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

lawdog:I like it!! Really nice job and good job on the base. Base is just enough to not take away from the plane. Looking forward to another build(maybe a second one here??) with you and for further input and conversation in this group build with you, Joe

No worries Joe. Thats one advantage of shareing your pics. Other people can see something you can't. The pitot on mine was fixed to the wing, at the end so i had to remove and drill a hoe in the correct place for the metal one. Thats probably why i noticed it.

Glad it was a nice easy fix. Mine's all done, just going to get my F-86 finished for the My First Time GB and then get some photo's.

Thats funny Joe as Eduard has made a similiar mistake on the D9's. The instructions show it going in the same place you have yours but the kit wing has a hole molded for out near the outer wing tip which I'm guessing is the correct place. Need to make sure on that before I mount it....

Well, calling the drop tank and mount done. Will prime it up tomorrow and throw some paint at it. I took 2 pieces of 1x2.5mm styrene stock and wrapped them around my metal file vise. Run this over a candle just enough to form the strip but not start melting it. Then I took a razor saw and cut 2 notches in the corresponding locations to the mounts on the fuel tank into the bottom of the ETC rack and glued the pieces there. Shortened them up a bit and filed them to a point as seen in the pics. Drilled some holes in the mounting points on the tank and glued some small gauge wire connecting to each mounting bracket tip. Its nowhere near perfect, but I am pleased with it.

And here it is just pinned to the aircraft...

As to why I did not do this before paint, I do not know. Probably would have been a heck of a lot easier but oh well.  Thanks Nathan once again for posting up those pics!

Thanks for the dull coat tips Joe. As far as the pitot, Hase uses the same wing for the A-5 on, only using different inserts here and there, Thats why there was an extra hole at the tip, and I'm guessing the instructions got printed wrong. Nice save though. For me, its oil wash time this weekend. Fun and messy.

Welcome to the group build Allen. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I am back in Corpus as of last night and will return to Dallas again next week. Lemme know what you want to build and I'll enter it in on the opening post, Joe

Hi Joe,

Put me down for a Tamiya 1/48 A3 please.  Will sort out the details of what bird soon.

Lawdog

Incredible work - absolutely incredible!

Allen

Yes...and so retarded for Eduard to leave out these two simple pieces. But then again, not so bad to scratch em out.

Bish

Just one minor small point. The pitot is in the wrong place for an A-6.

Thanks for all the compliments. You guys are far too kind.  Bish, nice eye!  I was wondering why the box art and decal placement profile in the instruction sheet show the pitot tube just outboard of the starboard outer cannon, but the instructions sequence showed it at the wingtip. The plastic had the corresponding hole at the wingtip, so I assumed the kit plastic was correct and the others were erroneous.  I guess I'm not that 190 savvy.  Anyways, I made the easy correction...

Nathan, reference my finish coat, I use good old fashioned Testor's Dull Coat thinned with Lacquer thinner.   I don't like a totally dead flat finish and prefer an ever so slight sheen.  For this I mix in a little bit of Testor's Gloss until it looks right to me.  Truthfully I have yet to find a better product for this.

Regarding the base, its a cheap wooden plaque I bought for a few bucks at a local craft store for which I then stained.  The ground work is a piece of notebook backside which I cut and airbrushed to resemble a concrete tarmac.  I drew the lines in with a pencil.  The dirt is well.....real dirt which I keep on hand in a jar.  I have sand too for bases that will require this effect.  The grass and ballast are from my LHS which is for model railroading.  I attach all of this with Elmer's glue slapped down with a wide paint brush.  The tire ruts are made with an old white Testor's paint brush which I carved in the glue as it started to dry. 

Joe

Ah ha!! Thanks Nathan!! I feel like I am headed in the right direction with it, just want to make is somewhat close. I really dont want it to be absurdly off from the real deal. Making the ends of what I have pointed should be fairly easy to do.

Not the best pics but you can see it looks like what you showed us earlier only the ends of the brackets you made should be pointy.

the etc rack on the dora is different than the A-8. Hang on Jester, I'll see what I got. You still trying to make some brackets?

Ok, this is going to drive me nuts till I get some better pictures. Does anyone have and care to share any clear pictures of the rack on this Dora? Having a bit of a hard time pulling anything up. I see on Joe's build that there are 2 lateral supports/bars as well as the cross members I have added yet I don't see this in a lot of plates or pics I am finding.

Lawdog - That is absolutely fantastic. You honestly have done a superb job on your 190 Joe. The paint work. detail and weathering is just top notch. You done an excellent job on that base. It really does add immensely to your incredible Butcher Bird. It has been my pleasure to share this GB with you Joe. Thanks for your input and for sharing your amazing skills with us. I am certainly hoping you rejoin us later and at the very least keep hanging around and giving your excellent insight. Godspeed.

LawDog -

Amaxing looking build, the checkers look great and so much more subtle since they are painted on.  Can you give us all some details on how you went about constructing the base it is sittiing on?  It really sets off the plane and adds another dimention of realism to your presentation. 

