Junkers Ju-52


August 2019 | Dios Kurniawan

This model kit is one of the most exciting but is also one of the most difficult I have ever attempted: Italeri 1:72 Junkers Ju-52. This Nazi-era transport plane has a unique three-motor arrangement which gives the aircraft a very distinctive look.

The quality of the kit itself is not up to my standard: many parts such as the wings, engine cowl and flaps did not really hold together. I had to take multiple attempts to glue the parts, because they fell off easily.

The actual aircraft featured in this kit is a Minesweeper variant. It has a large metal ring under the fuselage (see it here) which works to detonate magnetic mines in sea. In my opinion, the ring would make the plane look unattractive, so I chose not to install it on the model. Cockpit window frames are also difficult to paint, so I simply left them unpainted.

Luftwaffe Ju 52
Ju 52 sitting next to a Luftwaffe Fw190 fighter. As you can see, Ju 52 is a huge plane.

I like WW2 planes, but because of its difficulty, building this one was not really the kind of fun I was looking for.