Eduard released a number of 1/144 Ju-52s a while back, possibly their first 1/144 effort (or was that their Ju-87??) in that scale. The kits became instant hits but they subsequently disappeared for several years... Lately, along with a number of brand new 1/144 kits, such as the MiG-21s and the Spit IXs, Eduard has re-released the Ju-52s and we can only commend them for such an initiative!
So far 'only' the military transport and airliner boxings of the kit have been re-released. At one time, the kit was also available as a mine-sweeping variant and there was a ski-equipped Ju-52 boxing too. Un-surprisingly, Eduard also offer photo-etched sets for those kits..
This build will be a little different from my earlier ones on the 1/144 Eduard Fishbed and Spitfire, in the sense that I will be using the PE sets Eduard designed for the kit and that I am not that interested in German aircraft in German WWII markings... Obviously, with this particular boxing, the civilian options are probably very limited, but I will be doing some research and hopefully find a military JU-52 that is a little more original... More on this soon...
In the meantime, let me introduce you to the kit; here are a few pictures of the sprues and other features included in the military transport variant kit (ref.4424):
The way the bottom of the rear fuselage is included with the underside of the wings is interesting and should facilitate building.
The top of the fuselage of this boxing includes the machine gun emplacement, which makes this part different from that of the airliner boxing. Several parts shown here below are in fact not suitable for this particular boxing of the kit, but all this is indicated in the instructions.
Here is a close-up view of the fuselage skinning, really well done, in my opinion:
The sprue containing the top halves of the wings, also including a couple of parts that will not be required here:
A close-up shot of one of the engines and cowling, possibly the weakest part of the whole kit...:
The clear parts sprue, including an extra window strip for the airliner variant. All is very clear and commendably thin!
Here are the PE sets for the military variant(s); the smaller PE fret is common to the other kit, I believe, but the larger one is different, mostly in account of the different seating of the military and civilian aircraft:
The top of the instruction booklet for the kit (right) and the instruction sheet for the PE set (left):
The instruction booklet is well designed and includes full colour info for the 4 options offered by the kit and decal sheet:
The decal sheet itself, plus the masks included in the kit. Note that the svastikas are included.
All markings are for German aircraft, flown in 1940-43 in North Africa, Crete, Southern Italy and France.