I am not a serious fan about German WW2 aircraft, but must admit that I like the Stuka’s ungainly lines. Thanks to Gary Stevens for convincing me to pick this kit up from PM Hobby Craft. He assured me that the box contained a nice little Gem. He was right!

The kit is crisply molded in Academy’s typical light grey plastic. The parts fit together beautifully, with the only cleanup being required at the sprue connection points. I did not have to use any filler on this bird. Construction was also surprisingly fast—during the evening news. I built the entire kit prior to any painting. The gun pods were left removable though. The interior was brushed with Black, and minimally highlighted with a dark grey. Masking the canopy took longer to do than putting the rest of the kit together.

The paintjob was applied using Model Master enamels, with a day or two drying time between colors. The only critical comment I have about this kit is towards the decals. They do not appear to be very thick, but Gunze and Poly S decal softener took some time to get them settled down. The decals do not include the Swastika’s for the tail. I was choked about having to track down some other decals. Academy should have broken it up like many other “sensitive” sheets, but Oh well.

A final blast of Poly S gloss & flat finished it off. Some minor pastel exhaust was applied.

I enjoyed the quick turn around of this kit, as it was a nice break from some more detailed 48 projects.