Features

The Kit

My first photo show's the kit parts, which are packed into small sealed plastic bags. I found 3 missing parts, which were replaced by "Sammy" who works at the company head quarter's in California. There was no charge involved, so my hat is off to Sammy, as we say here in America.

Construction

I dry fitted all of the clear parts to the fuselage, which fit perfectly. The two canopy sections open and close just like on a real airplane.

This photos shows me pouring in a few drops of super glue into the big wings. I turn the wing up and down, so the glue seals the inside of the entire wing seam's. I have used this "method-of-operation," (m.o.) for a decade or more and have never had a seam split open.

I remove some minor flashing on the tires, then slightly flatten part of the tires. I "re-groove" the treads, using my small #4 and #6 jewelers' file's that I bought 20 years ago.

This photo show's how I cut out a section of the molded-in tire holder, ( or what ever you want to call it). This "m.o." let's the modeler glue the wheel strut pants/cover's together and complete the sanding, etc. The finished "strut cover's" are glued to the wings and are painted along with the model.

The one part tire and rim unit is painted separately, then installed into the strut cover opening on "final assembly." After they were snapped into place, I rotated them so that the model would set on the flat part of the tire. I applied a bit of thinned-down white glue, which

will keep the tires in their proper place.

This photo show's the "revised" tail wheel. You will note that the tire treads do not match up. I did not correct that problem, but should have "DID-IT."

Here is the mystery parts photographed on my penny. There is no data on the building instruction's, showing where they go, so I left them off.

This photos show's the company name embossed onto the plastic which I had to sand off.

For some reason, I revised the prop and used a tooth pic, which worked out just right for me.

These photos show the semi-finished cockpit area. I used some Waldron instrument dials, and seat belt buckles. The straps were made out of my "3M-Fine Line" masking tape.

I added some clear styrene to this part, which I think might be the "bomb-aiming window."

These photos show my neat little trick of how I add small piece's of sheet styrene to "V" shaped area's, and add some super glue. The little "V" gaps areas are carefully cut and sanded. Presto...the gap's are gone.

This photo show's the wings lock together. Make sure that they lock together when you dry fit the wings to the finished fuselage, before you add any glue. I had to sand the parts a little bit so I could get a "perfect" wing/fuselage fit.

This single photo show's my revised wing light. I just drilled in a small hole in the back , then painted the back of the clear plastic lens. I sanded down the front to 1500 grit sand paper, then coated it with Future.

Add Paint and Check For Flaws

After my model was all together, I dusted on some white paint and began checking for flaws, which were fixed.

The model was painted with Tamiya X-2 Gloss White. My brown color was mixed up to my liking and applied on the model. I got this "camo" pattern idea from seeing another Stuka on another web site. The yellow on the one wing tip is Tamiya X-8 Yellow.

I used the kit decals, which went on very nice, then over coated the model with some more Future. A few days later I added some artist oils for my weathering, including some silver paint.

The Finished Model

The rest of the photos show the finished model including some close-up shots of the gun sight ring and my little spring that I used on the fin for my human hair antenna wire.

The box art showed a couple of items that were attached to the bottom of the fuselage. These items did not come with the kit, so I hand crafted them from sheet and tube styrene. I also used some steel tubing for the gun barrels and the pitot tube.

In closing, I rate this model a number 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. The parts fit together excellent. The two canopy's open and close with no problem at all. And yes, the panel line's are a bit too big, but once the model is sanded down, painted and viewed at about 2 feet away, I see no real problem with the model.

All of my finished full length photos of the model were taken on a tripod at distance of about 2 and 1/2 feet..

In reality, this USD$10.00 model is well worth a 25 dollar bill.

I hear stories about the company, who may or may not be in business, so if you can find any of their 1/32 scale kit's.....buy them.

Luck of the Irish:: My friend Brad Hegan send me his unbuilt 21st Century Toys "A6M2 ZERO TYPE 21." If all goes as planned, I should have it finished by March, 2009.

Happy 21st Century Toying!

Rodney Williams