JU88 - Model progress thread...
- 15 February 2013 12:56215717
- 22 February 2013 09:45216848This Friday's update. Had a bit more time on the model this week but while 6 sessions, still only about 7 hours mostly late evenings.
I have been working on constructing the wing assemblies, still more to do:
And - the tail assembly, I should really have held off cementing that in place a bit longer but impatience won out - not a good thing that in model building!!!
Here are a couple of shots of the cockpit as it looks now. This kit's engineering is far from the best and the fit around the cockpit is not great. I have had a fair bit of filling in place and eliminating a 'shelf' by building up layers of filler. Lots of sanding done this week!!
Here is where my attention turns next - the underside and the gondola area with a lot of canopy to fix in place. I am expecting a few fit issues here too.
Finally to give you a real idea of the size, here is a test fit of the wings holding the model in my fist and I do not have small hands!!!
- 22 February 2013 11:23216865Wow! What Big hands you have
That is a large model I didn't realize the scale of the aircraft, looking good
- 22 February 2013 16:09216913Making great progress Barry.
Roger - 1 March 2013 13:41218112I commented early on that this kit is well engineered. That was my initial impression but I now take that back. It is deceptive, this kit is a typical Revell one, with appalling engineering, poor fitting and terrible instructions that are misleading.
My fit problems around the cockpit and gondola area are quite serious. I have shown some of the problems and the use of filler. The fit of the gondola transparencies are very poor and I have had to use filler. It is not ideal and I am limited in what I can do to correct some parts of that fit.
In addition I had problems with the undercarriage. The instructions were misleading and there are no positive locations to fix the angles. This has been a struggle.
I will still be able to get an impressive model out of this kit but it will not be up to my usual standard. Anyway, some progress pics.
The troublesome gondola area:
The even more troublesome undercarriage
More work done to the wings - at least they fit well....
The engine nacelles - the fit of these to the wings looks as it it might be a bit ropey. Got to clean them up first though....
Overall had more time than usual this week, 5 sessions and about 7 hours work. - Alec Sheldon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 18 Aug 2008
- Posts: 1,037
1 March 2013 15:57218136You have got some patience Barry. - 1 March 2013 19:25218229He certainly does Alec.
Making a silk purse out a pig's ear.
Roger - 1 March 2013 20:11218268Thanks Alec and Roger.... doing my best...
- 1 March 2013 21:07218290Looks good to me too... was this a medium bomber?Never give up...
- 2 March 2013 05:35218335That'd be spooky Richard !
Roger - 2 March 2013 07:20218341Richard, yes it was used as a medium bomber in the Battle of Britain but it served throughout the war in a number of roles and was one of the best German airframes. It was a nightfighter, a maritime patrol aircraft equipped with torpedoes and depth charges, a reconnaissance aircraft, a dive bomber etc.
- 2 March 2013 09:00218355Sounds like a good all-rounder Barry.
Roger - 8 March 2013 10:55219360More update photos.
I have not has a lot of time this week. At a messy stage too, been spraying some small sub-assemblies with primer and some inside areas with RLM02 Grey.
The bombs are not pictured as they are soaking in a bath of what the Americans call 'rubbing alcohol'. These resin components are much heavier than I am used to and my normal way of securing them for painting has not worked!! They got into a bit of a mess so I am cleaning them up before re-doing...
next - to paint some detail on the undercarriage assembly by hand mostly before attaching the wings.
- 15 March 2013 11:26220505Not a great deal of time this week but I have managed to get the following done:
Weathered the last of the internal detail in the wheel wells.
Attach the wings and bomb racks - including initial seam treatment
Primed the aircraft and bombs
Airbrushed some details on wheels/props etc
here is a shot of the main structure hanging up for the primer to dry
Here are the attached bomb racks
And - here are some of the details set to dry. These have to be left for 24 hours at least to cure before being mask up to spray the next colour.
The primer shows up a lot of flaws in the seams that I have filled and will sand before applying another primer coat. This may have to be repeated until all the flaws are gone. I can also mask up and get on with finishing the props, wheels and bombs. Hopefully I will have pre-shaded the panel lines on the main structure by next week and even, perhaps have applied a base coat or two. Depends on how much time I get.... - 22 March 2013 10:33221615Well the end is now in sight though there remains a lot of work still to do.
