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

Mike, name is Richie or Richard, or Rich, or (or you can call me JJ or you can call me J junior Johnson Or you....)sorry old commercial flashback< The office is shaping up nicely mate!!! Yes, having a very hard time finding that book. Had one site that was at a decent price but they wouldn't ship overseas!!! So will continue searching.

Guy if you get that kit, looks like all you'll need is a license to build, GEEZ that thing has everything in it!!!! No not the kitchen sink mind you!!! PM inbound mate

Thanks for the warm welcome guys, I really mean that.

Frank, Simpilot (I can't seem to find your real name anywhere!) - I'm very fortunate to have put together this collection of reference books. The Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings Vol. 1 was really hard to find! I ended up buying it from a book seller called Alibris, never had heard of them before, but the book came from a bookstore in New Zealand. It's not in perfect condition, but I'm thankful for having pulled it down. 

Here's some more pictures of the cockpit at it's current state:

As you can see, I'm using Eduard's detail set for this kit. The funny part is all of the cockpit parts could be used on any Eduard 190; there's a bunch of useful stuff there. 

You probably also noticed the detail on the left side of the cockpit side; that tube/rod sticking out is the device that adjusts the tension of the throttle lever - and come to think of it you all probably already know that. The white styrene is the access panel / cover. It's probably out of scale, but some of the photos I've seen show it flush and some show it sticking out like you see here. So, my plan is to de-emphasize the thickness with 'reverse' weathering, if you will. 

Next, I've got to get the pedals in there, and start painting it all. 

Until next time, happy modeling!

Mike

When you buy, Guy, replace those over scale gear doors with brass. Then you'll be right as rain...

Hi again, have any of you seen this beauty yet?

http://scaleplasticandrail.com/kaboom/index.php/component/content/article/277

It comes out at 9,500 yen, which i think is around $108. or £78. Its got me interested,

...Guy

Welcome aboard Mike, great to have ya.

Jeremy, superb looking paintwork. Smooth as a babies bum, chum. Looking forward to seeing some more paint on the beast,

Frank, your almost ready for paint too bud. Nice looking work on the hangers.

I may be in with another Dora! I saw in a magazine review, a 'Big Tail' conversion, including decals.

http://www.a2zeemodels.co.uk/focke-wulf-fw-190d9-broad-chord-ta152-tail-and-decal-set-5008-p.asp

I ordered the piece, all i need now is another Dora LOL. Day off tomorrow, so we'll see,

...Guy

Tbolt that is some nice work on the bigun'!!!

Jeremy very smooth paintwork on the Dora!!

Benzdoc aboard and looking forward to seeing more progress pics, you are off to a fine start!!!!!! You have Vol.1 of Luft camo & markings!!!!!! I have Vol.2 and am trying my .......hardest to get a copy of #1 !!!!! At a price though!!

OK Jeremy here is a picture of the IFF antenna on the bottom of the fuselage behind the DF loop antenna. Hope it helps. I you need a the exact location on the antenna take a look vack at the pictures of my finished D-9. There is a good shot of the bottom of the model that should help you.

Soulcrusher

Thanks guys, much appreciated!

Damon- That is a sweet looking TA-152, you make it look easy!  Camo looks very good from here.

Mike- A bit of a blessing on the radial FW's, don't need to detail them much as you can't see it anyway!

Jeremy- Great looking progress there on the Dora, looks like you are about ready for some paint!  Good luck with the gear on it.   Hope SC can get your antenna question answered for you- I looked through my references and came up with zilch.  If not, mayby Mike (benzdoc) can help out with his more than ample library.

Mike (benzdoc)- aboard, glad to have you here!  great googly moogly... that's a lot of reference books you have there.  I know who we'll be coming to for info now LOL.  That is a LOT of info you have at your fingertips.

What a lot of great progress work going on. Im really enjoying all the progress photos. Keep em comming guys

Steve

Hello Everyone! I'm quite a bit late to be joining the group build, but thanks to Frank's encouragement I'm all in. And, I'm really impressed with all of the great work done so far - you guys rock!

My project is the Eduard Fw 190 D-9; and I see that many others in this GB are building the same kit. I'm planning on finishing it in Hans Dortenmann's yellow 1. However, I'm still a way away from having to worry about exterior paint and finish, so that could change. But there's something I really like about the guy who painted the tail of his plane yellow, especially given the state of the war at that point. Kind of the same way I admire Hans Bär for putting a 13 on his plane. 

