1/144 WW2 aircraft

Revell/Lodela P-39Q Airacobra

P-39 Airacobra (15.1kB) This little Airacobra kit already looks good straight from the box, so I made very little changes to the kit.
The most significant modification was shortening the main landing gear and packing the nose with lead, to give the model the typical nose-up stance of the real P-39.
I added some detail by carefully drilling holes in the gun ports and muzzles and adding a pitot tube out of metal wire.
I used the decals that came with the kit.
P-39 Airacobra (21.8kB)
P-39 Airacobra (12.5kB)


Date finished: August 6, 1984.



Revell/Lodela Ju-87B Stuka

Ju-87B Stuka (13.1kB) This kit yields a rather simplified rendition of a Stuka, I changed and detailed some things, but left the wing with its incorrect anhedral and dihedral as it was.
Some years earlier I built the magnificent 1/24 scale Airfix Stuka, so for fun I opened the canopy and engine cover of this little Revell kit, added some details from scratch and finished the model in the same paint scheme as the 1/24 scale model.
Scratch built details include:

  • cut open radiator intake and exhaust and added radiator
  • widened the main wheels and covers
  • added bomb cradle under fuselage
  • added dive brakes under the wings
  • added bomb racks under the wings
  • added pitot tube to starboard wing
  • added landing light to port wing
  • added aerial mast to canopy
  • added L-shaped steps behind wing
  • added rear gun
  • added twin tail plane support struts
Ju-87B Stuka (26.1kB)

Most of the markings were painted by hand.

The model has deteriorated a bit over the years: the aerial mast is due for replacement and the port wing tip developed a weird bend.

Date finished: March 2, 1979.



AHM/Mitsuwa Ju-87B Stuka to Ju-87G tankbuster conversion

Ju-87G (8.2kB) The Mitsuwa Ju-87B kit has a couple of shape problems, the most significant ones are its rearward sloping canopy and the long fat nose. These are both features found on later Stuka models (Ju-87D and onwards) but not on any Ju-87B's. However the chin radiator is a large 'B' type one. So I decided to do some surgery and turn this little bastard (I mean that in the literal sense of the word) into a true late model Stuka. As the differences between a 'B' and a 'D' model aren't that easily noticed on a 1/144 model I opted for the spectacular 'G' tankbuster variant.
Modifications include:

Ju-87G (15.9kB)
  • remove oil cooler indents on top of engine cowling
  • replace chin radiator with smaller oil cooler
  • add twin underwing radiators
  • add a new longer prop spinner
  • add a long air intake to starboard side engine cover
  • extend wing tips and ailerons
  • replace twin tail plane support struts with solid ones
  • add dorsal fin to base of vertical fin after reshaping the rear upper fuselage
  • add twin barrel rear facing gun to canopy

Ju-87G (20.3kB) For a 'G' make these additional modifications:

  • delete bomb cradle from fuselage
  • delete underwing speed brakes
  • add underwing guns from scratch
  • replace landing gear with uncowled legs (legs from plastic rod, wheels from spares box, mine came from a set of 1/72 Airfix Harrier outriggers)

Date finished: December 31, 1981.


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