VMFA314Knights Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Hello all, I am currently building Monogram/Revell's Ju52/3m in 1/48 and want to do the markings for a example over-sprayed with sand camouflage. (My kit does not come with these markings) The one example I can find is 4U+NH and I am trying to work out how to do the markings (as I don't think they are available anymore as aftermarket). The Ju52 I am interested in doing was involved in Operation Mercure allocated to 2.(F)/123 Derna North Africa in June 1941. (If my research is correct). I was going to try masking off the markings using tape however the Ju52 has corrugated surfaces so I am concerned about the look of the lines & lettering (actually the decals could b an issue as well). Anyone had experience with masking markings on the Ju52? I take it that it will be critical to spray 90 degrees off and keep the passes light. How do the kit supplied National markings fair on the corrugated surface? Any help may lower the tensions as I wade into this yet untried territory. Thanks, David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 David: I wonder if they haven't got it a bit wrong in that 4U-NH should be 1st, not 2nd, Staffel. In any case, having found a photo of a Printscale aftermarket sheet in 1/72, I see that all the letters/numbers are black, which means it would be very easy to laser print decals in 1/48 scale. I'd be happy to do them for you. I'd just need the dimensions of one or more of the crosses to properly size the characters. Shoot me an email if you're interested. pnmoss (at) comcast.net. Cheers, Pip Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HistnScale Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Third Group did decals for 4U+NH. The decal instructions identify the unit as 1.(F)/123 and the aircraft as a unit hack in the Med. Paint scheme is called out as four color presumed to be 61/62/69/65 with shite theater markings. HTH, Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigjugs Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Here is an article on modeling that aircraft. It was 70/71/65 with sand over-spray. http://www.hyperscale.com/features/2001/ju52ir_1.htm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HistnScale Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Google turns up a color photo of 4U+NH. Not great quality but interesting. Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I've decaled on corrugated wing surfaces with the GWH TBD-1 Devastator. It took plenty of Microset to get the decals to settle all the way down into the corrugations, but eventually they did. I can see issues with some over spray from masking, or at least some not so sharp lines. Here's a picture of the wings: Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VMFA314Knights Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 Pip, Thanks for the offer, I'll keep you in mind as I get closer to a decision - I'm leaning towards paint currently but both options have their disadvantages. Dave The colour call on the Third Group decals is questionable as most Ju52's were done in the standard RLM 70/71 over 65 as far as I can tell - although Revell called for the 62 green on their kit. In Spain there were 61/62/63 & 65 combinations however this Ju52 should have been from the Crete invasion period and is not likely to still be marked as such? Seems it probably was 1st Staffel - I'm outnumbered and hopefully out-referenced - thanks David and Pip BigJugs Amusingly I am using Ian Robertson's build as my inspiration and guidance along the way - Thanks for pointing the way though his turned out great! Joel, I did get my decals to snug down on my Devastator as well and the even tougher SR-71 whose corrugated surfaces are more defined than the Devastator. The Ju52 beats them both for surface corrugations though so this one will be a tough call. Nice looking TBD! Thanks all for the advise - will take it all under consideration. Cheers, David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VMFA314Knights Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 OK then, I finally got some time to get back to this project and have made some progress - I'd say judging by the way the masking went on the 70/71/65 that masking the markings would be a great challenge - so first try will be decals (not that I expect this to be easy either on the heavy corregations of the Ju 52.) just in case you were wondering, Revell"s kit is really nice and I'm pleased with the build so far (despite a few of my errors along the way - perfection is just a goal not a reality :) Hopefully I get some more time next weekend to get back at these. Thanks for making this one possible Pip. Cheers, David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VMFA314Knights Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 Seems summer vacation seriously slowed down the model aircraft build projects and I haven't been around ARC in a while however, I figured I should pick this one back up and show you how this kit turned out... if you are interested. This is Revell's 1/48th scale Junkers Ju 52/3M, which is a beautiful kit and like most of the transports and bombers in this scale you could really go to town detailing these big kits... having said that, I did not do so as I have to balance the want of building all the kits I have against producing a decent looking kit... so straight from the box it is. (with the exception of opening up the cargo door which Revell provides a good start on - you could also easily open up the top cargo hatch as well.) I did make the mistake of finding a nice paint job for the kit well into the construction and as it turned out it had different engine exhausts than the standard kit instructions called for... luckily the optional exhausts were also included in the kit so all I had to do was separate the built cowlings splice in the correct part, re-fix the engines.. and I was good to go again. :) My chosen paint job isn't necessarily accurate as I couldn't