Now that the Toryu is in the camo painting stage and we still have a couple of months left in this GB, I thought I'd unspool this Ju-88G-6. This is the same molding as the Cyberhobby kit that Sergio and Andy are doing but perhaps it's appropriate since the Ju-88 was one of the most numerous night fighters of WWII. I picked up this kit a few months ago off Ebay. It was opened but unbuilt and I was able to get it for a decent price. I haven't really looked at the kit so I thought I'd do a sprue review... it's useful for me to see closeup pictures of the kit I'll be starting on.
My first Dragon/DML kit. The reviews I've read online are mostly positive, especially considering its age (released in 1993) but based on Sergio and Andy's starts, there is going to be some work getting this thing to look pretty. Instructions look logical and detailed.
The decals are not in good shape. Not wanting to take a chance on disintegration upon application, I decided to look elsewhere for markings.
A few weeks ago, this out-of-production decal set popped up on EBay for less than $10. I immediately purchased them. I really like the black-trim on the tail fin of 2Z+AW and since it is the only option with the FuG 220 SN2 radar, I'll most likely be modeling this aircraft.
Not looking forward to masking the big greenhouse on this guy so I picked up this Montex mask set to help ease the pain. I'm not a particular fan of Montex masks as they have a habit of lifting at the corners after they are applied. Eduard masks are markedly superior but there is no Eduard mask set available for this kit.
These sprues were shrink-wrapped with the decals and a post-it note... obviously after the kit was opened. No missing or broken parts that I could see.
The molding quality looks very nice for a 90's kit.
The wing sprue. The wing tips are separate pieces.
The panel lines are recessed nicely but what was once state of the art is now just nice.
The fuselage is also modular with a separate front end for the G-series nose that replaced the glazed nose of the bomber version with as solid nose to house the radar equipment.
The radio panel. The kit doesn't come with a decal for any of the instrument faces so I'll either have to paint or find some spares in the decal stash since I am not planning on any aftermarket upgrades for the cockpit.
The rear gun has some detail but I have no idea how accurate it is.
The cockpit floor, along with other pieces such as the seats, have an abundance of sink marks. Lots of tedious work ahead to clean this up.
This sprue has many of the G-specific parts such as square tail plane, forward fuselage and ventral gun tray. I didn't see the cannon barrels but I'm thinking they'll be replaced by brass tubing.
The radar control unit with the viewing hood in place.
The instrument panel molding, like the rest of the details in the kit, is a bit soft compared to the state of the art kits of today but should yield decent results with careful painting.
There are two of these sprues and they hold the landing gear, radar antlers, prop and spinners.
The radar masts are pretty fine but I'm thinking about replacing them with a set of brass ones from Master. Oh and I see the ventral cannon barrels and the Shrage-Muzik barrels as well. The cannon barrels will be easy to replace with brass tube but I hope the Shrage-Muzik barrels are at least circular in cross-section so I can drill them out.
I've heard complaints about these spinners being inaccurate but I'm reluctant to spend cash on replacements. Hopefully, they're close enough.
The clear parts look like they are in good shape... always a concern on an older kit like this.
Finally, the kit comes with a little sprue of photo-etched parts. This a steel fret not brass so I'm assuming that they'll be much tougher to deal with.