Picked up a couple 1/72 kits - Looking for feedback

[copcheck]

I took an extended lunch to hit a local hobby shop and found some kits that look like they came from an estate sale. Each kit was $4.99 US, and they were sealed so it was hard to pass up.

Airfix JU 87B-2 Stuka
Minicraft/Hasegawa Bf 109G

These will be my first attempt at German WWII kits and I'm a bit intimidated due to the complexity of their paint schemes.

Any feedback on the kits?



Thanks,

Jon

[jjp_nl]

I think the Stuka would actually not be too hard to paint. Using some masking tape goes a long way in achieving the typical early-war splinter-like paint scheme. Start from light to dark. Undersides first in something RLM65 blue-grey like, mask the demarcation line between lower and upper surface and apply the a couple of light coats of the lighter upper surface color until coverage is good. Then mask the splinter scheme with masking tape and apply the darker upper surface color in a couple of thin coats until coverage is good and you should be well on the way with the Stuka. The real challenge with the paint job on this kit would imho be the masking job. The kit has raised panel-lines and raised rivets and such, so careful masking is needed to avoid paint seepage. Using multiple thin coats will also help to avoid paint seepage, so no thick be-all-end-all paint coats to get the desired coverage at once.

The 'Gustav' is the more challenging of the two, to my mind at least. The extremely tight splinter-like scheme was let go off as the war progressed but it is still is very much possible to brush paint that on. The difficult part is the mottle on the sides. As an airbrush guy I don't have a clue as to how one might go about that with brush-painting, but I'm sure others will be able to help you out on that part.

[Airframes]

For the mottle, have a look at the Basic Guide to Brush painting I posted some time ago. There's a section in there giving some ideas on how to do a mottle without an airbrush.

[copcheck]

Thanks guys!