PCM Ta-125 (late entry)

[wingman777]

  What??!!    Of course, it should say Ta-152 but this is for the (25th) anniversary.  Rumor has it that deep in the Luftwaffe archives they had originally intended for it to be the 125 but some fat guy in charge with a powder blue uniform had dyslexia and got it mixed up in a speech and the rest is misplaced history.  First of all, let's agree that it's fantastic that we have this wonderful webpage as a resource for common grounds for us all, and a great place to just hang out!!!!  Many thanks to the staff for all your years of service!!!  Now to celebrate this "Most Excellent Adventure" I'm jumping in with just over a month to complete the build.  I've had this kit in the collection for a very long time and look forward to making it happen.  I've always been a big fan of the FW-190D - Ta-152 family but haven't built any in 1/32 so now is the time.  I plan to build it OOTB but who can say what might happen once the MOJO kicks in.  It's a sleek, fairly large aircraft and the kit has good features.  Yes, I know about the glaring inaccuracies but who cares.  I don't have the ZM kit, so I'll have fun with this.

[wingman777]

[wingman777]

Sorry, I meant to rotate the image...very nice box art.  So here's what I'm starting with...

[wingman777]

Very nice surface detail and fit, not very many parts involved.  The resin parts are clean and flash free, so it looks to be a basic build. 

[wingman777]

 This book shows several variants between the FW-190D and the final TA-152 H-1 version.

[wingman777]

This incredible box art from Dragon displays the vision of the Luftwaffe.  To have air supremacy over the droves of fighters and bombers pouring in across the country.   

[wingman777]

The reference book shows concepts that I did not know about.  Some with 4-bladed wooden props and others with radial BMW 801 engines.

[wingman777]

[wingman777]

As I've been able to do some painting and assembly, I have a great appreciation for the fit and detail.  Obviously the ZM kit is the gold standard for this aircraft cause I've been looking at online builds of that kit.  The detail is jaw-dropping and I've been able to see where I need to make changes / improvements to this kit .   I'll be modifying the wheel well engine plug to more closely resemble the Jumo 213.  I drilled out the ports on the underside of wings where the shell casings exit after being fired.  I've only started painting; these are not the final colors.

[wingman777]

The fuselage halves fit perfectly as did the wing parts I've used so far.  I like the plastic too.

This is a very well-engineered kit and when I consider how very little $ I've got tied up in it, there's no real pressure so I can relax and enjoy the process.  As my uncle Marty once said " boy, you put the fun in funeral".....?  I never really understood exactly what he meant by that, but it sounded cool and made everybody laugh.  Fun is good!!

[dennismcc]

Nice to see another PCM kit being built and it looks good so far.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[wingman777]

I blocked in the cannon chute openings; the side you'll see is gloss black.

[wingman777]

The engine plug looks good, but it represents the DB603 engine.  To be accurate, it should look like the Jumo 213 engine.  I hastily ordered my conversion kit from He-manmodelcorp.com.   Fortunately, I got the last one they will ever produce.  What I got looks like a chunk that somebody gouged out from an old computer mother board.  Hopefully make it look a little more like the images I've been studying online.  

Edited November 23 by wingman777

[wingman777]

[wingman777]

I sent these images to the curator at the Udvar Hazy Center where the only Ta-152 in existence is waiting to be restored.  He assured me that this conversion was a close replica to the existing engine and that he could barely tell the difference.    Well, anyway It looks a bit different than it did before and hopefully when it's mounted in the wing and inside the fuselage it will suffice.    Now about the cannon barrels.  The kit parts look ok, and I was going to hollow out the barrels but when I cut them from the sprue, they got a little bent and the plastic has scuff marks.  I'm going to craft some new barrels using metal tubing