AIRFRAME & MINIATURE No.7 The Focke-Wulf Fw( 190 ) Radial-engine Versions including Fw 190A, B, C, F, G, & S Downloadable Content v1.0 September 2014 ii Airframe & Miniature No.7 Fw 190 – Kit Extra Kit Extra: Fw 190 Radial-engine Kit Review As we stated in our book, there was insufficient drawings, as they all have it wrong too. Our exhaust stacks visible; cowl bulges good shape/ space to include all the assessments of kits we assessment below mention these oblong bulges, size; lacks fuselage extension at wing root; up- had to hand, so what follows are those that we but I have refrained from time and again saying per cowl access panel is flat, but has two small did not cover in print. As and when we find they are wrong, take it as read, they are! blisters and the gun barrels; additional kits, we will add further updates that Tailplanes: Correct span and chord; elevators you can download. 1/144th Scale are too wide; fabric effect via raised ribs; front panel lines is at 90º to centreline, should be Note on accuracy parallel to tailplane leading edge (is also too far The assessments below have utilised published Revell, Germany inboard) plans; the problem with this was that no mat- Engine: None supplied ter how many we had, none of them agreed! Fw 190A-8 #04917 Propeller: One-piece propeller and spinner; For the purposes of this exercise therefore we This kit was first released first released in 1973 propeller blades about 1mm short; blade profile have opted to use Jacek’s plans, reduced and as #H-1018, then it was not until 1992 that it is also too pointed; spinner correct diameter enlarged accordingly for all scales. We have was reissued as #4046. The most recent reissue and profile also looked at hundreds of period photos and was in 2012 as #04917. We have #04917 here Interior: None walkaround images from museums, so the be- for assessment. Detail: Centreline rack just a long blob low assessments are, we feel, as comprehensive Plastic: Light grey-coloured with raised panel moulded with one-piece wing; rack lacks any as they can be from currently available data. lines and engraved hinge lines etc. sway bars; separate SC250 bomb, but poor Control Surfaces & Curves - A quick note overall shape and detail here about basing assessments purely on scale Canopy: Framework moulded to fuselage drawings. The control surfaces of the Fw 190 halves; single-piece clear sections; good overall were an aluminium frame, with internal ribs shape and profile; canopy frames very feint and stiffening plates, covered in doped linen. Decals Now, of late the fashion with scale plan artists One option: ‘White 1’, flown by Oblt O. has been to depict this internal structure, as Stammberger, 4./JG26, France, June 1943. The clear defined lines. OK, but when a kit manu- decal sheet includes all the crosses and unique facturer merrily bases a model on plans, and markings, but no swastika nor stencils takes no time actually looking at a real Fw 190 Verdict: These little kits from Revell were excellent they fail to understand this - the fabric covers in their day, and even now the Eduard ones only go a all the structure inside, you can’t see the ribs! little farther with finesse of detail. Being so small they German fabric work was much like British, in suffer with the combination of parts to ease moulding, that they first applied strips of linen to the ribs, but a low parts count, combined with low retail price, loosely stitched on with thread, then on went Revell 04917 mean that they still probably have potential in the the main covering, which was tightly stitched pure toy market. That aside, most dedicated modellers on, followed by the dope, but as this was ap- will now prefer the Eduard ones, or the upgraded plied more strips of linen were cut and placed versions from Mark I Ltd. over the stitches to protect them from damage Wing: Moulded as one solid item; span and erosion. This means that the only ‘lines’ correct; chord correct; wing root cannon ejec- 1/72nd Scale you see are the strips doped onto the surface, tor ports are too big and just plain oblongs in with maybe little ridges for the crests of each half-relief; aileron hinge line is straight, so curve stitch underneath and in 1/48th scale or smaller, slight at tip; only a couple of panel lines, all the Academy, Korea this is easily reproduced with engraved detail, rest missing; no mid-span cannon access panels; whilst in 1/32nd or larger you could at a push no cannon barrels; no pitot; upper surface Fw 190A-6/A-8 #2120 do it as raised detail. There are no dips, scallops has good attempt at wing root cannon access This kit was first released in 1992 and has been of other such marks on the flying surfaces they covers; mid-span access covers are like their available ever since, being