Ju-88A-4 (Technik Range)
First look at Revell 1/32 Ju-88A-4 (Technik Range)
T
he Technik range from
Revell is their premium
line, which takes a basic
plastic kit and then adds some
working features. The latest
model to get this treatment is
their 1/32 scale Junkers Ju-
88A-4 Bomber, one of the most
successful German multi-role
aircraft of the Second World War.
First released by Revell in
2011, the original version of the
kit did not have the underwing
pylons for the external bomb
load. In 2013 this admission was
rectified, and it is this version of
the kit that the Technik version
is based on. In fact, this kit is
identical to that version, in that
the marking options are the same
as the 2013 boxing. Surprisingly,
so are the instructions, which are
not in the latest style introduced
in 2016. They are perfectly
usable, but it does come as a bit
of a shock after the beautiful CAD
designed ones in recent kits.
The main changes to this kit
are contained in a separate box
that contains the electrical parts.
All of these are prewired with
push connectors, so absolutely
no electrical skills are required
to build this kit, just the ability to
follow the instructions closely.
The main part of the system is an
IT circuit board which controls the operation of the electrical system
and is hidden inside the rear
fuselage. The second part
of the system is the battery
pack, which is located outside
the aircraft and is connected
to the IT board by a wire
that runs into the fuselage
through the tail wheel.
The working part of the
system starts with a pair of
electric motors that power
the engines and are located,
unsurprisingly, in the engine
cowling. These require the
only modification to thebasic kit parts: you will have to drill
a 7 mm hole in the centre of the
annular radiators to house them.
The next feature is the lights.
Small LEDs are supplied to
illuminate the landing light, wing
and tail navigation lights, and to
illuminate the cockpit. Each LED
has two leads, a pre-coloured one
based on its location (i.e., orange
for the landing light), and a black
negative one. These are plugged into
the appropriate coloured leads that
emerge from the IT circuit board,
so there is absolutely no room for
error if you follow the instructions.
Once completed, just add 4X AA
1.5 volt batteries and use the switch
on the battery pack to turn the
model on. You will then be treated
to a set sequence of operations:- Cabin light on (this is located on
the rear fuselage bulkhead), - Landing light on,
- Left hand engine start
up to full power, - Right hand engine start up,
- Navigation lights on.
After approximately a minute of
running the sequence is reversed.
CONCLUSION
The Technik version of the Ju-88
certainly adds a lot of interest
to the model, and is sure to be a
big hit with young and old alike
at model shows. The Ju-88 was
always a great kit, and the simple
nature and ease of assembly of the
electrics will make it suitable for
all but the most novice modeller.
I have only one concern, and that
is that this is a ghost aircraft – despite
all the working features you have
no crew to man the aircraft! It would
be a simple matter to modify a few
commercially available aftermarket
options, like PJ Production’s
Luftwaffe pilot (which comes with
two alternative heads so could be
used for the pilot and co-pilot).
A full build of this kit is already
underway and in due course it
will appear in a future issue, along
with a video showing the working
features on our Facebook page.
Our thanks to Revell for
supplying the review sample, which
can be purchased from Revell’s
extensive dealer network.44 • APRIL 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
FIRST LOOK!
042-47-FirstLooks-0418.indd 44 09/03/2018 16:15