Randy Asplund's
Aviation Models
Junkers Ju 87B-2
Top: Airfix Kit 1/72 scale
5 Staffel/Stukageschwader 2 "Immelman," Lannion, France,
August 1940
Bottom: MPC Kit 1/72 scale
Converted to 2 Staffel/Stukageschwader 2 North Africa 1941
At the end of fifth grade my friend Keller moved to
San Francisco and gifted me with the remains of some of his models
and unbuilt kits. I kept these for spare parts in scratch building
and kit-bashing. One of the items he left was a bag of parts for
an MPC model of the Ju 87 Stuka, but it was incomplete. Let me
start by saying that this is one of the absolute worst kits I
have ever seen. Poorly molded, inaccurate, corners cut on detailing
so much it looks like a toy for preschoolers. I just can't describe
it all. To make matters worse, it was missing the canopy and left
horizontal stabilizer, missing the right aileron/flap, and had
no decals.
When I was a kid, I had the Revell 1/32 scale model
of a Ju 87B used in North Africa and marked with a red and white
snake. I thought it was just really cool, but over the years the
model was wrecked and the pieces lost. I was resolved to replace
it, so I figured I would buy a 1/72 Stuka and convert it. In 2000
I bought the Airfix Ju 87B, but I decided I really wanted a copy
of one that was marked for the Battle Of Britain. The new model
was actually rather well done, so I decided to use it as a pattern
to manufacture new parts for the cheap piece of crap from MPC.
I decided that the MPC model would represent a serious challenge
that I would use to test my model building ability.
THE JOB
On the Airfix kit I did a fair bit of extra work. Using
photos and illustrations in books I created the cockpit with stretched
sprue for the internal cage and sheet plastic to make details
like the wall, radio and extra seat details. I also made balances
for the ailerons, added details on the bomb, and cleaned out the
air scoops. The MPC kit was the real job. I vacu-formed a new
canopy over the Airfix canopy, carved a new stabilizer and made
matching rivets and cut the lines for the elevator. It also needed
a hinge flange to go on the outside edge. There was no attempt
at a cockpit. They actually left it fared over and had two holes
for half of a pilot to get plopped into! So I had to remove that
and build an entire cockpit from scratch. What a pain. I had to
scrounge a tail wheel, and I had to construct a new aileron/elevator
assembly out of sheet.
The maker had totally skimped on the intakes. They
didn't even bother to back hollow them at all. Where there should
be a huge air scoop is just a flat surface. Even worse, the upper
engine cowling was pretty smooth. It was only a minimal attempt
to imply that air scoops existed at all! How they had the conscience
to put their names on this I'll never understand. I had to cut
them all open and remove much of the top of the engine cowling
altogether. While I was at it I opened the air scoop on the right
side of the fuselage and made a miniature grill for it. I made
a radiator grill for the inside of the now opened radiator cowling.
I then had to use sheet plastic and build the flat cover and out
vent flap of the oil cooler on the upper cowling. This was built
up with a lot of putty and then sculpted back down to the proper
contours. I had to carve deep into the plastic of the top of the
nose to make the intake path.
The wheels were way too narrow, but I let that slide.
I cut the tread grooves in the tires though. Neither model had
seen fit to provide a clear piece for the wing mounted landing
light. so I had to make that as well. Almost as disappointing
as the lack of cockpit and nose detail was the way they wimped
out on the bomb. it was the wrong shape, but the top part was
hollowed out and secured to the fuselage by two big ugly pins.
They didn't bother to include the swinging bomb rack (which is
a pretty critical mechanism for a dive bomber!). Geeze! I had
to build a new one out of sprue. I also had to make the two steps
that protrude from the rear of the fuselage and the trailing antenna
mast.
Decaling was aided by some crosses and letter insignia
from the left-overs of other model kits, but I didn't have enough,
and I didn't have a snake! I had to hand paint some of the letters
on the fuselage and hand paint the snake onto both sides. The,
decaling over those shapes would have been tricky anyway, so what
the heck.
I just noticed that the propeller spinner is on crooked!
Argh! I wanted to be able to reposition the propeller for photography,
so I put in a weak kind of cap so it would revolve. It was really
loose, so I used rubber cement to hold it. I guess it popped before
I shot the photo. Please forgive.