slightly revised with are as hard as nails and as tight as a drum skin! old 1/72nd kit, in that they look like those on the new packaging style a couple of years back, Now let’s talk curves…, no, not those! an early Bf 109; the panel lines on the upper but still retaining the same item number. We When an artist draws outlines he has no prob- surface are correct, but a lot are missing, as are have both old and new packaging versions here lem, but when trying to reproduce a complex many access panels; no tip lights to assess. curve that is three-dimensional in a two- Wheel wells: Moulded within the solid wing; Plastic: Light grey-coloured with engraved dimensional medium like drawing, then he has very shallow; no internal detail at all; good panel lines, no rivets but some raised detail (see a problem. This is the case with the Fw 190, as overall shape and position each section); later version was moulded in a the panels either side of the exhaust outlets on Undercarriage: Legs, wheels and doors all medium grey-coloured plastic the fuselage sides are curved, not sharped-edged moulded as one; units are too long by about Lower Wing: Less than 1mm too great in defined slopes as the drawings make out; hence 1-2mm; very limited detail on oleos or wheels span; wing tip shape is wrong, not being square why many kits get that wrong. The other issue due to combined moulding; no retraction enough, so correcting this would probably also with the Fw 190A-8 onwards relates to the out- arms; tailwheel and yoke assembly moulded to reduce the span; ailerons have far too many er oblong bulges for the armament at mid-span. starboard fuselage half, yoke lacks the distinct ribs; aileron hinge line is straight, should curve ALL drawings show these with either clean, shape of this unit and is depicted as one-sided at tip; cannon access panels too small, bulges sharp straight lines to define the ‘bulge’ or a (should go to both sides of wheel) OK, but the latches are heavy raised detail; smooth constant radius curve, to denote that Fuselage: Moulded from rudder to front odd oblong raised ‘frames’ inboard of cannon it is a bulge, not a geometric shape. Problem is cowl wing; about 1mm too long; ribs on rudder access hatch; wing root ejector ports are too that the bulge on these panels is not sharp-edge, over-accentuated; cross-section of aft fuselage, small, wrong place and only half relief; panel nor is it a constant radius curve, it curves in forward of tail is too round; no fuselage panel lines match plans; access panels do not match all planes, and is steeper at the front than the lines other than two towards the tail, that are plans; lacks pitot on starboard wing; tip lights rear, so ALL drawings have this wrong and most like the 500mm extension on the D-9 series; moulded solid kit manufacturers have obviously worked from no cooling vents; exhaust outlets have tiny Upper Wing: Two halves, span matches Airframe & Miniature No.7 Fw 190 – Kit Extra iii lower; aileron hinge line straight, should curve Plastic: #02063-7 is dark grey-coloured, at tip; too many ribs on the ailerons; trim tabs whilst #02085 is moulded in light grey- too big and too long; mid-span cannon oblong coloured; both feature raised panels lines and panels are too far inboard; wing root access other details panels slightly under size and the bulge is too Lower Wing: Single-piece; fractionally too angular/wrong shape; pronounced raised rivets great in span; dihedral too flat; ailerons and and latches in certain areas; panel lines match flaps not included; panel lines match plans; plans; flap angle sighting hole missing access panels are a mix of correct and incorrect Wheel wells: Moulded with lower wing; too size/location; wing root cannon ejector ports shallow; outline of the bay incorrect, ‘leg’ areas are open, but they have an odd raised edge too wide to them; mid-span access panels are separate Undercarriage: Oleo legs about 2mm too inserts, these being supplied with or without long; legs inaccurate, just feature various ‘ins the blister; blister is slightly too narrow overall; and outs’ to give detail; axle is at 90º to oleo, so wing tip lights moulded solid wheels sit wrong; compression links separate; Academy 2120 - Upper Wing: Two halves; matches span of doors only suitable for an A-8, as they lack the newer release lower wing; flaps and ailerons moulded into separate inner doors of the A-6; doors match these halves; odd ‘linen’ effect on ailerons (a errors in shape of wheel bays; retraction linkage good attempt in this era); wing root access separate, but slightly too long; wheels are of panels lack definition and oddly the bulges look the flat (late) style only suitable for the A-8 slightly narrow; spinner under size and the like they have been pushed up from