Scale Aviation Modeller International 08.2018

A

irfix first released the B-1

version of the infamous

Luftwaffe dive bomber in

2017, and those same sprues now

get a second outing as the B-2/R-2,

with a new two-option decal sheet

and a choice of underwing stores.

Moulded in the manufacturer’s

now-standard blue-grey styrene,

the kit features all the features

that we have come to expect in a

new-tool offering from Airfix: soft,

workable styrene, recessed panel

lines, crystal clear transparencies,

impressive levels of internal detail

(and options to show it off, such

as separately-moulded fairings

and access panels) – and lots

and lots of ejector pin marks.

The latter are especially

unwelcome when located in places

likely to remain visible once the

kit is assembled; almost as soon

as construction begins on the

cockpit, pin marks in the centre

of the floor panel, on the pilot’s

seat, and amidst the sidewall

detail require filling or removal.

Even so, the cockpit is nicely

furnished with a two-piece pilot’s

seat, which lacks harness detail,

a control column, panel, and

foot pedals. The rear gunner’s

position includes a two-piece spent

cartridge bin, a double row

of machine gun (MG)

magazines on a rack,

a nicely moulded

three-piece seat, and

a bank of radios.

The separately

moulded

sidewall frames

contain more MG

magazines, an oxygen

bottle and hose, trim

wheels, levers, and

fuselage ribbing, all of

which assembles onto a

rigid box-section frame. The

STUKA

Sicilian

QUICKBUILD

Quick Build of the Airfix

1/48 Stuka B-2/ R-2

by Jay Blakemore

28 • AUGUST 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

BY SACCO DE VRIES

STUKA B-2/R-2

BY JAY BLAKEMORE

1/48

028-33-QB-Stuka-0818.indd 28 12/07/2018 11:46