Jump to content

When 3 Become 1 - Converting an Italeri Ju52/3m to a Ju52/1m *** COMPLETED ***


Recommended Posts

Hi all, apologies if the initial title confused anyone - no, this is not a perverse rehash of that hideous girl-band song from the 90s.

 

This is a new one on me in a number of ways; firstly, I've never started another project whilst still having one on the boil as it were. Secondly, to my knowledge this is my first go at an Italeri offering, although I have several such kits in my pile right now. It also represents my first go at something where major surgery will be required in order to get it to the required shape! Interestingly, the venture also appears to be a first for this forum - a fairly comprehensive search has not returned any WIP for this particular aircraft; unless anyone knows different, in which case please can you point me in its direction!

 

It may be some days before I am even able to make a start, so I will use some of that time to look into what exactly I will need to do. First though, I would like to acknowledge the generosity of Mr @Bungled in forwarding to me the kit that will now form the basis for this project. It's currently missing any kind of front windscreen clear part, which according to Messrs Italeri will cost me the princely sum of 5-6 Euro to replace - assuming they are even able to locate replacements :huh:

 

At the present time I am thinking of modelling the aircraft as used by Canadian Airways Ltd (registration CF-ARM) - sourcing suitable decals for that could prove problematic! Another challenge will be obtaining an appropriate propeller(s) - reference pics show that what at first sight was a 4-blade prop, was in fact two 2-blade props at right-angles to each other on the one shaft! The problem is, the prop blades are longer than the existing 2-blade props in the kit.

 

So there it is, that's the plan - let the laughter commence...

 

:worms:

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

some where in my collection l have a set of plans for that particular aircraft. It was used as a bush plane here in Canada before the war

 

Hacker

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[From Wikipedia] "In its original configuration, designated the Ju 52/1m, the Ju 52 was a single-engined aircraft, powered by either a BMW IV or Junkers liquid-cooled V-12 engine. However, the single-engined model was underpowered, and after seven prototypes had been completed, all subsequent Ju 52s were built with three radial engines as the Ju 52/3m (drei motoren—'three engines')."

 

Apparently the aircraft acquired by Canadian Airways Ltd was the 6th of the 7 built in this single-engine configuration.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, hacker said:

some where in my collection l have a set of plans for that particular aircraft. It was used as a bush plane here in Canada before the war

 

Hacker

Yes, apparently it could be fitted with floats or skis, which made it pretty much the perfect mode of transport for Canada!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I myself was always curious as to why a twin engine configuration wasn't tried before 3 engines were decided on. In any case, I too am working on a 52 under a different name - C-79. Right now it's backlogged while I search for an RLM 02 that can actually be brushed.

 

I'll be following,

Tweener

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That particular JU-52 1m was converted from a JU-52 3m by (I believe) Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg. So - it can be done, you just need an entire aerospace company behind you!

 

http://royalaviationmuseum.com/junkers-ju-52-cf-arm

 

Before photo  (ferrying to Winnipeg, escorted by a CAF C-47) ...

 

odd-couple.jpg

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't look to close to the Canadian plane in the museum as it is wrong in many ways.  The small door in the rear should be on the right side and the cargo door on the left. The fin is wrong and the nose should not have a kink in the underside. It should be a smooth curve. I tink that there should be a cargo hath in the roof as well. If you do a search for Junkers CF-ARM  you will see what I mean.

 

I started on this conversion twice. First I used the old Airfix kit. I had fixed the fuselage sides but not the nose but noticed that the Airfix wings was useless as they were "gull wings". Now I have restarted it with the Italeri kit as a base but I still have problems with the nose. 

I will use two 1/48 scale WW1 propellers in my build. 0,4 mm rod from Plastruct works fine working with the corrugated surfaces replacing parts their 0,3 mm rod work fine with the finer corrugation like on the doors. I have used them to replace the cargo door for windows as I need several civilian planes and lot of new corrugation went in to my build of an early Ju52/3m

Edited by Orso
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to @Tail-Dragon , @stevehnz , @hacker , @Courageous , @Tweener , @dogsbody and @Orso for your comments and suggestions, they are all very much appreciated.

 

@ Mr Hacker, assuming you can lay your hands on the plans, would you be able to advise as to the length of the propeller blade(s) please? No worries if not, I will take an educated guess from reference photos as my plan 'B' :)

 

As if this was not challenge enough, I fancy this could be a good opportunity to venture even deeper into uncharted (for me) territory - attempting a metal finish using aluminium tape, as demonstrated most excellently by Mr @rob Lyttle in various builds, and particularly this one:

 

 

Well, in for a penny and all that!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, good luck with this, my friend. 

I've had limited practice on corrugated panels, although there's a Ford Trimotor sitting waiting for me. 

The parts I have done went OK, and the tape will stretch a little into the dips, but very vulnerable to anything sharp until it's down against the plastic. 

Cotton buds- you know, on sticks, maybe called Baby Buds or similar. They're handy. Or cocktail sticks very carefully and only flat, longitudinal style - definitely not the point! 

I'll look forward to popping in for a look. 

Guess there's a fair bit of scratch building to crack on with first! 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

On my SE-ADR I painted the registrations but i didn't press the masking tape down in the "grooves" as I mention in the page: https://baecklund.eu/scalemodels/72/ju52.html

 

I should not hijack this build so I made a separate posting on how I deal  with removing the engines and corrugation:

 

Edited by Orso
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also looking forward to the progress on this one. Nice choice of subject.

 

I've never quite figured out how a seemingly weeny single engine and prop managed to get that amount of corrugated iron airborne.

 

Steve

  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This sounds like a wonderful project!

Looking forward to see the progress!

Do a good Internet search, you will be surprised how much "restored" planes differ from the real thing.

Every project I have done that has a museum counterpart had to eventually be based on photos, given the number of inaccuracies that are found on the museum machines.

You go, Clive!

Cheers

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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...