Fw 190 Butcher Bird 2013 (extended to June 2014) Group Build

Got a little more done today...Just a hint though, I will never again build another kit without reenforcing the landing gear, I'm tired of setting model on struts and coming back later to find a sphyinx (sp) splayed out on the bench. GRRRR! any way, heres a bit more...

Certainly looks like your doing a good job to me pal!

Nathan...My friend, you likely know more about aircraft then I'll ever know, I just read alot and try to reproduce what I read and see. As far as panels go, Yeah, your right, I love em either way, I just figure that if I'm going to spend that much time on detail... Why not (grin) I save the closed panels for the engine less kits. Its like someone told me befor, We only compete with our selves. I see all the great looking builds here and just want to present a respectable build. Honestly, thats why I started trying to be more realistic, I'm just hoping that I am paying an acceptable tribute to the brave men who flew these craft.

Thanks

Doug (RR)

Man Doug, you're a detailing machine. Nice engine work. I can appreciate all the open panels, but its just not my thing at the moment. I get much more pumped up about painting and weathering and just prefer to leave things shut. Probably couldn't compete with you guys on detailing engines and gunbays anyway.  Hey Rix hoped the photos helped. Hey if only I had one of those things in my back yard

Gentlemen, Thanks for the excellent analysis on the camo colors. You all are definitely top notch tto build with. Nice photos Nathan. Thanks. I had a chuckle when I saw the one of the me 109 as it just appears like someone with old junk plane in their back yard. "Yup, Had that around for years. Works great as a dawg house."

Doug - Outstanding work on the engine and guns. A really sweet effort. Yeah, the resin and brass would certainly do it justice.

Well come on and lets do it. Youre still at a point to do it without regretting not doing it later. This is gonna look good!

Thanks Guys... I wish sometime I could do more but my fat fingers dont allow! I had to get used to using tweezers and such, But we do what we can. Even the 48s are starting to get smaller(Grin).

Joe, I know what you mean, I've decided to leave cowling open also. I've worked with mechanical equip all my life(Material handling) and really can appreciate a well designed and built machine.

The only thing I wish I had done is bought some resin guns and brass barrels. Not likeing the hardware...May still do it ..Thanks again

Doug (RR)

Great work on that engine Doug, it looks nice and comfy sitting in there!!

Hey all. First off I would go with the blue/green color especially after viewing Nathan T's picture. Thats gonna be a unique color there Joe. Different than alot of 190's I see. Interesting subject there for sure.

Secondly, Doug that 190 looks awesome! The engine area looks great. One thing I like to do alot of is show the powerplant off a little on my builds. Maybe its the mechanic in me that likes to "open the hood" and make the model look a little busier because I just love showing the extra detail. Lookin forward to seeing this one come along.

OK... Got some more done this week...I have a few days off this week so I'll get some more done as I can...Next month my wife is going home for a visit so I can get ALOT done(lol) More in a bit!

Thanks

Doug

Wow Joe, great pic. Here's some real color pics of the grey-green 76 version to help you compare:

Lower fuselage below cockpit:

Here's a pic of a Dora (yellow 15) for black and white comparison believed to be in grey/green76 on the fuselage sides. Note the lighter contrast of the rudder still in original 76:

Looks like it would be almost impossible to tell in black and white unless you had some original 76 to compare the greener/darker shade to.

Joe R. In the Model Master Acrylic color guide its listed and looks more along the line on the very pale blue green. But I can't find any referance to its use. The only thing I did see is the use of "primer grey" late in the war, which does have a close appearance to the 84. Interesting, Looking forward to seeing your pattern.

Doug (RR)

Joe,

I'm with you on the blue/green (looks similar to Sky Type S). The light grey (RLM 84?) might be (to my thinking) "lighter" in the photo than what it appears, so that's the reason I go with you.  PC game artists don't always get the paint schemes right.    Too bad we can't see the underside.

My $1's worth of opinion.

