Eduard 1/144 Junkers
Ju 87B & Ju 87G
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Overview
 Developed
as a dive-bomber and used to great effect during the Spanish Civil War
and the Polish campaign, the Junkers Ju 87 soon became outclassed in the
skies over Europe. Although obsolete in the face of more modern designs,
the Ju 87 soldiered on until the last days of the war. As there are many
books and websites out there that cover the history of the Ju 87 in detail,
I will recommend the reader to check their library or do a Google search.
The Kits
Eduard has released a few 1/144 kits in the past, but with their 1/144
Ju 52s they really set the mark high. These new Ju 87s continue that line,
with fine detailing and simple assembly. Both kits come with brown plastic
parts, a clear canopy, a small fret of photoetch, and a small section
of vinyl masking, plus a decal sheet with multiple  options.
Starting with the interior, the resin cockpit really looks great, and
the photoetch instrument panel is top-notch. Oops, sorry, got stuck in
a rut there. There is no cockpit, as the interior is blanked off. In this
small scale that is understandable, and once painted black and the canopy
set on, there really is not much that is visible anyway. For those who
have nothing better to do, though, you could open up the cockpit and put
something in.
Since there is no interior, these models quickly become an afternoon
of assembly, tops. The fuselage is split into right and left halves, while
the wings are one-piece right and left halves. In a few minutes you will
have the majority of the airframe assembled. An initial test-fit shows
that there are some small gaps between the wings and fuselage, but these
are restricted to the undersides and should be easy to fill. The tailplanes
have separate endcaps and photoetch struts.
 Other
details in the kits include separate ailerons and flaps, a separate tailwheel,
photoetch dive brakes, and one-piece landing gear. The propeller is made
up of separate blades that fit into the hub. Finally, there is a photoetch
gun and radio mast. The differences between the Ju 87B and Ju 87G are
mainly with the armament (although the obvious type differences in the
fuselage and wings are accurately depicted). While the Ju 87B comes with
a bomb for the center trapeze, the Ju 87G features underwing cannon pods.
The decal options for the Ju 87B include three aircraft. The first is
a Ju 87B of 5. J/88 of the Condor Legion in Spain in 1939. This plane
is camouflaged in RLM 70/71 over RLM 65 and is coded 29-6. The second
option is a Ju 87B-1 flown by Major Alfons Orthofer of II./StG 77. This
is the plane on the boxtop and features a sharkmouth on the nose. The
final option is a Ju 87B-2 trop of 2./StG 1 in Libya, October 1941. This
plane is finished in overall sand over RLM 65 and is coded A5+MK.
 For
the Ju 87G, three options are also included on the decal sheet. The first
is a Ju 87G-2 of Versuchskommando fur Panzerbekampfung in 1943. This plane
is finished in overall RLM 71 over RLM 65 and carries the single code
letter F on the fuselage. The second option is a Ju 87G-2 from SG 2 on
the Eastern Front during 1944-45. This plane is coded T6+BU and has two
yellow stripes on the rudder. The third option is Hans Ulrich Rudel's
aircraft, also from the Eastern Front in 1944-45. Both of these are camouflaged
in RLM 70/71 over RLM 65. The decals are well printed and should have
no problems in application.
Conclusion
These are excellent little kits that will make a great attention getter
when parked in front of your Airfix 1/24 Ju 87. Or if you are just looking
for a quick build as a break between your next pair of in-depth projects,
these might just fit the bill. Our thanks to Eduard for the review sample.
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