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

has anyone had fitting issuse's with the tamiya 1:48 fw190 d9 jv44. where the fuselage and wings connect. Im going to have to putty and sand it out. its not sitting flush

Thanks LW! I chose the camera angles carefully! OK, to the Future. Would you say diluted or straight? A single coat or build up several?

Steve

Hello Everyone!

After seeing the work put up in the last few days, I feel a bit silly for what I'm about to show. But, more importantly, you guys are great! What beautiful modeling. I'm learning a lot during this group build - so thank you for that!!

I'm going on the road again tomorrow for two weeks, so I wanted to sneak in some modeling. About all I could really tackle was the supercharger intake on the D9 - I remember one of the earlier posts saying that although Eduard kits are usually really good fitting, this part is not their best work. And, now that I've dealt with it, that was a correct appraisal. Here's what it looked like being held in place:

One more angle:

You can see how thick the mating flange is in this shot:

So, I thinned down the flange, but even at that it seemed that the outside diameter of the intake (or inside diameter of the recess) was not big enough. So I scraped around the inside of the recess, and also sanded down the outside of the intake till it looked good. Here's what I ended up with:

Now that it fit well, I was trying to decide how to mount it in a very clean way. I decided to drill holes in the recess so I could use the best adhesive for plastic, liquid cement. I love how it welds the two parts together. It's a lot harder for me to break it off than other adhesives... So here's the recess prior to joining the parts:

So the plan was to hold the intake in place, and feed in liquid cement from the inside. Here are the results:

Since this was me doing the work, of course there had to be a problem:

As you can see, some cement got outside on the lower rear 'corner' - ugh. So I'll have to clean it up a bit. Also, you might have noticed that, although it never showed in dry fitting, the top seam seems to be lower then the surrounding area - not at all like the Dora at the Air Force Museum:

Oh well, that's me. For all of the effort and time I put into this part, it's still not quite right. 

So, now I have to put everything away and pack my suitcase for a two week business trip. I'm looking forward to getting back and doing more on this beauty (of a kit and subject, that is)

Best regards,

Mike

Benzdoz--And I thought that I sweated the little things!!  Very impressive thinking and fitting work. 

Guy--Magnificent as usual.    I copied your your idea to put ribs on the cowl cover on my D-13.  I hope you don't mind the theft of your intelletual property. 

Stump--the mottling looks fine.  Remember, field applied camo was not perfect.

chewybr

has anyone had fitting issuse's with the tamiya 1:48 fw190 d9 jv44. where the fuselage and wings connect. Im going to have to putty and sand it out. its not sitting flush

I build that exact kit a couple of years ago. I pulled it out of the display case to have a look at it and it does appear that I did use a bit of filler at the top seam. Not alot just a little sanding to even it out.

Soulcrusher

Stumpy, I would put a few coats of future on. I usually do this over a day or two. Put a good base coat and then let it dry thouroughlly and then come back with a bit heavier coat and then let that dry thouroughlly as well. Straight or dilluted?? Hmmm well I have tried both but honestly have better results when dilluted just a tad with a few drops of Windex. Just makes it flow a bit better and settle down nicely by breaking up the surface tension that much more. Makes for smoother coats. HTH!! Btw the mottling looks great!!!

Benz, thats some very nice fitting work!!! Coming along fine!!!

OK, I really have been plugging along here but this one has been a comedy of errors, more touch up painting than I have ever done in my life.  All the markings you see here are painted on using Montex masks.  Conspicuous by their absence are the tactical number and IV. Gruppe winkel.  The numbers did not come out right so I'll be using a decal.  The IV. Gruppe winkels were applied and afterwards I realized that they were not a mirror image of each other as they should have been, the masks were identical so the starboard side was backwards,....so sand off and repaint white fuselage band.  The large amount of touch ups were due in large part to me be careless with overspray using the masks.  These things give good results but you really have to be meticulous when you apply them.

Here's some detail on the exhausts, Hasegawa provides some solid stubs for these.  I used some aluminum tubing crimped down to an oval shape for the port and starboard exhaust stacks and drilled out the lower stacks.

Mike that is some stunning work with masks my friend!!!! Is the swastika painted as well!!!??? How did you get the fine white outline????

Mike thats just gorgeous mate. Ive never tried those montex masks but ive heard great things about them though. Seeing yours make me want to try them. I take it your building 'Black 8' in your sig?

...Guy

chewybr - I had the same problem with my Tamiya kit. Huge gaps at the wing root. I ended up pulling the wings up by running a piece of tape from one wing to the other to bring them up enough so that the gap at the root closed. Run some liquid cement in the seem and let it dry overnight before removing the tape. My wings might have more dehidral than they should but I didn't feel like filling gaps!

Mike - Nice paint work!!! I really love your mottling!

simpilot34

Mike that is some stunning work with masks my friend!!!! Is the swastika painted as well!!!??? How did you get the fine white outline????

