Shorty84 Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 Got the package delivered to my workplace today. First impression is good, nice quality casting and good details. Engines and interior look to be finely detailed and the fuselage features subtle riveting. I'll check the clarity of the clear parts later on but they feel sturdy so should stand some handling. And boy, it's big. I will make some pictures this weekend. Markus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty84 Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 (edited) Hi guys, as promised here are some pictures of the kit. It comes in a nice, sturdy cardbox which contains two fuselage halfs, 6 plastic bags with resin parts and one bag with the vacuformed clearparts. Another bag contains the big decal sheet, a set of masks for the clear parts and some markings, a marking guide and the instructions which show b/w photos of an kit being build, supplemented with the partnumbers of the individual parts. Oh, did I mention that this beast is big? The interior is finely detailed... ...as is the exterior which consists of engraved and raised details and fine rivet lines. Edited March 8, 2020 by Shorty84 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty84 Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 (edited) The detail part are even nicer, rivaling some of the bigger guys in the business. The clear parts are vacuformed and two full sets are provided. They consist of the nose glazing, its ball turret, the cabin clear parts, the upper turret and the dustbin belly turret. They feel sturdy but small imperfections can be found on any of item. Still, they are reasonably clear to see the beautiful interior. So where's light there is always shadow. The parts are cast in a very flexible resin and the wall thicknesses are not much more than on injection moulded kits. While this is good as you cannot easily brake parts and it keeps the weight down it makes the parts quite flexible too and prone to warping. For example, the horizontal stabilisers on my kit are a bit twisted (hot water should rectify this). You also have to remember that this is a handmade kit so not all panel lines are completely straight. The right fuelage half was warped at the point of the landing gear cutout where not a lot of material was left (I tried to align the two halves as best as I could). You'll also have to remove a few "tabs" which are on all mating surfaces and may need to reinforce the wings to prevent them from sagging (the moulded in reinforcement is unfortunately made of the same,flexible resin). So, there you have it. This is a garage kit in the truest sense which means it will not be a quick build and some experience is needed to tackle this beast. But in the end you will be rewarded with an impressive addition to your collection. For my part, I'm happy with my purchase which was worth every Euro (or Forint). Cheers Markus Edited March 8, 2020 by Shorty84 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TobHol Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 Got my kit last week as well. In my box the right fuselage half was really deformed, the whole nose area and tail is twisted. I sent a mail and hope to have a replacement part. But I agree on that the kit is worth the money. /Tobias Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty84 Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 Hi Tobias, on my right fuselage the whole tail is slightly twisted too. My plan is make some additional bulkheads which "force" everything in place. Please let me know if you have success with your request, I may go this route if it works out. Markus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flarpen Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 (edited) Hi I have received my kit today, after a slight delay. I must say, it looks really really nice. I have no twist or warpage in my kit to speak of. I only need to force the fuselage halfs together a bit to get the gap sorted and it's easily held together with tape. Really happy to have got my hands on this. /Johan Edited March 11, 2020 by flarpen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28ZComeback Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Flarpen, I hope you don’t mind me asking but are you converting it to a Swedish Ju-86K? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flarpen Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 20 minutes ago, 28ZComeback said: Flarpen, I hope you don’t mind me asking but are you converting it to a Swedish Ju-86K? That is my plan. See how I will get along with it. Need different engines and engine covers. May try my hands on som 3D-work and print out new engine covers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28ZComeback Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Have you thought of SBS 1/48 Blenheim nacelles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flarpen Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 9 hours ago, 28ZComeback said: Have you thought of SBS 1/48 Blenheim nacelles? Yes I have had a quick look at that. Altough