Valiant Wings Publishing | Airframe & Miniature No. 24: The Junkers Ju 88 Part 2

Reviewed by Kevin Futter

UK publisher Valiant Wings Publishing has released Number 24 in its popular Airframe & Miniature series, which is a follow up to last year's The Junkers Ju 88—Part 1: V1 to A-17 plus B-series. Authored by Richard Franks, the full title is The Junkers Ju 88—Part 2: Ju 88C to Ju 88T: A Complete Guide to the Luftwaffe's Legendary Twin. The illustrations are shared between Richard Caruana and Wojciech Sankowski, with terrific cover art by Jerry Boucher.

The book weighs in at a hefty 272 pages, plus a gatefold section of scale drawings. It is extremely well printed on quality glossy paper, and the reproduction of all drawings and photographs is first-class.

The contents are broken up into eight separate chapters, grouped into two distinct sections:

There is also a preface, along with a collection of appendices at the rear of the book:

  1. Ju 88C to T Kits
  2. Ju 88C to T Accessories
  3. Ju 88C to T Masks and Decals
  4. Bibliography

The book closes out with a gatefold insert containing scale drawings in 1/48 scale by Richard Caruana.

The sample images below (courtesy Valiant Wings Publishing) should give a good indication of the nature and style of the book's contents:

While not mentioned in the table of contents, the Preface weighs in at a substantial 26 pages, and describes a potted history of the Ju 88 C to T series, covering the D, E, F, G, H and R airframes along the way. This all provides useful support for the subsequent technical information.

The sequence of chapters covering the evolution of the airframe spans 32 pages, and consists of brief summaries supported by crisply-rendered greyscale profile drawings. They are clear and easy to follow, and form a handy guide for discerning what features distinguished which variants.

The Camouflage & Markings section covers 36 pages, and includes a one-page stencil placement guide to 1/48 scale. Rather than a dedicated section for colour profiles, they are instead interspersed throughout the text as necessary. They are by Richard Caruana as usual, and are very nicely rendered indeed. There's a varied selection of schemes here, including some non-Luftwaffe and captured examples.

Chapter 5 features a brief description of the commonly available Ju 88 C to T model kits. Our options in 1/32 scale are limited to the admittedly decent Revell kit, and a couple of legacy vacuform examples from the likes of Combat Models and I.D. Models. None of these 1/32 kits can be built to represent any of the variants covered in this book without modifications (significantly so in some cases), so it's best to consider that no out-of-box options exist in our scales. This book does, however, make those modifications significantly easier to identify and execute!

The modelling section features a mere two kit builds. The first, by Libor Jekl, features the 1/72 Haesgawa Ju 88G-6, while Steve Evans tackles the 1/48 ICM Ju 88C-6. Both models are extremely well done, and there is also a token "Quick Build" by the author of a HobbyBoss 1/72 Ju 88.

Chapter 7 is called Building a Collection, and features a series of annotated isometric 3D line drawings by Wojciech Sankowski. These are designed to illustrate the salient differences between the various prototype and production airframes as the Ju 88 C to T series developed, and form a perfect companion to the earlier 'evolution' chapters. This is one of my favourite sections with the Airframe & Miniature series, as the information contained within really does make it easy to identify the distinguishing features of any particular variant at a glance.

Chapter 8, In Detail, features an extensive selections of archival and contemporary photographs and diagrams. The two surviving airframes are covered, which comprise a Ju 88D-1/Trop at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ju 88R at the RAF Museum in Cosford. Everything has been selected and presented with a modeller's eye, which is not only welcome, but very handy.

The four appendices cover the usual list of available kits, aftermarket, decals, and mask sets, as well as a concise bibliography for further research.

The scale plans included at the very back of the book are to 1/48 scale, and presented in gatefold format. They're printed on heavy, non-glossy plain stock, covering the following airframes:

These are drawn by Richard Caruana and look very nicely done. Note that many of these variations are rendered only as scrap views that show pertinent differences between the models, rather than as separate full plans.

Conclusion

Not being a Ju 88 expert, I can't give a considered evaluation of the accuracy or veracity of the text itself, and so will leave that to more knowledgeable readers. All other elements of the book ooze quality however, from the clear photography to the beautiful profiles and the detailed scale plans. Contemporary photographs are plentiful and very nicely reproduced. Overall it's an impressive attempt to be the Complete Guide the title alludes to. Recommended!

Thanks to Valiant Wings Publishing for the review copy.

© Kevin Futter 2025

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This review was published on Monday, February 17 2025; Last modified on Monday, February 17 2025