find any actual photographs of a desert sand overspray so I took some modeller's licence to build what I wanted. A special thanks goes out to Pip Moss for making the markings possible as I didn't have the proper code letters on hand and he bailed me out of that problem. - Thanks Pip! As I said, the kit builds up into a great looking aircraft right our of the box, so if you have the shelf space, as the wingspan is 24" or 60 cm, this kit is a must have. The Ju 52 or "Tante Ju" as it was affectionately called was in widespread use throughout WWII and several versions of this kit were boxed by Revell over the many years of production. I don't recall any problems with this big kit (aside from the front engine exhaust collector pipes not lining up and me breaking off the flap tabs on several occasions) and during the build I was considering buying another to do a Spanish Civil War version that I had seen at a model show a while back... but like I said this is a big kit so display space becomes an issue. The signature corrugated metal plate covering is well done with different corrugated widths represented for the various surfaces. The detailed surface texture is continued into the interior and there is good detail with interior bulkheads, framing, seats (with engraved seatbelts) as well as options to open up doors. Well detailed BMW engines are provided with circular intake and exhaust manifolds as well as crank case push rods. The heavy corrugations do make the decals especially hard work. I used the kit's fuselage crosses, which were barely persuaded to settle down even after a dozen drenchings in various decal solvents plus some slicing and dicing. In hindsight, I should have just masked and spraying the various fuselage crosses... maybe next time. Hope you have been inspired by this (as I have been with many of the kits seen here on ARC) and get to building something soon to add to the collection... or at least reduce the stash. :) Cheers, David VMFA314Knights Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shawn C. Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Great looking model! I like your choice of scheme, too. Man, gotta have a lot of space to display that, huh? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 (edited) Great job on that Tante Ju! You've done an outstanding job on that kit, especially with how well the decals turned out. I've been thinking about the markings. Unless they took an inordinate amount of time to mask the markings, there may well have been overspray (perhaps, more properly, underspray) on the actual aircraft. Does anybody have an info on how this aircraft was marked? Or perhaps a more detail photo of markings going across the corrugations? I've got the civilian version of that kit to do a pre-war airliner. Decals, along with the size of the beast, has kept it off my desk... I'm very glad to read that most of the problem's I should expect will be of my own doing. Edited September 21, 2014 by David N Lombard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 David, the finished model looks terrific -- good job! Glad the decals worked for you. Pip Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RotorheadTX Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Third Group did decals for 4U+NH. The decal instructions identify the unit as 1.(F)/123 and the aircraft as a unit hack in the Med. Paint scheme is called out as four color presumed to be 61/62/69/65 with shite theater markings. HTH, Dave Language, please.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VMFA314Knights Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 Thanks for the kind comments guys - I'm pretty happy with the results. Shawn - Glad I built the big case to allow for the bomber builds now... next up is a couple of British bombers to round out things :) The case was designed to hold at least 14 heavy bombers in 1/48th scale so I got my work cut out for me now... (Big enough to hold all but the B-29 I have.... I can put a B-17and a B-24 side-by-side on the same shelf!) David - I really wavered back and forth on the spray or decal option and with the heavy corrugation on this aircraft. I did have major concerns as to how I would effectively mask and spray this aircraft's markings. You'd have to shoot 90 off and nail it perfectly, I suspect. I figured I may be able to handle the wing/fuselage markings except for the swastika on the tail... but went for the decal option at the last minute... maybe on the next one if there ever is to be another one. Go build yours - the kit goes together in an interesting way... however no major issues with the fit. Pip - glad you stepped into lend me a hand here - I owe you one. :cheers:/> Rotorhead - Good catch - thanks for reminding us to keep it clean. Cheers, David Mielke Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VMFA314Knights Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Dropping back to the topic of "That kit takes up a lot of display room"... The display cabinet for the 1/48 scale "Tanta Ju" and others falls into the "Go Big or Go Home" category. I converted an old Ikea wardrobe and came up with a cabinet that is roughly 2m high 1 m wide and .5 m deep ( 79" high 40" wide and 20"). I put plexiglass doors on it and left enough room per shelf to keep the AC visible. I may add in lights later if I get some reasonably priced LED to fit in. The shelf still need a bit of finishing work and I just rounded up a few kits to give me an idea of capacity so you get the idea... This shelf can fit all of the 1/48th heavies (with the exception of the B-29) that I have so it freed up the option to build a few more and keep the dust of them (plus the old 1/48th B-17 & B-24 Monogram kits that had been kicking around a while.) Hopefully next year I can add a couple of more bombers into the lineup and get the shelves better organized for display purposes. Cheers, David VMFA314Knights Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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