The Aircraft

The Junkers Ju-52/3m was a continuation of the Ju-52/1m. The 3m stands for three engines (dreimotoren), the 1m stands for one engine (einmotor). The prototype was built with one engine, but it proved to be badly underpowered, so two more engines, one on each wing, were added.

The other feature of the Ju-52 was the corrugated skin on the wings and fuselage. The idea, originated by Junkers in World War I, was to add strength to the aircraft without adding weight. The Ford Trimotor used this, too. Although it worked, the corrugations added drag. It can also be an additional task for the modeler when filling seams.

The Kit

The PE set consists of two frets of PE. They seemed to be set up so that one covers the interior, the other the exterior. Some of the parts are prepainted, and some are left in “natural” brass.

Brassin Detail Sets

• Cockpit/Radio Compartment – Stock No. 648074, $28.99
• DB-601 Engine – Stock No. 648059, $28.99
• MG-17 Mount – Stock No. 648060, $28.99
• Wheel Set – Stock No. 648058, $5.99

Eduard’s Bf-109E series has released all the variants of the Emil. This is the first time, other than the Royal Class, that the E-3 version is available. The Profipack release is typical Eduard quality with the suitable extra items, such as photo etch and masks. While a good deal and adequately detailed right from the box, what happens when you add all the Brassin items designed for the kit? Well we are going to find out.

This review is of the MiniArt Street Section with Wall, a part of their diorama series of bases for armor models. Like the other section I built in an earlier review, this was also pretty easy to build. When weathered, this looks nice when finished.

First, you get a sheet of very soft plastic to use as the base with a cobblestone street and some sidewalks. This has some very well done details with the cobblestones and sidewalks. The base is marked off for where you will put the wall, as in the other diorama.

Now, this one is fairly easy and simple to build. It comes with a tower you have to build, but like the other dioramas they offer, this is an optional piece. I, for one, plan to use the manhole cover and drain from the other review I did to complete the street scene. I will also add some rubble and dirt.

At first glance, the Diamond T 4-ton Truck looks like the “Deuce and a Half” (2½ CCKW GMC series) on steroids. The U.S. Quartermaster Corps and Corps of Engineers needed a truck that could do everything the “Deuce and a Half” could do – and much, much more. The Diamond T 4-ton truck filled the bill, serving throughout WWII in all theatres. But the Diamond T had one major problem: it cost as much as twice that of the CCKW! So it was bought in smaller quantities and served the U.S. Military just over 10 years. It was the basis upon which the post-war M-34/M-35 2½ trucks and M-41/M54 5-ton series were based.

Eduard’s Bf-109E is a very nice kit. One of the nicest things about the kit is this additional decal sheet. Printed by Eduard, the actual sheet is a 3” x 4” sheet of decal film. There are decals for one complete airplane with all the stencils being included. You get three Nicht anfassen decals for the ailerons in white and black. I thought that there should be at least one more for the elevators but Eduard indicates that they are carried on the elevators so that may be an error on my part.

The instructions are on a double-sided half A4 page sheet and are very clear in showing you where the decals belong. Remember that sometimes the stencils were oversprayed and not every aircraft carries every stencil. I really liked that Eduard provides you with red and black wing walk areas.