FW 190 F8 Airfix 1/24 Options

[BlueMax]

That's GREAT news Rick! I was really hoping you hadn't given up the ghost - so to speak.

I'll be watching - for certain - as I'll surely need all the encouragement I can get to even cut the plastic off the box on my Airfix 190! I've been away from modeling long enough that I've actually started a "collection" of unfinished kits! Not to mention the ones I "still" want!



Dave

[vvwse4]

I have been doing a lot of pipe bending for the air inlets. Also managed to make the ignitioncircle and made the spark cables, all done with solder wire. I think it doesn't look bad, but is there someone who knows the DB 801 and can tell me if it does look a little bit like the real thing? I do not want to spent a lot of time with something that will not resemble the real thing I guess.

Other comments and encouragement welcome offcourse.







There will be a lot of wiring and piping to do.

Rick.

[bcauchi]

beautiful detail work on both the engine and the interior

[SeanH]

vvwse4

Your engine looks great. The addition of the metal piping is just terriffic. I noticed that any metal detail that I add to an engine or any other part once it is painted just adds a small degree of realism that just isn't achievable with a plastic part and I try to put on as many metal detail parts as I can. Your BMW looks great and I am going to use it as an example for mine in the future.

[vvwse4]

Been doing some work to the engine. Put the engine to the firewall and cut off the barrels from the machineguns to replace them with the gunbarrels from J Rutman conversionset.



After that I added a lot of wiring and piping and I made an oilfilter from a old rocketpod that came uit of the partsheap.









I think I am quite good now. I need to focus on how to put paint on this and the exhausts, they are round to start with but end in a rectangled way.

Rick.

[BlueMax]

Hey Rick,

Awesome work man!

Quick question for you...
When you mounted the engine to the firewall did you take into consideration that the engine "framework" - which mounts the engine to the firewall - being too long? The info I've read here at LSP - from those who've built this Airfix kit - say if you don't make provisions for this error in casting from the factory - and build the kit "as is" - that the engine fan housing (in the front) will stick out beyond the cowling!

If you "did" plan for this, will you please share with us how you corrected the problem.

Many Thanks,

Dave

[vvwse4]

Dave,

Thanks for telling me. I made a dry fit this morning to see how bad it would be, well it is bad. And stupid from me because I have read about this somewhere but I got carried away by the Db 801 which finally worked out.







So now I need to loose 5mm (!!!!!) somewhere. Maybe cutting off 5mm from the hanging bars, but there is the angle which needs to be right also. And I must remove at least one panel door otherwise a lot of work will never be seen again after closing down the hull.

I wonder how I will do all this.

Rick.

[LSP_Kevin]

It's looking really good Rick, so I hope you can find a way to make it all fit properly. The overall shot gives a really good view of how detailed and busy your 190 is.

Kev

[Loic]

Hi Rick,

I am not real expert but the detailling looks great and the position of the engine into the cowl looks about right to my eyes.
Would there be a chance that those "extra" 5mm could be located onto the front of the engine rather than around the mount? Would it be an option to just reduce the lenght of the spinner? I doubt anybody would notice it.
Also, I suggest you try fitting the prop blades on before cutting anything as they might need some of those 5mm to clear the cowl front ring.
HTH,
Cheers,

Loic

[vvwse4]

Hi Rick,

I am not real expert but the detailling looks great and the position of the engine into the cowl looks about right to my eyes.
Would there be a chance that those "extra" 5mm could be located onto the front of the engine rather than around the mount? Would it be an option to just reduce the lenght of the spinner? I doubt anybody would notice it.
Also, I suggest you try fitting the prop blades on before cutting anything as they might need some of those 5mm to clear the cowl front ring.
HTH,
Cheers,

Loic

Hi Loic,

I looked at the spinner, but that will not work, the spinner sits on top of the cooling fan. So I just ripped the engine apart and started to make new supports.







Somehow I get used to starting all over......

Rick

[BlueMax]

Hey Rick,

Sorry to have "rained" on such a wonderful job you've done with the BMW-801! In all honesty, I only asked the question in the hope [maybe] you had come up with "The Grand Solution" to this huge "fubarb" made by Airfix.

In any case, I hope maybe this will help with a "possible" solution, or at least an idea for a starting point for the fix...
a few years back - when I "thought" I was ready to begin my own Airfix 190 project - I was emailing back-n-forth with LSP member (Kai Reckstadt) who had done this Airfix kit in the colors of Hermann Graf's Fw-190. Kai also had completed the engine and framework (like yourself) and had unfortunately gone one step further than yourself - in that - he had already mounted the engine and framework to the fuselage! His solution was to add a 5mm ring to the cowling-ring. And from the photos in his article... I honestly can't "see" the fix. Kai Reckstadt's Airfix 190

Also of interest to note...
after looking though Kai's article again I now remember one other big "fubarb" with the Airfix kit! Kai also told me - through one of his many emails - that the kit's tailwheel "attachment points" are too far up in the fuselage! And by using the "stock" mounting points - if you will - this will place the tailwheel assembly waaaaay to far up into the fuselage, making the entire airplane's "stance" incorrect! If you look through the photos in the link above, you'll notice - in the photos - that Kai didn't find this out until it was too late. Even so, I'm very grateful to Kai for his help and emails!

I really hope this helps Rick, as you've DEFINATELY got my attention with this project! You are leaps and bounds ahead of "my" modeling skills anyway!

Keep up the great work!

[ron]

Bummer,

that engine looks great. I hope you can work it out

Ron

[vvwse4]

OK, I have been doing some reworks on the engine. I had to loose 5mm and did that by cutting off the hanging bars and replace them new, shorter ones. While I was doing that I also did some work on the inside of the panels.



Thanks to Blue Max I new that the tailwheel was too far up, so I made a change to that also. That was easy, cutting space in the wall en made two new supports from 2mm tube.



So now I am about just as far as last week, but now with the correct distanses I guess.





It is only a dry fit, so the engine is going to be placed straight in the hull



And the tailwheel.

So now I have to focus on the exhaust and the painting all of this.

Rick.

[vvwse4]

Hi everybody, between guessing movies I actually did something!! Made the exhausts, tried to do that with metal pipe but I could not get that right so I used plastic rod 2mm diameter. Also connected the cylinders together. Sorry about the flash.







I am pritty happy with the outcome of this piece of the build, but how on earth will I paint all this?? There are so many wires and pipes now that I will probably end up with making everything one colour and than try to add some detail. Any good suggestions welcome, the engine needs to dry over the night anyway.

Rick.

[big matt]

Looks great. I think you are right in picking one color and then working around it for the wiring. Hey, you can always hide any painting problems with a nice wash. Wait, that was my secret fix.
Is all of this awesome work going to show?

Matt