First up - after the final primer I 'pre-shaded' the model by spraying black along the panel lines and in other areas where I want to add depth to the model. What I am trying to do is to trick the eye into seeing on a model the kind of effects light plays on a surface, areas of shade and light.
After the pre-shading I spray the base colour building it up in thin coats leaving some of the pre-shading showing through and then I spray into the middle of panels the base colour lightened with about 20% white and very well thinned. After that I mist on a very, very thinned base coat to tone down the contrast and to blend the effects until I get appropriate levels of contrast.
Here is the pre-shaded model, it is important not to have the pre-shading looking all neat and tidy, it needs to be a bit random looking.
Here we have a shot of the underside with the base coat of RLM65 Blue applied, I hope you can see the effects I am trying to achieve in the shot.
I had to leave the paint to cure for 24 hours before masking it up - a 2 hour job! ready to apply the base colour on the topside. It is RLM71 Olive Green.
While waiting for the green to cure I finished the painting and weathering of the propellers, wheels and bombs. Complete with paint chips and scratches and mud on the tyres... The mud is Vallejo Burnt Umber pigment brushed on and into the tyre treads.
So next week I will be masking up and applying the splinter camo scheme with RLM70 Black Green before painting some details then applying gloss varnish to prepare the surface to take decals. Then more varnish to seal the, weathering washes, chipping and pigments before matt varnishing and adding the final details..... - 22 March 2013 11:02221619Your attention to detail Barry, is to be lauded - well done; it's coming along beautifully, look forward to seeing the finished plane.
Roger - 29 March 2013 09:02222717This week I had a few problems along the way.
Here is a pic of the airframe masked up ready for the top splinter camo in RLM70
When I removed the masking the paint came away in two places leaving bare plastic. This has not happened to me before and I can only assume that when giving this big model its alcohol wash i missed these two patches. here is a shot on one of these:
That was not too difficult to repair. It require 'feathering' with a sanding stick, masking the section and the spraying RLM71. More problematical was how the undercarriage on one side broke away when removing the masking. In addition the wheel axles also broke off. The axles were weak components anyway and there was no hope of them holding the weight of the aircraft so I was going to replace them with steel pins anyway. I cemented the undercarriage back - pick below:
While that was drying I filled the holes in the wheels where the axles would fit with plastic rod. I then drilled them out to fit steel pins, drilling the legs and supergluing them into position. here is a pic of the wheels with the holes filled and the pins all ready.
As you can see below it all worked and the plane is sitting on all three wheels now.
I gloss coated the aircraft - that is why it is all looking very shiny, ready for the decals which will be the next step. These will then be sealed by another gloss varnish, washes will be added before the first matt coat, some more weathering, the final matt coat and then final fixtures and fittings.
In theory I need four more sessions but as it is a large aircraft it may well be more and seeing that I will not have much, if any, time for this over the holiday it may not be finished for next Friday. My next update will be the finished model but it could be a few days later than normal..... - 29 March 2013 10:42222734Forgotten fact for you. A Ju88 was shot down over Dover on 21st January 1944 after returning from a bombing mission late at night. Caught by searchlights, it was hit by AA fire and crashed right on top of The Citadel, skidding across the parade ground, demolishing the gymnasium and exploding. The pilot, Helmut Neumann was killed, the gunner Heinz Grun parachuted to safety, but the other two crew were never found. Grun, unusually, was reportedly a committed Nazi and was taken by MI5 for interrogation.
- 30 March 2013 07:59222872Well done Barry - look forward to seeing it finished - problems, always problems, but you've sorted them very well.
Thanks for that info. Phil. Perhaps Barry could use that on a mini notice board for this plane.
Roger - 6 April 2013 11:20224010Thats it ....... this pig of a kit is now finished, well sort of.
It fought me right to the end. The engineering of a kit as complex as this is clearly beyond the talents of Revell. This has to have been the very worse kit I have built. If something could go wrong then it did go wrong with this model, things that have never gone wrong on my models before, like getting a 'bloom' on the transparencies happened here. This model shows me why I am happy to pay £100 or more for a kit from a decent manufacturer. You get what you pay for.
Here is a shot of the underside. I applied Flory washes to the model and then cleaned it off leaving residue in the places where dirt gathers, like panel lines. In this shot I have cleaned off the underside of the fuselage but not the wings yet.
Here are some finished images.
