Background

Although the Grunau Baby IIb may not leap to mind as one of the most important aircraft of WWII, I think it's fair to say that Nazi Germany simply wouldn't have been ready to fight an air war in 1939 without it. 

In the years following the first world war, all aviation activity was heavily restricted in Germany. Military aircraft were forbidden entirely and commercial aviation strictly regulated. The only area left free was sports gliding, and this grew rapidly in popularity. With the rise of the Nazis, the potential of gliding was soon recognised and the Deutscher Luftsportverband (German Air Sports Association) was formed to train a cadre of future military pilots under the guise of recreational gliding. This later evolved into the Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps (National Socialist Flyers Corps) that went on to provide basic training on gliders throughout WWII.

The single-seat Grunau Baby II was among the most famous of a number of successful German sailplanes of the era, and gave many future Luftwaffe aces their first taste of flying. The design was simple to build and fly, and was widely exported, with around 6,000 being build before, during and after the war in some 20 countries, with many still active today.

Despite its simplicity, the Grunau Baby IIb was an outstanding performer. In 1933 a Baby II set a new world endurance record by soaring for an astonishing five hours and thirty-six minutes, and many pilots earned the Silver-C soaring badge that required them to remain aloft at least five hours, reaching an altitude of one thousand metres or more, and fly a distance of at least fifty kilometres. 

The Kit

The Grunau Baby IIb in 1:48 was the preserve limited-run manufacturers for many years until Special Hobby produced a mainstream kit in 2020. The latest boxing includes new decals for German, Slovak and Croatian WWII aircraft.

The kit arrives an attractive top-opening box and comprises:

26 x grey styrene parts (plus 1 unused)

1 x clear styrene part

Decals for 4 x colour schemes

The kit is obviously pretty simple with only two dozen or so parts, and it's very crisply moulded with just a hit of flash here and there. I didn't find any flash worth commenting on in the sample kit and there are no problems with sink marks. Ejector pins are kept out of harm's way.

The surface finish is neatly done, with clearly defined ribs and stringers on the wing and tail. The contrast between plywood structure and fabric covering is precisely depicted, but it's also quite subtle - and you could soften it further if you wish with a coat of primer and sanding it back.

A dry assembly of the main parts is very encouraging, with the fuselage halves lining up neatly and the wing and tail staying in place as clip-fits. The parts are moulded straight and true - vital with that long, elegant wing - and construction promises to be very straightforward. 

A Few Details

With such a simple aircraft, detailing really boils down the cockpit, and even that is pretty spartan. 11 parts provide a floor and seat, control column and rudder pedals, plus a simple instrument panel and a side console for the towing-cable release and wing slats lever.

The removable cockpit coaming is moulded in clear styrene, complete with the windscreen and illumination "portholes". 

Externally, there's a pitot tube and a crisply detailed landing skid.

Instructions & Decals

Special Hobby provide a colour-printed 12-page construction-guide with clear illustrations and colour call-outs for Gunze Sangyo paints.

Decals are included for a quartet of Axis aircraft:

1. Grunau Baby IIb, LH-XH, NSFK, Germany, 1944

2. Grunau Baby IIb, OK-300, Central Glider Flying School, Independent Slovak State, 1941-43

3. Grunau Baby IIb, Croatian Air Force, 1942

4. Grunau Baby IIb, D-7-342, NSFK Gruppe 7, Germany.

All the aircraft are finished in RLM 05 Elfenbein overall, with the first colour scheme sporting field-applied disruptive camouflage on the top surfaces.

The decals look to be excellent quality - thin and glossy, with precise register. The carrier film extends beyond the designs, but experience with recent Special Hobby decals has shown they snuggle down  beautifully with standard settling solutions. One point to watch is that, being so thin, the decals can fold over themselves if you're not careful. Deft use of a soft brush and water solves this.

Conclusion

Special Hobby's Grunau Baby IIb is a great little kit - simple and well designed, and the finished model will be an eye-catcher among all the more common types in any display. It's a kit that, for once, really could be described as a "weekend build" (depending on the colour scheme) for an average modeller, and it would make an ideal choice for anyone looking to try something a little bit unusual for the first time.

Painting Masks

To accompany the kit, Special Hobby have also released a set of painting masks to help depict the semi-translucent look of the fabric covered areas on the wing and the tailplanes. The masks will be especially useful when modelling some of the Grunau Babies finished with clear-doped fabric, where the internal structure is clearly visible, but even aircraft painted in RLM 05 Elfenbein show the effect to a lesser extent.

The pack includes two sheets of die-cut washi tape masks which will save many hours of measuring and cutting out individual panels for the complex pattern of the interior structure. Even with the benefit of the masks it's still going to be quite an epic task, because you're looking at a slightly daunting 268 masks for the flying and control surfaces! The final result will be very satisfying, though, and hard to replicate by other means.

Special Hobby also provide masks for the windscreen and windows - both inside and out - and the instructions are clear and straightforward.

Conclusion

Some modellers dismiss pre-cut masks as something of a luxury, but they really come into their own here, because this set will be a huge time-saver for anyone wanting to depict a translucent fabric-effect on their kit. Done carefully, it's an effect that will turn heads and make the finished model stand out from the crowd.

Kit #SH48237 - Grunau Baby IIB ‘German WWII Glider’ - Price: 17.19 Euros

Set #M48017 - Grunau Baby IIB Mask Canopy, Fabric Flying / Control Surfaces - Price: 13.70 Euros

Both items are available now from Special Hobby

Many thanks to Special Hobby for the review samples. 

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