Kagero TopDrawings 77 Junkers Ju.87D, G (9788366148420)

[Mike]

TopDrawings 77 Junkers Ju.87D, G (9788366148420)

Kagero Publishing via Casemate UK

 

 

The distinctive Gull Wing design of the Stuka, its screaming "Jericho Trumpets" dive siren and its fixed spatted landing gear made the Ju.87 a terrifying sight for the Allies and the civilian population of the countries they invaded.  It also saw service in the period in and around the Battle of Britain, where its relatively slow combat speed first became an issue and required escorts on future missions to reduce the horrific attrition rates that unescorted sorties suffered.  In the role it was designed for it excelled however, with an efficient almost vertical dive profile and semi-automatic pull-out system that catered for blacked-out pilots.  The sirens instilled fear and confusion in their ground targets, a sound that has become a cinematic trope for almost every crashing aircraft on film (deftly parodied by the film Airplane), much to the amusement of anyone that knows about it about the subject.

 

Production of new airframes ceased in 1944 after the main factory was obliterated, but the aircraft soldiered on to the end of WWII with various upgrades and role changes before cancellation allowing it to continue to be used, taking on the role as a tank buster with a 37mm cannon with armour-piercing rounds slung in a gondola under each wing, and known as the Kanonenvogel.  In the hands of a skilled pilot they were lethal to armour, attacking from the side or from above where their armour was weakest.

 

 

We have kits in just about every scale from 1:350 upwards (for the Trumpeter Graf Zeppelin), with most major and some minor manufacturers getting in on the act, as other people's Stukas don't make money for them, and it's a popular subject.  The TopDrawings series majors on scale plans, which is the main thrust, but also includes a little background information, some pertinent profiles, and often a bonus of decals or masks targeted at the subject matter in hand.  With this edition, you get a handsome A4 glossy print of a diving Stuka releasing his bomb from the swinging H-frame on some poor unfortunates, and a folded A3 sheet of plans printed on both sides with overhead views of D-2 and D-5 airframes.

 

 

The book is written in English on the left of the page, with Polish on the right, which translates to top and bottom for the captions to the various drawings within.  The book itself is bound in a card cover and has 20 pages, and the rear cover devoted to additional profiles of two G-2s and a loose A3 sheet printed on both sides with overhead plans mentioned above.  The first half of the plans show the variants from the D-1 to D-5 including the outrageously peculiar glider towing D-1 that can only be described as a Stuka-and-sidecar.  It genuinely has to be seen to be believed.  After this the colour profiles of two D-1s, a D-3 with four view profiles, and two D-5s that are printed on four pages in colour, augmented by the aforementioned two on the rear cover.  After the break there is another set of plans continuing the D-5, D-7, D-8, the odd canopy of the H-1, the G-1 and G-2, with some head/tail-on plans into the bargain.  The final three pages show side profiles with the changes between the variants visible, describing the subtle changes, cannon pods and a torpedo fitted under a D-4. Throughout the book, there are numerous smaller diagrams that show the some of the weapons and bombs that the Stuka typically carried, plus prop profiles.

 

 

 

Conclusion

These books are essential for the modeller that enjoys comparing their models against scale plans, and wants them to be as accurate as possible, with the print a nice bonus that has drama and shows the lethal abilities of the Stuka well.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of