Hasegawa 1/48 Ju 87D-5 Stuka By Doug Nelson

With the release of their new Ju87D-5 Stuka, Hasegawa has updated their earlier Ju87B model. The kit contains 101 parts molded in light gray, with 5 clear parts, with 17 of these marked as not for use. In fact, there are 13 sprues in this kit, with only 4 of them belonging to the earlier ‘B’ series. The cockpit and main fuselage are all that remains of the B kit. The new sprues (identified by the tag Ju87D/G) provide the new forward fuselage, new extended wings, new cockpit canopy, new wheel spats, as well as various other parts required to make a Ju-87D-5.

Fit of the major components is good, with no apparent problems. The outer wing sections will require some sanding and rescribing to achieve the correct shape as it appears that the mold extensions were not quite lined up resulting in a mis-alignment of the outer tip. There is also numerous minor filling and rescribing that should be done to make the kit a true D-5 Stuka. These areas will be covered in the full review to be featured in the next issue. Canopies are nicely done and clear as is typical with Hasegawa. The canopies are provided as separate sections to allow the builder to position them opened or closed. All control surfaces are molded in the neutral position.

Decals are provided for 2 aircraft, a white-washed winter scheme on a D-5 from Stab/SG5 coded L1+CB, as well as Rudel’s splinter scheme D-5 coded T6+AD.

As they are basically the same kit, those desiring a D-1 through D-4 Stuka can simply add the wings from the B series Stuka to their D-5 kit for a simple conversion. It is obvious that the ‘G’ series Stuka is not far behind as all that is needed are the wing 37mm canons to produce that variant, as well as the sprue markings Ju87D/G.