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

What a fantastic looking TA.  The wingspan is really shown to good effect. Great paint as well.

Is it me or does the stance of the U/C legs look a little far forward?

...Guy

Great work on the super focke wulf

Thanks Mike.  I wish I would have been able to fix the stance but the attachment point was too solid (Miliput and CA ).  I know what happened now.  I had the gear struts in correctly so the gear door cover lower edge was parrelel with the "ground".  I then set her down to final check the toe in and the weight of the unseen resin engine pushed the gear struts down and forward.  I didn't catch it until Crusher or Frank pointed it out.  The next one will be better, I promise.

Hugh- Came out great, glad you went with the black wheel hubs!

All---I am calling the PCM/Rutman Ta152H-1 completed.  Even as I put the finishing touches on her, the bird bit me.  I guess I had some solvent on my fingers and while drybrushing a few chipped areas two fairly large areas of paint pulled off.    Fortunately, I was able to cover with exhaust staining.    The bird is in her cage where she will stay for a very long time.  Thanks to all who gave advice and encouragement. 

Frank---Thanks for hosting the GB  IMG]http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af320/kmbode/Emoticons/coolthumbsup.gif[/IMG]  I have another plane to build here.

Fine! I have got my bags packed

Mike, that's definately a big wing!! Looking good mate!

WIP shot of the Hasegawa FW 190 A-8:

Probably not what Trafford Leigh-Mallory, commander of 12 Group, RAF, 1940, had in mind when he promoted his "big wing" concept, but I couldn't resist the pun...

Note second round filling of the leading edge, and the locator tabas for the dropped flaps are masked. Engine cowling next, and some more cockpit detail.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Deep fried Snickers bar!

raptordriver

Frank how come I have to be the first to go to the Eastern Front? I thought you would choose Guy since he is pretty much there.

Because Guy does'nt go anywhere that he can't get fish and chips and a good cuppa of PG Tips.

Soulcrusher

LOL, yep!  The bus leaves from the West Coast and heads East.  Looks like you are pretty close to first Andrew!

raptordriver

Looks great Mike, I guess you have another entry.

Frank how come I have to be the first to go to the Eastern Front? I thought you would choose Guy since he is pretty much there.

You are going first so you can pick him up along the way!!!!

Looks great Mike, I guess you have another entry.

Frank how come I have to be the first to go to the Eastern Front? I thought you would choose Guy since he is pretty much there.

OK, I think I'm finally done fussing, time for some paint on this beast, here's the last shots you'll see of bare plastic:

And look what I found in the closet!  I started this last year then stashed it and completely forgot about it.  A 1/72 Tamiya A-3.  I think I'll do this as an Eastern Front bird with a snow camo scheme, stay tuned for details:

I finally remembered to pull out the cd with the pics of my holidays in the states in 2005 to get the only pic I took of 'Yellow 10' when we visited the Museum of Flight in Seattle. If I remember th estory right on this bird, it was found in a backlot somewhere in Atlanta, GA in the '60's or '70's. Anyways' here she is.

raptordriver

Frank, allow me to alleviate some of your stress by saying

JUST KIDDING.

I didn't send you a vac kit, I am not even sure if anyone makes a vac 190. I was just picking on you.

But if your really into Vac kits this much, then I will have to buy you one(gosh they sound horrible, halves to everything, no decals, have to cut out parts of sheet.

I thought you were Tamiya bound, boy was I wrong

LOL, what a relief!  I was really starting to wonder how I was going to get through that one.  Consider yourself the first one on the bus for the Eastern Front! LOL

Mike sounds like agood tip with the X-22, will try it sometime.

Frank thanks for the link!!!

Frank, allow me to alleviate some of your stress by saying

JUST KIDDING.

I didn't send you a vac kit, I am not even sure if anyone makes a vac 190. I was just picking on you.

But if your really into Vac kits this much, then I will have to buy you one(gosh they sound horrible, halves to everything, no decals, have to cut out parts of sheet.

I thought you were Tamiya bound, boy was I wrong

Hi Frank,

Re the addition of clear gloss to up the lustre of a dead flat, I've done this at times and always had good results. The X-22 was added to the XF-22 and became part of the "paint count" for calculating the amount of thinner required. I stirred it thoroughly, thinned it as per normal, and observed no increase in drying time at all. I'm not sure if the lustre is quite there, I might go 30% if I decide to mix the camo colours in acrylics. Given the freezing weather here and the seriously bad fumes from enamels, I might give this a shot, even if the resulting shades are not really true. But there's no reason they shouldn't be very close!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Andrew- You are way too kind!  Thank you very much for that, you really didn't have to.  I wonder how long that will take me?  I am that guy who can take a 1/48 Tamiya kit and turn the build into a 16 month ordeal.  YIKES!

Richie- Sounds like I better get cracking on that spinner.  I have the ordnance nearly finished, and then have to address the landing gear.  Going to cut off the axles and redo them to get the angle right like I did on the A-3 I built last year.  Really added to the model with it fixed.

