Ju 88A-4, Sicily, June 1941 (Revell 1/72) +++ Finished 19-08-2016 +++

[jrlx]

Dear Fellow Modellers,

Finally I'm starting my thread on this much anticipated GB. I'm building Revell's 1/72 A-4 version and will be using Quickboost's resin exhausts and Eduard's BIGED PE and mask set.

I'll be building scheme A, as shown in the box, for an aircraft based in Sicily, Italy, June 1941:

As usual, here are pictures of the sprues.

The clear parts are good, very transparent, without defects:

The plastic is beautifully detailed, neither too soft nor too hard:

This is the decal sheet, which looks good:

I'll have to use swastikas from an xtradecal sheet.

There's a total of 125 parts. But I just can't build anything out of the box, so here are the resin exhausts:

The following are the several PE sets that come in the BIGED set.

The interior PE parts (2 frets):

The exterior PE set:

The surface panels set:

And the canopy masks, which are a must for these German bombers:

Building starts with the cockpit. This is the first part:

The moulded detail was removed, to be latter replaced by PE:

The second part:

The levers on the left hand side were also removed, as they will be replaced by metal levers:

The two parts were glued together. Fit is very good:

These two parts, complete the cockpit base. The level of detail out of the box is superb:

The cockpit base was assembled:

The control column was also removed from the sprue:

It will be glued in place after painting.

Now starts the PE odyssey.

First, I assembled the levers. This metal part, already bent, will hold one of them:

Here are the levers, ready for installation:

The levers were glued in place of the plastic ones that had been removed:

The next step is building the pedals, their mechanisms and supporting beams:

However, all plastic in this step will be replaced by PE, as shown in the PE instructions:

I started with the supporting beams. Here we can see one ready and the other just removed from the fret:

The same here for the mechanisms:

These parts were glued together:

For comparison, here are the replaced plastic parts:

The enhanced level of detail provided by the PE parts is readily apparent.

Here we can see the pedals: one ready, the other just out of the fret:

For comparison, here is a plastic pedal and a PE pedal, side by side:

I think the increased effort of preparing and assembling the PE parts is fully compensated by the enhanced realism achieved.

Moving on to the cockpit walls, here is the port wall:

Some detail was removed, to be latter replaced by pre-painted PE, and the unpainted PE detail was glued in place:

The starboard side wall. The moulded detail is superb:

but some must be removed:

I'll post more progress tomorrow, as this post is quite big already.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers

Jaime

[vppelt68]

Jaime... I'm just building those kits, you are making models of them. Fantastic pics! Regards, V-P

[Mottlemaster]

A nice collection of clear pictures that show this is going to be a super project to watch coming together

Alistair

[jrlx]

Jaime... I'm just building those kits, you are making models of them. Fantastic pics! Regards, V-P

Thanks VP! I hope you don't mind for the repetition but I thought: with so many different schemes available and adding all this PE stuff, I could squeeze my entry in the GB as well. I've been following your Revell builds and hope to use your tips to build more efficiently, if that's all right with you.

A nice collection of clear pictures that show this is going to be a super project to watch coming together

Alistair

Thanks Alistair! I hope I can live up to your expectations and also finish within the GB time frame (which I haven't managed to yet, in the many GBs I've entered into...)

Cheers

Jaime

[vppelt68]

... I hope to use your tips to build more efficiently, if that's all right with you.

if you mean avoiding the stupid things I´m doing that´s ok of course. Otherwise, let´s do it vice versa and I´ll learn from your build! V-P

[jrlx]

You're being too harsh on yourself VP! Your builds are coming along very nicely!

Cheers

Jaime

[jrlx]

Hi again,

Continuing with the build, I glued the rudder pedals to their mechanisms:

And glued to the starboard cockpit wall the unpainted PE parts:

This part is the cockpit's back wall. It was full of radios and ammo magazines. There's a lot of nicely moulded detail:

All of it must be removed to be latter replaced by pre-painted PE parts. I also glued in place the unpainted PE:

One of the parts that should go in the back wall is completely replaced by PE, as shown in the PE instructions sheet. The replacement PE parts are shown here ready to be assembled:

A comparison of the original plastic part and the replacement PE:

The PE replacement was glued in place:

Finally, I removed from the sprues and cleaned up all the remaining parts needed for the cockpit construction:

I still have a bit of work before I can prime and paint the cockpit.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers

Jaime

[Mottlemaster]

I look at your posts as someone who hates photo etch but admire anyone with the skills to bend it , glue it and find lost bits in the carpet . Come clean and tell us this is the Revell 1/32 88

[jrlx]

Thanks for the kind words, Alistair. I regret to disappoint but it really is 1/72

Cheers

Jaime

[PlaStix]

Hi Jaime. Good to see you're underway with this project. The kit does look good but I think you're work with the photoetch is going to take it to the next level. Immaculate work so far, as usual!

