AMtech

1/72 JU-88H-3 Mistel/H-4 Fuhrungsmachine model kit

Product # 729206

Product Article by Steve Bamford on Apr 22 2003

 

 

 

 
This 1/72 kit from AMtech is of the JU-88H-3 Mistel/H-4 Fuhrungsmachine.  

The Ju-88H-3 Mistel was a weapon system using a tired Ju-88 airframe with a massive warhead on the nose in place of the cockpit.  Affixed to the top in piggy-back fashion is a Fw-190 fighter with flight controls for the Ju-88 and Fw-190.  The Fw-190 pilot would guide the Mistel to the target.....set it on a glide descent course to the target....and release his Fw-190 from the Ju-88 bomb prior to impact.  The Fw-190 pilot would then fly safely back to base.  This weapon system was for very high priority targets.

The Ju-88H-4 Fuhrungsmachine was an aircraft using a Ju-88 with a Fw-190 affixed to the top in piggy-back fashion.  The Fw-190 pilot would detach if enemy fighters were spotted and his mission would be to protect the Ju-88.  This aircraft combination was for very highly important missions.  

Sometimes the Fw-190 was fitted with additional streamlined fuel tanks on top of the wings.  

This Ju-88 kit was originally released as the AMT/ERTL Ju88 to which AMtech has added additional sprues to permit you to build either the JU-88H-3 Mistel or the H-4 Fuhrungsmachine.  It includes sprues of light and dark gray styrene, one of clear styrene parts and enough decals to make either a Ju-88H-3 Mistel or one of the two H-4 Fuhrungsmachine aircraft featured.  

The image directly below is the regular Ju-88 kit.

The next picture (directly below) shows all the additional sprues added to the basic Ju-88 kit to produce the JU-88H-3 Mistel or the H-4 Fuhrungsmachine.

Before I begin.....let's make sure of one important thing.....the Fw-190 is NOT included in this kit.  So you'll have to find the appropriate 1/72 Fw-190 to add to this Ju-88 to make your Ju-88H-3 Mistel or one of the two H-4 Fuhrungsmachine combo.  This is not a big deal....AMtech doesn't have a 1/72 Fw-190 in their product line.....so this is why one is not included.  

The first thing I always consider when buying a kit is quality of the moulding.  This kit has delicate recessed panel lines.  

This kit has a different way of installing the wings.  The wings don't have the standard tabs that you'd stick into the fuselage.  Instead this kit has a plastic spar that fits between the fuselage halves and extend into slots in the wings.  This design gives much more strength to the fuselage area and about the same strength to the wing root/fuselage joint.  I see no drawbacks to this design and if anything it is better.

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The decal options are for 3 different aircraft of quite different paint schemes.  Decal option #1 is a Ju-88H-4 Fuhrungsmachine in Germany in 1945.  This aircraft is a camo pattern of RLM76/81/83 (light-blue/brown-violet/medium-green) on top with RLM76 on the side of the sides of the fuselage and the underside. It is a very dramatic and involved camo pattern and would be very visually striking on a model. 
Decal option #2 is a Ju-88H-4 Fuhrungsmachine in Germany in 1945.   This aircraft is RLM 81/75 (brown-violet/light-blue) on the top side ina  VERY busy camo pattern and RLM 75 light Blue on the underside.  Decal option #3 is a Ju-88H-3 / Mistel 3B with II./KG 200 in Germany in 1945.  KG 200 carried out many secret operations during the war.   This aircraft is RLM 76 light blue all over and the top side is covered ina  very broken up and complicated camo pattern using RLM75 (Gray-violet).  I would be torn to pick which camo pattern I like the most....they are all very complicated and pleasing in appearance.

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Canopy parts include various pieces.....greenhouse canopy, window behind the nose on the side of the fuselage etc.  The detail on the clear parts is very well done and the clarity of the glass is quite good.  The greenhouse canopy will require the expected time and patience to mask and paint, but that is expected with Ju-88's.

Below are some details photos of various cockpit parts if you should build the H-4 Fuhrungsmachine version.  Detail is quite good and will respond well to drybrushing.  the seats even have very fine seatbelts molded on them.

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guns and instrument panel etc seats cockpit sides

All panel lines are fine recessed lines....not too deep or wide.....just right.  Details on the various parts...such as the landing gear below is quite good and finely molded.

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This is a side view of the fuselage directly at the wing root.  It clearly shows the very nice recessed panel lines. 

I did some dryfitting of the major parts and the fit at critical areas such as the fuselage-wing root joint was very good and will require little if any filler and I expect this kit to build up quite easily....although the complicated nature of the Ju-88H-3 Mistel or H-4 Fuhrungsmachine will require a bit of patience.  

Below are six images of some of the parts from the extra spues.

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H-4 Fuhrungsmachine cockpit fuselage side piece Fw-190 support pieces

 

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Fuel drop tank Mistel war head centreline fuselage support wheel 

The instruction sheets includes 10 pages of instructions.  Line drawings are clearly laid out and include painting instructions.  

This is a very nice kit and will build up to a very good model of the JU-88H-3 Mistel or the H-4 Fuhrungsmachine.

I'd like to thank AMtech for the review sample.

Steve 

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Photos and text © by Steve Bamford

 

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