Junkers Ju 290A-5***FINISHED***

[PeterB]

Just to give you an idea of the size of this model, here is the  not quite horizontal tailplane alongside the Airfix 1/72 Fw 190 A I finished recently in another GB.

and here is the bottom end with all the bits in place and the tailplane added.

The tailwheel was semi-retractable and did not have doors. The fit is not perfect but I have seen much worse.

 

Given the problems I have already had with the waist guns, I am relieved to find that Revell have engineered the dorsal turrets so that I can fit the guns towards the end of the build. The gun itself is trapped between the base ring and the glazing and there are two part "interiors" with a seat that go on from the inside.

Front to the left - the turrets are meant to be free to rotate and so far they actually do though how long they will stay glued remains to be seen as the jointing surface is quite small! I had considered not bothering with the lower part but then there would have been a visible hole.

The depression behind the forward turret is for the "Pfeilgerat" direction finder and the 3 rectangular things are vents. In the middle some versions of the 290 had a large "observation blister" sort of thing. It seems that it could rotate according to the kit parts and looks like it had something mounted inside - perhaps a pair of large binoculars or some sort of sight for checking out ships at a distance? My sources show them on A-3 and A-7 but not normally on the A-5 as far as I can see so I have used the optional blanking plate provided.

 

So my next job is trying to get the roof in which should be fun - I have filed down the top of the forward bulkheads a little as otherwise the front end sits too high. Although Revell suggest it can be left unglued that does not seem practical as it would not fit very well I suspect.

 

More later.

 

Pete

Edited March 8, 2023 by PeterB

[vppelt68]

Fascinating stuff!

[PeterB]

The roof is now on - the joints are not quite as bad as they look as a certain amount of interior paint has been dissolved by the glue and seeped out!

So that's the "quick" part of the construction done for now - filling and sanding ahead whilst trying not to break anything else off! Once that is done I will re-scribe where required, wash it down and get some primer on, assuming the masks I ordered a week ago have arrived by then. Believe it or not I still have over 150 parts left on the sprues not counting the ones I will not be using.

 

Pete

[Col.]

Seeing the tailplane juxtaposed with your 190 give a good impression of just how big large MASSIVE this machine was  

[Torbjorn]

Nice, never knew this type existed. Will make an impressive model I’m sure.

[PeterB]

On 3/9/2023 at 4:51 PM, Torbjorn said:

Nice, never knew this type existed. Will make an impressive model I’m sure.

It took me a while to notice that Revell had released both this and the Bv 222 Wiking in around 2002/3. I did actually consider buying the latter to go with my Sunderland and Emily but by the time I got round to it, it had gone from the shops and was ruddy expensive second hand so I went for this and the slightly later Condor instead. I was aware of this plane's existence after I bought Greens Warplanes of the Third Reich back in the early 1970's, and had even considered buying the Airmodel vacform but was not that desperate!

 

The masks arrived this morning and I have stuck them on some of the parts. I have used the Eduard ones a few times in the past and they have usually worked well, but I did have a problem with one set - probably for the Airfix Whitley. They had not been cut all the way through and were difficult to get off the backing paper, resulting in one or two ending up stretched/distorted. The ones for this kit are Montex ones and therefore vinyl instead of Kabuki tape, and are actually a bit easier to work with - it remains to be seen how they perform. Before they had arrived I had primed the undersurfaces and corrected some of the joints - good but not perfect but then my builds seldom if ever are😄.

As you can also see I have glued on the undercarriage and the endplates. I have also, slightly reluctantly added the canopy now it is masked as the way Revell have engineered the kit would make it difficult to get it on once the nose was in place.

The small oval shaped hole in the nose existed in real life but I am uncertain what it was for. Some other types of plane had a window so the pilot could see the runway when landing but this seems too small and anyway I doubt the pilot could see it as the IP would be in the way. The other possibilities are some sort of air intake or maybe a light - anybody out there know what it was?

 

Pete

Edited March 11, 2023 by PeterB

[PeterB]

A bit more work done on the joints and I have finished priming.

The back end is under a shelf and so in shadow. There is a small raised "rainstrip" above the rear doors so that is another shadow not a bad joint! Next up a lot of RLM65.

 

Pete

[PeterB]

Nearly finished painting the fuselage.

I need to do a little work on straightening up some of the splinter pattern but it is not looking too bad. I decided to use the Gunze RLM65 as it is greyer and less bright than my Xtracrylic version which is probably more suitable for the early part of the war before the shade was changed/toned down - Ullmann says that happened in 1941. I used Xtracrylic 72 and 73 which I had bought for this and the Condor about a year ago and not opened. The darker 72 was fine but the 73 was a bit of a problem - went on well enough but as it dried it cracked a bit. Normally I would say it was poor preparation but it was washed and primed and the 72 went on fine so I suspect there is a problem with the actual paint.