Richie- It's a two part mask, put the large outline of the swastika down and paint it white, then apply a think mask for the white and paint the remainder of the interior black.  Everything is pre-cut so all  you have to do is get them aligned properly, easier said than done.

Luftwoller

Mike thats just gorgeous mate. Ive never tried those montex masks but ive heard great things about them though. Seeing yours make me want to try them. I take it your building 'Black 8' in your sig?

...Guy

Guy, yeah it will be "Black 8".  The 8 and the winkels will come from an Eagle Strike decal sheet.  I learned a few tricks with these, next time I think I'll do the markings first and leave the masks in place and remove them after the painting is done rather than applying them over the top of the paint.

Guy- Ahhh... mucho better.  The new photos are a vast improvement. 

Steve- From the photos, your work is looking good there.  I see you have the right idea on the fuselage mottle, and nothing wrong with the higher air pressure.  Which kit is this?  Since you are posting some WIP photos, why not join the GB?  You've already met the criteria.  Sometimes, depending on the effect I am after, I will do the same thing. Richie is right, a little something added to the Future to help ease the surface tension will go a long way to a smooth finish.  I usually add a drop or two of liquid dish soap, but I think I will try Richie's idea about the windex to help it level out more.  Thanks Richie!

chewybr- I have had the same problem with every Tamiya 190 I have built.  The initial release A-3 isn't bad, but it seems to me that as they have made new parts for different versions, that they do not match up quite like they should.  The wing-fuselage joint on mine was a tad off, forcing the left wing to have less dihedral than the right.  Some filing, shims, and lots of test fitting minimized this. 

Mike/benzdoc- That's a lot of work on that intake, but it does look much better than it would have without the mods.  Great progress, and hope your business trip goes well!  We'll see you in a couple of weeks.

Mike Nice work so far looking good

Stumpjumper great job! is that your first mottling paint job? I did not catch what kit you are building and the scale. You are doin a great job if that is your first attempt at mottling took me a while to get that down.  

Damon

Mike/luftwaffle- Black 8 is looking incredible!  The painted on markings look spot on, too bad about the number and the winkle.  I bought some of those Montex masks recently for another project I am working on, and shall heed your warnings.  How did you find the tack of the masks?  Is it very strong, and should I weaken it a bit so I do not remove the underlying paint?  Also, nice job on those exhausts, MUCH better than the solid ones.  I was a little surprised by the kit parts, in 1/32 scale I would have expected at least a little attempt at hollowing them out.  Yours look perfect!

luftwaffle

OK, I really have been plugging along here but this one has been a comedy of errors, more touch up painting than I have ever done in my life.  All the markings you see here are painted on using Montex masks.  Conspicuous by their absence are the tactical number and IV. Gruppe winkel.  The numbers did not come out right so I'll be using a decal.  The IV. Gruppe winkels were applied and afterwards I realized that they were not a mirror image of each other as they should have been, the masks were identical so the starboard side was backwards,....so sand off and repaint white fuselage band.  The large amount of touch ups were due in large part to me be careless with overspray using the masks.  These things give good results but you really have to be meticulous when you apply them.

Here's some detail on the exhausts, Hasegawa provides some solid stubs for these.  I used some aluminum tubing crimped down to an oval shape for the port and starboard exhaust stacks and drilled out the lower stacks.

 

 

Mike she loks great. I really want to try thoses masks someday also. Even as nice as some of these decal sets lay down markings will still always look better painted in my eyes. Looking foward to seeing more.

Soulcrusher

Daywalker

Mike/luftwaffle- Black 8 is looking incredible!  The painted on markings look spot on, too bad about the number and the winkle.  I bought some of those Montex masks recently for another project I am working on, and shall heed your warnings.  How did you find the tack of the masks?  Is it very strong, and should I weaken it a bit so I do not remove the underlying paint?  Also, nice job on those exhausts, MUCH better than the solid ones.  I was a little surprised by the kit parts, in 1/32 scale I would have expected at least a little attempt at hollowing them out.  Yours look perfect!

Frank, the tack is just about perfect, enough to stick but it never peeled off any paint for me.  The problem for me is they're vinyl  and if you're not careful you can stretch them and distort the shape.  I'm hoping to do a D-9 for this GB too and I'll try some of the other methods I learned and hopefully they will come out a bit better.

I broke open the Fujimi A-7 today.  I washed the sprues, cut the fuselage and wings free, dry fitted a bit, and was all set to start when I realized I didn't have any RLM 66 for the cockpit.  Sent the wife to town but she didn't make it to the HS.  Guess I'll have to wait till tomorrow. 

Pretty simple kit, but comes with parts to make 8 versions.

Mike--Thoe exhaust tubes look like the real thing.  Where did you find small tubing?