Kind regards,

Stix

[jrlx]

Hi Stix,

Thanks for your interest and very kind words, as usual. It's great having you on board

Cheers

Jaime

[almac]

Hi Jaime , I have to agree with Styx the etch gives so much more detail. I admire your patience and dexterity to work with those tiny pieces of metal it's something I struggle with so avoid where possible. I'll be watching with interest.

Cheers Allan

[jrlx]

Hi Allan,

Thanks for your interest and kind words

I must confess that after finishing my first build with PE I was hooked and there's no coming back...

Cheers

Jaime

[rob85]

Jamie, sometimes you blow my mind.... Your so modest about the work you do, yrt it's nuts! As vp said I am merely building these kits, and the detail on the standard kit intimates me! Your taking that detail and adding to it!!!

I am looking forward to your progress, and I don't mean to add pressure with the above. Just build it like you do all your others

Rob

[jrlx]

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the extremely kind words Thanks for the interest and incentive, it really means a lot!

What about your build? I was under the impression you were planning to build this kit as well?

Cheers

Jaime

[mcdonnell]

Hello,Jaime - I'm slowly but surely learning my way around the Forum and pleased I've found you on this GB.As usual,you're off to a flying start and the photo etch detail is looking superb.My radar is locked on and it's always an inspiration and pleasure to follow your work. All the very best,Paul.

[Nigel Heath]

Fantastic work, great skill in evidence on those PE parts.

[rob85]

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the extremely kind words Thanks for the interest and incentive, it really means a lot!

What about your build? I was under the impression you were planning to build this kit as well?

Cheers

Jaime

Indeed I am Jamie, I want to get some more work done on the hell cat first so I can give the 88 some proper attention... I am struggling with finding time at the moment!

I have a week off so If I can get the engine sorted and first coats of paint on the hell cat I can crack on with this then.... If you do follow Jamie, please lower your standards before viewing 😀

Rob

[jrlx]

Hello,Jaime - I'm slowly but surely learning my way around the Forum and pleased I've found you on this GB.As usual,you're off to a flying start and the photo etch detail is looking superb.My radar is locked on and it's always an inspiration and pleasure to follow your work. All the very best,Paul.

Thank you Paul, you're extremely kind as ever! It's great having you on board

Fantastic work, great skill in evidence on those PE parts.

Thank you very much Nigel! Your very kind words mean a lot!

Indeed I am Jamie, I want to get some more work done on the hell cat first so I can give the 88 some proper attention... I am struggling with finding time at the moment!

I have a week off so If I can get the engine sorted and first coats of paint on the hell cat I can crack on with this then.... If you do follow Jamie, please lower your standards before viewing

Rob

Hi Rob,

I know what you mean about the lack of time for modelling. I also have that problem, compounded by several builds still to be finished... I hope you can start your Ju 88 in due time. I'll certainly be following! Don't be put off by my choice of PE for my build. I still struggle with basic tasks, like filling ejector pin marks...

Cheers

Jaime

[CedB]

Hi Jaime - although I probably won't be joining the GB I hope you don't mind if I tag along... Your PE work is really worth a look

[jrlx]

Hi Ced!

Please do and thanks for your kind words! It's always great having you on board

Cheers

Jaime

[CedB]

Thanks Jaime Looking forward to seeing how the PE comes out...

[Andrew]

Jaime,

Thanks for sharing your progress - it's compelling to say the least! I look forward to your updates, especially the priming.

cheers,

Andrew.

[jrlx]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your kind words and interest! I did some small progress in the meanwhile but didn't have the time to post an update yet. Hopefully, I'll be able to do it by midweek.

Cheers

Jaime

[PlaStix]

Looking forward to your update!