Junkers Ju-388J-4 wt FuG-240 Nightfighter

[trickyrich]

Ok the idea for this build is a bit of a mash up of a couple of builds I have wanted to do, but didn’t the time or the motivation for at the time.

One has been running around in one form or another in my mind for quite a while now. I have come close a couple of times to starting it, (a Ho-229 was to be the base for one) and I sort of did with the Turbo-Prop Arado, but it still wasn’t quite what I had in mind. I have two similar projects on the go but they're on the back burner for a bit.

The second was that I have a Planet Models Ju-388J nightfighter (Jumo 213 version) sitting in the stash that I have been dying to build and have never had the excuse to.

So after seeing the Ju-88 STGB I finally had the idea of how to killer two birds with one stone and bring these two ideas together!

So the plan is……

If the war had stretched into 1946 we would have seen some interesting aircraft and technologies in service, especially so with radar technology advancing as quick as is was. By the end of the war we were already seeing the next generation of radar systems which operated in the Centimetre band, like the RAF’s H2S and US H2X radars and the German FuG-240 (Berlin) & FuG-244 (Bremen) units. A few of the Ju-88’s were fitted with the FuG-240 and it was found they recovered their original speed which had been lost with the earlier radar units and their large antennas/antlers!

It would have been only to be a matter of time before the use of the FuG-240 (and later versions) would have been more widespread, with it being fitted to newer aircraft models as they became available. With the venerable Ju-88 reaching it’s peak in the Ju-388 family this aircraft would have been a prime candidate for the new radar system.

Well that’s the plan, chop the nose off a 388 and fit a new nose, simple really, but……….. I want it to be as believable as possible and not too whiffy which will make it a bit harder.

So this will be the base, Planet Models Ju-388J-3 with Jumo 213 engines, of cause I reserve the right to add lots of other stuff as I go along, it wouldn’t a normal build if I didn’t throw in heaps of extras!

The 388 is actually quite a nice model the only thing that may give me issues is the wings, they are very slightly warped and getting the dihedral right will be fun!

The nose is just a resin cast of the long radome version, it looks a bit better in my opinion than the shorter version.

Well best to start by cutting off the nose, luckily there is a very convenient panel line to follow for this. Strangely enough this happens to be almost perfectly round which will make life much easier as we go to fit the nose.

Ok first fit, it doesn’t look all the great, I’ll need to move it forward a bit.

That’s looking a bit better, so I’m going to have to add a bit to get the profiles right, I have a plan for that!

First I’ll make a ring using plastic card, working with plastic will make this part so much easier!

Next to fill the gap I’m going to use plastic strip like so.

I just keep adding rings till I get the right diameter.

Then add a disk at the back the size I require and the first part is done, only a small amount of filler required for shaping.

Ignoring the joint gap for the moment I now have to decide how I want the new nose to sit, sort of inline with the horizontal axis or a bit dropped down? I like the inline one as it looks good, but I have to remember the flying attitude of the 388 (and 88 for that matter) was slightly nose up, they didn’t fly truly level! So I may need to have it slightly drooped down so the antenna face would be lined up to the vertical axis. Have a look at how the antennas were mounted on 88’s and you’ll see what I mean.

Well I’ve made a start, there’s only a couple of hours work (I needed a brake from the Ta-152 as I was getting annoyed with it!) and the project is a goer. I’ve actually done the filling of the nose now as well and it’s looking good!

This won’t be a full time project, just something to work on when my other builds frustrate me and I need a break from them. I can’t promise I’ll be finished by Xmas either as I’m bound to do other mods on this as I go along. This should be an interesting build!

[Mottlemaster]

Another kit i have almost pressed the buy button on and one which i will one day .

A good idea to have a stress buster project with all the time to savoir it and plan out a further development in luftwaffe night fighter paint scheme .

Got to admit i like to chop up my kits but dont think ,in fact i know i wouldnt have the courage to chop up this kit . Anyway this will be good value entertainment watching yours come together.

Alistair

[SleeperService]

I like that technique for stretching a troublesome fuselage. I shall adopt it for a project that has stalled for want of a solution.

Like the idea behind it and the fact that you're looking to develop the model in a scale time frame as well all my models end up the same way but not by design

[trickyrich]

I hope you enjoy the build. I'm interested in any ideas for a colour scheme. I want to do something other then the usual blotches or squiggles on nightfighters!

[Levin]

I hope you enjoy the build. I'm interested in any ideas for a colour scheme. I want to do something other then the usual blotches or squiggles on nightfighters!

Maybe a post war American or British test version with two tone British upper camouflage over painted German crosses(?)/roundels(?) and yellow undersite;

Or a German winter camo version with white upper surfaces and black underside

Both whifs (did one ever flew?)

Nice work so far btw

Regards

Levin

Edited August 14, 2016 by Levin

[trickyrich]

Maybe a post war American or British test version with two tone British upper camouflage over painted German crosses(?)/roundels(?) and yellow undersite;

Or a German winter camo version with white upper surfaces and black underside

Both whifs (did one ever flew?)

Nice work so far btw

Regards

Levin

some interesting ideas there, i'll probably stick to a full Luftwaffe scheme but i want to try and "advance" the standard ones they were using at the time. I have seen an 88 with the upper surfaces and down most of the sides covered in really small RLM74 spots over RLM76, a really interesting scheme, don't have photo available at the moment.

