FW-190 Reich Defender III 5/10-2/11

Radio, your paint looks fine, and the standing orders for the colors were just that, colors and mottles. It was up to the crews applying said colors to put them on anyway they could. So your paintwork is not out of place at all. Looks great to me!!!

Damon, your Ta is looking sweet!!!!!!! Very nicely done paintwork as well!!!

Hello All! You guys' work is astounding! I love it.

Here's an update from my side; this work was done last weekend but I was traveling for work all week... 

Going back a bit, thanks for the encouragement Frank and Rich (formerly known to me a simpilot!)! You guys got me motivated to press on, so here's a few shots of the engine plug prior to paint:

As you can see, I got bit by the 'plastic pipes don't really look like pipes' bug. So I replaced some of the molded lines with brass and solder. I'm not 100% happy with how they turned out, but after about 5 tries each, the investment to reward ratio was dropping fast! 

As you can see, trying to make these pipes and still take the sub-assemblies apart required a good way to keep them connected, so I used a couple of brass pins and it worked really well. That let me get the pipes bent right (well, as close as I could get them) and still take it apart for paint. I took some liberties with the bolt heads and the large nut for the oil line - but to my eyes it looks better than nothing at all.

Funny thing, for all of the books I have, there sure weren't many pics of this area of the engine...

So, on to paint. I did a hurry up paint session with Metalizer paints. Notice that I put Micro Mask liquid on the mating parts of the engine bearers and some other points - I want to be able to weld them with liquid cement! Here's everything ready to go, and a gratuitous shot of my spray booth - the first time ever I've had it in my modeling room. 

The non-buffing aluminum has been laid down, and here's the careful masking with the non-adhesive side for the darker color:

And the main part after both colors:

And the final assembly, awaiting a coat of Future (I know the name's changed, but I like the old one better!)

The yellow was brush painted; a bit of gelb and RLM 02 mixed in to tone it down. And the lower engine bearer braces were brush painted with RLM 02. So, it still needs to be weathered, but I feel like progress has been made!

The drag is that I'm going away on business again this week, but the upside is that next Saturday I'm planning on going to the Air Force Museum and check out the Dora they have there - that's something to look forward to!

Great shot of the hobby spray area. Parts look good as well.............

Wow!!!  There is some seriously cool work going on here.  I feel like my little kit is not worthy of the web space on this GB.   

Started my 1/72 Academy kit yesterday and the cockpit is woeful to say the least.  It's an older Academy kit so it''s not up to their current standards.  I also made a trip to the LHS and found the perfect solution to the problem.  I picked up these beautifully detailed 1/72 Revell figures set made with real polystyrene (not that yucky vinyl stuff), posable seated pilot figures, and not a single pose is duplicated in the other figures.  Not as nice as the CMK resin stuff but very close and you get 30 figures (not including the dogs - nice bonus) for just a little more than a CMK pack of 3.  I need to go back to the store and get the RAF set that they had.  

You can see the cockpit tub for the FW in the pictures.  The pilot should add a lot of interest and hide the lack of detail.

Hey Dave!!! Welcome... It's nice to see you here!  

Frank - That's going to be a good looking paint scheme. I have a late war 109 decal sheet with similar paint jobs on them... I think it looks cool!

Radio - Looks like you're almost there.   Your colors look fine too.

Damon - Outstanding work!!! That thing looks awesome!

Engine plug looks great Benzdoc! I'm sure it will be a treat to see a real Dora!

I haven't worked on my Dora in a while but as you all know... that's Dave's fault!

Damon your paintwork is fantastic and your on the final leg as well. Im looking forward to seeing it finished in all its glory.

Benz, your plug is looking great. Dont do what i did and forget to paint the inside of the fuse where it goes. Got there in the end but still a schoolboy error. Those Eduard kits really take some building. The wings are the ultimate in PITA. Ive built 3 now and everyone has given my hassle. They just dont go together easily. You end up taking a shave of styrene for here and a little bit from there. Definately have your wits about you. The one im building is having the gun cover open. This is ok but you have to chop the crap out of the bulkhead support in order to get the fron cover piece to go over the guns. Another biggy is the supercharger intake. It has a bulbous bottom, that takes some serious shaving and fettling in order to get it to sit flush with the fuselage. Nightmare!!!

Ill probably do another though....im getting the hang of them, sort of.

...Guy

jmabx

I haven't worked on my Dora in a while but as you all know... that's Dave's fault!

Right... more abuse... so glad I came back! 

I decided on a scheme for my A-8.  Just ordered this set today.  The second one down is the one.

Benz that engine plug is looking great!!!! What would be your name Benz?

Dave, looking forward to seeing your lil Academy kit WIP shots!!!!!

xradio81- Great looking work, didn't realize you had started!  Good to see those WIP pics.

Damon- Exceptional work there, looks like you are about ready to finish.  Can't wait to update page 1 with your build.

