On the workbench - July part 3

When I got my TD Ju52s, at the bottom of the bag I discovered a float, which quickly proved to be designed to fit the big holes that I had earlier spent a lot of time filling in.  That got me thinking....

A quick blitz on the internet provided some nice pictures of Ju52 floatplanes, so at Salute I picked up 3 packs.  I also ordered some 1/600 photo-etch ladders, as pictures of these planes shows a permanent ladder attached from the left float to the passenger cabin door.

I then set about working out how to attach the floats with a more intricate structure than the original model.  The TD model as supplied is quite sturdy (always a positive attribute for war-games kit) and as the floats & undercarriage are under the plane, you won't see the attachment much.

But, what the heck!

Here are photos of the project so far - this is my "Mark 1", the ladder is not attached but otherwise it is finished......

The TD Ju52 Floatplane, what you get.....

I only "push-fit" attached the floats - they hold up well without glue

The "Mark 1" Ju 52 FP, which has all the add-ons from previous blogs plus detailed landing gear, which of course is invisible in this photo !

Not the best photo, but you can see that the gear consists of four struts per float.  There is a cross-wise brace that may be added to the "Mark II" model.  No ladder, as I was worried whether it would survive transport back to the UK for undercoating.

The Ju52 Floatplane was used by the Luftwaffe in all theatres of war (yes, in N Africa too, as it could load/unload in harbours or the beach).  There are some nice colour schemes to experiment with.

On the workbench - July part 2

Here's a quick addition to the Heroics & Ros 1/300 Dw D520.  I like to add small details to planes to give them a bit of individuality or to correct details that the manufacturer has missed.

The real plane has a radiator intake (? OK, I'm guessing) that is either side of the engine and parallel to and below the exhausts.  It is pretty prominent (check the internet) so I added mine from plastic rod, filed to the correct profile.  It seems to be round at the spinner end of the plane and almost flat at the tail end.  Here's what mine looks like:

On the workbench - July part 1

Here are a couple of modifications to the 1/600 B-17 G from Tumbling Dice

TD B17Gs (and I have a lot of these) sometimes have the top turret MG missing.  Here's an easy fix that also adds a little variety to your bomber stream....

USAAF B17 Gs had a defensive weapons upgrade over earlier models.  They got a chin turret and two armoured gun positions in the Navigator/Bombadier compartment, either side of the nose.  It is easy to model these two positions using a bit of plastic rod, cut to shape and sanded down....