I do know the army was playing around with circles and disks camouflage on some of there very late production tanks. I don't know if this was by design or necessity at that time, but it may be something interesting to look at. As long as the final scheme doesn't look too Whiffy!

The 388's did fly and were used operationally in 45, the nightfighter version....i'm not too sure about. There were flying examples and a lot of testing was done, but i'm not sure at all if they were used operationally. The same with the FuG-240, I haven't been able to find any information as to if it was going to be fitted or even any drawings.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Probably the most common form of Disc-Camo was a factory applied scheme from the Skoda Works, found on mid-late production Hetzers:

Approximately similar schemes were also found on StuG IV & Jagdpanzer IV, not sure if this was factory applied & if so, where.

Voyager do a stencil set that might be of interest:

[trickyrich]

arr that's what I was thinking off, and I think there was also one with semi-circle disks too?

I have been also thinking along the lines of a splinter scheme similar to the one I used on a MiG-21 a little while ago.

a correction to some of the info above, the Ju-388L, the few production aircraft that were built were sent to a squadron but didn't reach full operation status before the war ended. The Ju-388J's, there were only 5(?) V series test aircraft built.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Personally I think the disks would suit the Ju.388 airframe better and their backstory seems more convincing.....Ususal two nightfighter colours, possibly a matt black underside?

I think it could look pretty good, similar to the conventional schemes, but with a nod to what was going on in the world of AFVs at the same time.

[trickyrich]

Ok the third of the sort of forgotten builds, though this was only a recent project.

 

This will probably still stay as a longer term build of the 3, well 4 if you count the F-16CK, but that one is a simple paint job Whiff. So I'll take a bit more time with this one, mostly I just need to sort out the nose, as the rest will be a simple OOB build......if you call resin models simple builds!

 

Sgt's disk scheme has lots of merits plus I have seen another one with two colours over black undersurfaces. The two top colours are in an Allied style wavy camo pattern but with the alternate colour as blotches (the one I saw was green/tan with tan blotches on the green and visa versa), it actually looks really cool! Now that in RLM 74/75 over black undersurfaces could look cool! I may even use that on the Ta-154!

 

Anyway I'll try to do small bits to this build to keep the thread sort of active and not let it drift back into the pages......

[trickyrich]

stay tuned.....this project is back on the bench again! 

[trickyrich]

Well it’s been eons since I last did anything on this project but Arniec has given me inspiration to restart this build and complete another.

 

I’m sort of in-between GB’s at the moment so have decided I need to clear out some of them.

 

I had built the nose but that was it, everything else was still in its original bags. So I pulled everything out and gave it a wash in bleach then looked over the rest on the model. It’s not too bad, the usual amount of flash you get on a resin model and everything appears ok and not badly warped.

 

This model is a resin copy of a Dragon/Cyber Hobby Ju-188 with a couple of changes.

 

So first up the cockpit bits were cleaned up and give a coat of RLM66 and clear gloss. I was going to build this up OOB until I saw the seats, they are not correct and the pilot should have to big armoured seat and not the weedy supplied one (in bottom of photo). So I pinched a couple from a Ju-188A/Ju-388 conversion project I have. While I was at it I decided to give them proper sliding mounts.

 

 

While I’m at it I might remove the other two seat mounts and fit some railing for the sliding (to the side) Co-pilot/Nav’s seat. Lots more to do here now.

 

I built up the main gear, I figured it’ll be much easier to do it all now and fit it was a module later......hopefully.

 

 

I added some extra detail then painted it (and the wheels), I’ll clear coat it then start detailing.

 

 

The wings were interesting!  They were a tiny bit warped length ways at the tips (and slightly across the wing roots but I didn’t find that til later!). So I straightened them and slightly block sanded them flat. To glue them I used the outside leading edge of each as the reference point and glued them from there. There were some slight issues with the inside leading edges, trailing edge of one and tip of the other one. Some plastic strip fixed this.

 

 

I just need to do a final sanding back of them and they finished.

 

 

I’ve done other minor bits and pieces on her, the exhausts are painted, I just need to finish “detailing” them. The rear elevators are cleaned up and the cockpit has been cut out. That wasn’t fun, it looks like it’ll fit ok, it may take a bit of “refining” in a couple of spots.

 

I’ll try to do some more on her before the 60”s NATO vs Warsaw Pact GB starts, from then it’ll be as I have free time. This will be finished before Christmas this time.

 

This is the other project I’ve had on going for years (8+) and was the inspiration to re-start the 388. It’s a Ju-88G-6 with the FuG-220 radar with Morgenstern antenna. This antenna setup is not available in 1/48thso I made it up from scratch. I ended up casting a nose and blank for Arniec for a project he had planned, this ended up recently as the inspiration to finish this build.

 

 

 

It’s actually nearly there, I’ve been finishing off the U/c, exhausts, and props. I ended up remove the masks off the windows as well, it’s the first time you’ve been able to see the cockpit for around 7 years!

 

 

 

I just need to finish off the markings (for a NJG-4 aircraft) and do all the final touches and she’ll be done......after nearly 9 years!

 

[Col.]

Nice to see this one getting some love again.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I'd second that.....TBH I've got a bit of a soft spot for German night-fighters, there is a surprisingly large number of them in my stash (for a Trackhead). 

[trickyrich]

ok new work and updates....and yes there will be, will be here.