I'm with you Bill, the work displayed here is nothing short of spectacular.  So many people building, and so much info flowing.  Thank you everyone!

Mike- I am so glad you joined up, seeing your work is an absolute pleasure.  Gorgeous work so far!  Have fun at the USAF Museum, I was there back in 2007, and it is beyond description!  So many historical pieces there, I spent the whole day there and could have spent a whole week if I had the time.  Here's a couple of shots of the Dora from when I was there...

Had to get one of the spinner!

Hard to take photos there, very dark.  Wish I had a tripod with me when I went.

Dave- That's a lot of tiny dudes, are you gonna paint them up and play Army with them?  LOL.  Great choice on the markings, pretty sure I have those on a 1/48 sheet somewhere.

Guy- Already thinking about the next one?  Just say the word fella, and you've got it.  At this pace, you're gonna finish more than the rest of us combined LOL.

Thanks for the kind words guys! Being a part of this group build is really great motivation for making progress on the bird.

Rich - I'm one more in the long list of Mikes; but maybe call me Mike K to differentiate. 

Guy - Your advice has been taken to heart. Right now the main task is to get everything that's going to be 02 before the wings and fuselage are assembled prepared and painted. In my mock up, everything looks pretty good - but it sure seems to look different once cement is flowing! In this case, the model is going to be closed up, but there's a funny thing about the instructions that seems to be an error. Among the things that you're supposed to leave our are the ammunition case/spent cartridge holders. That can't be right! This is what I'm talking about:

Funny that some of the pictures I've got of the Air Force Museum D9 seem to show these parts missing, but surely not when they were in service! So I just hacked off the ammunition feeds at the top and carried on as normal. Hopefully the gun hood will fit better.

Frank - Nice pictures from the museum! I'll do my best to take a bunch; and I'll put up a gallery just in case anyone's interested. My brother and I had talked about going there for years; shoot, since we were teenagers actually. Somehow it just never happened;but I guess that's what moving away does to you. He still lives in the Detroit area where we grew up, and now I live in GA. This business trip is taking me to Chicago and then Detroit, so we are going to make the most of it! Now, I wonder what the chances of getting behind the barricades to take some really close ups of the real engine plug are?!? Probably not good - but I'm going to ask!

On a personal level, it's really nice to be a part of this group build. It reveals another side of the forums that I hadn't experienced before. So, thank you to everyone - especially Frank for setting this up and doing the hard work of organization!

All the best, 

Mike K.

Glad to meet you Mike K.!!! How 'bout it? (<sound familiar?) Yes, I used to live in the peach state in Warner Robins. Was civil service for awhile before migrating over to the land down under working on F-15's. Now I work on buses (747's). Getting behind the barriers at the Museum? I hope that goes well, if you ask very politely and as long as a museum rep is with you I hope there won't be too much of a problem. I went there in the mid 80's and heard that one of the boy scout troops that was there the same day had proceded to put ketchup on something(plane)!!!!!! I was in the CAP (Civil Air Patrol) at the time and seriously wanted to hunt down this brat!!!! ANyway nother story lol. Hopefully looking forward to some sweet pics!!!!

Mike- Interesting... wonder if it's because of the think plastic bits?  Won't fit under a closed hood?  Sounds like some kits where a guy is supposed to leave the engine out unless leaving the cowl panels off.  Hope all fits well in the end!

One note about the USAF Museum-

Get there early if you can, and look for someone signing people up for a side trip over to Wright Patterson AFB.  They have a hangar there with the XB-70, X-15, YF-12a, etc.  There is only one bus that goes over there once per day, and when it is full there is no more until the next day.  It is on a first come, first serve basis.  They have a lot of cool stuff over there, including a number of ex- Air Force One aircraft.  I highly recommend the trip!  Since you are going onto an active base, they need your driver's license to do a back ground check on you.

I was surprised to find so many non-US aircraft displayed there.  Even had a Macchi! (This ought to get Guy's attention LOL)

Me with the YF-12a...

Hey Frank, you gave me an idea. I went over to the museum website, and they have a form for request to photograph the exhibits. It's for professionals, which is clearly not me; but I filled out and submitted the form. I was able to say that all the work would be published here - which is true. And I don't have a lot of demands, just about a half hour with the bird. All I want is to be able to get behind the barrier to get some close-ups. And lay on the floor and shoot upwards in a couple of places. But I did ask for access to the cockpit, so long as it doesn't cost me the whole deal.

Government being what it is, I'm not holding my breath. But who knows? It's always worth a try. And having asked previously might carry some weight when I get there if negotiation is necessary. 

I'll be sure to keep y'all up to date! 

Mike- Nice work on your engine plug, looking good!

Dave- Those figures look like a re-pop of a Preiser set, those poses look very familiar.

Daywalker

 

Me with the YF-12a...

 

Okay Frank, who is this imposter!!!  If it is you then what happened to the blue plaid shirt??? 

