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

That finish is looking sharp!! Love the mottle, looks just right!

Thanks Eric. Looking forward to seeing another build outta you!

Nice model, Joe! I fully agree with Eric about the finish of your Fw!

Thanks guys. I plan on finishing the gun bays sometime this week and then its off to the landing gear! If its one thinig I cant stand in building planes its the landing gear! Its just the boring part for me.

Nice, Doug!! That is EXACTLY how I envision these old birds after they've been used n abused and seen a lot of action. Excellent job, man. And, you nailed the look of that specific aircraft, right down to the unique camo pattern.

I wish I could've gone with the exposed innards display like yours. It would really help to overcome the horrid fit of the parts in my kit. But, the guy for whom I'm building this plane wants it looking ready to fly, so....

In a way, that helps, as I've discovered a few more problems with this old Hasegawa kit. I'm gonna finally just button 'er up, gluing down the cowl hood and gun cover because the guns, as finely detailed that they are, won't fit under the hood. Even though they fit over the cowl slots perfectly. Yes, I'm using the proper hood for the guns (the smaller gun option along with the not so well endowed hood for my particular A5). I cant shave down the cowl hood to accommodate the guns, if I shaved them to fit, since the engine is tight in the cowl as it is.

Which leads to another problem. The bottom cylinder heads were in the way of the bottom wing portion so I had to slice off some of that to get my bottom wing part to fit snugly. However, there's still some minor puttying to do so the wing assembly fits nicely with the fuselage.

Here's one last look at my engine that I toiled over getting the right look of weathering and stainage, sigh...........

Cuts needed to allow bottom wing portion fit.......

You may have noticed the funny bumps on the sides of my cowl. It turns out "Wutz" 's A5 had the add-on supercharger so I made my own. The body of a Bic pen, some filler, a knife and lots of time n sanding...

That's it !! No more correcting of kit screw-ups or adding of pilot's individual needs. Don't forget I had to change the canopy and rear deck area due to this:

Wow, this is by far the most screwed-up kit I've ever cared about building. If it wasn't for you guys and my      friend's needs I would have have trashed it or boxed it up for some other time. But, now I'm down to a little body puttying and the paint job. Been a long road but the end is in sight now.

Dude! Stop it! This is an amazing build! Keep going with it and stop beating yourself up! We are our own worst critics. Post it and forget it. It looks good to me!!! REALLY GOOD!!

Thanks Joe! Yeah, I know that about beating myself up. But hey, it really helps to come in here, not only for the tips and tricks but for the understanding, ya know?

By the way, Great job on yours, man. That is lookin real sweet. And how about Dougs (RR) ? Is that the coolest lookin old bird or what? I love it!

Thats what we are here for pal. Thanks for the kudos and yes Doug has it goin on. I would have NEVER attempted that!

No doubt Bill, your hard work is really showing up in this build!! I'm really digging that engine and I agree it's a shame to cover it up. I feel your pain and even though I experienced a good bit of grief building my Dora, I am about to commit to another Eduard Dora along with Eduards A8 which I hear is more 'fun' that their D. Really looking forward to seeing more progress on this one!!

Jester75

I am about to commit to another Eduard Dora along with Eduards A8 which I hear is more 'fun' that their D. Really looking forward to seeing more progress on this one!!

lts not impossible by any means...................I'll defenitely be with you all the way

I've been reading about every build log I can get my mouse on and it seems to be a mixed bag with lots of folks having trouble and about the same number not having so much trouble. Got to get this 32nd scale 109E knocked outta da way and I plan on diving right into those 2 190's! It should be interesting and good exercise for the nanny bot if nothing else....

Looking forward to seeing another190 outtta you. Fw190's are just the coolest aren't they?

  Man, You guys are the best! Thats why I keep building here with you all.No better group anywhere... And I mean that .

  Joe (M) As always you do exceptional work and VERY intricatly detailed and executed, I love watching your stuff come together.Bravo!

  Joe R, Thank you my friend... I usually age in steps, I just cant bring my self to do a "New Pristene" aircraft. I have always loved the battered , war weary look. What I don't do that alot of builders do is worry too much about overspray,Now, Being realistic about it too much will ruin your build, but a little is what I  mean. Keeping in mind that I almost always work with acrylics, when the main theme is complete, and that is befor decals, I lightly spray(airbrush) a section at a time and GENTLY wash the overspray INTO the finish not off of, with straight rubbing alcohol and a soft bristle brush.I will repeat this until I get the desired look,Not too clean, but not too muddy looking. This usually leaves a nice blended finish. After that, gloss coat, Decal, gloss coat again, flat coat (to desired look) and lastly again lightly wash with straight rubbing alcohol. Alcohol has a great way of flattening your paints out, and depending on the paint will work on enamels too. Then if desired I lightly bry brush some "chips and scratches in" and depending on goal, maybe wash with a sepia artist oil paint (Weak mix) Really depends on the look your going for. Just practice and you will (I think) like the results,I hope!

