Early in 1943 a
Junkers design team was assigned the task of designing a heavy
bomber
capable of higher speeds than any contemporary Allied fighter.
Such a
possibility was feasible by the German development of the
turbojet
engine. It was believed that with this power plant, swept back
wings
and thinner thickness-chord ratios would endow a bomber with a
speed
that would prevent it from being intercepted. The advantages
and
disadvantages of swept back wings were already known and at an
early
stage of the design it was proposed to to give the wings a
forward
sweep which was hoped would transfer stability problems to the
opposite
end of the speed range where they could be more easily dealt
with. Wind
tunnel tests confirmed this theory and also the disadvantages
of this
arrangement, that being its aeroelastic behavior. but it was
believed
that this could be corrected during the design stage.
The RLM approved the detail design and allocated it the
designation Ju
287. It was deemed advisable to evaluate the low speed
characteristics
of the wing on a full scale test bed while the design of the
definitive
bomber was being finalized. In order to accomplish this a He
177A
fuselage was adapted for the task, its conversion being
completed in
April of 1944 when the mating of the new wings began. The tail
assembly
was made up of standard Ju 388 parts and since under carriage
stowage
was not practical due to the need for absolute structural
integrity of
the forward swept wing, a massive fixed under carriage was
adopted. The
main wheels were braced to the main spar and consisted of Ju
352 main
wheels enclosed in large fairings. The twin nose wheels were
salvaged
from a B-24 bomber. Power was provided by four Jumo 004B
turbojets, two
attached to the sides of the forward fuselage and two slung
under the
wings and attached to the rear spar.
Although only the wing bore any relation ship to the proposed
bomber it
was still designated the Ju 287 V1 and it was flown for the
first time
on August 14, 1944. To provide addition thrust for takeoff
rocket packs
were attached beneath each engine nacelle and these were
jettisoned
after takeoff. A large braking parachute could be deployed
from the
rear fuselage to reduce the landing run. In all 17 flights
were made
without incident other than the occasional failure of
the
temperamental turbojets or a rocket pack exploding. The
aircraft proved
to have pleasant flying characteristics in spite of its
unorthodox
appearance. It proved that the forward swept theory had been
correct.
Although intended for low speed flight only it was dived one
time at
full power reaching a speed of 404 m.p.h. which confirmed the
issue of
aeroelasticity of the forward swept wings. The V1 was
eventually
transferred to Rechlin where it was heavily damaged during an
Allied
bombing attack.
The Kit
The
Huma kit comes in a two part top open box with some what
cartoonish artwork on the front. Inside all of the parts are
contained
in a single large bag. The kit is molded in a greenish gray
color
similar to RLM 02 gray and features recessed panel lines. The
parts are
cleanly molded with very little flash. The panel lines are a
little
large for the scale and it's difficult to tell them from the
outlines
for the control surfaces which could be a bit deeper. The
surfaces are
smooth and I did not find any sink marks other surface
blemishes. The
only ejector pin marks that will show are in the cockpit area.
The
cockpit has a reasonable level of detail for the scale with
side
consoles and instruments are represented with decals. Two
seats are
supplied but only one shown in the instructions. It is lacking
belts
and harness. The crew hatch is separate and includes a ladder
if you
pose it open. The engines are represented by intake and
exhaust turbine
blades and exhaust cones. The kit even supplies the movie
camera that
was attached to the rear fuselage to study the airflow over
the wings.
The kit will require weight in the nose to prevent tail
sitting and
this may cause an issue with the rather anemic front landing
gear. The
struts here might be worth replacing with some metal wire. The
wings
mount with large tabs and the tail surface is one piece that
slides
into place when the fuselage halves are mated and it has a
positive
stop to keep it in place. The parts do have alignment pins,
something
not usually seen on limited run kits like this. The wheels
have nice
hub detail and the tires have tread but are not weighted. All
of the
sprues are numbered except for one and there is a parts map
covering that
one supplied. The sprue gates are a bit heavier than I like so
care will
be needed when cutting parts off of them. Altogether there are
96 gray
parts. See photos below.
The clear parts are injection molded and mine had suffered
some from
being packed with all the other parts. They are reasonably
clear and
thin and have well defined frame lines. They should look great
with a
coating of Future. Altogether there are six clear parts
bringing the
kit total to 102 parts. See photo below.
The decals are very thin and in register. Only national
markings and
radio call letters are supplied along with the instrument
decals.
Swastikas could be made from the black and white boxes but I'm
not sure
it would be worth the trouble, best to find some after market
swastikas. See photo below.
The instructions are printed on two large sheets that are
folded to fit
the box. One has history and specifications on one side and
the other
side is printed in color showing the painting and markings
which is
illustrated in full scale. The other sheet has the assembly
diagrams
which are brief but adequate. There is also a small sheet
which has a
parts map for one sprue that does not have numbers on it.
Conclusions This
kit seems to be a bit above the norm for limited run kits. The
plastic
has a nice feel to it and with alignment pins should go
together with a
little less work than those without. The only other Huma kit I
have is
the Ju 288 and I got the same feeling with it that it just a
bit better
than norm for this type of kit. According to other reviews the
fit of
the main gear and the RATO units is poor and that combined
with the
rather weak nature on the landing gear may get the best of
less
experienced modelers. I would recommend it to modelers on most
skill
levels except those with very limited experience.
Links to kit build or reviews
A build / review can be found here
and some photos of a completed model here.
References
"Warplanes of the Third Reich" by William Green