**** DONE: 1/48 Ju88G-6 NJG6 - Night War of WWII

That's an interesting polka dot scheme on that Ju88! There's going to be a considerable amount of scribing on this build. This kit has some misaligned panel lines at the joints that need to be corrected in addition to the new fuel fills and hatches. I'm about halfway in cleaning up the main fuselage seam and then I'll get to the scribing part before I attach the wings.

I started some work on the main gear wells. I'm not going to do any super-detailing here since the main gear struts will occupy most of the space in the large wells. But the overly simplified wheel well floor would benefit from some work. I started by opening up square openings in the floor.





Then I used some sheet brass and made some reinforced spars for the base of the gear mounts.



I received the Eduard Interior Detail set in the mail finally. It's a pretty comprehensive set of three photoetched sprues and one small clear acetate for the gunsight.




Here is a comparison between my handpainted IP and the photoetch version. Since I have it, I may as well use it. So off comes the paint and the molded instrument detail is shaved off with a knife. The new IP is much more detailed. I am working on a custom mix of RLM 66 that will at least be in the same ballpark as the Eduard parts so I reduce that obvious contrast as much as possible.



I've started on the cockpit slowly. The photoetch set is has two sprues of pre-painted parts that have an adhesive backing. I'm not sure I like this as the sticky adhesive seems to get in the way, especially when trimming the sprue connections. Is there an easy way to remove the adhesive from the whole fret without damaging the painted side?


I'm to assemble as much of the unpainted stuff that I can and then paint what I have and add the pre-painted stuff last.

Looking good John.
I'm rather surprised that Eduard haven't yet tried to improve the base colour of their Luftwaffe photo etch sets, considering the number of comments/complaints in the 'modelling world' over the years.
I have a couple of their pre-painted instrument panels to use on a Lancaster and a P-47, and, not having used them before, I'll be looking for advice on their use when I get to that stage.

JKim said:

Would you happen to have a view of the top behind the canopy where the fuel fill ports are supposed to be? That's another area where some additional scribing is needed.

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I have found that sketch only.

That plan view shows a G-1 so watch you don't replicate the engine cowl details. I also see what looks like an external pull chord going back to the dinghy box. Hmmmm, will need to investigate.

John, you're raising the bar again in the wheel wells, ya bum! Actually, I was thinking of doing the same to detail those gusset plates that will be seen. I will be leaving the main doors closed so will not worry about the hidden stuff. I may need to find some of that brass sheet, though some thin plastic card that I have does allow riveting details to show using the ponce wheel Terry gave me.

I have no idea on the cutting of self adhesive PE. Never used it to date. I agree with Terry on the colour and am glad you're looking at repainting the RLM 66 parts to address the blue hue. It's also curious to see that Eduard have modeled 6 guns on the IP ammo counter.

Now that you have the PE parts, I'm going to see all the things that I did wrong on the pit but I sure don't plan on going back to revise what I've done. One thing that I don't see is the Naxos instrument detail. I plan to make a cylinder to hang under the clear bubble in the canopy to replicate this. Here's a pic and, if you look closely, you can see a silhouette in many reference pics.

Some very nice work going on John.



Geo

Good stuff John

john from your tremendous work and andy are you going to take away the illusion of doing .... is not it the opposite is encouraging to see that your work pleased that these two companions as they take these jobs very happy to learn from you

Thanks for the comments guys... especially the diagrams Wojtek. I am jumping all over on this build and now its back to the beginning... the cockpit for now.

Airframes said:

Looking good John.
I'm rather surprised that Eduard haven't yet tried to improve the base colour of their Luftwaffe photo etch sets, considering the number of comments/complaints in the 'modelling world' over the years.
I have a couple of their pre-painted instrument panels to use on a Lancaster and a P-47, and, not having used them before, I'll be looking for advice on their use when I get to that stage.

Click to expand...

The Eduard IP's are very nice and very high quality. I don't care for the texture left by their painting process but that can be toned down with a flat coat. I'd stay away from the self-adhesive stuff... it's been more of a pain than a help.

Crimea_River said:

That plan view shows a G-1 so watch you don't replicate the engine cowl details. I also see what looks like an external pull chord going back to the dinghy box. Hmmmm, will need to investigate.

John, you're raising the bar again in the wheel wells, ya bum! Actually, I was thinking of doing the same to detail those gusset plates that will be seen. I will be leaving the main doors closed so will not worry about the hidden stuff. I may need to find some of that brass sheet, though some thin plastic card that I have does allow riveting details to show using the ponce wheel Terry gave me.

I have no idea on the cutting of self adhesive PE. Never used it to date. I agree with Terry on the colour and am glad you're looking at repainting the RLM 66 parts to address the blue hue. It's also curious to see that Eduard have modeled 6 guns on the IP ammo counter.

Now that you have the PE parts, I'm going to see all the things that I did wrong on the pit but I sure don't plan on going back to revise what I've done. One thing that I don't see is the Naxos instrument detail. I plan to make a cylinder to hang under the clear bubble in the canopy to replicate this. Here's a pic and, if you look closely, you can see a silhouette in many reference pics.

View attachment 308776

View attachment 308777

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I'm only going to replicate SOME of the missing surface detail that I've noticed like the fuselage fuel ports and that circular hatch on the belly. I'm not going to look at the panel line work any more critically than that.

Raising the bar? I'm only returning some fire after seeing your work on the tail wheel wells. You had to go and replace the shoddy molded ribbing didn't ya??? A part of me reasoned that the main wheel well detail wasn't going to be seen so I wanted to leave it alone. But seeing your work on the tail wheel well motivated me to at least give it a shot at dressing it up a bit. That took a lot out of me and I've put the wells aside for now. It's a good challenge to see others do things that hadn't crossed my mind. I am definitely learning some new things on this one so working on the same kit has been beneficial to me.