  Jester, Clemens... Thank you, Not bad for a $1.50 Kit I found at a yard sale huh? (LOL) Really With all the extras, I still only have about $35 bucks wrapped up in it. For awhile at first I REALLY had doubts about it , I thought I had finally bitten off more then I could chew, But Day by day, it started looking like something. Nathan kinda goaded me into it when he said that 48s are screaming for detail too! (lol) I usually stay in the 32nd 35th range. Thank you again guys!

  Bill... Thank you! wow what a compliment! Listen, from what I see you doing... Its looking great! If they went togethetr without problems and any one could do em...It would be a real boring hobby! Improvise, adapt and over come...(sorry the old Marine coming out in me)(ha) Your doing a good job, dont sweat it! any one here would stop and maybe offer some help if you wanted. I dont see where you need it though! Watching with interest!

Well my friends, I as said earlier need to take a short break in the action, But will be back in a while, I would love to squeeze in another "Dora". I'll still be here watching these beautiful builds come together! Oh and Joe... as always the choice of pictures is all your fancy. Select any one you want!

Doug (RR)

Sorry for the late post Doug but just had to comment on the superb job on the 190!  That finish and scene are terrific.  You can just imagine a cold Russian spring, with a worn and tired 190.  Bravo! 

Bill, I suspect Mr. Tank would not approve of you chucking two cylinders on his butcher bird. 

Reasoned

Bill, I suspect Mr. Tank would not approve of you chucking two cylinders on his butcher bird. 

Reasoned, I don't know if Tank himself would be happy about those cylinders, but they were definitely Luftwaffe approved. They issued the supercharger kits to be added on to those who required better high altitude performance. I kinda like em. They make the bird even uglier.

 I taught myself a little trick here today and thought I'd share. Might be something common but new to me . . . . .  I ended up with some moderate gaps between my wings and wing roots that normally I would gob full of putty and then sand forever. However, structurally it would've left me a little weak as there is little other glued area keeping the wings on. So, I used thin strips of Evergreen styrene, cut with a slight curve, held it in the gap as flush to the surfaces as possible on one end and dabbed there with liquid cement. As that started to hold, I gradually laid the strip further along into the gap, chasing it with cement until I had the whole strip inserted flush along the gap. 

The strips filled the gap enough to cause the liquid cement to wick over to both sides of the gap. I applied a second dab of cement along the gap for good measure. Now, the gap will be as strong as a tight joint and will require very little, if any, putty. 

I hope this helps someone else with a crappy wing/fuse joint. I'm much happier with these results than I would've been had I just puttied.

Excellent idea Bill, it's a shame we have to come up with those tips but ill-fitting kits make us better (not necessarily happier) modelers.

Yeehaw, we've got ourselves about a flurry of activity here. I best be to catchin' up.

Joe - No doubt that she's shaping up beautifully. Just an excellent build.

Bill - Sorry to here that you'll be buttoning up all that wonderful work you put in. Regardless you should be really proud of the work your doing.No doubt that styrene shims can save a poor fit.

Eric - Really glad to hear that your going to rejoin us. Looking forward to what you've got in store for us.

 I'm actually making some movement on my F-8. Wrestled a bit with the canopy headrest as I was painting and detailing it. Broke it in half, glued it backed together. Broke it again after I finished it while I pulled it from  the blue tac. Reglued, resanded and repainted it and now she be good to go. Sprayed the yellow wing tips this morning and now I'm masking for the upper camouflage.

Great solution Bill!  You had mentioned earlier your building for some body, An old Wurger pilot? That would be so cool to have an actual pilot directing your hand! But again, Great solution!

Doug (RR)

Hi ya, thought I'd check in and post a few progress pics here, been slow going but I'm still slugging away at it. You guys with your complete builds are putting me to shame, they all look outstanding!

I been searching and searching for something to show the wiring layout particularly for the gun deck without much luck so I'm doing a little creative guesswork here.

Finally decided to mount the engine onto the mounts so to continue with the wiring.