Gary

Firstly, Thank You all for the for the kind feedback on my gun sight.

Now, It is time to liven up this GB with something to ponder and discuss. What I have for you is two different interpretations of the camo pattern colors for the particular aircraft I am building. One is from the decal set that I have. The other is from a website that has a picture of the aircraft (the only one I have found) and their take on the colors and pattern. This particular FW 190 F-8 of III/S.G.3 was flown out the Courland Pocket, Latvia to Sweden with 3 men on board where they crash landed in fairly good shape.

Here is the photo of the crash landed plane

Here is the websites interpretation of colors. It states that the "large blotches" are RLM 75/83 yet does not callout the light gray main color.

And here is the Authentic Decals set's interpretation which, is the one I am going to build regardless just simply because I like it more. It too calls out for the 75/83 blotches but, also calls out RLM 84 for the other fuselage color.

So, to me here's the catch. In my research there seems to be two takes on RLM 84 as there really is no official RLM 84. One is of a light gray and the other is the blue/green similar to the decal sheet. The blue/green shade is supported by Stockholm IPMS and Ken Merrick's Luftwaffe Camouflage book. Now, understanding the difficulty interpreting color from B/W photos, what is your take on the color and the differences? The floor is open.  

Thanks for the adda boy there Eric. Yes siree bob! They are in fact photo etch engine panels.. I couldn't believe it either. It'll be a nice twist.

That gunsight looks sharp Joe!!

Looking good as well mustang! I'm interested in seeing how those open panels turn out! You said they are PE panels?

Thanks guys for the comments. Didn't do anything to it this morning. Just didn't have the pizzazz to get up. Been getting up at 3:30 in the a.m. to get the big work done (gloss coat and decals) so took a break. Tomorrow will see the stenciling completed. It would be nice to be afforded the opportunity to do that tonight so I can gloss again on Monday morning. We'll see how it goes.

Joe, you've got her coming along beautifully.

Looking good Brother Joe! Really starting to come alive now...

Thats what I'm banking on. Aint made it there yet so we'll see how it turns out. I'm happy so far though.

PE cowling panels too huh? Wow, that will look sweet.

Thanks Nathan. Yeah the panels you see here are only here for "masking purposes". These will be coming off and the photoetch pieces will replace them. Cowls and panels open baby!!

Rix, nice looking gun sight. Good tip on using the smoke color to tint. And yeah, I have a pain with those in 48 scale.

Mustang, now thats what I'm talking about! Nice mottle work. She looks good with a smooth glosscoat and decals. No mottle on the cowl though on this bird? Replacement maybe?

That turned out great Joe! Again hats off to the 72nd scale crowd. You are better men than me. Great job!

As for my pics since I keep getting hammered about pics, I decided to start decaling this morning. Oh by the way I thinned the clear coat with MM Universal Acrylic Thinner. Anyhows , heres the pic:

Alright, It isn't much and it isn't that good but here's a pic of the completed gun sight. I added the second tinted lense which I painted with Tamiya smoke to get the tinted effect. Hey Joe, I posted another pic. hint, hint.

Joe, Good progress. What did you use to thin the MM acryl gloss coat with?

Easy easy easy!! lol.  I should be able to post pictures by this weekend. As for the gloss I used MM acrylic gloss coat. It turned out really well. Better than my 109 on that part. I upped the pressure to around 30 psi and thinned it down a bit. Went on like it was meant to be. No visible change that pics will be able to show from the last pic of the fuselage. Should be ready to start decaling by Saturday morning for sure. The engine...well let me get a wash on there and I'll post a pic of that pretty soon.

Pics man, pics! What gloss did you use?

Ok this morning I finished removing all of the flash from engines that I cut from the sprue yesterday and got a coat of steel painted on. I also applied my gloss coat on the plane this morning. Will be working on the engine for the next two days while the gloss coat is curing out.

OK, OK. Omletteing up on the puns.