WIP: 1/32 Revell Ju-88 w/ AIMS G-6 Conversion: 5/12/20 Fuselage Closed Up

[Dennis7423]

All-

 

I have this nasty tendency to have several irons in the fire, but since I finished off a 1/48 F7F firebomber conversion, it was time to start cracking on another project I have wanted to get started on in quite a long time.

 

As most know, Revell's 1/32 Ju-88 series (A-1, A-4) were quite impressive kits for their value at the time. Great detail out of the box, and impressively large when completed. However, Revell only ever kitted two versions of the aircraft, of which there were several versions. AIMS came to the rescue, and have released conversion sets to do just about every single version of the Ju-88 in existence. Pastor John's research is thorough, and his parts are top-notch. If you haven't invested in any of his stuff, do it without hesitation.

 

A few years ago, my brother and I were contracted by a flight museum that will be opening up in Salt Lake City, UT, to build several large-scale display models covering the air war in Europe, most notably the bomber campaign. As part of the project, we are not only building large-scale allied bombers (B-17F, B-17G, B-24D, B-24J, Lancaster), but also their escorts and the fighters that opposed them. While the Lancaster is slowly under construction, I was itching to get this Ju-88G-6 night fighter started, so it hit the bench.

 

Pastor John recently released some new resin bits to update the original G-6 conversion set, so I snatched those up as well. Included is a really nice one-piece cockpit pedestal and lower fuselage piece:

 

Here, I have added some of the associated kit parts to the resin, as well as a little scratch building to affix the radar screens:

 

 

 

After a coat of Vallejo RLM66, everything blends in wonderfully:

 

 

I also added the wing tip extensions, as well as the new resin tail. I am trying to get some of the more basic assemblies done to speed up the build process, so that I can focus more time on the detailed portions:

 

Everything fits really well, considering the size. Parts that don't fit quite so well (resin engine inserts onto the wings) are easy enough to work on to fair them in. By and large, this conversion and kit builds fairly quickly. I have discovered that the resin replacement nose is quite a bit smaller than the front of the fuselage, so I will have to get a little creative there. As it sits, I have it flush with the lower fuselage, but there's a considerable step at the top (think 1mm).

 

I am a bit of a novice when it comes to vac-formed parts, and this conversion has several. It has less now because of the new resin bits, but there are still a few spots to work out. One of those being the directional antennae on the spine, which wasn't part of the early A series. The conversion set comes with a complete vac-form spine to replace the kit part, but I wanted to use as much of the kit parts at possible. The location of the antennae is situated in a square panel etched into the kit spine. So, I ground out a circle to accept just the vac-form clear "window" over the antennae structure. The conversion kit would just have you attach a piece of photo-etch to the bottom of the clear piece to depict the unit, but I wanted something a little more accurate and representative of the 3D antennae housing.

 

I found that a wheel half from the Special Hobby 1/32 Yak-3 kit was just the right size! My boxing of the Yak has resin wheels, so these are spares at this point. I always try to look around the spares bin and the hobby room before I start scratch-building things. Why not, right?

 

 

It even has a raised portion right in the middle of it, which I can affix the photoetch antennae to. Piece of cake!

 

 

 

That's where we're at for now. And here's where I am headed:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for checking in! Hopefully my next update will include the completed cockpit, and the fuselage closed up.

 

- Dennis S.

  Thornton, CO USA

[harv]

Goody. Nice to see some AIMS love here. Will be watching.....harv 

[Martinnfb]

I love your tendencies Dennis  , keep  it up

Cheers

Martin

[Bomber_County]

Never seen one of the AIMS conversions finished, looking forward to this build 

[CrankyCrafstman]

Keeping an eye on this one 

Ron G 

[Dennis7423]

Small update today:

 

Work continues on the cockpit, which will hopefully lead to the fuselage being sealed up this weekend. The resin bits from AIMS are super nice, and the plastic parts mate up to them wonderfully where appropriate:

 

 

 

The resin pilot's armored seat needed a little grinding to open it up a little bit, but nothing too crazy. It certainly looks the part nestled into the cockpit:

 

 

That's all for today folks! Hope to post another update early next week. Thanks for checking in!

 

- Dennis S.

  Thornton, CO USA

[harv]

Outstanding!!.......harv 

[GusMac]

That seat doesn't look the comfiest but I suppose if it stops a bullet then a bit of a sore butt is a small price to pay!

[DocRob]

Stunning result, this seat looks really weird, I have never realised the armor. Locks like the back part of a Maschinen Krieger combat suit.

Cheers Rob

[Dennis7423]

All-

 

Now that the cockpit is mostly complete, it was time to toss it into the fuselage:

 

97406311_846319215857617_3469131508311130112_n by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr

 

97075843_1173439076328510_7828689885467770880_n by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr

 

Then, it was time to seal up the fuselage with the conversion bits. The resin fit pretty darn good, and needed only a little trimming and shimming to fit:

 

96380852_862252397592628_6188029880387502080_n by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr

 

96127966_1284335878424213_2476945143257628672_n by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr

 

96510914_331690721134464_7932332218028916736_n by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr

 

97285969_967691020358095_466595600540893184_n by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr

 

She's starting to look the part! Once the nose piece gets installed, it'll be time for elbow grease. Fitting the nose might take a little time... the new resin lower fuselage/cockpit part is warped, which is twisting the entire front of the aircraft. I'm optimistic that fitting each part individually, one join at a time, will help square it up and pull everything into place. Time will tell!

 

96857499_2619605041646427_7462565213636657152_n by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr

 

Thanks for tuning in folks!

 

- Dennis S.

  Thornton, CO USA