Junkers Ju 87 B
Dual Combo

Eduard, 1/144 scale

Reviewed by Mark Davies

Eduard’s MiG-15bis Profipack Edition is available online from Squadron.com

The infamous Ju 87 Stuka should need no introduction, but for a handy synopsis on its development and service history, check out Wikepedia by clicking here.

The Ju 87B was of course the variant that saw significant service in early to mid-WW2 which made it the most famous dive-bomber in history.

The Kit

Inside the end-opening box are the two main sprues, one for each kit; packed in a resealable cellophane bag. The canopies are in a small plastic bag of their own, as is the PE fret with its card stiffener. All these items, plus the instructions and decals, are then enclosed within a zip-lock plastic bag. So all very thorough and well protected from a packaging point of view.

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The instructions are a glossy colour printed booklet. They include a parts map and have very clear and easy to follow drawings. English is used throughout, although the usual “Attention” blurb is provided in several other languages too. Paint colours are cross-referenced to Gunze’s Aqueous and Mr. Color paint ranges (stocked and sold by Eduard on-line).  A copy of the instructions can be downloaded or opened as a PDF by clicking here.

The kit is straightforward kit with a conventional parts breakdown, and is well-engineered overall. Parts are fairly crisp with delicate recessed surface detail. Any cleaning can be easily dealt with in seconds, although quite large sink marks in the wheel spats will need filling.

Assembly may prove a little fiddly in places; I find Junkers-style ailerons and flaps tricky enough in 1/72-scale, so expect a possible challenge with them on this tiny kit. There are also some small PE parts, which include tailplane struts, bomb-crutch, pitots, dive-brakes, the rear defense machine-gun, and antenna mast.

No cockpit detail, or indeed even a cockpit, is provided; just a blanked off surface to which the canopy fits. This may not seem to matter a great deal to those of us who build in larger scales given the kit’s small size, but there are 1/144-scale builders who garnish their model cockpits with PE details; so they may be a lot less accepting. But 1/144-builders are a pretty resourceful lot, so I’m sure many will elect to carve out a cockpit create their own detail.

A single centreline bomb is provided, but no smaller ones for the outboard wing positions. I also note that the wing bomb-racks appear to be the universal type with a streamlined fairing around the actual racks, unlike the plain exposed twin racks often seen on early Ju 87B’s. I also feel that the lack of smaller bombs is a pity.

Marking Options

The kit provides three markings options with paint call-outs including RLM codes as well as Gunze numbers. The Paintings and markings guides are nicely done colour four-views.

The options are:

• Ju 87B-1, flown by Maj. Alfons Orthofer, II./StG 77;

• Ju 87B-2 trop, 2./StG 1, Derna, Libya, October 1941; and

• Ju 87B, 5.J/88 Legion Condor, Catalonia, Spain, January 1939.

The decals look to be of superb quality, and comprehensive for the scale; with swastikas are included.

Eduard has provided a simple kit of this iconic dive-bomber. It may be unavoidably fiddly in a couple of places due to its small size, but it should still build well.

Surface detail is nice, but elsewhere detail is compromised because of the scale selected. This is perhaps most notable in the absence of a cockpit. I also have some doubts about the applicability of the wing bomb-racks to some options, and feel that the lack of smaller bombs is a pity.

I have seen examples of this kit built up on-line, and they look convincing representations. With this in mind, I am happy to recommend Eduard’s Ju 87B.

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text & Copyright © 2014 by Mark Davies
Images Copyright © 2014 by Eduard
Page Created 31 December, 2014
Last updated 31 December, 2014

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