Crusher- LOL, I'm the same way!  If I don't like someone, I tend to ignore them completely.  I'll only tease them if I like them.

Mike/TB379- Interesting idea adding the X-22 Clear to the paint, never thought of trying that!  Does it extend the drying time drastically?  Did you experience any adverse conditions with it?  I am very intrigued by this.  Excellent work there, more pics please!

Mike/Luftwaffle- Took me a minute to read that, but you are right!  Any more of this insubordination and the culprits will find themselves on the Eastern Front VERY quickly!  Building more 190's while you are there too.  Gonna be hard to paint in those sub-zero temps too LOL.

Good tip on the IP hood and combing on that Hasegawa kit.  I have the 1/32 kit that I began years ago, and noticed the broken combing.  I missed the raised gunsight though, thanks for pointing it out.  I'm curious to see how you fix that one. 

Ran across this website a few days back with some excellent current photos of the TA-152 in storage in MD.  Not a great period reference, but still some good stuff to glean from the photos- check it out!

Ta-152 reference pics

Hi Mike -- interesting observations! Thanks! It looks like they've mounted the gunsight more like the way it fits the 109 rather than dropping it throgh the shroud. I'll see if I can tweak that. Adjusting the position of the IP might be possible, at least by a mm or so, though to get the right association with the side panels would indeed have meant adjusting them with the modification in mind before fitting them -- so that might be a modification for next time.

I'm expecting the seatbelt hardware to turn up in about a week, so I might be able to get to it next weekend, which would be good as I'll be tied up all the following week with a conference (I'm helping out on staff).

I'll hopefully have the wings completed tomorrow night.

Cheers, M/TB379

MEMO TO ALL STAFFEL MEMBERS:

Zose zat insist on picking on zee esteemed Gruppenbildenführer should make sure zat zey have zere long johns packed for zay may be re-assigned to zee Russian Front!

Mike-  I installed my seatbelts before I put the tub in the fuselage, no problems so far.  A couple of other items that I've come across that you may or may not want to address.

The IP sits too far back, it's virtually invisible once the fuselage is closed up, which shouldn't be the case.  This means the console instrumentation would have to be adjusted as well.

The leather crash pad around the lip of the IP cover should not have a break where the gunsight goes.  I'm leaving mine as is since I'm too far along to repair it but a lesson learned for next time.

Thanks, Richie -- I'm mounting the bay into the wing at this moment, with plenty of CA. Your 109 will build just as sweet as this one, I'm sure -- I'm finding I LIKE 1:32nd scale a lot!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Mike that is really looking good!!!! I have Hase's 1/32 109 and I hope it goes together and looks as good as your start!!!

Vacformed, SC? Were you being nice to our fearless Gruppenkommandeur...?

WIP time, I've been pressing on with the big Hasegawa A-8 while I wait on other bits and pieces to arrive.  A few days ago I sprayed the RLM 66 in the cockpit, and today sprayed the RLM 02 onto twenty components. Here's the main gear bay sprayed with Tamiya XF-22, mixed with 25% X-22 Clear Gloss to bring up the lustre to something more approximating actual RLMs. It was pin-washed with black and dark brown oils, then drybrushed with silver enamel:

I considered using the instrument decals but decided paint was the way to go. I used the same techniques as for 1:48th scale, and was pleasantly surprised with the results:

The 66 is mixed acrylic, the dials are then brush painted in enamel, drybrushing for all the relief work, and the glasses created with two applications of Testor Clear Parts Cement. I must say, working at this scale the task was surprisingly easy! The yellow item is copied from the decals, but my references suggest that's part of the oxygen system, so shouldn't it be blue???

Wing structure is next on the build list, and I can get the engine cowling together. I might wait for the Eduard harness to arrive before finishing the cockpit -- or do any of die experten here install harness after the cockpit is in and the fuselage closed up?

I'm very much enjoying building at 1:32nd scale, this is only my fourth "big" bird ever!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

raptordriver

Frank,

I do not wish to pick on you,

So out of my generosity, I have a vac formed Fw-190 in the mail for you.

Teachers pet!

Soulcrusher

Well thats how you know we loves ya' Daywaster um I mean a Frank! Like I always tell my freinds when I am picking on them. If I am giving you a hard time it because I like you. If I didn't like you I would not be talking to you at all.

You have to give Guy a little slack on the language. You would be surprised how the same words in the same language can have a completely different mean in on the other side of the pond. For example the English slang for a cigarette. I am sure alot of you know it but I am not going to type it he because over on this side of the pond it is an offensive word. We still loves ya' to Guy!

Soulcrusher

Well, once Frank gets past the prop things usually speed up.......sometimes.

Frank,

I do not wish to pick on you,

So out of my generosity, I have a vac formed Fw-190 in the mail for you.