"Snakes On A Plane"...Luftwaffe Style (Zvezda 1/72 Ju87 'Snap Fit')

[thorfinn]

 

Let me start by saying I am fully aware that current scholarship is pretty sure that St.G 2's snake designs were rendered with sand-colored patches, not red. In answer to this, I will cite two facts: first, those were the decals I had...and second...I remember being a wide-eyed thirteen-year-old when the Revell 1/32 Stuka was first released back in 1969, with that eye-popping, 'holy cow' Jack Leynwood painting of the red and white snake marking on the box...so all these years later, my 'little kid' brain is still okay with that! (Besides, I have both 1/48 and 1/32 'proper' decals 'in the bag,' to do historically-acurate versions in larger scales in due time.)

 

 

 

Despite being labeled as a 'snap fit' kit, the Zvezda offering is a little gem: petitely-rendered molding, satisfyingly-complete cockpit detail and excellent fit overall. The only semi-shortcoming is the canopy; though thin, beautifully-molded and crystal-clear, it's all a single-piece, except for the separate, circular 'fishbowl' insert at the rear gunner's position; here the fit is a bit dodgy, and because of the small size and architecture of the two parts, it's challenging to get a precise fit.

 

On the plus side, the kit supplies both bombs and optional drop-tanks for the wing pylons, allowing easy modeling of the longer-range Ju87R variant which proved useful in the North African campaign. It didn't supply an option for the deeper 'tropical' air intake on the starboard cowling; I fudged a little 'extender' to approximate that feature.

 

Paints were mixes of Tamiya acrylics for the standard 70/71/65 RLM splinter scheme, and for the early-ish Italian 'Giallo Mimetico' overpainting to adapt it to a more desert-suitable camouflage. Decals were from a company I'd never heard of before -- 'Crazy Modelers' -- which I believe I picked up at the old 'Great Models' going-out-of-business sale, years back. Quality was excellent, with snakes and national insignia laying down without a hitch; the Zvezda sheet supplied a few useful stencils, and some other lettering was sourced from spares.

 

A fun build. I heartily recommend the Zvezda kit to all Luftwaffe and Stuka fans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Adam Poultney]

Great to see this in this scheme, very nice build

[Graeme H]

Love it

 

[stevehnz]

I like that. The fifteen year old that dwells within me is pretty keen on it too. Looks like there is one in our future.

Steve.

[Vinnie]

Cracking build with a good looking scheme.👍

[Mig88]

Smashing job and finish!

I've got the 1:144 Eduard kit with this scheme to build and, if I recall correctly, it comes with both snake options (red and sand). Just hope it comes out as nicely as yours when I get round to it.

 

Miguel

[VolkerR.]

1/72 is not my scale, but all the Zvezda kits I built in 1/48 were first class.

Your Ju87 looks great in every aspect and I agree: The white/red snake is cool!

 

Volker

[Wulfman]

Lovely looking Stuka, great build !

 

Wulfman

[swralph]

Lovely build.😀

[Homer]

Great looking model 👏👍

[SafetyDad]

Nice nice nice!

 

And a big +1 from me for the nostalgia value for the Revell Stuka box art.  I like the way that you've stuck to your guns over the snake. 

 

SD