Junkers Ju 88 A-4

Revell, 1/72 scale 

Reviewed by Brett Green

2008? Can it really be more than three years since Revell released their magnificent 1/32 scale Junkers Ju 88 A-1?

Well, Revell has now followed up their landmark large-scale release with a 1/72 scale Junkers Ju 88 A-4. This is not the ancient Ju 88 A/D kit from Revell (kit no. 4130, and still widely available so watch out!), nor is it a rebox of anyone else's moulds. It is an honest-to-goodness all-new Revell moulding.

The kit comprises 191 parts in pale blue-grey plastic, 15 parts in clear and markings for two aircraft.

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Thumbnail panels:

The quality of the mouldings is excellent. Texture of the plastic is satin. Surface detail is by way of fine and crisply recessed panel lines with selected rivets and raised features as appropriate. All the surface detail is consistently rendered with no fading or soft lines in evidence. The only imperfections I could find was a sink mark on one of the seats and ejector pin circles on the dive flaps.

The cockpit area is particularly well detailed. The seats (including alternative pilot's seats), their mounts, radios, instruments, quadrants, guns, ammunition, oxygen bottles, sidewalls and rudder pedals are all realistically detailed. The only omissions are the seat harnesses, which is a little surprising as the recently released Halifax had straps moulded to its seats.

The dials on the instrument panel are represented by raised squares, over which decal dials are applied. This should look fine in 1/72 scale.

Exterior detail is as well executed as the cockpit. All control surfaces, including the flaps, are separate. The mounts for the flaps, ailerons and dive brakes may need some minor surgery if you want to position them dropped.

The A-4-style tailplanes and wing tips are separate parts too, hinting at other versions to follow.

The rear of the cockpit gondola may also be posed open.

The undercarriage looks to be robust, and it is also well detailed. Wheels and tyres look great. They feature brake line connectors on the main wheel hubs. The tyres are neither bulged nor flattened.

Engine nacelles are simply broken down into two halves. Cowl flaps are moulded closed as part of each cowling half. Each exhaust section is supplied as a single strip. Engine instruments are moulded as recessed circles on the sides of the nacelles.

The kit includes the four wing-mounted ETC bomb racks along with a selection of four 250 kg and two 500 kg bombs. Bomb bay doors are moulded shut and there is no internal bomb bay detail.

Clear parts are beautifully presented. They are crisp, thin and clear. Canopy framing is raised and suitably fine.

Instructions are called out over 63 steps in a 16 page booklet. New to Revell, I was very pleased to see that the instructions call out the sprue letter along with the part number in each construction step. This makes it much easier to locate parts on the sprues. I hope that Revell instructions continue to include this simple but very helpful feature.

Markings are supplied for two subjects:

• Junkers Ju 88 A-4 of 9./KG 30 In Sicily, June 1941 finished in standard RLM 70/71 green upper surfaces and RLM 65 Light Blue below.

• Junkers Ju 88 A-4 5./LG 1, Greece, March 1942 finished in a desert scheme or RLM 78, 79 and 80.

Decals are in register and colours look good. Full stencil markings are also provided.

As is the case with all Revell GmbH models, Hazenkreuze decals are not supplied. These will have to be sourced from the spares box or from after-market decal sheets.

Revell's all-new 1/72 scale Junkers Ju 88 A-4 kit is accurate, highly detailed and sensibly engineered.

Hasegawa's 1/72 scale kit has held the title of best small scale Ju 88 since its release, but Revell's Ju 88 A-4 is actually superior in terms of detail (especially the cockpit) and is keenly priced.

I do hope that Revell expands its Ju 88 family before too long.

Highly Recommended.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For
further information visit www.revell.eu

Text and Images Copyright © 2011 by Brett Green
This Page Created on 20 January, 2012
Last updated 20 January, 2012

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