Marek Marathon; JU-87B Tropical

[cjwalas]

Bob,
Let's definitely compare notes on these birds. They seem to be simple recolors; the only material difference between the two is the larger air filter on the tropical version, which Marek has chosen not to redo. It's not a big deal visually.
But please let me know what you run into along the way. I've found a few instances where I wasn't sure whether it was me or the designer that was a little confused or confusing. Your experience would go a long way to help clarify a few things!
Best of luck on your build and please do a build thread on it!
Chris

[dansls1]

Great progress Chris!
Bob - I have the B2(R2) printed out in my stack of potential builds - not sure when I'll get to it but I'll be watching your build for your issues (as well as Chris).

[cjwalas]

A bit more. I jumped ahead a little so that I could point out what I think is an interesting detail of this kit's design. The landing gear on most Stuka kits tends to be a weak point, with the actual attachment being flimsy. Marek must have built a couple of these other kits as he's gone to lengths to improve the attachment.

The frame for each landing gear is made up of three cardboard sections laminated one on the next to create a hollow "sleeve";


This sleeve is designed to fit over a tab extension of the wing former at the bend in the wing.


The gear simply and easily slide into place without any worry about strength or alignment.


When glued into place (I haven't yet), these gear are really solid. My thanks to this designer for such a neat idea!


The main wings are on! The fit is good, but the fairings are a necessity, not a luxury! The wing angles can be a problem on some Stuka kits, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.


It's starting to look like a Stuka now. There's still plenty left to do, but I always feel a little more confident when I get to this stage without having ruined something....


Oh, wait, I kinda did ruin something. I tend to get up earlier than my wife and so I make her a cappucino each morning and serve it to her in bed. It makes her feel like a queen for a few moments before being treated like a slave the rest of the day! Anyway, I managed to get a little bit of cappucino foam on my left pinky without noticing it this morning.:( Of course I went right to the model and picked it up, transferring the foam to the bottom of the plane without even noticing it. If only it had been a little further up the fuselage, the bomb would disguise it. Careful camera angles will be called for to hide it!! Doh!
Chris

[cgutzmer]

been there done that - usually the kids chocolate milk for me though

[Texman]

That's not a cappucino stain, it's a weathered oil leak....

Ray

[Darwin]

Chris, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with that particular doh! factor to my building.

Marek uses this landing gear technique on some of his other models, which are on my to do list. Do you think it would be worth the effort to cut the wheel segments out of the spat formers so that the wheels can then be turned on the Dremel? The other option I've been thinking of is cutting off the exposed portion of the wheels from the spats, turning a 'normal' set of wheels, then slicing off a segment to glue to the bottom of the spats....however, I think the first option would be preferable provided the cutout wouldn't excessively weaken the spat part of the LG.

[cjwalas]

I think either approach on the wheels would work. The bottom of the wheel spats is flat and I suspect that using one wheel cut in half would give you a stronger finished piece. Cutting out the wheel shape from the formers would be more and more delicate work (at least on the Stuka). You'd need to cut three layers of card for each wheel, plus the outer two circular wheel pieces. And the cutout spat frame would most likely be weakened IMHO.
Chris

[cjwalas]

Interesting day working on this one. I remembered that the wheels spats on this were a bit of an issue, so I was forewarned. The wheel spats are formed as a single piece, which I'm not a big fan of;

The form of the spats has been simplified a little and I have to say I think this is the one big issue I have with this kit. It's a difficult shape to get right, but this is the most difficult design I've run across in all the Stuka's I've done. They're not impossible, just not as straightforward as the rest of the kit. The bottom of the spats have a flat piece (actually it's two laminated pieces)

Unfortunately, they don't remotely fit. The flat piece comes to an inaccurate point at the front. The spat itself is correctly rounded. You need to trim the front of the bottom pieces to fit;


I'm also plugging along on the props and canopy pieces...slowly.

This kit is one of the few (maybe the only?) 1:33 Stuka that includes the siren. The kit represents the R version of the JU-87, a long range version with additional wing tanks in lieu of the four smaller bombs often carried. I did a little research on this version and found that not all used the sirens and some only used one siren. A rendering of a Stuka with these exact markings showed one siren as in this kit, but mounted on the opposite landing gear that Marek has it on. Not sure which is correct?


Attached ailerons and flaps. Like many other Stuka kits, this one doesn't include hinges for these pieces; an easy fabrication.


Looking more like a Stuka every day!
Chris

[cgutzmer]

That is some great work so far! Thanks for the insights
Chris

[cjwalas]

Was gone most of the weekend, but got a little done when I got home today;

Loaded the bomb!


Mounted the machine gun!


Filled the long range fuel tanks!
There really isn't much more to do on this one. The spinner/props are ready to go, but I'm waiting until I do the canopy, hopefully tomorrow night!
Chris