Italeri

1/72 Ju-88A-4

Kit Number: 1018

Reviewed by  Brian R. Baker, IPMS# 43146

MSRP: $25.00 Review kit provided by Model Rectifier Corp (MRC) www.modelrectifier.com HISTORY The Junkers JU-88 was the Luftwaffe's "jack of all trades" during World War II. Originally designed as a fast bomber during the late thirties, the type was adapted for use in the reconnaissance, day and night fighter, close support, maritime search and attack, torpedo bombing, and training roles. Its final task was as the lower half of the "Mistel", where the aircraft was converted to a large guided missile by the installation of a larghe warhead and shaped charge detonator, carrying a Messerschmitt BF-109 or Focke Wulf FW-190 mounted on top as a controller plane. The JU-88 served in every area that the Luftwaffe operated, and was never replaced by its successor, the JU-188, or by the high performance prototypes, the JU-288 and JU-388. In addition, the JU-88 was exported to a number of countries, including Finland, Italy, Rumania, and Hungary, and captured examples were operated by the French during the latter stages of the war, and for a considerable period afterwards. THE KIT This kit was issued many years ago, a number of years after Italeri's very successful series of JU-188 kits, and replaced the out of date Airfix, Frog, and Revell offerings of the sixties and seventies. `Actually, Italeri produced not only the JU-88A-4, but also a JU-88C heavy fighter and a JU-88G night fighter. These kits all had different parts to suit the variant, and I am including photos of them all for comparison. I am not sure exactly when these first appeared, but my records show that I built all of them, including the original JU-88A-4, between 1992 and 1995, so they aren't very recent. The current re-release of the JU-88A-4 is identical to the original except for the decals, as far as I can tell. The "C" model has a new solid nose and no bomb racks or dive brakes (they may have been on a sprue, but were not to be used), while the JU-88G had the BMW engines and cowlings, without the cooling fans common to this engine, by the way. On another manufacturer's kit of the JU-88S, small star washers purchased at Ace Hardware filled the bill perfectly, but I digress. The "G" model also had the simpler, one gun canopy, and the radar and armament peculiar to this model. Then there were the original JU-188 kits which appeared about 1976 or 1977, and these were excellent, and still are. Looking at the way the kit is designed, it would not be difficult to convert this to an earlier JU-88A-1 or JU-88A-5, as the differences are minor. The kit consists of 101 grey plastic and 7 clear plastic parts. The molding represents the state of the art in the late eighties, with slightly raised panel line and rivet details, although this is not a problem for me, as I recall years ago examining a JU-88D that was held in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ (It is the same aircraft now exhibited at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH), and recall that I was surprised to find so many round headed rivets on a plane that I would have assumed to have been flush riveted over the entire airframe. The internal details are basic, with the cockpit consisting of a floor, instrument panel, rear bulkhead, and radio panel. You'll also find three highly detailed seats, which have shoulder harnesses but no seat belts, and a two piece control column. One good feature of the kit from the conversion standpoint, and this kit easily lends itself to making some of the many variants of this aircraft, is the ventral cupola, which is molded in a separate unit which attached to the forward section of the fuselage. The open ventral hatch opening, which apparently appeared on all variants, can be used without additional modification, even if the cupola is not installed. Even an access ladder is included. In addition, the bomb racks are molded separately, and can be left off on variants that did not have them. INSTRUCTIONS The instructions consist of one page of aircraft history in 6 languages, a sprue diagram, 7 exploded assembly diagrams that are very useful, two four view drawings for each of the two aircraft for which decals are provided, and one page of warnings included because we have some very greedy lawyers out there who will sue the manufacturer if a three year old should accidentally start building this model. DECALS Decals are of excellent quality, and provide markings for two aircraft: 1. JU-88A-4 "Totenkopf Geschwader" 1/KG54, based at Bergamo, Italy, during 1943. This aircraft apparently had a brown and green upper surface camouflage scheme (probably RLM 71 and 79) with 65 undersides, and was coded B3+FL, with white fuselage band and wingtips. The entire aircraft had a light grey "squiggle" wave pattern camouflage sprayed over the topsides, and the same pattern underneath in dark green. No swastikas are provided in the kit decals in deference to the doctrine of political correctness. 