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Airfix 1/24 Stuka


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Hi all,

 

Those who have been following my WIP on this will know the story behind it...

 

I built this kit in 1977 aged 10, eventually broke it up, but saved some parts of it. As an unemployed graduate 13 years later, I repainted the surviving cockpit, engine and propeller. Here they are looking dusty in the present day:

stukaparts_zps1ydcsjat.jpg

 

For my 100th build since my return to modelling, I resolved to build the exact same kit, with exactly the same markings, and exactly the same colour scheme error as I did as a child, but incorporating the surviving cockpit and propeller without repainting or altering them in any way. The result would be representative of the three ages of man - child, graduate, retiree. 

 

This is the result, and apologies in advance for the poor photography - it's virtually impossible to photograph something this big properly!

stuka40_zps0iye2bob.jpg

 

stuka41_zps7n9odn9w.jpg

 

stuka42_zpsnzobphhs.jpg

 

stuka43_zpstjllm459.jpg

 

stuka44_zpsgxbo4wji.jpg

 

stuka45_zpseghupmlr.jpg

 

stuka46_zpsqln4gtvu.jpg

 

stuka47_zpsis0b8tij.jpg

 

stuka38_zpseyecdugi.jpeg

 

stuka38_zpsivuig8sz.jpg

 

stuka37_zpsvmrfsd7h.jpeg

 

stuka39_zpsnsn4b1mc.jpg

 

And here's the cockpit, nestling snugly in it's intended home after over forty years in the wilderness...

stuka36_zpssqngcwqu.jpg

 

Something a bit different for my century build - forty plus years from glueing the first parts, to completing the model!

 

Cheers,

Dean

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10 hours ago, Sturmovik said:

Lovely Stuka, you made me want a 1:32 B model, sadly the Trumpeter one is completely inaccurate regarding the bombs.

 

And not just the bomb load but the whole nose section and also the u/c spats and the bomb cradle.  Still nothing a shed load of AM wont fix !  That’s their 1/32 version. Not sure if they rectified that in their 1/24 kit or carried the shape issues over in their bigger model. 

 

great model and justice done to the older 1/24 Airfix rendition which I understand is quite accurate.  I do like to read when something personal has been put in to a build so well done.

 

I am looking at a Stuka build too also from this unit.  One thing troubles me is that I am not sure that Airfix (and another manufacturer) have got the markings 100% correct.    A photo of  T6 KL is in Peter C Smiths Luftwaffe colours Vol 1 Stuka.  It was shot down on 16 August 1940 at Bowley Farm Sussex.  The same photo appears in Vol2 of Luftwaffe Crash Archive but is better print quality.  The werk number has been given as 5129 in Allied Intelligence records but as 5168 in contemporary records.  Who knows.  One thing clear from the photos is that this unit appears to have had the individual aircraft number painted on the starboard wing undercarriage spat only.  There is one photo of the crash site that shows the aircraft under recovery and there is no individual letter on the port side undercarriage spat.  Unfortunately a small boys head obscures the starboard one !  It was shot down by Hurricanes of 43 Squadron and the pilot executed a very good crash landing which destroyed the prop and dented the wings. ripping off half the port one outside of the wheel spat.  Unfortunately both crew survived the crash but were mortally wounded.

 

There is a good series of photos of another aircraft T6 HL from the same unit at St Malo in August showing the letter on the starboard side only.  I am guessing its a Unit thing!

 

Also the Crash Archive quotes details from the Intel Notes (I think thats their source) as saying the background colour to the disc on which the coat of arms of the city of Breslau is white - not yellow.  Having looked at several black and white photos I can't make up my mind.   - if not yellow then its a very dirty white!  

 

Anyway its a great rendition and I hope my one in 1/32 turns out a third as good.

Edited by JohnT
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1 hour ago, JohnT said:

And not just the bomb load but the whole nose section and also the u/c spats and the bomb cradle.  Still nothing a shed load of AM wont fix !

Looking at an article from Tom Cleaver on Modeling Madness, I can't see how off the nose is compared to the real thing, so it's something that doesn't worry me.

The bombs and their craddles though, I can't believe how they mistook the ordnance of the B and D models. The A gets the main bomb right, but leaves everything else unchanged. To be clear, I'm not someone that checks a model against plans to see if it's accurate or not.

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