The first Fw 190.
It was a welcome surprise to see this one appear and I did not wait to get one as resin kits usually have short production runs. MPM made a 1/72 kit in 1995 that used the same box art.
A well cast resin kit with white metal gear.
The V-1 resin parts superimposed over and next to Tamiya F-8 parts. The V-1 and other early Fw 190's had BMW 139 engines that did not develop into a successful design. The 139 was the same diameter but shorter and lighter than the BMW 801. When the change was made to the BMW 801 the cockpit was moved back and the forward fuselage was lengthened. The forward fuselage was slightly lengthened again on the A-4 and that was the last fuselage length change until the Jumo and Daimler powered versions. Because the 801 was heavier, and because of other weight increasing changes planned, the wing was re-designed, with more span and less taper to bring the stall speed and maneuverability back to the level of the prototype. The BMW 139 had serious heating issues and with the original engine and forward cockpit position temperatures reached 50 degrees centigrade at the rudder pedals.
The canopy had a longer clear section and there was a different headrest.
All the parts separated from the pour blocks and washed up to get any mold release removed. I also reworked an area of the right fuselage half that had a sort of bulge below the windscreen, not sure how that came about but it's all good now. Looks like fit of the major parts is pretty good.
I made some decals for the instrument panels on this one, using a Yahoo panel but resized. There is some dithering visible in the photos but if you look up close at Eduard and other products there almost always is. The smaller panel is only about 1/2 inch wide so since you won't be able to see it tucked up under the glareshield it will be fine. Way better than my shaky hands can paint!
There was no provision for a prop shaft and I don't like props that are not removable so I installed a music wire shaft in the prop hub and a brass bearing in the fuselage, which has been glued together. The cockpit can be fit from the bottom and it has also been verified that the wing to fuselage fit is good to go, which involved a lot of test fit and trimming on the cockpit tub.
There was some chasing of my tail because I lost the front fairing for the spinner. Of course I looked everywhere, cleaned everything up, all that. Finally gave up and made a new one out of Epoxysculpt. As I was finishing it up, I dropped it, still haven't found it. But as I started looking I found the original part out in the middle of the floor. How I didn't step on it over the last day I have no idea. Somebody up there is seeing if I am related to Job, perhaps. Since most of the trimming and fitting of parts is done assembly should go forth now. Until the Fates strike again.