Thanks for the info on the Naxos. The PE set does not have anything that I could see that relates to this. It has quite a few things to hang from the inside of the cockpit glazing that I'm not keen on doing so I'm not sure what I'll do with this Naxos gear. The PE stuff is detailed and fiddly and that adhesive has a way of creeping out from under and gumming up the visible surfaces. It'll be at least a few days until I can get the cockpit sorted.

destrozas said:

john from your tremendous work and andy are you going to take away the illusion of doing .... is not it the opposite is encouraging to see that your work pleased that these two companions as they take these jobs very happy to learn from you

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I'm glad to see you back Sergio! We all learn from each other... that's the nice thing about this place. Everyone is very helpful!

Thanks John - unfortunately, the few pieces of pre-painted PE I have, are the self adhesive type. I'm sure that I'll mess them up, trying to sandwich the printed I.P with the clear film and painted panel !

No you won't Terry. My complaints are preferential and really don't affect the outcome. It's irritating but essentially harmless. That adhesive likes to get out on the edge of the piece and sometimes on the surface where it can attract dust and other small particles. You just have so spend some time cleaning the gunk off the edges. Also the adhesive doesn't lock the piece in place like CA glue would. Even after application, a piece can be nudged out of position. Once the piece is set and you are no longer handling it, its fine and looks just like any other PE piece. If the all of the detail is on the PE pieces and the acetate is completely clear, you could leave it off. Most of the Eduard sets that I've used have two-piece IP's giving the modeler the option of dropping clear gloss or white glue into the instrument faces. I've had a few that had a clear acetate with dial faces printed in black that sandwich between the photoetch panel and plastic back face... make sure you spray the back of the acetate panel or the front of the plastic back face in white to give it the necessary contrast.

Lovely work so far!

Thanks again John.
My concern is, with the state of my knackered hands, that the three parts will end up out of alignment, due to sticking to my stiff fingers !
Given I do get them aligned properly, then perhaps a tiny drop of CA glue, at a few points around the edges of the panel, might be a good idea.

I've been plodding along with the cockpit for a few days now. As usual, the PE parts are very detailed and VERY prone to disappearing if you are not careful. I've lost a number of small levers and buttons and doodads along the way but no one's gonna notice once the canopy is put over everything. Most of the instrument panels, including the radio set, need to be shaved of surface details before the photoetched stuff can be attached.



There are pros and cons to PE parts. On the plus side is the fine detail but on the debit side is a lack of 3D-relief. Detailed but flat. I think you can get a really good result with painting the kit radio panel as Sergio and Andy have demonstrated. I touched up the edges of each photoetched panel with paint so that none of the shiny brass would be seen. I also sprayed the panel with a flat coat to cut down Eduard's shiny textured look. Finally I added drops of Alclad Aqua Gloss on the various instruments and dials to help give some surface relief to the panel.


The radar control panel is added to the main instrument panel after painting.


I've found a new method to flat coat. In the past, I've used Alclad's clear lacquers. They give a good finish and have a nice selection of matte, satin and gloss finishes. But they have a tendency to stay tacky... never seeming to dry completely. This is Tamiya's Flat Base. It's not a paint but an additive meant to be added to gloss acrylic paints to make them matte. I've been using this with Alclad Aqua Gloss on the cockpit as a test and have been pleased with the results. I'm still working out the Aqua Gloss/Flat Base ratios but I'm in the 5:1 or 6:1 range right now.


Here is the cockpit floor after painting. In addition to the phototetched panels and levers, I've added some additional control levers, wiring to the control stick and wiring and straps to the foot pedals. Which is totally unnecessary since the foot pedals themselves will be tucked away in the closed-up nose... probably a touch that would be more appropriate to the bomber version with its clear glazing. The white rectangles with the reddish borders are meant to replicate the curtains that hid the wiring under the port side control panel.



The harnesses are added to the seats and the seats are added to the cockpit floor.




The starboard side panel has considerably more detail than the port side. The adhesive photoetch was a real pain. Always gumming up on the edges and catching all sorts of dust and fibers. I used a paper towel dipped in lacquer thinner to remove the adhesive after a certain point. I tried to avoid direct contact with the painted side and didn't have any problems with the lacquer thinner removing any painted detail. The interior painted color and the Eduard interior grey are a closer match than how it appears in the photos.



The kit gunsight is very plain... one piece.


The Eduard replacement is the opposite. Overly complicated. Four tiny parts including this advanced origami of the main gun sight body. Of course I made a mess of it. Those delicate "s" shaped arms, which are the front glass holders, were destroyed during the folding process. I lost the rear glass frame... a ridiculously tiny and fragile, two-bend piece and gave up the Eduard gun sight for good.


Miraculously, TWO DAYS LATER... I somehow stumbled onto that rear glass frame on the floor in search of another lost part and I was able to resurrect this. The gunsight was completed and painted. It took six pieces of cut acetate to finally get two to stick to the gun sight. They kept disappearing on me. The front one was painted green because... just because.


And with the instrument panel complete, we are poised to close up the front fuselage.

Looks great John, the effort you put in was worth it !

Very nice John. I know Terry and a few others use that flat base added to Future. I haven't done it myself but it seems to be a cheaper solution.



Geo

Yep, that's what I do.

John, you're going to have to eject the canopy to see all that nice detail! BTW, the tinted glass is the one closer to the windscreen.

It's looking great John !