Book Review of Scale Plans no. 58 Junkers Ju-88A in 1/32nd Scale
Illustrator: Maciej Noszczak
Mushroom Model Publications (MMP)
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $15.00
Publication date: January 4, 2019
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $15.00
Publication date: January 4, 2019
HISTORY:
The Junkers Ju 88 was a German World War II Luftwaffe twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called Schnellbomber (fast bomber) that would be too fast for fighters of its era to intercept.
It suffered from a number of technical problems during its development and early operational periods but became one of the most versatile combat aircraft of the war. Like a number of other Luftwaffe bombers, it served as a bomber, dive bomber, night fighter, torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, heavy fighter and at the end of the war, as a flying bomb.
Despite a protracted development, it became one of the Luftwaffe's most important aircraft. The assembly line ran constantly from 1936 to 1945 and more than 16,000 Ju 88s were built in dozens of variants, more than any other twin-engine German aircraft of the period.
Throughout production the basic structure of the aircraft remained unchanged.
There were 17 variants of the A version produced.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Tactical / dive / torpedo bomber, Night / heavy fighter, Reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer: Junkers
Designer: Ernst Zindel, W. H. Evers, and Alfred Gassner
First flight: 21 December 1936
Introduction to service: 1939
Retired: 1951 (France)
Primary user: Luftwaffe
Number built: 15,183
Variants: Junkers Ju 188
THE BOOK:
Mushroom Model Publications is based in the UK. All their books are printed by their associate Stratus in Sandomierz, Poland, in English. Stratus also does their own line of books in both English and Polish.
This is really a folder with scale plans, all to 1/32nd scale in it.
The cover art shows a black and white wartime photo of a Ju-88A sitting on an airfield with four ground-crew men on ladders up to the wings and 2 more ground-crew men on the ground observing them.
The Ju-88 is dark-green over a light-blue under-carriage with a white skull and crossbones on the side of the nose.
This photo is on an all brown cover with a yellow line drawing of the nose and top of a bomber that I cannot identify.
The back cover is all brown too with a yellow line drawing of the landing gear and top of a Stuka.
The folder contains 3 long sheets that are 30" long. They are folded 3 times along that length to create 8 pages each in 8 1/4" x 11" page format.
The first sheet's face side has a side view of a A4 version and it's inner fuselage braces.
The reverse side has 4 side views of the A4. Two views are showing inside it's wings.
The second sheet's face side has front and rear views of the A4.
The reverse side has the bottom views of the A4.
The third sheet's face side has a top view of the A4.
The reverse side has side views with a MG FF cannon and Fug 200 "Hohnwiel" radar on the nose.
All the illustrations are to 1/32nd scale.
I want to thank Casemate publishers and Dr. Roger Wallsgrove head-editor of MMP for this book sample.
Casemate is the N.American distributor for MMP books and they sent me this sample. All MMP titles can be seen on Casemates web site at:
The Junkers Ju 88 was a German World War II Luftwaffe twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called Schnellbomber (fast bomber) that would be too fast for fighters of its era to intercept.
It suffered from a number of technical problems during its development and early operational periods but became one of the most versatile combat aircraft of the war. Like a number of other Luftwaffe bombers, it served as a bomber, dive bomber, night fighter, torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, heavy fighter and at the end of the war, as a flying bomb.
Despite a protracted development, it became one of the Luftwaffe's most important aircraft. The assembly line ran constantly from 1936 to 1945 and more than 16,000 Ju 88s were built in dozens of variants, more than any other twin-engine German aircraft of the period.
Throughout production the basic structure of the aircraft remained unchanged.
There were 17 variants of the A version produced.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Tactical / dive / torpedo bomber, Night / heavy fighter, Reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer: Junkers
Designer: Ernst Zindel, W. H. Evers, and Alfred Gassner
First flight: 21 December 1936
Introduction to service: 1939
Retired: 1951 (France)
Primary user: Luftwaffe
Number built: 15,183
Variants: Junkers Ju 188
THE BOOK:
Mushroom Model Publications is based in the UK. All their books are printed by their associate Stratus in Sandomierz, Poland, in English. Stratus also does their own line of books in both English and Polish.
This is really a folder with scale plans, all to 1/32nd scale in it.
The cover art shows a black and white wartime photo of a Ju-88A sitting on an airfield with four ground-crew men on ladders up to the wings and 2 more ground-crew men on the ground observing them.
The Ju-88 is dark-green over a light-blue under-carriage with a white skull and crossbones on the side of the nose.
This photo is on an all brown cover with a yellow line drawing of the nose and top of a bomber that I cannot identify.
The back cover is all brown too with a yellow line drawing of the landing gear and top of a Stuka.
The folder contains 3 long sheets that are 30" long. They are folded 3 times along that length to create 8 pages each in 8 1/4" x 11" page format.
The first sheet's face side has a side view of a A4 version and it's inner fuselage braces.
The reverse side has 4 side views of the A4. Two views are showing inside it's wings.
The second sheet's face side has front and rear views of the A4.
The reverse side has the bottom views of the A4.
The third sheet's face side has a top view of the A4.
The reverse side has side views with a MG FF cannon and Fug 200 "Hohnwiel" radar on the nose.
All the illustrations are to 1/32nd scale.
I want to thank Casemate publishers and Dr. Roger Wallsgrove head-editor of MMP for this book sample.
Casemate is the N.American distributor for MMP books and they sent me this sample. All MMP titles can be seen on Casemates web site at: