VintageEagle

OK, fuselage and wings joined, exhaust tubes hollowed out, engine painted and cowling - except for one piece - riveted (photos follow when all is complete). I have two questions for which I hope to get help from forum members:
 
Rivet pattern of the upper cowling part (with the pressed grooves for the MG 151) Best way to fill larger gaps / steps (forward wing root)  
I haven't been able to find a decent photo of the upper cowling part in which all / most rivets can be recognized. And for filling the gaps I have so far used CA for small gaps, but am not sure what is best if there is a larger gap / step. Milliput? The standard fillers are not good when one needs to rescribe panels. 
 
Will post an update with photos before the end of next week. The engine will mostly be hidden under the cowling, but it was a good for practicing my painting skills, especially the exhaust tubes.

Small update: I applied the same process to the elevators. Designing the vector graphic artwork for the Cricut cutter took most of the time. The elevators were also sanded to have a thin trailing edge. Next, I'll apply a clear coat to seal the decals. Then the trim tabs will be fabricated with thin plastic sheet.
 
I'll then probably return to the wheel bay. I'll do the ailerons later. 
 
First a look at the original:
 

 
Then the different steps and results in 32 times smaller:
 
(1) Masks and Mr Surfacer 500 applied:

 
(2) Masks removed and surface polished:

 
(3) Decal stripes added:

 

 

 

After a loooooooong time an update: when I read that Zoukei Mura will bring a new Fw 190 at the end of the year, I thought I needed to complete my Revell Fw 190 now or never.
 
The build stalled in January when I tried to install some wires inside the wheel bay. I lost patience with these small parts, but didn't want to continue without the wires installed. I finally found the motivation to give it another go and I think I succeeded (at least so that I can finally continue). Next I will install the MG 151s. and then I can attach the wings to the fuselage.
 

 

After a loooooooong time an update: when I read that Zoukei Mura will bring a new Fw 190 at the end of the year, I thought I needed to complete my Revell Fw 190 now or never.
 
The build stalled in January when I tried to install some wires inside the wheel bay. I lost patience with these small parts, but didn't want to continue without the wires installed. I finally found the motivation to give it another go and I think I succeeded (at least so that I can finally continue). Next I will install the MG 151s. and then I can attach the wings to the fuselage.
 

 

After a loooooooong time an update: when I read that Zoukei Mura will bring a new Fw 190 at the end of the year, I thought I needed to complete my Revell Fw 190 now or never.
 
The build stalled in January when I tried to install some wires inside the wheel bay. I lost patience with these small parts, but didn't want to continue without the wires installed. I finally found the motivation to give it another go and I think I succeeded (at least so that I can finally continue). Next I will install the MG 151s. and then I can attach the wings to the fuselage.
 

 

After a loooooooong time an update: when I read that Zoukei Mura will bring a new Fw 190 at the end of the year, I thought I needed to complete my Revell Fw 190 now or never.
 
The build stalled in January when I tried to install some wires inside the wheel bay. I lost patience with these small parts, but didn't want to continue without the wires installed. I finally found the motivation to give it another go and I think I succeeded (at least so that I can finally continue). Next I will install the MG 151s. and then I can attach the wings to the fuselage.
 

 

Good evening everybody,
 
Tonight I have used an airbrush for the first time in more than 20 years and it was even a first for me when it comes to using acrylic paint.
 
I primed the resin parts using Mr. Surfacer 1500 Black using a 2:1 ratio (i.e. 2 drops of Mr. Levelling Thinner and 1 drop of Mr. Surfacer), which went quite well. 
 
I then painted the cockpits with Mr. Color RLM 66 using a 1:1 ratio with Mr. Color thinner, which also went well. The photos don't really show much difference between black and grey, but in reality the colours are clearly different.
 
I might have used a too high pressure (2 bars) since when I pulled the trigger on the airbrush too much rearwards, it started to "spit" a bit. But all was fine at a low setting. 
 
The black primer already gives some shades and depth to the cockpit. I will try to increase this effect a bit in the next step using the Revell cockpit always as a Guinea Pig.
 
Cheers,
 
Roger
 

 
 

 

Good evening,
 
Again, not a big progress, but I have ordered some Mr. Surfacer 1500 for priming and am waiting to use my new airbrush for the first time. I will use the Revell cockpit for practice first before I have a go on the Eduard cockpit. I have installed the map holder made out of a photo etched part. As soon as the primer arrives, I'll post an update.
 
