1/32 Hasegawa FW 190A-8, Hans Dortenmann (Complete)

That face! I have to say I'm seriously I pressed, Hoss. That face is amazingly life-like.

Very nice start, really impressed with the hand painted IP. And the figure looks very nice.

If that's you're first attempt at figure painting, I think I just retired from trying figure painting from time to time.

Very nicely done.

Mike and Bish - Thanks for the feedback and encouragement! I've been wanting to add pilots and ground crew to my plane displays for a while but am only now starting to learn the basics on how to position and paint them. I spent quite a bit of time positioning the hands on the throttle and control stick as well as angling the head so he'd be engaging the model viewer instead of staring out the windscreen. Since I took the photos I've cleaned him up a bit more. Thanks again for the comments.    

Thanks for the comments Greg!  Although this is my first attempt at modeling a pilot in the cockpit in the last 40+ years, I occasionally did figures with armor models (e.g., Tamiya 1:35) back then.

I've been wanting to add figures without them detracting from the plane model overall. I've found some references that are extremely helpful and have practiced on two or three ground crew figures before I took a crack at this guy.

I bought this book a couple of weeks ago and have been studying the examples and tips -- it has been a huge help!!

https://www.amazon.com/How-Build-Dioramas-Aircraft-Figure/dp/0890241953

Highly recommended.  

Super clean and tidy build!  The cammo is beautifully done. Looks very nice, mate. Can't wait to see it moving forward!

leemitcheltree

Super clean and tidy build!  The cammo is beautifully done. Looks very nice, mate. Can't wait to see it moving forward!

 

Thanks!

Fine tuned the mottling a bit, added some minor chips/scratches and gave it 2x coats of Tamiya X22 clear gloss thinned 1:1 with Mr Color Leveling Thinner.  It's starting to look like a 190. 

Decals next. 

Nice!.......I'm jealous of your instrument panel work.  Looks like photo etch.....and killer work on the pilot too! Looking good Hoss...

lawdog114

Nice!.......I'm jealous of your instrument panel work.  Looks like photo etch.....and killer work on the pilot too! Looking good Hoss...

 

Thanks Lawdog - quite a compliment coming from you. Much appreciated. 

I'm calling this one complete. This is my favorite Fw 190A-8 marking scheme and I'm really happy with the outcome.

Lt Dortenmann started in this plane when he was assigned as CO of 2./JG 54 in mid June 1944. His unit had just been transferred from the Russian front to support the defense of France after the Normandy invasion. He shot down a P-51 and a P-47 in this plane a few days before being shot down himself and successfully baling out. He later went on to pilot one of the very first production Fw 190D-9s and ended the war with 38 victories. 

This is the first Hasegawa kit I've built. Even though it's a 2004 vintage with a few accuracy issues, it ended up looking pretty good and was straightforward to build.

The only drama in the entire build was self-induced. I accidentally spilled most of the contents of my airbrush fully loaded with black-brown mix all over the port cowling and wing during final weathering. ...many things thrown and much noise... I needed to completely repaint a few panels and touch up a few more. The bottom line is that I need more space for 1/32 planes vs. my usual, compact 1/48s. More space is on my XMAS list. 

The build was completely out of the box except the machine guns (Master) and decals (EagleCals). I was going to use the Master cannon barrels but I managed to hollow out the ends OK and will save the master barrels for a future build. I used EZ line for the antenna. 

I'm really happy with the AK Real Colors paints - really exceptional mid-war Luftwaffe camo colors. I used Flory washes for the panel lines, a black-brown mix (unspilled :))  and some pastels for the exhaust.

The original photos showed heavily spilled fuel stains all over the drop tank so I replicated this by placing several heavily thinned black-brown drops on top of the tank and blowing the fluid down the sides. The photos also showed an almost dead flat finish so I gave it 2x coats of Alclad Flat, which did the trick nicely. 

I also adjusted my photo approach -- a shorter focal length lens combined with focus stacking -- to create a larger depth field for the 1/32 sized plane. I managed to get the entire model in crisp focus for the majority of photos. 

Enjoy the photos and thanks for following along.

Wow! Really impressive build and diorama! Many kudos.

I think the camo and weathering are great! I'm not sure I'd use so much blackening for the engine exhaust streaking but it sure looks good - and you're probably more accurate than I would have been on those stains.

Hoss, the images of your FW-190 are terrific! For all the years I have been using Photoshop, I had never heard of focus stacking until now. Went to Youtube and watched a demo. Definitely a technique I'll use in the future when I photograph my finished models. Thanks.

That's a keeper, VERY nice indeed. 

Awesome looking Wurger ! Very nicely done!

Beautiful work.  Nice and clean.  I love the flat flat finish. 

Great photography as well.  

T e d

1943Mike

Wow! Really impressive build and diorama! Many kudos.

I think the camo and weathering are great! I'm not sure I'd use so much blackening for the engine exhaust streaking but it sure looks good - and you're probably more accurate than I would have been on those stains.

 

Thanks for the feedback, Mike. Good comments on the exhaust. The amount of exhaust staining shown in the original photos was difficult to tell -- a little lighter touch would have been fine I think. Thanks!

fotofrank

Hoss, the images of your FW-190 are terrific! For all the years I have been using Photoshop, I had never heard of focus stacking until now. Went to Youtube and watched a demo. Definitely a technique I'll use in the future when I photograph my finished models. Thanks.

 

Thanks for the comments fotofrank. I learned about the technique from a recent post here on Finescale I think. It doesn't always result in a clean image, especially with complex backgrounds or if the lens focal length shifts much with the focus distance. But it certainly helps with the larger models.  

Reasoned

That's a keeper, VERY nice indeed. 

 

Thanks Reasoned!

TREYZX10R

Awesome looking Wurger ! Very nicely done!

 

Thanks Treyzx10R! Much appreciated.

lawdog114

You are a machine! Awesome butcher bird.

 

Thanks Lawdog! I appreciate the motivational feedback. 

Ted4321

Beautiful work.  Nice and clean.  I love the flat flat finish. 

Great photography as well.  

T e d

 

Thanks Ted!