1:48 Ju-88 tail wheel early type 2 3D print (for ICM)

The tail wheel of the early form of the Ju 88 in 1:48 scale

The set brings the tail wheel for the German aircraft Junkers Ju 88 in 1:48 scale. The name gives the early form, type 2, and the information that this is a part made by 3D printing. It is not a kit of an airplane but a small accessory with which a part made of plastic is replaced. Alongside this form the manufacturer also makes sets for the early type 1 and for the late form, so it pays to compare the shape with photographs of a particular machine. The target kit is ICM.

The real subject

The Ju 88 was built in enormous numbers and it changed in small ways the whole time. The landing gear belonged among the places where modifications showed most often, because the aircraft gradually grew heavier and had to stand operation from muddy field airfields. The tail wheel therefore altered during production: the shape of the fork, of the rim and of the tire all change. On a finished model it is a small part, but it is one of the features that can give away that a model matches a different period of production from the one its finish carries.

Building and painting tips

Degrease the wheel and spray it with primer, set the rim apart from the tire and dust the lower part of the wheel lightly according to the surface the aircraft operated from. Super glue holds reliably even where plastic glue will not take. Fit the part after the landing gear bay has been painted, but still before the model is mounted on a base, so that you have access to the joint. In the finished scene the wheel is visible from below, so it pays to avoid oversanded edges.

Who the set is for

• Builders of the Ju 88 in 1:48 scale
• Modelers who tell the early and late forms of the landing gear apart
• Collectors of German aircraft of the Second World War
• More experienced modelers used to small parts