each cut in half at the centre, and should cause too many problems when positioning them. The two aircraft options are:-

  • Junkers Ju-87G-2, Stab/SG 2 <-+-, W.Nr. 484110
  • Junkers Ju-87G-2, Stab/SG 2 <-+-, W.Nr. 494193

decals.jpg


Conclusion
As I said above, this has to be my favourite version of the Ju-87, with perhaps the slightly odd looking Ju-87A being a close second. The kit does come with quite a lot of detail, and should build nicely straight out of the box, but there is quite a bit of room, particularly in the cockpit to add more, so it should appeal to those who like to take to the next level. It’s a bit of shame to have a well detailed engine covered up and not even have the option to show it off, but I’m sure the aftermarket companies will be all over this soon. Very highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of
logo.gifUK Distributors for logo.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...