similar in design, the differences are to big to really be a viable option to use for a conversion, and that's just based on the actual look of the parts. The differences in the exhaust designs are to big in my mind to really work. And I don't know how it would fit regarding the size of it. Would it be doable, probably, but with a lot of work. Almost better to start from scratch. The engine might work to use with some alterations if you are not to picky with 100% accuracy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Enerdal Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 (edited) Dear all, Aside from the first three, which had Pratt&Whitney Hornets, all Swedish Ju-86/B3 had various versions of license built Bristol Mercury engines. The Bristol Blenheim had Mercurys too, 1/48 kit or aftermarket engines therefore seem natural candidates for a conversion. Their respective engine installations are VERY similar! Both have close fitting cylindrical cowlings. In real life the Blenheim cowlings were marginally smaller in dia, hence the small bulges. The Airfix and SBS cowlings are just a tad to large in dia however (some tenth of a mm in 1/48) making them almost perfect for our B3. The front collector arrangement are again almost identical. Both Airfix and SBS have made a very good job of this detail with their respective injection and resin qualifications. I just love how SBS have done theirs! Not limited by injection moulding, they have made the undercut within the cowling just perfect. The differences are mainly; -The bulges on the Blenheim cowlings (just sand away) -The B3 cowling is shorter. -The cooling flaps on the rear of the Blenheim cowl are too small and too many. The B3 cowl had 11 larger flaps of equal size, each covering 30 degrees of the circumference. The last 30 was taken by the carburetor intake in its cowl. -The Blenheim collector/cowl had two exhaust pipes, the B3 only one. One of the pipes therefore has to be removed from each collector ring/cowling. The pipe opening is different, the B3 is more trumpet-like and shorter. The position of the exhaust pipe is different, outer/upper. A model cowling can easily be rotated however. -The B3 cowling had three large inspection hatches covering the cylinder heads, two from the carburetor intake and upwards and one on top. The fasteners show clearly in pics. -The two intake pipes within the cowlings are smaller and have different position on the B3. -The NOHAB license-built Mercury engines didn't have the pipe on top of the reduction gear housing, see nice pictures here. Altogether this means quite some work modifying the SBS or Airfix engine cowlings. I believe this is the way to go, however, for the moment anyway. On the other hand, I have seen some just exquisite 3D-printed items made by Johan/Flarpen, I'd just love to be proven wrong by him! I don't have that printer or those skills unfortunately. The SBS set is worth the price for the beautiful engines and the collector ring alone, IMHO. The rear of the engine and engine bearers were covered by a large bulbous cover, similar to the Blenheim. The corresponding covers on the Hungarian Ju-86K-2 are too short and not bulbous enough. No doubt due to the fact that the Hungarian engines were longer with 2 x 7 cylinders. The engine nacelle dia looks almost identical when measured with calipers, no doubt the Airfix bulges can be grafted to the Planes nacelles without trouble. They will be partly seen under the cooling flaps even if the latter are fully closed. One problematic item is the early Junkers propeller. Some B3s got Blenheim type propellers late in their careers, must kept their Junkers ones, however. The closest blades I've found so far can be taken from the ICM Do-17Z-2, but you still need a Blenheim type propeller hub. I made a visit to the Swedish War Archives some time ago and struck gold. Much of the detail info above was taken or confirmed from original Junkers drawings, of which I took a lot of pics. Will try to convert them to JPEG format and post them here. (I have taken a lot of pics at the SwAF museum lately too.) In the meantime the little walk around has two nice pics of the B3 engine with its cowling, here. More later, hopefully, Tomas EDIT: The Hungarian Ju-86K-2 engine nacelles seem to be identical in general shape and size to the Swedish B3. Some detail differences have to be modified however. The Hungarian upper nacelle has some oblong fairing and exhausts not present on Swedish ones. The oil cooler arrangement on the underside differs. Edited March 15, 2020 by Tomas Enerdal 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Enerdal Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Hi again, One little remark regarding the accuracy of the kit: Not easily seen except perhaps from directly above, or straight from the front; the the upper cockpit canopy is rather asymmetrical regarding the frames and some angles. I had noticed some but not realized the extent of it until I saw the drawings in the archives. It was one of the first things I checked when the kit arrived, Planes have captured these frames and angles perfectly! The rest seems just as accurate, simply a wonderful kit! (wow! I managed to publish a pic, more will follow...) