1:72 Junkers Ju 52/3m

Corrugated duralumin over prewar Europe

The Junkers Ju 52/3m could not be mistaken for anything else. A three-engine transport machine with corrugated sheet covering, angular shapes and fixed landing gear looked old-world even in its own day, only that was exactly its strength. It took off from a muddy meadow, carried over a ton of load, stood bad weather without complaint and its maintenance could be handled at a small airfield with no workshop. Airlines all over Europe therefore took to it. The cabin held roughly seventeen passengers and three radial engines together gave power with which the machine flew safely even on two.

In the colors of a Polish airline

The livery on the sheet belongs to machines of the LOT company of the years 1936 to 1939, that is from the last three seasons before the war broke out. The Polish carrier was then among the more enterprising firms in the region: from Warsaw it flew north to the Baltic, west to Berlin and south through Bucharest and Athens all the way to Beirut. The flying of these machines ended in September 1939 from one day to the next; some of the aircraft left the country and reached Romania. The type then spent the rest of the war in an entirely different role, as a military transport and paratroop machine.

Decals on a corrugated surface

Covering of profiled sheet is awkward for decals: the print has to follow the regular corrugations, otherwise it bridges them and cracks once dry. Apply the softener therefore in several weak doses and let the film rest between them. Do not press on it while it is damp; it will draw itself into the grooves on its own. The model and paints are obtained separately.