Flames Of War: Zvezda’s 1:144 Ju. 87 Stuka Assembly and Painting

One day I’ll actually play Flames of War. And on that day you’ll see a long over due AAR with whatever happens. Until then, I’m just going to keep making models; partly for nostalgia, and partly because I just love how they turn out. I picked up a couple of Ju. 87 Stukas for my German lists both for their iconic look and the fact that they’re in the basic 4th Edition ‘Armies of the Late War’ handbook I have. These Zvezda Stukas were much cheaper than the Battlefront ones so I decided to roll the dice and take a chance.

The kits were very easy to put together. There was a little bit of a gap between the fuselage and the wings pieces, but I was able to fill those easily with putty and mask it with paint. I also chose to remove the propeller blades to give the impression that the planes were in flight, and also for ease of storage (fewer delicate parts, etc.).

After spraying them with the same Chieftain Green I use for my British Armour it became readily apparent how little detail there is on these models. I was disappointed by this, but then remembered how little I’d paid for them so was unsurprised.

After doing a pin wash with Army Painters Army Tone (a localized wash with very little wash on the brush) I painted the underside of the planes with a duck egg blue. I can’t remember the name but it was from MSP. I had to do a couple of layers due to the dark green base coating. I forgot to take any pictures, but I swear it’s blue underneath! I also used my dark Pavement grey from Walmart on the wheels.

I painted the nose and tail with a bright yellow. The tone I chose was called Flash Gitz Yellow from Citadel. I liked the vibrancy of this colour and thought it would make for a very bright looking model on the battlefield. It’s not often you get to use colours like this on a WWII battlefield so I’ll take every opportunity I can to break up the greens and browns!

The paint job isn’t actually very good with the yellow. I thinned my paints down as much as possible, but I still ended up needing four layers to get a solid block colour. The darker shaded parts come from another pin wash I did with Casandora Yellow. I applied two layers of yellow paint, then the wash, then another two or three layers of yellow paint. I’m still unhappy because up close there’s some streaking, but at 15mm I just need to take a step back and enjoy the aesthetic I think. Remember, I’m a lazy painter and am not trying to win any competitions.

To finish the basic colours I used Abadon Black for the nose cone, and then once dry I used two layers of White Scar – both from Citadel as well – to give the finished look. I painted the noses free hand so they’re not the most straight, but I need the practice. Bonus points for all the mess and half finished projects on my desk.

The next step was using some water to add the decals on the wings and fuselage. The model comes with two copies of the numbers 0-9, so you can make a good combination of numbers. I went with 106 and 107, don’t know why, just felt right. The canopy is a clear plastic piece that needed the panes painted – I did this off camera, but here they are applied.

So, here they are. Again, they look decent enough on the table but up close the combination of the lack of detailing on the model and my shoddy paint job leaves something to be desired. It’s fine though, but I might look elsewhere for my Allied aircraft in the future.

So there you have it. The Zvezda Ju. 87 Stuka. If you like the look they’re at a great price point, and readily available online. Thanks for reading, and see you next time!

-Alexander