|
The FW190
series of fine fighter aircraft were the brainchild of Dr. Kurt Tank an
accredited aircraft designer of the Nazi Germany. First flown in 1940 this
remarkable aircraft soon became the terror of the skies and exerted its
supremacy with its lethal combination of speed, armament and robust
construction. It was called the “Wurger” which means “Butcher Bird”.
Probably a well deserved name. Powered by a fourteen cylinder radial BMW engine
with water/methanol injection system and complemented with four 20mm cannons and
two 7.62mm machine guns it far outperformed most of its contemporary
adversaries. Together with the Bf109 this formidable aircraft were the backbone
of the Nazi German Air force Fighter Command. Its design is truly a masterpiece.
THE
KIT
There
is very little that I can say about this kit that has not already been said. It
truly builds into a beautiful model with ease and is accurate. I was impressed
by its simplicity, but very high quality. It is a pleasure to build. I only had
minor areas to fill and sand. The cockpit is well detailed and the only thing
that was missing was seat belt detail. I added Eduard’s pre-painted photo
etched seat belts and my kit lit up a lot! There are no tricky areas and perhaps
it is a much better kit than the DML counterparts. I say this because the
assembly is so easy and it just looks great once is all put together. The DML
kit consists of many more parts and many parts in photo-etched metal that makes
building of models more difficult. I have all of Tri-master and DML FW190 kits!
I just hope to live long enough to build them.
PAINTING
I used the
now defunct Floquil Military Color line, and the colors were RLM 02 Grau, RLM 66
Schwartsgrau, for the internal detail, RLM 74 Graugrun, RLM75 Grauviolett and
RLM76 Lichtblau for the camouflage, The Yellow under the nose is RLM04 and with
red RLM23 on the trim tabs. The mottle on the sides is RLM 75 alternated with
RLM 02. I really enjoyed this kit for its ease of assembly and accuracy of
detail that complemented with a terrific fit makes this kit into one of my
favourites.
DECALING
AND FINISH
I used the
kits decals, a bit on the thicker side, but of excellent quality. They conformed
on their own, without having to use any decal solutions. I was very impressed by
this. Before applying any of the decals, I applied a coat of Testor’s
Metalizer Sealer, and once I had completed the decaling I sealed the decals with
some more of it. This process blended the decals right into the paint job. For
once the silvering of the decal film did not occur! I was about to start yelling
“Yee-Haaas” and do the rain dance around my workbench! I finally applied a
light coat of the dreadful Testor’s Dullcote. I wish this company could take
such a good product as the Metalizer Sealer and make it into a matte-finishing
product. That would be the ideal Dullcote. Well once again you squandered a
perfectly good half an hour reading my article and I thank you for it. Happy
modeling,
Edward
|