 

The maritime 72/73 scheme had far less contrast than 70/71 when new though the 73 seems to have faded quite quickly. In photos of what are probably newly painted planes it sometimes looks as if there is only one colour which could be why some early sources such as Green show Dornier 217E in a single colour, as did Airfix initially in their kit. Incidentally the colour rendition in my pic is not quite "yellow" enough as the 72 is more like a dark OD. The masks worked quite well but were a bit of a sod to get off - thought I had better take them off now when they were easy to get at - once the wings go on it will be a lot harder to handle and when the various aerials and nose radar are fitted there would be a high risk of damaging them whilst getting the masks off. Of course in real life the demarcation line with the blue was soft. 

 

Once I have finished the touching up I think I will gloss it and put the decs on before fitting the wings, as I did on my Shackleton. As with all things there are advantages and disadvantages to that approach but I think that providing the fit is not too bad it should work.

 

Pete

[PeterB]

Slight change of plans - I did not bother with the decs but did stick the dorsal turrets on. I mentioned before that they were able to rotate but it seems some paint has got in and now they are stuck, which is a pity. I glued one wing on yesterday and the other this morning.

Bit fiddly but they have lined up quite well and the joints are not too bad. As you can see the engines are pretty close in to the fuselage so getting the cowlings etc in place and painting them could be a pain but they go together as "power eggs" so it might not be too bad - I am a bit surprised Revell did not suggest fixing them on the the wing unit before joining it to the fuselage but I guess they were worried about the props being damaged. Anyway, a bit of tidying up to do before they go on - it certainly is a big old bird!

The grid on the cutting mat it is standing on is 57cm x 42cm. The wingspan is only 3.5ft less than that of the B-29!

 

Pete

Edited March 14, 2023 by PeterB

[PeterB]

Revell have perhaps gone a bit over the top with the engines - not quite as bad as ICM but close!

The two on the left are the basic engine assembly the bulk of which is some nicely moulded cylinders for the front row of the BMW 801 though the second row is just "hinted at" but they have included the exhaust pipes. To that I have added what I guess is the gearbox painted grey, and then secured the shaft after first passing it through the fan, and then the whole assembly was glued on to the back plate. Revell then say glue on the sort of exhaust shroud third from the left - they have even moulded dints in the end of the pipes! At this point I have diverged from the instructions as they say glue the engine on to the nacelle before adding the 3 piece cowling and the nose ring. Frankly I doubt there would be enough room to get at the inboard engines to glue the inner panels on - it was bad enough as it was - right hand pic! Although not mentioned in the instructions it looks like they were offering the chance to have one or more panels removed to show the engine but that has caused too many problems with the closed cowling in my opinion but at least it was only 3 panels to juggle into place, unlike the 5 plus numerous exhaust pipes on my ICM I-16! I now have to sort out the gaps which would be almost impossible if already on the wing. As it is, once the cowling is closed up all you can actually see is the fan so it is a bit like the interior detail - nice but mostly invisible.

 

Wiki has this to say about the engines -

'In the 1930s, BMW took out a license to build the Pratt and Whitney Hornet engines. By the mid-30s they had introduced an improved version, the BMW 132. The BMW 132 was widely used, most notably on the Junkers 52 which it powered for much of that design's lifetime. In 1935 the RLM funded prototypes of two much larger radial designs, one from Bramo, the Bramo 329, and another from BMW, BMW 139. BMW's design used many components from the BMW 132 to create a two-row engine with 14 cylinders, supplying 1,529 hp. After BMW bought Bramo in 1939 both projects were merged into the BMW 801, learning from the problems encountered in the development of both.'

 

Pete

Edited March 14, 2023 by PeterB

[Col.]

Taking shape nicely Pete  

[PeterB]

Quite a bit more progress - only 60 parts left on the sprue, but it has been a bit of a struggle at times!

 

I built up the remaining 3 engines using a slightly different technique and they are better than the first, but still needed filling and sanding before I could paint them and put them on - all 4 were painted in the lighter RLM73 irrespective of the nacelle colour, presumably to make them interchangeable. Then I finished off the undercarriage. Revell have provided the doors as one solid piece which would be good if I were modelling it wheels up, but I have had to cut them up in this case - easy enough but given the number of parts already in this kit I would have thought 8 separate doors would not have been a problem. As it is either they have made the wheels too wide of the opening too narrow because there is no way they could retract into the well as Revell have modelled it even with the main leg folding up as it went!

 

I also built up the ventral gondola which turned out to be a real pain. Here are the parts after I have glued in the 4 small windows and added the frame to the cannon.