So, here's the reference material I'll be trying to use:

I say trying because there's a lot of info to digest there.

It seems that almost everyone who writes about building any Eduard 190 seems to have some trouble with the engine bulkhead/firewall. I was browsing the Eduard site and downloaded their June newsletter, and found this:

That's not fair! There's nothing that says anything about how the parts fit up. I've got a 190 A-8 going on the back burner (now) that I've had a bear of a time getting the engine to sit properly. But that's because I assembled the firewall with a square. Who knew it was supposed to be 93˚?!? 

So, for the Dora, I decided not to mess around with guessing - I started with the two main parts being held together with 5 minute epoxy, and when it started to set up I installed it in the fuselage and held the parts in place till they were dry. Then I welded them together with plastic cement. After the two main parts dried overnight, I did the same thing with the remaining part. 

So, using my square I can see that each angle is a bit over 90˚, so i hope this fixed it this time around! Here's pics of the completed firewall:

I've got a lot of work done on the cockpit and landing gear well, and will post them in coming days. 

See y'all soon!

Mike

Frank, great update, I can only repeat what the others have said, great eye for the detail and it's going to look very special, like what you've done with the bomb racks.

Damon, stunning paintwork, that paint looks so thin but vibrant, beautiful!

Mike, the engine in the cowl looks fantastic, it really is a shame so little will be seen, keep up the great work. Cockpit looks nice in the background as well.

Jeremy, your paint looks beautifully smooth, the surface detail looks great and it looks like you've built your 190 up flawlessly so far

Top work fellas

Cheers...

Glad to see you making some good progress Frank. Nice fix on the alxes to. The look spot on from the picture.

Mike the big boy is looking good.

Jeremy there is a second antenna behind the DF loop. I have a good picture of it. I can scan it for you later tonight and post it.

Soulcrusher

Wow... lots of progress here!

Hugh - Good work on the Ta! Looking forward to seeing your D-13.

Frank - Your attention to detail is what really makes your builds stand out. Nice work... the bombs look especially well. I'm just going to hope for the best with the landing gear on my Tamiya D-9.

Damon - Your paint work is awesome! The last build I did, I tried post shading and I like the way it looked. Would you mind explaining a little more about how you went about your post shading and what colors you used? Looks great!

Mike - Sounds like you've been keeping busy! I love it when I get a package of goodies in the mail!

A little progress on my end. Rescribed a couple of panel lines that got lost when I sanded the seams like a gorilla. Masked and attached the canopy and sprayed my home-grown RLM66 concoction over it. Then I sprayed on the RLM76.

Looking at picture of these birds, I notice a small antenna just aft of the loop antenna under the fuselage. I'm sure I can make it from stretched sprue but does anyone have a picture of where it is mounted? In the center, off to the side? I can't find a single picture of it from underneath. Thanks for any help!

Hi all,

WIP on the Hasegawa 1:32 A-8. I took these pics a few nights ago and haven't had a chance to post them yet. I unmasked the 02 spraywork, here's the engine and cowlings good to go:

And assembled:

Yep, there's not much to be seen once she's closed up, and the fan isn't even mounted yet...

I resprayed the prop blades too. The satincoat dried a bit streaky, I've not observed that before and decided to recoat. I mixed glosscoat into the paint to raise the lustre, which it did, though not a lot, and there are a few spots in the finish as if the mixing was incomplete... I might have another go before the end.

I've been modelling till the small hours the last few days. I had a defective air cylinder powering my AB and was using pressure before it bled away. This resulted in making some unexpected progress on older projects which were at the right stage to be attacked, including a tank and a missile. The company changed the cylinder free of charge, so I'm ahead by all spraying I've done since last week.

My latest package from the US came in today, so I have the Eduard accessories I was waiting for -- masks for the Tamiya F-8 and seatbelt hardware for the big guy. Hopefully I'll log some progress now. I need an expedition to the LHS for Tamiya acrylics to get the camo underway on at least four planes.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Frank- Great work, love what you did with the brake lines and gear.

Damon- Outstanding work on your paint, mottling is just excellent!

