Junkers Ju87B-1 Stuka

This was built with the Eduard Big Ed set and HGW seatbelts. I also had a resin MG 15 but ended up saving it for another build (although I still think the detail on the kit gun is somewhat lacking). It was also unintentionally the first time I used a vac form canopy after I cracked the front part from the box. All I will say is I have no intention of ever using one again (not least because I don't think it looks any better than the other two parts which were from the box

This was quite an eventful build in the end. I decided early on that I wanted to show the engine, which was my first time doing that. Looking at it now I regret doing it - I think it would have looked better with the cowling. I also showed off the guns in the wings. I must admit I think I will only do this when there is a specific reason in future. I am also not convinced on the stability of the engine on the model - the whole thing has been placed well out of reach of my three year old!!

The kit was pretty good, except there were a lot of ejector pin marks in the cock pit. They were also in quite awkward places so took quite some effort to resolve. There was also a couple of sink marks on one of the fuselage halves, but these were easier to resolve as they didnt appear near any surface detail. Despite the irritating issues I would certainly build it again (and have my eye on the B-2 version)

The first of two major problems I had with the build was the seam line down the fuselage, I really struggled to get rid of it. The second was the chipping. I initially painted the whole airframe using Alcad (I used this for practice) and then put a chipping solution down before the camouflage. Unfortunately when masking all the paint was pulled up because of the chipping solution so I had to strip it all down and start again. I have now offically given up on the technique and in future will just use a sponge, I think it looks just as good anyway and is far less hassle

For the painting I used a combination of marbling on a black base and panel line shading by only marbling within the panels. I know pre-shading panel lines seems to be going out of fashion, but I still think there is a place for it, as long as the plane doesn't end up looking like a patch work quilt. I also painted on the main marking, and only used the decals for the stencils and the pigs on the wheels.

In terms of weathering I first used the oil dot filter, but this didn't really show up (will need more practice that particular technique). I then applied a panel line wash; I initially tried the mud wash on the upper surfaces, but it really didn't look right so reverted back to dark dirt in the end. I then added streaks (the oil streaks going to one side is based on a photo I saw of a Stuka, which I though would make it all more interesting); I used Ammo Mig streaking effect, but will try oils in my next build I think - the Ammo Mig enamel doesn't quite work for me for some reason. I also added so pigments for the exhaust staining.

Overall I am reasonably happy with the finish, but its not quite as good as I think it could have been, but as I ever I do feel I am improving