Bish1707821547

Got mine today, looks like a great kit. The issue with the ECM pod is an easy fix, (Ratch, is that update being included in new boxing's as mine didn't have one but one look showed how to deal with it). Still don't know why Airfix didn't release this last year, but better late than never.

It is the first time in a few years that i won't be adding any new Airfix kits to my shopping list, so thats one good thing. But i was hopeing for the Vulcan.

No black Buck Vulcan, must admit i am surprised at that especially this year.

Nice work there, she came out well, i am currently building the same kit myself. Both of the kit markings options should have a trop filter, was really disapointed airfix did not include that. There are a few other small issues, but its ceratinly the best 72nd 87B i have built.

Time for another update. I got the cockpit fitted which go in from underneath. It was a very tight fit and i had hope to dry fit. But i couldn't remove it for risk of breaking somthing so i ended up clamping it in place as it could have done with some sanding down. One very nice touch on this kit is the addition of the pilots target viewing window. Its attache to a box structure which i had not seen before. I can find any pic of a B pit where you can see it. But i did find an image in a new book i recently got which show in from a training manuel. What is mssing is the external cover to the window which always seems to be closed when on the ground. Fortunatly the Eduard set has that part. The recess around the centre bomb carrier was fille. Not perfect as there are a couple of small openings. But once the bomb is attached this should not be noticed. And then all the final touches to get it ready for priming. The instructions only have you fit the siren mount but the kit does include the sirens. The only image of the aircraft i am doing is a profile in an Osprey book which only shows the mounts. But as i have no photo of it and there is no saying the sirens were not fitted and later removed. As i have no Stuka with the siren, i felt it was well over due. So i fitted it. I also added wing guns and pitot from Quickboost. Now its all together, i can see that IMHO, this is the best 72nd Ju 87B. Clearly the detail is far better than the 30+ year old Fujimi kit. Other than sliding in the pit, the fit is very nice, just a touch of filler along the wing join with the fuselage. The addition on the window under the fuselage is a nice touch. There are just a few small things which stop this kit being perfect. A cover for the window and a larger Trop filter would be great additions. Its also missing the IFF antenna from under the fuselage. oddly Eduard does not include it even though they do on the set for the Fujimi kit and hopefully i have a spare Fujimi one in the spares box. The one thing i really don't like is how Airfix mold the open canopy with the pilots section molded onto the fixed centre piece. Will have a pic of that next time.

I only see one type of coal black both on the Humbrol site and Hannants. Unless your looking at both the enamel and Acrylic No 85 paints.

Started this a couple of weeks ago.This is my 7th 72nd Ju 87. While i do like the Fujimi kit, this new Airfix one is clearly a step up in detail. I know the Fujimi kit is a little oversize, i have not yet compared this one to scale plans but i will at some point. Going over the kit, there are a few things i think they could have done better, but to some degreee these are largely personal preferance. As its a Stuka, i do tend to be a bit picky. I will be ading some Eduard PE and Quickboost resin. The first thing i checked when i got the kit was the supercharger intake. At least one of the marking options is a Trop Stuka, but unfortunatly Airfix did not include the larger Trop intake. This still leaves only the Italeri kit with this option. This is not an issue for this build as i won't be useing the kit markings, but i would pike to have the option of doing Trop Stuka's and unfortuantly the AM market has still not provided any option for this. As usual, i started with the pit. The kit detail is very nice as it is, so the PE spruces up whats there. The gunners seat should just be a frame, but as i am adding the gunner, its not an issue. This was a bit odd. Never seen this reccess underneath before, i had to look it up. There should be a fairing over this. Its a nice option for a dio scene, but it would have been better is the fairing was included. All the pics i have seen in flight show this covered and i can't imagine they would leave it open and rick damage to the wiring. I will use some filler for this. After paint and dry brushing, i added the pre coloure PE. And then got the fuselage together. The centre piece with the seats wil fit up from underneath later. More soon.

Even in 35th scale, etch has an advantage. PE tool clamsp are much finer than clunky plastic ones, even on the most modern kits. Its true that with many of the more recent kits PE is not needed as much on those from the 90's, but it certainly has its users on the best kits. It would have been tricky to replicate the track guards on this Tiger with the plastic kit parts. And even with Dragon slide moulding, the side skirts were still to thick to be displayed removed from the hull.

First 3 new additions this year. First 2 were a new year gift to myself. This is last years re-release which has made it easier (and cheaper) to find. I'll probably do the Dauntless. And a 1/72nd Ju 88A-1 has been on the wanted list for a while, so was please when it was released last year, About time i grabbed it. And i was planning on getting AFV Clubs M109A2 later in the year, but this came up on e-bay for a good price and i thought it would be rude not to. This will be done in Op Granby markings.