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28ZComeback Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Thank you all for the great posts. I have a question—does anyone have a link to a website or online source of information about the Hungarian Ju-86’s? Did they remain in service after the war or were they scrapped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Enerdal Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 According to the description in the instruction sheet they saw active service up till 1944, in the end mostly as trainers or flying classrooms. At the end of the war wrecks could bee seen at former Hungarian AF airfields. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hub Plott Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 Mine arrived Saturday and I am very happy with the kit! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28ZComeback Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 (edited) Thank you all for the great posts. Does anyone have a photo of a Ju-86 on the Russian front 1941-1942? Hub in retirement I predict a lot of resin shavings on your work bench!! That B-36 however is fiberglass? Edited March 16, 2020 by 28ZComeback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flarpen Posted March 17, 2020 Author Share Posted March 17, 2020 On 3/15/2020 at 3:22 PM, Tomas Enerdal said: Dear all, Aside from the first three, which had Pratt&Whitney Hornets, all Swedish Ju-86/B3 had various versions of license built Bristol Mercury engines. The Bristol Blenheim had Mercurys too, 1/48 kit or aftermarket engines therefore seem natural candidates for a conversion. Their respective engine installations are VERY similar! Both have close fitting cylindrical cowlings. In real life the Blenheim cowlings were marginally smaller in dia, hence the small bulges. The Airfix and SBS cowlings are just a tad to large in dia however (some tenth of a mm in 1/48) making them almost perfect for our B3. The front collector arrangement are again almost identical. Both Airfix and SBS have made a very good job of this detail with their respective injection and resin qualifications. I just love how SBS have done theirs! Not limited by injection moulding, they have made the undercut within the cowling just perfect. The differences are mainly; -The bulges on the Blenheim cowlings (just sand away) -The B3 cowling is shorter. -The cooling flaps on the rear of the Blenheim cowl are too small and too many. The B3 cowl had 11 larger flaps of equal size, each covering 30 degrees of the circumference. The last 30 was taken by the carburetor intake in its cowl. -The Blenheim collector/cowl had two exhaust pipes, the B3 only one. One of the pipes therefore has to be removed from each collector ring/cowling. The pipe opening is different, the B3 is more trumpet-like and shorter. The position of the exhaust pipe is different, outer/upper. A model cowling can easily be rotated however. -The B3 cowling had three large inspection hatches covering the cylinder heads, two from the carburetor intake and upwards and one on top. The fasteners show clearly in pics. -The two intake pipes within the cowlings are smaller and have different position on the B3. -The NOHAB license-built Mercury engines didn't have the pipe on top of the reduction gear housing, see nice pictures here. Altogether this means quite some work modifying the SBS or Airfix engine cowlings. I believe this is the way to go, however, for the moment anyway. On the other hand, I have seen some just exquisite 3D-printed items made by Johan/Flarpen, I'd just love to be proven wrong by him! I don't have that printer or those skills unfortunately. The SBS set is worth the price for the beautiful engines and the collector ring alone, IMHO. The rear of the engine and engine bearers were covered by a large bulbous cover, similar to the Blenheim. The corresponding covers on the Hungarian Ju-86K-2 are too short and not bulbous enough. No doubt due to the fact that the Hungarian engines were longer with 2 x 7 cylinders. The engine nacelle dia looks almost identical when measured with calipers, no doubt the Airfix bulges can be grafted to the Planes nacelles without trouble. They will be partly seen under the cooling flaps even if the latter are fully closed. One problematic item is the early Junkers propeller. Some B3s got Blenheim type propellers late in their careers, must kept their Junkers ones, however. The closest blades I've found so far can be taken from the ICM Do-17Z-2, but you still need a Blenheim type propeller hub. I made a visit to the Swedish War Archives some time ago and struck gold. Much of the detail info above was taken or confirmed from original Junkers drawings, of which I took a lot of pics. Will try to convert them to JPEG format and post them here. (I have taken a lot of pics at the SwAF museum lately too.) In the meantime the little walk around has two nice pics of the B3 engine with its cowling, here. More later, hopefully, Tomas