The back end is not too bad as the MG131 goes into sockets before the glazing goes on, but they were not being very clever with the front end (or perhaps that should read "being too clever for their own good") - they intend you to trap the pivots on the cannon between the glazing and the cupola as you glue the former on, whilst at the same time you have to adjust the fit of the two halves of the gondola to the correct width without screwing up the alignment at the back - what I call a "3 handed job"! Actually I suspect it would have been easier if I had glued the rear on and then glued the whole assembly to the fuselage as that would perhaps have held it in place whilst I fitted the front end on, but I got there in the end after gluing the gun in rather than trying to let it move up and down. I had the usual problem of Clearfix dissolving acrylic paint and causing smears - must try something else to fix clear parts next time - any suggestions? Anyway here it is after all that.

A lot of filling and touching up ahead I think! Then all I have left to do is the landing light, rear gun position, the props and spinners, the various control surface hinges/actuators and balance weights and a multitude of aerials and antennae.

 

Getting there.🙂

 

Pete

[Col.]

This one must be close to the finishing point now Pete? 

[PeterB]

Yes it is Col.

 

Today I added the rear gun position. As I mentioned earlier in my narrative the A-8 was the first one to provide a seat for the gunner - the earlier ones like this seem to have just provided what seems to be a pivoting frame with a squab on it for him to rest on in a sort of prone position. Revell provide this so I have fitted it, then mounted the cannon on its frame and trapped it between the two clear halves and glued them together  before adding the blister on top.

Then I fitted it and painted up the frames.

And finally I added the deflectors to the waist gun positions - the A-5 had large ones, unlike the A-4 which had small ones to cover the shallower opening for the MG131.

That completes step 62 in the instructions out of 76.

 

Pete

[MickE]

Nice progress that cockpit looks great

[PeterB]

14 hours ago, MickE said:

Nice progress that cockpit looks great

Thanks Mike,

 

Pity hardly any of it is visible! The canopy is clear but not that good optically so all you get is a slightly blurred impression of the front section.

 

Pete

[PeterB]

Well that was fun - not! Revell provide 24 actuators/balance weights to go on the wings - 4 on top and the rest below, and the mounting points are just shallow depressions. They went on pretty well except for the mass balances which as ever were a pain to handle due to their geometry, but I got there in the end.

I have also fitted the underwing aerials but will leave the fuselage ones until I have got the decs on as handling the model is rapidly becoming like trying to pick up a hedgehog/porcupine. I will spend some time now touching it up and straightening out the wing demarcation. I will also add the landing light cover to the Port leading edge. Still 32 bits left but I have completed stage 70 except for the props.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

Edited March 18, 2023 by PeterB

[MickE]

Well done Pete it is coming along nicely. I get frustrated putting 6 or 8 mas balances and getting them all to line up let alone 24!

[PeterB]

The touching up is just about finished so I have made a start on the decs.

Quite a lot of "stencil" to do and it is not an easy model to handle as I have said before.

 

The first few Ju 290 went as transports but it was decided that a new unit would be set up for the long range maritime recce task so according to some sources in early 1943 Fernaufklarungsgruppe 5 was formed and in July of that year they had moved to Mont de Marsan in south west France with a few Ju 290 A-2 and stayed there until August 1944 when they returned to Germany, their aircraft then being used for transport or going to KG200 for other activities. During that time they used the A-2, A-3, A-4, A-5, and A-7 versions. The supply of aircraft was poor and they were a small Gruppe with a peak number of 17 planes a year later split between the Stab, 1.Staffel and 2.Staffel, though most of the time they were lucky to have 10 planes available, not all of which would be serviceable I suspect.

 

Starting in November 1943 they began to shadow allied convoys and their operations book shows for example that between November 15th and December 15th of that year when they had at most 10 aircraft they flew 29 recce missions and 1 rescue one. Within an 11 day period they monitored 6 convoys said to total 238 merchant ships, 1 battleship, 10 destroyers, 9 corvettes and 20 “patrol ships” with an estimated tonnage of between 1.7 and 2 million tons. Based on their reports the aircraft of II/KG40 ( probably He-177A-3 by that time but whether or not any were carrying Hs 293 missiles I don't know), managed to sink an estimated 38000 tons but the U-Boats vectored on to the convoys failed completely.

 

The unit badge was what is usually described as a galleon with 1 Staffel using a white background in theory and 2. Staffel using yellow as below.

However there is some evidence that perhaps due to the small number of aircraft available they may have “pooled” them as I have seen pics of a 1.Staffel plane with what seems to be a yellow badge and Revell provide one white and one yellow one for the kit instead of two white ones for their 1.Staffel option. As you can see in my photo the yellow one is on the starboard side and the white on the port. Note the different crests on the sail which Revell have accurately reproduced.