2. JU-88A-4 in exactly the same camouflage scheme, only in Swiss Air Force markings. This is also an Ex-KG54 aircraft, flown either by a lost pilot, or more probably a defector. Swiss markings are provided, and this version might prove to be a very colorful model. REFERENCES There is plenty of material available on the Ju-88. Aside from the internet, the Squadron In-Action series provides excellent drawings and photos. Green's WARPLANES OF THE THIRD REICH gives a good historical account, while other sources are also useful. There is certainly no shortage of information on this airplane. ASSEMBLY The cockpit is a relatively simple unit to construct, but the instructions say to paint it light green (RLM 02) when RLM 66 dark grey is the more likely color. The seats are nicely done, but the instrument panel is a little tricky to install and get lined up properly. Some side wall detail is provided, and this and the rear radio panel need to be painted before the fuselage halves are joined. In addition, the tail wheel should be painted and detailed, as this has to go in before the halves are joined. Once these parts are glued together, the glass parts can be added, although I waited until the basic wing and tail unit assembly was completed for ease of handling. The instructions say to wait until the basic assembly is completed before installing the cupola under the nose, but I installed it sooner, as it needs a little bit of filler on the seams. Be sure to mask the windows and paint the unit 66 grey. The rear gun position doubles as an entry hatch, and it can be left off until the model is almost completed. The wings are no-brainers, and you have to only make sure that the dihedral angle is correct, but the engine nacelles and landing gear strut mounting bulkheads are a little trickier. The instructions state to assemble the landing gear and install it before joining the nacelle halves, but I waited until after basic painting for this step. The floors lined up on the little tabs provided for them, but later it was difficult to attach the rear portions of the landing gear retraction struts behind the main gear. This was because they are offset, and the drawings show an asymmetrical assembly, while the parts themselves are symmetrical. The forward nacelles can be added after the rear nacelles are joined to the wing underside, as they are merely top and bottom sections which attach to the rear part of the nacelles. The radiator cowlings are molded with the cowl flaps shut, which isn't a problem, but I didn't attach them permanently until after the airplane was completely painted, as the prop would be difficult to paint when it is attached to the engine. The bomb racks go into marked positions, although they don't quite conform to the curvature of the wing. I used superglue, and they stayed on OK. I would advise painting them 65 and not installing them until the basic painting is completed. The horizontal tail units are easy to install and line up once the wings are in their proper position. Now the model is ready for the rest of the glass installation. The clear canopies fit very well, although the panel line markings for the windows are a little unclear at times, and references are required. One problem is the guns. They must be installed from the inside, and you either have to paint them the exterior color and then repaint in gunmetal, or cut them off and reattach them after major painting is done. I did it that way, as it is a lot less work. Be sure to add the detail parts, such as engine exhausts and exhaust fairings, pitot tube, and radio mast. The instructions are very clear on this, so you won't encounter any problems here. I used stretched sprue for the Low frequency antenna wire. PAINTING Both paint schemes require some pretty fancy airbrushing to get those "wave pattern" squiggle markings, in reality thin sprayed lines, to look authentic. I had always wanted to do a Russian Front snow camouflaged JU-88, so here was my chance. I found a reference for a JU-88A-4 of 1/KG-1 on p. 114 and p.136 of Smith and Gallaspy's LUFTWAFFE COLORS, VOL 2. This provides both a photograph and a side profile color drawing. I painted on the yellow theater markings, yellow fuselage band and wingtips, masked them, and then did the underside after carefully masking off the clear areas. This was very time consuming, but it was downhill after that. I used 65 got the undersides, masked that, and then did a standard pattern of RML 70 and 71 in the prescribed pattern for a JU-88. I then unmasked the top and bottom of the airplane and applied a thin and patchy coat of flat white to the upper surfaces, simulating a patchy and deteriorating white snow camouflage finish after a month or so on operations. Some weathering finished the job, and the results are almost convincing. I used the kit decals for the underwing crosses, and the decal box for the other crosses, swastikas, and code letters. I then attached the props, engine cowlings, wheels, dive brakes, and other hardware that was required. After removing the last of the masking tape, I had another model of a JU-88, one that filled a gap in my "Russian Front" section. RECOMMENDATION This kit was fun to build with no real frustrations. It goes together quickly, and can be done in a variety of paint schemes and configurations. It lends itself easily to modifications and conversions, and any number of variants could be made from it. This kit is worth getting, and I would highly recommend it. Thanks to MRC (Bob Lewen) and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

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