A bit dissapointed and underwhelmed, was hoping for a new family of Tornado's now the Bucc and Phantom have been covered. But given the year we have had, not a surprise. At least there is still the Bucc to look forward to. I am just hoping the Vulcan can be built as a Black Buck aircraft.

I doubt it, especially the very small parts. I have used 3D pruinted parts and they are nice. But they are fragile and have a rough surface. I certainly can't see 72nd control leavers o for a cockpit in 72nd. There is a place for both.

No matter how well detailethe kit, it still can't match the detail of much of the PE and resin sets. It is true that not all the PE included is often useful, the trick is knowing what not to use. I have never had a problem with colour matching, in many cases the IP is a different colour to the bulk of the pit. Each to their own for sure, but i'll stick to spruching upaircraft with PE if i can.

Thanks Chris.

Time to wrap up the Shar. I added some RBF tags and a single figure which is from a Hasegawa USAF set just painted in RN uniform. Again, figures are what lets these 72nd dio's down. I wanted to add a ladder but the Eduard one was so fragile it just broke up as i was trying to build it. So i ordered a couple fo set of the Brengun ladders. These has 2 in each set so means i could also add one to the GR.9 and have another pair for my Hunter and another Harrier. Much easier to build. I also have a set of chocks under the rear wheels. This aircraft was based at RNAS Yeovilton in 2006. Thanks for following along. Its nice to foinally have a Harrier on the shelf. All comments welcome as always.

Thanks, its from a company called Video Aviation base in Italy.

Thanks guys.

Thanks guys. Have not seen you around for a while Chris. Time to wrap up the Harrier. Adde some RBF tags as well as a Hasegawa USAF figure painted in UK Desert DPM. The cut of the uniform looked close enough in this scale. Figures are always a let down. This aircraft was base at Kandahar in 2009. Thanks for following along guys. All comments welcome.

One short final update before i wrap up this build. The Shar is now finished and ready to attch to the base. I just gave it a light flory wash and the final mat coat, then adde stores, canopy and the final bits. For the canopy i used the PE Det cord which came with the Eduard PE. I atached this to the inside useing future and i much prefer this over the decal i used on the GR.9. And i also finished the F59 tractor. This is a nice litle kit. It is missing some markings, namely the brand name of the company that makes it. And i have just noticed that little chip in the yellow behind the door, so will touch that up. So, i just need to add some RBF tags and fit this all to the base, and sort out a figure. Should be done by next weekend.

A final short update before i wrap this up. Got the GR.9 finished with a flory wash. I have gone for a rather grubby lok which i think match's the pics i found quite well. Stores were adde along with the canopy and other final bits. I used the decal for the Det cord on the canopy as i didn't have a PE set for this kit. I am not as keen on the decal as i am on the PE i used on the Shar. Just got to add some RBF tags, fit it to the base and sort out a figure.

Thanks Dominic, its almost there, and yes, it will be a dio. I just need to sort out some figures, thats the hard part. These are lovley little kits, i deffinetly recomend them. The only issues i had was with the paint, and that was mainly on the GR.9. The only down side with these new tooled Airfix kits of modern subjects is the amount of decals. But at least tehse were not as bad as the Phantom.

Thanks Dominic. I tend to leave off open hatch's and doors as well as undercarrage legs until i am about to add the final mat coat. These things can be knocked off easilt and often they have decals on, as in this case. I find it easier to decal and weather them off the kit. And i prefer to keep the pit masked until after the flat coat, so the canopy is always one of the last things i add. The loadout will be as per the box art. The kit does come with sindwinders, but even though the rails were carried, i can't see they had much use for them in Afghan.

Been a while since i updated as both the harrier builds slowed a bit, partlydown to some issues with the GR.9. But here is the Shar painted and decaled and ready for some weathering. Hopefylly won't be as long till the next one.

Been a while since i updated as the build slowed a bit, partly due to a painting issue. The Harrier has 3 shades of grey on it, though you can hardky distinguish the lighter 2 even in the flesh let along on the pics. I used Xtracolour for all 3 but for some reason the 3rd one took ages to dry, it was still tacky a week later. So i had to do quite a bit of repair work. I put on a coat of Aqua gloss to seal the paint before adding the decals. Next up some weathering.

Unfortunatly there are no Stuka canopies in this scale. I doubt you will be able to get one from Airfix as the kit has not been produced in 9 years. If the damage is not to bad, you might be able to patch it up with some white glue.

Scalemates is deffinetly worth checking before buying a kit. It also list kit reviews and AM items thatmight be avaliable.