Dragon 1/48 Junkers JU188E-1 'Avenger'

I've been on a bit of roll of late and this month completed yet another long-term commission build, which is for the same customer that I built the Arado Ar234 for. Before starting this kit I read-up on a number of reviews and talked to some of my friends who have built the Dragon JU88's, so that I had a much better understanding of what to expect and what I was letting myself in for.

As a consequence I chose to assemble the fuselage as 2 separate halves, by attaching each forward section to it's respective aft section, which alleviated any potential fit problems and also minimised the amount of filing/sanding required later. I then assembled the wings in the same manner, which again minimised the amount of filing/sanding required particularly at the wingtip join. I then assembled the cockpit interior, enhanced this with the addition of an Eduard etch set (49400) and also added some replacement gun barrels from Master Models. The cockpit was then painted and weathered, enclosed within the fuselage and it fitted like a glove. With the wings and fuselage now completed I then assembled the fin, tailplanes, undercarriage legs, engine nacelles, propellers, bombs - sourced from 2 Verlinden sets - and bomb racks. The entire model was then re-scribed, given a light sanding and then assembled, with everything going together without a problem - even at the wing to fuselage joins.    

From the outset I wanted to finish this model in a unique paint scheme and after coming across this photo (at left) whilst searching for reference material, I decided it was the one to do. With the canopies masked - which was a tedious job - the model was then sprayed with a coat of Tamiya Surface Primer (L). After a light sand with Micromesh 4000 the underside was then sprayed with Gunze H55 Midnight Blue - as I felt that black was to stark - and the upper surfaces then sprayed with H417 RLM76 Light Blue. A heavily thinned mix of H65 RLM70 Black Green was then used to spray the spots, which was done by first laying out the pattern according to the photo and then building up each spot layer by layer, which in the end took some 10 hours to complete - a truly marathon effort.

The model was then given a coat of Future, the decals applied and the panel lines given a light pin wash of Paynes Grey (undersides) and Raw Umber (upper surfaces). I then re-applied the spots over the decals and at this stage felt that the camouflage looked a little to stark. To soften this I made up a heavily thinned mix of H417 RLM76 Light Blue and misted this over the upper surface camouflage, until I got the scale affect I was looking for. The exhaust stains were then applied using a heavily diluted muddy brown mix - built up in layers - followed by a heavily diluted grey mix - aft of the exhausts - and finished off with a heavily diluted sooty black mix - around the exhausts. With the painting now complete the model was then given an overall coat of Vallejo Satin Varnish, after which the wheels, undercarriage doors, crew hatch, propellers and aerial leads were then fitted. It was then just a matter of removing the canopy masks, painting the windows with Future and I was able to call this one 'done'.

In the end I really enjoyed doing this model, it was a much easier build than I'd expected and getting the camouflage scheme right was a challenge that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Polar Lights 'The Jupiter 2'

I'm happy to say that I've now completed my second Sci-fi/Space subject, which is another commission piece for the same customer that I built the Moonbus for. My first impressions upon opening the box were very similar to that of the Moonbus, however, as the original release date of this kit is much later (1998) the quality of the parts is considerably better, making clean-up and assembly a lot easier.

Although the kit includes both an upper and lower deck and a three piece hull - allowing it to be dismantled for viewing - I decided from the outset that I was not going to build it as such. Instead I built the lower deck merely to support the upper deck, with only the upper deck being painted and detailed with the aid of a TSDS decal sheet. Unfortunately, I was not impressed with the latter product as when I placed them in water the ink immediately began to float off, confirming that the decals had not been sealed. In an attempt to remedy this I applied several coats of Future to the decal sheet, which although it did seem to work was not the perfect solution. Therefore, if you have one of these decal sheets in your collection and you have not used it as yet.......then be warned!

To assist me in this build I also bought a copy of the relevant Sci-fi & Fantasy Modeller magazine, which helped a great deal. This provided me with the solution for getting rid of the join lines on the landing legs, which was to apply plastic card on both the front and top faces of the steps. Whilst doing this I also removed the struts, so that the lower ends could be built up with plastic card for a better fit and then be drilled and pinned for a stronger join. All of which was well worth the extra effort.

With the interior now in place I then assembled the hull, all of which went together without any problems. I then sealed the front window with Gator's Grip and masked all of the clear parts in preparation for painting. I then filled and sanded the seam around the top of the hull to ensure a smooth join, after which several coats of Tamiya, Grey, Fine Surface Primer were then applied. The model was then lightly sanded with Micromesh 4000 and two coats of Tamiya TS-76 Mica Silver applied. Once this was dry I then applied the one external decal near the main cabin door. The model was then spayed with two coats of Tamiya TS-79 Semi Gloss Clear, which gave it a really nice clear, smooth finish just like a space ship should have. The landing legs were then attached, masks removed and all clear parts given a final coat of Future. Viola.........another one finished.