Cheers,
Roger
 

 

After a loooooooong time an update: when I read that Zoukei Mura will bring a new Fw 190 at the end of the year, I thought I needed to complete my Revell Fw 190 now or never.
 
The build stalled in January when I tried to install some wires inside the wheel bay. I lost patience with these small parts, but didn't want to continue without the wires installed. I finally found the motivation to give it another go and I think I succeeded (at least so that I can finally continue). Next I will install the MG 151s. and then I can attach the wings to the fuselage.
 

 

After a loooooooong time an update: when I read that Zoukei Mura will bring a new Fw 190 at the end of the year, I thought I needed to complete my Revell Fw 190 now or never.
 
The build stalled in January when I tried to install some wires inside the wheel bay. I lost patience with these small parts, but didn't want to continue without the wires installed. I finally found the motivation to give it another go and I think I succeeded (at least so that I can finally continue). Next I will install the MG 151s. and then I can attach the wings to the fuselage.
 

 

After a loooooooong time an update: when I read that Zoukei Mura will bring a new Fw 190 at the end of the year, I thought I needed to complete my Revell Fw 190 now or never.
 
The build stalled in January when I tried to install some wires inside the wheel bay. I lost patience with these small parts, but didn't want to continue without the wires installed. I finally found the motivation to give it another go and I think I succeeded (at least so that I can finally continue). Next I will install the MG 151s. and then I can attach the wings to the fuselage.
 

 

Thank you for your kind feedback and the info on the green seatbelts!
 
After studying many photos of the rivet patterns, I decided to go with the 0.75mm wheel as it seems more accurate than the 1.00mm. I first spent some time to draw the rivet lines onto the fuselage using a pencil. Then I started adding the rivets. It was my first attempt (apart from some "dry runs" on a spare fuselage). I am quite happy with the result so far, but I made one small mistake underneath the main fuselage access hatch. The rivet line is a bit too close to the hatch, but most likely nobody will ever notice and I am not sure if I would do more damage than good if I tried to correct it by filling the holes with glue, sanding them and adding new rivets (what's your experience?). 
 
A few small details like the rivets around the jacking hole, some more rivets in the corners around the fuselage hatch, etc. are yet to be added. I'll continue first with the forward fuselage and stabilizer. Then the starboard side is next. After that I can work on closing the fuselage including the cockpit. 
 
Do you recommend to sand the surface after riveting? Or is it better to leave it as is and to polish the fuselage after painting for some realistic wear effect? 
 
Sorry for the bad pictures. I just had my smart phone at hand and wanted to give a quite view of where I am.
 
Cheers,
Roger

 

After a loooooooong time an update: when I read that Zoukei Mura will bring a new Fw 190 at the end of the year, I thought I needed to complete my Revell Fw 190 now or never.
 
The build stalled in January when I tried to install some wires inside the wheel bay. I lost patience with these small parts, but didn't want to continue without the wires installed. I finally found the motivation to give it another go and I think I succeeded (at least so that I can finally continue). Next I will install the MG 151s. and then I can attach the wings to the fuselage.
 

 

Finally a new update. After the tedious work of riveting the wings, I planned to build the landing gear wheel wells out of the box. But that plan was soon abandoned and I ended up investing (too) many hours again for upgrading the wheel wells. So far, so good. The Eduard P/E parts are fragile and I hope everything will hold together when installing and painting the wheel wells. I did a few modifications which I have summarized in the photo below. 
 
Meanwhile, I have also received the excellent landing gear legs from 'Synthetic Ordnance Works'. The oleo strut is not only metallic like the real strut, the whole leg is also much stronger due to the internal metal structure. I like that the outside (except the strut) is plastic as I can more easily work with this material than with bronze like Eduard's aftermarket legs. I first thought (wrongly!) that Eduard got the lenght right, but it was the opposite: the Eduard legs are too short (fully compressed oleo strut) and 'Synthetic Ordnance Works' got it right (see other photos). 
 
Next will be painting, then installing some pipes and wires in the whee wells. Then installing it into the wings/fuselage. 
 
Cheers, Roger
 
 
 

 

 

Here is one with the correct emblem. I wonder where he got it from.

Hi Mark, 
 
It was slightly different and had a gold circle and text. Please have a look at the BMW page: 
 
https://www.bmw.com/de/automotive-life/bmw-logo-bedeutung-geschichte1.html
 
OK, maybe I find one on a vintage car decal sheet, but I would then have to buy the whole kit for just the tiny decal. I'll probably just try to spray the white / blue parts and leave the BMW letters as they would be so tiny anyways and less visible compared to the white / blue portions. 
 