 

The Geschwader code was 9V with 1 Staffel using the letter H and 2. Staffel using K, the individual aircraft letter being white and red respectively though black with a white outline is also possible instead of white. Mine is supposedly Werknummer290110172 which was plane B from 1.Staffel and seems to have been operational in the recce role from late December 1943 to November 1944. Revell have shown it later in March 1945 in 74/75/65 with mottled fuselage sides and say it was intended to be used in "Operation Eisenhammer"(Iron Hammer). This was a proposal first put forward in 1943 to carry out long range attacks against Soviet powerplants in the Moscow, Gorky and other regions in an attempt to cripple the Soviet war industry. Revived again in 1945 it was intended to use a fleet of "Mistel" bombers under the aegis of KG200, so I guess the Ju 290 was to be used either for pre/post strike recce or maybe as a pathfinder as the one man crew of the Mistel top components would probably need navigational help to find their targets. The operation was finally cancelled due to a combination of the Russian advance and the heavy loss of Misteln due to allied bombing, and the target was switched nearer to home, against bridges over the Rivers Oder and Neisse.

 

In one of my sources there is a copy of what seems to be an invitation to a party celebrating the unit's first anniversary of the move to Mont de Marsan, Next to the unit badge is the name “Die Fliegende Holländer” and the card is signed “Die Seeadler” which is the “nickname” Revell use for the plane in the kit.

 

Pete

Edited March 23, 2023 by PeterB

[PeterB]

I have made a start on the "stencil" decs - the red lines are on as are the multitude of oil and petrol decs and the rather nicely done Pfielgerat.

I am not very impressed with the decal instructions Revell provide - the placement of some is very vague for example the 4 BMW badges which seem to go on the cowlings of at least one version, and there is little or no indication of the alignment so I will probably get some of them on the wrong way round. Oh well - not to worry

 

Pete

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by PeterB

[Col.]

It's a pity this one was released at a time when the quality of Revell's kits and decal sheets were not matched by their instructions.

[PeterB]

All the decs are now on, together with the two "towel rail" aerials, the D/F loop and a couple of masts so the underside is now complete. I will leave off the two radio masts and the pitot tube for the moment until I have finished the FuG 200 array on the nose.

Revell would have me glue all 4 sets of dipoles onto the 3 masts before attaching them to the fuselage as shown below.

Somebody with less shaky hands than me might just be able to do it, but even then there is nowhere to actually grip the assemblies whilst fixing them in place so I have gone for a compromise. I have glued on the two centre sets which need to go on from behind the masts and will then try and glue the outer ones on with the masts in place. The dipoles are pretty fragile, and although the masts are thicker, the notches Revell have cut into them for the aerials seriously weaken them. Of course in fairness in this scale plastic radar aerials can either be strong and way over size, or thin and fragile - Revell have managed to get them quite thin but that does make them tricky to handle/fit.

 

Later - so everything is on now except for the props.

I need to get the latest bits painted and I am not really sure what to do with the antennae - they look dark in photos but then they are against the light -anybody got any ideas? Would the actual dipoles be painted? Sounds like the sort of thing @dogsbody would know about perhaps?

 

Even later - I suspect Revell have got the orientation of the FuG 220 arrays a bit wrong. The central transmitter array is fine but the left and right receiver arrays should probably be angled out a fair bit, but that is not how they engineered it and I have have only just noticed whilst looking at pics!

 

 

Looks like I had better get another shelf up in the roof to make room for this as it is getting quite close to finished. On the plus side that does mean I might just have room for a Condor which should make @Col. happy😄!

 

Pete

Edited March 26, 2023 by PeterB

[dogsbody]

I don't have much photo intel on the colour of the radar on these aircraft. Mostly, it looks dark, but that could just be the natural metal colour, not necessarily black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris

[PeterB]

Thanks Chris.

 

I am currently thinking along the lines of normal camo colours on the masts and maybe RLM 66 on the aerials unless somebody knows differently. The pics show two apparently different alignments for the FuG 200 receiver arrays - the upper ones at almost 90^o to the line of flight and the lower one as Revell have engineered it so maybe they were right and some were like that.

 

Pete

Edited March 27, 2023 by PeterB

[PeterB]

All it needs now is a coat of semi flat varnish and it will be finished.

A decent enough kit to put together but a real pain to handle once the wings and various sticky-out bits were on. I will be glad once I have sprayed it and put it on a shelf - as and when I get another one put up! The 4 BMW radials were similar to those used on the Fw 190A-3 but according to Green the loaded weight of the 290 is more than 9 times that of the 190 with no doubt a considerable amount more drag, so I guess a top speed of 270 mph was quite respectable for this big bird!

 

Pete