Your fit and finish are top knotch, great job.  I just hope that mine will one day look as nice.

Matt

Joe, that is a outstanding build!  The checks came out great and really make the model.

Now I have to make time to get back to mine.

Mike

Nice build Lawdog. Its been good to have you in on this group build. I like the final sheen on your model. What did you use for a flat coat?

As always Joe, its a real joy to watch your pieces come together. That is museum quality stuff right there!!

On a side note for anyone up for more torture, todays Squadron deal is the Eduard A8 profipak for 20 bucks.....

Joe, thats an absoloute beaut. I love the paint job on this, and those checks are amazing.

Just one minor small point. The pitot is in the wrong place for an A-6.

Hello all.  I finally finished my butcher bird, the Hasegawa A-6 in 1/48th scale.  To review, I went with the kit featured markings of Rudolph Hubl's 1JG1 "White 5" from October of 1943.  Hubl was a 20 kill ace which included 17 heavies.  He already had 3 B-17's and a P-51B in this plane before he wrecked it on October 8th. Interesting research about JG 1 revealed that in this stage of the war, being defense against the onslaught of the 8th Air Force heavies, they painted checkers on the cowls of their FW 190's to distinguish the 190's from the American P-47's.  Furthermore, in 1943 they could still afford to show off a little due to the Luftwaffe's air superiority. I would imagine it would have had a psychological effect on the American bomber crews too.  

Anyways, a few things about the kit.  The Hasegawa A-6 was fantastic and I did not experience any of the fit issues reported.  It was a walk in the park compared to the Eduard D-9 I built last year.  I did spruce it up a bit with True Details tires, seat, and Quickboost gun barrels.  I scratchbuilt the Pitot tube from Albion Alloy and painted on the cowl checkers in lieu of decals.  Albeit tedious, I was pleased how the checkers turned out.  This was my first venture into the world of Gunze Aqueous, which I utilized their RLM 74 and 75 for this project.  Its the best I've ever seen for these colors and much better than anything I could mix up with Tamiya.  I will continue to use Gunze for my Luftwaffe subjects.

Thanks for having me in the group build. I really enjoyed it.  Joe R- I may come back with my Eduard A-5 in Egon Mayer's JG2 markings before the GB ends.  I just have to decide whether or not I want to subject myself to that torture.  I think I would rather get a root canal. 

Thanks again, and questions/comments are always welcome.

Joe

Chanter

I'd like to join this GB.  Some of you may have seen my intro post last week and that I am returning to modelling after many years away.  I have to say that the work you guys churn out here is incredible and it really motivates me.  I hope to be able to advance

Jester - Can't help you with the accuracy but, it darn well looks great none the less.

Allen - An A-3 sounds like an excellent choice to me. Looking forward to it.

I think I'll pick up a 1/48 Tamiya A3.  I may try to turn it into an A4 and look for an easier paint scheme.

That's the plan anyway.  

Looks passible to me Jester. You could snip them shorter if you like.

Well in some kind of attempt to correct the rack and get the fuel tank mounted to it, I have accomplished something.......lol.

I think the curved brackets on it are still a bit too long and may snip them a bit more but to be honest I'm not entirely sure what they should look like. I've found a few pics online but nothing really detailed. Biggest thing is, is it passable?? You guys tell me...

I have some more fine wire that I am hoping to add to the 4 mounting points (?) once I get the brackets sized right.

Lawdog(Joe) - Gorgeous work!! you've done a marvelous job so far. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing the finished product. I do hope you might have another 190 in ya so you can stay with us.

Allen - It's great to have you join us. I share yout trepidations over Luftwaffe camo, especially mottling. I was at first considering an MTO 190 also until I found the rather unique camo I'm doing.

Joe

Welcome Allen! Whatcha gonna build?

Allen, i am sure Mustang will be very glad to have you on board. I have found GB's a great way to learn and imrove. Welcome.

Which kit will you be building.

Thanks Bish and Nathan, that was the info I needed!!

Welcome aboard Allen!!

Dora's had a wooden prop VDM9-112176A. All props on all Luftwaffe aircraft all throughout the war were to be painted RLM 70 black green. Spinners on the other hand varried. Usually straight black or semi-gloss black.

Hi all,

I'd like to join this GB.  Some of you may have seen my intro post last week and that I am returning to modelling after many years away.  I have to say that the work you guys churn out here is incredible and it really motivates me.  I hope to be able to advance my skills to a respectable level after a time.

I am a huge fan of LW aircraft, but am a bit concerned about the complexity of a lot of their camouflage, so I'll be searching for a paint scheme that won't tax me too much initially. (maybe Tunisia?)

With that in mind, I will do a bunch of digging around for something and update as to what kit I will do once I decide.  In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy the fantastic work in this thread!

Regards,

Allen

The squadron book I have claims it was a wooden prop that had a cloth covering. About all it says about it though. The museum aircraft in it looks like its black in color but even the captions say its probably a reproduced piece.