Cheers,
Roger

I am waiting for some copper wires to arrive to finish the wheel well. Meanwhile, I started to work on the BMW 801. Most will be hidden, so no detailing and not even removing all seam lines except for on the front. What will be visible is the BMW logothat can be seen in e.g. the photos below (the second is a modern BMW emblem and is not the original one that was attached). Unfortunately, I don't have such a decal. Hence my questions:
 
1) Does anybody have a close-up of the BMW emblem on a BMW 801 (ideally even a wartime photo)? I am not 100% sure if these emblems were always attached.
2) Does anybody know where to get either existing decals? If not, I'll try to cut it from blue and white decals as good as I can.
 
Cheers,
 
Roger
 

 

 

Hi Damian,
 
Thanks to your mini tutorial I managed to recreate the cover. I used a plastic tube, but followed your process after I removed the raised panel that Revell provided and rescribed the panel lines of the cover.
 
I'll tested it first on a replacement wing and just completed the installation on the riveted wing. I'll have to sand and enlarge the hole diameter after the top of the wing is installed, but that will be easy. I am quite happy with the result. Below are some photos of the parts and result.
 
The last photo (from my personal collection and hence the watermark) shows the cover on a real aircraft. The hole was actually quite big (almost as big as the wing root MG 151 hole in the wing's leading edge). 
 
Cheers,
 
Roger
 

 

 

 

Small update: I applied the same process to the elevators. Designing the vector graphic artwork for the Cricut cutter took most of the time. The elevators were also sanded to have a thin trailing edge. Next, I'll apply a clear coat to seal the decals. Then the trim tabs will be fabricated with thin plastic sheet.
 
I'll then probably return to the wheel bay. I'll do the ailerons later. 
 
First a look at the original:
 

 
Then the different steps and results in 32 times smaller:
 
(1) Masks and Mr Surfacer 500 applied:

 
(2) Masks removed and surface polished:

 
(3) Decal stripes added:

 

 

 

Hi everyone,
 
I was struggling with figuring out the best way to attach wires, cables, etc. inside the wheel well and thought it is best to focus on other parts first before I finish the wheel wells. 
 
I glued, sanded and riveted the elevators. I also designed the serial number on the PC as a vector graphic. The original was handpainted and had some irregularities. Peter from @airscale was so kind to help me get the number printed on a decal sheet. Thank you very much Peter! 
 
I then worked on the rudder. I didn't like the raised ribs on the Revell rudder and removed them. I also made the bulge for the tail light smaller to match it more with the original. I then worked on another vector graphics of the rudder ribs using the original Focke Wulf drawing. I then cut the ribs with my Cricut cutter and used the following process: 
 
1) Applied the ribs to act as a positioning guide for the inner parts
2) Applied the inner parts
3) Removed the ribs
4) Sprayed Mr. Surfacer 500
5) Removed the inner parts --> the ribs now are slightly raised vs. the inner parts
6) Applied strips of black decal sheet to imitate the fabric tape that was applied on the original
 
Next, I'll add a layer of white Mr. Surfacer 1500 and hopefully the effect is as expected. It was a lot of work and I'll have to use a similar approach for the elevator and ailerons as well.
 
That's all for now. Next will be a short update after I have applied paint to the rudder.
 
Cheers,
 
Roger
 
First, a photo of an original rudder where you can see the rib structure and fabric tape:

 
Then, the process to recreate this (to the right the unaltered Revell part for comparison):

 

 

 

 

 
 

After a loooooooong time an update: when I read that Zoukei Mura will bring a new Fw 190 at the end of the year, I thought I needed to complete my Revell Fw 190 now or never.
 
The build stalled in January when I tried to install some wires inside the wheel bay. I lost patience with these small parts, but didn't want to continue without the wires installed. I finally found the motivation to give it another go and I think I succeeded (at least so that I can finally continue). Next I will install the MG 151s. and then I can attach the wings to the fuselage.
 

 

Hi everyone,
 
I was struggling with figuring out the best way to attach wires, cables, etc. inside the wheel well and thought it is best to focus on other parts first before I finish the wheel wells. 
 
I glued, sanded and riveted the elevators. I also designed the serial number on the PC as a vector graphic. The original was handpainted and had some irregularities. Peter from @airscale was so kind to help me get the number printed on a decal sheet. Thank you very much Peter! 
 