Once I'm done will touch up everything. Using Tacky Glue than following up with thin superglue.

Adding connecting rods and will throw in more wiring along the sides and upper engine.

This is where I get slowed down by adding maybe too much like the windscrenn washer lever and tubing. It may not even be visible once pit is button up. Well I will know it's there. Have the Eduard placard set and will add some more detail to the instrument panel.

Got sugery on the 10th and hoping to get more done while I'm off for a week.

Scott

Looking good Scott! Luck w/surgery...

Doug

Yep, looking very nice, Scott! Good luck from me as well.

Cheers, Clemens

Looking very sharp so far Scott, no shame in taking your time on a build, I know I do quite often!! Best of luck with your surgery.

Oh my Scott, does that thing run?  Looks very sharp.  Best of luck w/surgery.

Umm, talk about putting people to shame ...... Geees.  I was going to help you research some details for your build but I couldn't find anything on what the landing gear tire pressure should be. This is the look on my face when viewing Scotts work :    Wow, man! That is outstanding. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Good luck with your surgery.

Rigidrider

Great solution Bill!  You had mentioned earlier your building for some body, An old Wurger pilot? That would be so cool to have an actual pilot directing your hand! But again, Great solution!

Doug (RR)

Doug, no,  my neighbor asked me to build this for him. It's from his old stash and, as payment, he gave me a Revell 1/32 scale Me-109G. He's only in his late 50s and has never done any military service but was afflicted with serious arthritis already in his 40s. He's had his knees replaced, his feet rebuilt using epoxy and cadaver material to create new cartlidge. He requires regular cortisone injections for his shoulders and lately his hands have become useless for manipulating small objects. All his life while raising his 4 kids he was slowly amassing this LARGE model stash for building later in life and now, he can't build them. He is a major WWII buff and loves everything Luftwaffe, especially the Abbyville Boys, JG26, and of course the "Butcher Bird". When we talked about what paint scheme and markings he wanted, he seemed to gravitate towards the Galland bros, mainly "Wutz", so I decided to build it as Wilhelm's last plane, the Fw-190A5 as it appeared during his fatal mission Aug 17th, 1943.

Now I haven't actually seen Al's (my neighbor) stash, but it must fill a good sized closet. He has talked about having a Corsair, Blenheim, Lancaster,  various armor and helicopters. I also have his Hawker Typhoon to build for him in D-Day Invasion style. Last year I built a Stuka for him but I botched the clearcoat so I kept it. Gotta fix that one day...........

JOE RIX

Yeehaw, we've got ourselves about a flurry of activity here. I best be to catchin' up.

Joe - No doubt that she's shaping up beautifully. Just an excellent build.

Bill - Sorry to here that you'll be buttoning up all that wonderful work you put in. Regardless you should be really proud of the work your doing.No doubt that styrene shims can save a poor fit.

Eric - Really glad to hear that your going to rejoin us. Looking forward to what you've got in store for us.

 I'm actually making some movement on my F-8. Wrestled a bit with the canopy headrest as I was painting and detailing it. Broke it in half, glued it backed together. Broke it again after I finished it while I pulled it from  the blue tac. Reglued, resanded and repainted it and now she be good to go. Sprayed the yellow wing tips this morning and now I'm masking for the upper camouflage.

Thanks JOE. Hey, I too broke my canopy/headrest assy TWICE! Mine (old 80s Hasegawa 1/32) was designed totally wrong and didn't take correction kindly.

I'm in the priming and body gap filling stage of mine now. Feels good to finally start to see the plane's shape coming together. I guess it's not gonna look 1/2 bad when I'm done. 

Scott, YOWZA! That is some spectacular detailing. I am really impressed with the workmanship. Just gorgeous. I've got to tell you all something about this here GB. Just when you have seen some jaw dropping model someone steps up and raises the bar. Just an excellent GB with some very talented individuals.

Hi Guys!

I've been watching the builds from a distance, and it's been killing me that I've got photos that might be useful to y'all, but I haven't been able to do anything about it till now! I had the good luck to visit the BMW Museum in Munich where they have a pretty nice 801 engine on display; I started a thread about it over at the Aircraft category; the link is here:

Detailed Photos of BMW 801

I also was able to visit the Luftfhart Museum Hannover-Laatzen where they have a Fw 190 A8 (rebuilt from original parts from several aircraft) and a BMW 801. I'll have those up as soon as possible - maybe they will be of use to you.

Keep up the great work!

Best regards,

Mike