Dragon Sherman M4A1(76)W VVSS

Next tank project after Königstiger - another Dragon kit, this time around a Sherman 76. For now, only a quick overview of components - impressive in their own right.

Revell Junkers Ju 88A4 - Part III

I've managed to make substantial progress on the kit over last weekend. The main assembly is now finished and the kit is primed and ready for preshading. There isn't all that much to talk about at this stage, as all sub-assemblies went together pretty much perfectly, with only minor amount of filler required for wing root areas and fuselage joints.

However, as I suspected, the lower part of the cockpit (clear part J-C100) keeps causing me problems. The fit is better than I suspected, but the joints are under constant pressure due to the fact that side panels need to be slightly squeezed into right position. Initially I tried to glue everything together with Glue 'n' Glaze from Deluxe Materials, a white glue especially for cockpits and clear parts. It seems however that it doesn't handle outward tension very well and one of side joints failed after 48 hours. In pure desperation, I hit it with cyano-acrylate with risk of crazying the visible clear areas of the component; we'll see what the end result will look like once I scrape away the masking.

It must be said that if one overlooks the problems with over-engineered cockpit and fuselage, this is really delightful kit to work with. The quality of detail continues to be unsurpassed and I am immensely impressed by the value one gets for the relatively modest price asked by Revell for this kit.

Revell Junkers Ju 88A4 - Part II

Work on cockpit area of the Junkers continues and one issue becomes apparent as I progress. In my opinion at least. this kit is ridiculously over-engineered in almost comical German fashion. The fuselage assembly around cockpit area consists of two parts that look like two letters L, bottom parts of which are supposed to fit together. Backend of this section is then supposed to fit into the rest of the fuselage - no problem there. The nose is then constructed out of several bits and pieces that go on top and bottom, some of them made out of clear plastic and it is crucial that everything fits together with very small tolerances, otherwise you're looking forward to rather advanced filing and filling session. This task proved in my case beyond my skills and I will now have to figure out how to mask a very visible gap between the fuselage and belly section of cockpit gondola.

This being said, I am still in awe of the detail of this kit straight out of the box.