EDIT: The Hungarian Ju-86K-2 engine nacelles seem to be identical in general shape and size to the Swedish B3. Some detail differences have to be modified however. The Hungarian upper nacelle has some oblong fairing and exhausts not present on Swedish ones. The oil cooler arrangement on the underside differs. Hi Tomas Good explonation on how to use the Blenheim parts to convert the Ju-86 You make it sound like it would be quite doable, but with quite a bit of work. I appriciate your trust in my 3D skills. I'm actually just trying my way forward each time and pick up a few things along the way. The B3 engine covers would't be to hard to do i think (famous last words). It's the exhaust that I'm most concernd about doing. /Johan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Enerdal Posted March 17, 2020 Share Posted March 17, 2020 George, Have you tried with Hungarian Air Force - Squadron Signal Aircraft Specials series, by George Punka? Shouldn't be too difficult to find in the states. I don't have it myself, but SqS are usually filled with such pics. There are a few in building instructions, too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Enerdal Posted March 17, 2020 Share Posted March 17, 2020 (edited) To the original drawings: Take a close look at this drawing, it contains in fact almost all you need to know in order to make or start with a B3 engine installation. -The proportions and the "profile" of the engine cowling. Dimensions can be deducted from the dia of the real engine, 1307 mm. -The inner and outer profile of the exhaust collector ring. -The shape of the rounded cover hood covering the rear of the engine and the engine bearers. Drawing shows that this cower can be clearly seen even when the cooling flaps are closed. -True side profile of the hood for the carburetor intake. -Position and size of the latches on the outer inspection panel covering the cylinder heads. -Arrangement of the rear inspection panels making up the forward portion of the engine nacelle. -The size and interlocking arrangement of the cooling flaps, with their actuating rods. (Also shows that the rest of the actuating mechanism is hidden behind the cowl.) -Etc. A general sketch from a manual showing a view of the above: (to be continued) Edited March 17, 2020 by Tomas Enerdal 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28ZComeback Posted March 17, 2020 Share Posted March 17, 2020 This is valuable information ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homebee Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 British tyres ? Dunlop... OK, before WWII Dunlop Tire had a factory in Hanau, Germany V.P. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Enerdal Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 (edited) The tyre on the SwAF museum Ju-86 is labeled Gislaved, a Swedish tyre producer.. Probably a replacement, though. Size is 885 x 300. The Gislaved factory started in 1895, Cooperated during WW II with Buna-Verke about sythetic rubber. Bought in 1992 by Continental AG. Who owns Dunlop BTW... Edited March 18, 2020 by Tomas Enerdal 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty84 Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 Dunlop (Deutsche Dunlop Gummi-Compagnie AG) was producing aircraft and car tyres well before the WW2 in germany. The Dunlop plant in Hanau was established already in 1893 so it is no wonder their products are found on Luftwaffe aircraft and Wehrmacht vehicles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Enerdal Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 Lets start from the front: Side- and frontview of engine and exhaust collector. -Note that there are dimensions in the side drawing! -How the collector ring is suspended from the engine shows very clearly. -Again I think this has been beautifully executed by SBS. (to be continued) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Enerdal Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 (edited) Next one is the section A-B (it should have been turned 90o clockwise). It shows the section through the inspection hatches that covers the cylinder heads, where the engine cover is cylindrical: -Exhaust pipe can be faintly seen at the 2-o-clock position. -Note the lower twin latches on the outboard hatch at the 4-o-clock position. At the upper edge, under the exhaust pipe, the hatch is held in place by hooks. -The upper hatch is held in place by similar hooks above the exhaust pipe. -the inboard hatches upper edge is held in its place by hooks, connecting to the upper hatch. Therefore no latches on the upper hatch. -The inboard hatch is locked in place by twin latches at the 8-o-clock position. -Parts 5 seem to be support for the rear ring, can be seen on my first pic. A pic from the museum, showing the latches: (some other nice details can be seen as well; cooling flaps, carburetor intake cover and exhaust pipe profile. What you see under the carburetor is an oil tray) (TBC) Edited March 20, 2020 by Tomas Enerdal 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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