Luftwaffle, I was never able to get my hands on any of the Preiser sets so I wouldn't know if it is a re-pop.  If they are re-popping Preiser sets that would great news because I heard that they had lots of great stuff.

razordws

 

 

 

Okay Frank, who is this imposter!!!  If it is you then what happened to the blue plaid shirt??? 

DAMN!  Busted.   It's my evil twin, Fred.  He's the rich one, and I'm the handsome one of the pair LOL.

Mike- Glad you are enjoying the GB!  It's the guys here who make it what it is.  If I may be so bold, I would say we have the most talented, friendly, and helpful guys on the forums right here.  Oh, and me too LOL.

Well, I finished masking and painting the camo today, as well as the yellow recognition stripe on the nose.  Masking that was a real PITA, with the tapered round cowl.  Trying to get everything straight, as well as keeping the masks tight over the intake bulges were the most difficult.  A day or so to dry, then a Future coat to seal it all in.

I just looked and saw that I had never selected a kit. Put me down for a 1/48 Arii/Otaki FW-190A7. I will be commencing construction here in a few hours.

Frank, she looks a honey. Very different to any ive seen before. Thats why these 190's are so great, so many different camo's.

What paint do you use that needs a couple of days to go off? Oils? I use Tamiya acrylics with laquer thinner and i can mask the beast in about 15mins and future her after about an hour!

...Guy

Just went back a page and saw that wonderfull Macchi MC200. What a glorious beast that is. Thx for sharing Frank,

...Guy

Frank, I'm with Guy.  She sure does look a honey.  Those English men always have a way with words don't they.

I'm not looking forward to painting that yellow strip on mine either! 

Thanks guys!  I use Tamiya thinned with their X-20A thinner.  Tried their lacquer thinner after you mentioned it a while back Guy and it worked well for me with some of their colors, poorly with others.  So, I went back to their X-20A.  Prolly could Future it now, but I'll wait a day to be certain.

Glad you liked that 200 pic, thought of you when I posted her.  I was quite surprised to one in the USAF Museum!

Wow---If you leave this GB for a week it is impossible to take in all the fantastic WIPs and other info posted.  To all who have posted WIPs recently   I have finished my Bf109E-4 at the BoB 70th Anniversary GB and will be back here with the D-13 "Yellow 10".  I am going to take a stab at that upper wing surface camo.

Major construction complete.  Like I said, cockpit was woeful and the pilot figure I'm adding will fill it up nicely so I didn't bother with pics of the pit.  No engine to worry about either so I pretty much dived right into the construction part of things.  The one major change I did make was to raise the cockpit up by about 3/16".  When I test fitted it the pilots head was only half way above the sidewall.  Next up is to fix all the seams while I wait for the decals sheet to arrive with the colour scheme info.

Herman is a bit shy at the moment.  Hopefully by the next update I'll be able to get him to pose for a pic.

Dave -- I'm watching intently as my own is at approximately the same stage, needs some masking and the paint can flow.

State of play -- Accessories have arrived from the States, I have a full gas cyclinder and managed to hit the LHS today for all the paints needed to mix the camo for my Tamiya F-8 in acrylics, which is the only practical approach in this lousy weather. I can't vouch for the match against RLM standards, but if it's close I'll be happy, especially as I'm thinking of doing fade spots on the camo as well, maybe even post-shading if the AB is really in tune. Not sure about clear coats, I'll have to see how things develop on other experiemental projects, but it looks like 10 or 12 airbrush load-ups to get the beast done. As the Academy A-8 shares the same colour scheme it may be sprayed at the same time, it would certainly save time and air pressure.

I'm hoping to get through the canopy stage shortly, and there are the wheelwells to mask, then I can start throwing paint around.

Cheers, hoping to have "Green Double Chevron" on the ramp in the not too distant future, and to make headway at last on Heinz Barr's "Red 13" for the 262 overrun.

Mike/TB379

Benzdoc your engine plug looks great, keep up the excellent work.

Nice progress Frank, you did a great job masking for that cowl.

Dave the figure looks great, look forward to more progress.

Cheers...

Great looking build so far Dave. Loving the pilot. Was he a fisherman? 'It was this big!!' At least it looks like thats what hes saying.

Sorry i havent done any updates lately but shift work is a killer. At least thats my story and im sticking to it. Heres where i am so far. Ive got a couple of days off so theres a good chance of a bit of progress,

Heres the 'Big Tail' with its feathers attached,

and heres the whole thing. Im in the process of detailing the inner wing gun bays as Eduard have a funny idea of what iut should look like,

...Guy

Does'nt look like you have been taking you time Guy. Looks like you have most of it together already. What colors is this one going to be wearing?

Soulcrusher

Not sure yet Crushlykins. Underside will be similar to my other one, being late war but ill have to see if i can find a good colour plate for the 'Big Tail' markings i have,

...Guy