All--Been going at it on the Eduard D-13 "Yellow 10" .  I didn't post cockpit or engine plug photos as Guy took care of that a while ago.  If you've seen one plug you'vr seen them all.  The cockpit is pre-painted PE so no real variation.

My main concern was the scary stories about the fit of the wing spar.  My wings went together almost perfectly.

The cockpit tub and lower IP were a little big and I didn't realize it until it was glued to the starboard side fuze half.    I guess I got over confident after clearing the wing hurdle but saved it with some agressive trimming.    Its hidden deep under the hood.

So, I test fit the wing assembly to the fuze and  there is a huge misfit on the R side aft wing root.  The front fit is near perfect.  The L side is perfect.  See what I mean below.  If I did something wrong and anyone knows what my mistake was, please let me know as I have a D-11 to build in the future.

L Side Good.

R Side Bad

I think shimming and trimming is the only answer.  The wings wheel wells look good I think.

Mike- Thank you, I shall be careful with those masks.  Hope to use mine very soon!

Hugh- YIKES!  That looks like a really poor fit.  Hopefully, someone here with some experience on this kit will chime in.  Would some sections of sprue wedged in under the cockpit help expand the fuselage to fill the space?  Just a thought.

Well fellas, I will be on vacation for most of this week and will not be near my computer.  If there is anyone signing up here while I am gone, or there are any finished builds, I will update page 1 as soon as I return.  I will be stopping in at the SAC Museum in Nebraska, and hope to get some good photos of the aircraft there.

First thing you see when you walk in:

  They have a few you cannot find anywhere else, or at least not easily.  They even have an RAF Vulcan!  A very cool museum, as many of the aircraft are in the condition they were in while in service, and not re-painted to look more attractive on display.  I like the rough look of them!

Hey Hugh. OOOPPSSS my bad I forgot to tell ya about the wingroot fit. I had the same problem and to close up the gap I cut a length of sprue and wedged it under the rear of the cockpit and adjusted it and cut etc till I was happy with the fit. I then glued on the wings and there was a still a very small gap, so I taped from wingtip to fuselage and pulled the remaining gap closed. It fit like a glove and didnt even need any filler. It also helped with setting the dihederal. I posted pics of my cure but that was a lot of pages ago.

Steve

Hugh that gap is a nightmare. I dint have a problem with any of mine like that. Make sure that the fuse isnt binding on anything.  You may be surprised and the whole thing just clicks into position. Your wings are together right? The panel lines all line up?

The pit looks great btw,

...Guy

Nice work going on here everyone!!! Pity bout the fit issues Hugh, a paint to be sure but, as said they can be reduced somewhat. Good luck with them!!!

Frank, Can you get the tail number from the Blackbird please???

Guy well done on another fantastic build, she really is a beauty

Luftwaffle she's looking great, those masks seem to work a treat, results look excellent from here.

Stumpjumper your mottle looks good to me especially as a first effort, paint work looks good all round

Hugh what a shame about the gap, as others have said try putting in a spacer to spread the lower fuselage and keep working at it, I'm sure you can beat it.

Have a nice break Frank, great picture of the Blackbird, Richie I googled it and came up with          61-7964, hope that helps.

Cheers....

Boys; I hate to do it but I must go ahead with my D-9 in the aircraft forum. I had started this kit and was through sub assy to primer prior to this GB so I know you guys wont mind. I will keep up here and hope you guys do the same for me. I have had ,and will keep having,fun watching and reading the posts on this GB. There is a lot of info here and a lot to come on my WIP , that is the biggest 190 , the Trumpeter FW 190 D-9 1/24 scale , I have posted today to begin the work on this kit.

Frank, Steve and Guy---Thanks for the sprue wedge idea.  It worked like a charm.  The underside fuze fits so well to the sides that the seam cleanup was perfunctory.    There is still a tiny gap at the flap/wingroot junction but it is managable now.  More pics soon.. 

Finally finished my Monogram 1/48 G-3. Here are a few pics. I hope the next one is better. This is my first finished model since 1983. I am not familiar at all with German planes but I will be building a few now.On to the next groupbuild, I will see you there.

Great job Xradio. You will grow to love German planes and find the lure of building them irresistable. GB's are the way to go as youll find out so much info your head will hurt. Hope to see another build from you soon,

...Guy

Luftwoller

Great job Xradio. You will grow to love German planes and find the lure of building them irresistable. GB's are the way to go as youll find out so much info your head will hurt. Hope to see another build from you soon,

...Guy

What Guy said!

Clebode

Mike--Thoe exhaust tubes look like the real thing.  Where did you find small tubing? 

Hugh- Picked that up at Hobbytown, they had a nice selection of metal tubes and rods.  I've found that model railroad stores are a great source for stuff like this too.

Looks like you have your hands full with that fit, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!