Damon---Fantastic Ta152!!  {IMG]http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af320/kmbode/Emoticons/Clapping.gif[/IMG]

Frank, Damon that is some stellar work there guys!!!!

Hey everyone I finaly got or made some time to do some painting. Here are my WIP pictures please feel free to comment good or bad. I have enjoyed this build alot. All the shading is done after the base color "post shading" it works for me. I need to spray future and decal and do a panel line wash and I am almost done

Damon

Frank--Great WIPs!!    Now I understand you are a perfectionist and really take your time to get it right.  I need to follow that approach more. 

Your and Crusher's signature smilies were the inspiration for finding my own.  I thought it fit the Ta152 build perfectly.  I'm glad you liked it. 

Frank your a master! The level of detail is astonishing.

It's been a while since I posted any updates on my F-8, but here goes!  I finally have the landing gear and bomb racks sorted out.  Thanks to Jason (SuppressionFire) I have the wing racks I needed!  Tamiya has half of the racks molded as part of the bombs themselves, and half as a part glued to the wings.  I had already glued the wing parts on when I discovered that the bombs were badly out of round.  Luckily, by grinding off part of the kit racks, and attaching the lower rack pieces from Eduard, I can now have decent looking empty racks. 

Speaking of bombs, check out the Tamiya kit parts next to the same thing from Eduard with PE fins and sway braces:

Quite a difference!  With the landing gear, Tamiya has the main axles at too shallow of an angle, causing the wheels to cant too far towards the struts.  Also, the axles are about 1.5mm in diameter, while the holes in the wheels are about 2mm.  VERY loose fit!  I cut off the axles, beveled the lower strut to about the right angle, then drilled holes to accept some 2mm brass tubing.  MUCH better!

You can (sort of) see that the axles are now parallel to the ground as they should be.

Here, I have added a thin styrene disc to fit between the strut and wheel, to hold the brake line.  Makes it much easier to get the wheels on at the end of the build without trying to line up a hole in the wheel and the line.  I also added a larger piece of copper wire for the retracting linkage, and some wires for the down switch.

And finally, the tail surfaces are glued on.  I usually attach them at the end of the build, but I decided to have a go at them this way this time.

Now, I just need to finish sorting out the cannon barrels and gun sight so I can get the thing masked up for paint!

Mucker---Thanks!  Is the cat staying away from "Black 4"?  Are you going to post WIPs soon?

Good stuff, hugh! Great job on the airbrush work!

Hugh- You got it, list updated!  Glad to see you will be sticking around.  BTW, love the smilie in your sig line LOL.

Andrew & Spike---Thanks for all the kind comments. 

Richie---A low rider!!  Great insight.  Does anyone know where I can get blue neon lights for the underside?

Coach Crusher---I am proud of the bird because I stuck with it to a respectable finish.  I learned more from this build than from the last 10.  Thanks again for your invaluable advice and encouragement.

Guy---It means a lot to have you, the master who builds flawless models in a blink of an eye, compliment my effort.  Thanks.

Frank---Put me down for an Eduard D-13 1:48  "Yellow 10"

Hugh(joining in on the bandwagon hehe) Excellent finish to a tough build!!! Pity bout the gear being forced to that position but overall a great finish!!!! Choo got a lowrider Ta dude!!!!

Well done Hugh, love the airbrush work on that one.  Seriously, well done!  I updated page one for you, and thank you for being a part of the GB.  What do you have in mind for your next build?

Guy unfortunately we caught the boo boo to late for Hugh a bit furthur back in the build. They are set in Miliput and stuck where they are.

Soulcrusher

Hugh you did a great job on a tough kit to build. The paint work is top notch too. The landing gear on the Fw 190's are always the hardest part of build. They have a pretty good foward rake and they are towed in at a crazy angle too. The new 1/32 scale Hasegawa 190 kits are excellent in this reguard. They have huge alignment pegs on the top that fit very tight and place the gear spot on were they should be. All in all you did a great job and you should be proud of a nice build.

Soulcrusher

 Mike/TB379, nice looking wing, look forward to seeing it attached to its fuselage.

Hugh congratulations on a very fine job, I really like the paint job, nice mottle going on. Shame about the landing gear slipping forward but still a nice job

Cheers...