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MPM 1/48 Fw 190S


LSP_Kevin

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I alluded to having started this kit in my long-running 1/32 Fw 190S conversion thread in the WiP forum, but I've decided it deserves a WiP thread of its own, so here goes.

 

Here's the kit in question:

 

8PDVlV.jpg

 

The flimsy box was getting pretty crushed, so along with having some synergies with my 1/32 build, it also seemed a good time to finally start this one lest the parts inside become damaged or lost.

 

While it's definitely a short-run kit (and my very first build of a kit of this type, believe it or not), I think it's actually pretty decent, though it does have its issues. Most of these are just the usual limitations of this type of kit - no locating pins, rough mating surfaces, lots of flash, agricultural fit in places, variable quality surface detail, etc.

 

On the plus side, it comes with some nice resin detail parts, as well as a photo-etched fret for the seat belts and instrument panels.

 

1LwB6b.jpg

 

Two vacform canopies are supplied (representing the two main types of canopy style found on these machines), but seem to have suffered from the dreaded yellowing:

 

ioeGU7.jpg

 

If you look closely, though, the actual canopy part seems relatively clear, but that could just be an optical illusion. I'll cut one out anyway and see what it looks like in isolation. If it doesn't scrub up, happily MPM also provides a single injection-moulded alternative:

 

tUiRps.jpg

 

It's not the nicest-looking canopy you'll ever see, but should work with a bit of polishing and rehabilitation.

 

Taping the fuselage together suggested that fit of the main parts would be OK, though they took quite a bit of preparation in terms of cleaning up the mating surfaces and removing flash and other ugly bits:

 

z9FURf.jpg

 

The casting block in the resin wheel bay was a bit of a pain to remove, and I damaged one side a little bit. In any case, it doesn't fit too badly:

 

SleXpC.jpg

 

CxD5qe.jpg

 

The black stuff you can see in the photo is JB Weld Kwik, which I initially used to attach the resin part to the plastic wing. But it didn't cure properly, and let go when I accidentally dropped the wing. I had to resort the using CA instead; what you see is the JB Weld residue that I couldn't be bothered removing. My guess is that I didn't get close enough to the required 50:50 ratio of the two JB Weld components, so I'll have to be more careful next time. I decided to add the upper wings immediately to assist with keeping the wheel bays in place.

 

Since the cockpit is literally a resin tub that can be slid into the fuselage from below, I figured I could now join the fuselage halves in preparation for this operation. Here are the fuselage and wing assemblies being tested for fit relative to each other:

 

c6QZJZ.jpg

 

The gaps at the wing root very much remind me of the Dragon kit, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's a source of "inspiration" for this one:

 

gDBzfF.jpg

 

Note also the large gap at the bottom of the forward fuselage:

 

2kbJyJ.jpg

 

I can push the two halves in to meet OK, but that would require reshaping the section where the wing meets it. I think it would be easier just to shim the gap.

 

OK, that's it for now! My next task is to prepare and paint the cockpit tub so that it can be inserted into the fuselage. I'm hoping this will also spread the fuselage somewhat, and help eliminate the wing root gaps. This kit also comes with the same markings that I'm planning to use on my 1/32 build, so I reckon this one will become something of a mini-me.

 

More soon!

 

Kev

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Nice start Kevin!  Sorry to hear about the JB Kwik not setting correctly.  Did it just not harden all the way?

 

Not even close - it just went all rubbery. I left it to cure for about 12 hours or so, which should have been plenty. I'm only guessing that I got the mix wrong, but I can't think of another plausible explanation.

 

Kev

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Yeah... that doesn't sound right.  Mine went rubbery in about five minutes and the joint was solid in less than 10.  I was able to sand the stuff within hours of application and it responded very well to sanding while retaining just a bit of flex to it.  I thought it would make a good filler material since that flex would make it less prone to cracking.

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Thanks, fellas. I'm just dealing with the PE seat belts, and once they're finished and installed, I can call the cockpit done, and install it into the fuselage. Should actually be a pretty quick run to the finish line from there.

 

Kev

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Guest Peterpools

Kev

Holy Cow, never knew there was a two seater and what a great project. Nice start and will be with you all the way

Keep 'em comin

Peter

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So, as predicted, I've made quite a bit of headway with this one. All the main components are now together, and most of the main gaps have filler in them:

 

d0CoTW.jpg

 

The cockpit was a bit of a pain to paint and detail, being a single-piece resin tub, but I managed to do a serviceable job given the quick-fire nature of this project:

 

kJKntx.jpg

 

yf28l7.jpg

 

The seat belts and instrument panels are PE parts that come in the kit, as are the unseen rudder pedals.

 

I opted to use the injection-moulded canopy for the sake of expedience, even though it's not great clarity-wise. At least it seems to fit OK:

 

nieJvJ.jpg

 

I need to break out some epoxy putty to take care of the remaining gaps, most especially to fair in the wheel bays, and then it's on to the paint job!

 

Kev

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It's not a great kit to start with if you really want to build a show-stopper, but grafting the hump on to a different kit (which is essentially what I'm doing with the 1/32 scale version) would come with its own problems. A better target kit might be the Dragon one, as I suspect this kit has been patterned off it. With the Dragon kit, you'd get better moulding and sharper details (than the MPM parts), and the donor spine would be more likely to fit without serious work. If you don't think you'll ever build yours, maybe I'll take it off your hands and give it a go!

 

Kev

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