Building Eduard's 1/72 Junkers J.I
|
 |
Background
The "Flying Furniture Van" as the J.I was affectionately called, was the first mass- produced all-metal aeroplane. Extremely unusual looking due to its metal corrugated surface, this slow but durable aeroplane, which used for reconnaissance and low-level combat, provided robust protection for its crew: not a single one having been recorded as shot down. The J.I was first introduced to the front in August 1917, the J.I was able to endure bad weather conditions and a fair amount of battle damage, and still remain airworthy.
In the Box
The
kit comes in a large box with a proper opening top lid. Inside are six
sprues of finely moulded grey plastic parts, a sheet of brass photoetch,
decals including those for lozenge, and a detailed set of instructions,
including a set of schemes in colour. The Manufacturer's Suggested Recommended
Price is $34.99, however, this is a fairly large kit and it can be obtained
at a discount. Overall, this builds into a spectacular model but requires
more effort than I have been used to devoting to the most recently released
Eduard kits, such as their 1/72nd scale DH2 and the Fokker E.IV.
Construction
As
per the instructions, construction began in the cockpit. The parts went
together quite well and I used the painting directions. I used the plastic
part for the control column rather than the photoetch: I cannot see how
a flat photoetch piece looks more realistic or detailed. I left off the
exhaust stacks until after painting because I did not want to knock them
off during construction. The photoetch seat belts are excellent but the
photoetch "armrests" on the pilot's seat are difficult to manoeuvre
into place. The instructions show the engine mount slotted into the cockpit's
forward bulkhead but I had begun to suspect fit problems so I kept the
cockpit components and the engine separate. After giving the various pieces
a burnt umber oil wash, I tried to close the fuselage halves, which was
where the problems started. There appeared to be a gap in the fit of the
fuselage halves and initially I thought that the cockpit floor was too
wide so I sanded it down a little: the gaps remained. Next I started to
shave off the lower parts of the engine but there was still no improvement
in the fit. I finally recognized that the fuselage halves simply did not
fit and that I was going to have to do some filling and sanding. So I
did: nothing too major though somewhat unexpected.
The
J.I wings are thick so the kit provides a top and lower half for each
wing. The fit of these is mediocre at best and once again, filling and
sanding were required. Moreover the control surfaces on the top wing are
separate and did not fit well: I ended up with a slightly different fit
on each side.
Next, I glued the lower wing to the fuselage (more filling and sanding) and the horizontal tail parts to the fuselage.
Painting
It was now time to begin painting. I had selected the scheme 586/18:
a purple and green camouflage pattern with a 
lozenge-covered
fuselage. First, I sprayed the vertical tailpiece white. I sprayed the
underside of the fuselage and flying surfaces with Humbrol light blue,
an excellent brand of paint that sprayed beautifully. Next, I masked off
and sprayed dark green enamel over the tail, fuselage and top wing. The
next job was to mask off for the purple. I cut pieces of 3M blue masking
tape into shapes to mask off the green flying surfaces then I sprayed
Polyscale German Mauve. I was concerned that the corrugations would be
problematic when masking but everything went well in this regard. Once
this had dried, I gave the whole assembly a coat of Future to protect
it from the rough handling to come.
Construction Continued
Gluing
on the top wing presents a unique set of problems compared to most biplanes.
There are four struts on each side, which makes for a complex assembly.
Further, you are not supposed to push the pegs all the way into the mounting
holes on the wings and fuselage because the real aeroplane has the pegs
on the end of the struts showing. I glued the outer struts to the top
wing and using the trusty Touch 'n' Flow and Pro Weld I proceeded to attach
the top wing. This was a tricky exercise but I eventually managed though
some touch ups on the paintwork were necessary. I then glued on the landing
gear, which went on with no trouble.
Decals
In general, Eduard's decals are thin and high quality but this was not
uniformly the case here. The upper and side lozenge 
decals
did not appear to be cut to the correct shape. If you want to use them,
you would not want to glue the tail on first but then you would have to
fill in any gaps after the decals are on, which might be difficult. I
tried to use the kit's upper lozenge but they fell to pieces when I attempted
to trim them to shape. I replaced them with Americal-Gryphon's five-colour
upper lozenge, which snuggled down well and trimmed easily when it was
dry. The other decals worked well, including the underside lozenge decal.
Finally, I added the smaller pieces including the gun assembly radiator
pipes, exhaust pipes, rearview mirror and propeller.
Conclusion
This
is a good product and the result is a fairly large and eye-catching model
so I am grateful to Eduard for providing us with this kit. On the other
hand, I have the impression that this kit was not as well designed as
current Eduard kits. Aside from the various fit issues with the fuselage
and wing halves, the photoetch pieces did not seem as well thought out
as usual. Some of the photoetch pieces were unnecessary because the plastic
pieces were more than adequate: for example, the control column and the
radiator grille. Other photoetch pieces seemed just impractical and I
was unable to assemble, including the engine head cover, the gun ammunition
drum, and the small support pieces on the landing gear. Additionally,
I was not able to use the top lozenge: it did not fit and was too fragile
to trim. Despite these shortcomings, I would recommend this kit.
References
Peter M. Grosz. "Junkers J.1, Windsock Datafile 39." Albatros Productions Ltd., Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, Great Britain. 1993.