I then worked on the rudder. I didn't like the raised ribs on the Revell rudder and removed them. I also made the bulge for the tail light smaller to match it more with the original. I then worked on another vector graphics of the rudder ribs using the original Focke Wulf drawing. I then cut the ribs with my Cricut cutter and used the following process: 
 
1) Applied the ribs to act as a positioning guide for the inner parts
2) Applied the inner parts
3) Removed the ribs
4) Sprayed Mr. Surfacer 500
5) Removed the inner parts --> the ribs now are slightly raised vs. the inner parts
6) Applied strips of black decal sheet to imitate the fabric tape that was applied on the original
 
Next, I'll add a layer of white Mr. Surfacer 1500 and hopefully the effect is as expected. It was a lot of work and I'll have to use a similar approach for the elevator and ailerons as well.
 
That's all for now. Next will be a short update after I have applied paint to the rudder.
 
Cheers,
 
Roger
 
First, a photo of an original rudder where you can see the rib structure and fabric tape:

 
Then, the process to recreate this (to the right the unaltered Revell part for comparison):

 

 

 

 

 
 

Finally! Riveting of the wing's upper and lower surfaces is complete. To get the rivet pattern as close to the original as possible, I used photos from actual aircraft, original spare parts manual and even original Focke Wulf riveting instructions. Most of the rivet pattern won't be visible well once the aircraft is painted, but it gives me peace of mind to know that the pattern is close to the original pattern. I added the landing flap indicator hole as well as the control link inspection holes on the upper surface. I still need to install the MG 151 covers on the upper surface, but the two pin holes are already drilled. I also added the rivets to the leading edge, which was a bit a challenge due to the bent surface. 
 
Next will be the landing gear bay where I will use a combination of Eduard P/E and Revell parts. I won't use all of Eduard's P/E parts as in my opinion some of them a) don't fit well and b) don't resemble the original parts. 
 
One other challenge I have is the cover of the outboard MG 151 canons. They are not moulded into the Revell kit parts, but Revell just asks you to drill a hole into the leading edge (as the wing was made for the original Fw 190 F-8 kit that didn't have these outboard canons). The original covers look like the one in the last photo below. EagleParts offers such covers in 1/32, but they need to be glued on top of the leading edge, while the original cover was flush with the leading edge. I'll therefore try to scribe the panel lines (difficult around a bent surface) and to build the parts myself using a plastic tube and some filler. If that won't give the results I hope for, I'll go with the EagleParts cover and will try to sand it a bit thinner. 
 
Still a lot to do, but finally a different task ahead than the hours of riveting and one big step closer to complete assembly to start painting.
 
Cheers,
 
Roger
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi there, I am an extremely slow builder, but I finally made a little more progress and managed to install the windshield. Some putty was needed but finally all went well. On the real 190 there were some frames on the lower windshield that connected it with the fuselage. I have added self-adhesive paper strips. The advantage is that you get a nice panel line. I’ll add primer over the weekend. Next is riveting of the wings. Cheers, Roger

Good evening,
 
So, finally I can post two photos. Note that I have not yet added all the bits and pieces (control stick, rudders, some handles and levers, belts, auxiliary panel to the lower instrument panel) yet as I first want to finish dry fitting it into the fuselage in order not to risk breaking off some small parts. I also haven't managed to apply the flat coat yet. After the flat coat, I also plan to add clear coats over the individual instrument dials.
 
Note the dirt on the floor. German instrument panels usually had the electrical wiring diagram codes of the instruments painted onto the panel. I tried to recreate this by applying some tiny white dots and dashes with a very sharp brush. Electrical cables were usually wrapped by yellow plastic at the end of the war, which I also tried to recreate. I will add some more drybrushing / shading to the leather cushion as it looks to flat right now.
 
One questions I have for you experts: I have tried Tamiya, Mr. Color and Vallejo flat coats tonight, but none of them were really flat. I may have used the wrong mixture or thinner as I have read very positive things about e.g. the Vallejo flat coat. What do you usually use to seal the cockpit (flat, satin, which brand, which mixture)?
 
G-Man, I have to try Mr. Mark Setter and Mr. Mark Softer then. When I wanted to buy it at the local hobby store it was sold out and I went for the other brands, but I have heard good things about the two Mr. Marks. At least when the cockpit, filling and sanding is done, the fun part can begin. Better to start with the hard work and then the fun :-)
 
Cheers,
 
Roger