Hasegawa Fw 190S Conversion

[LSP_Kevin]

Well, here's the result of several sessions of filling and sanding to blend the wheel bays in:



Still a little lumpy in spots, but the harsh overhead lighting accentuates that. I'll probably give it one more round of sanding before declaring it done. Here's a reminder of what we started with:



I'm going to fit blanking plates over the cutouts for the erstwhile wing guns. I have no idea what the actual arrangements were, but that will do in the absence of hard evidence.

Now, to tackle the exhaust recess or not?

Kev

[dodgem37]

Very nice tie-in, Kevin. What happened to those bumps in front of the landing gear openings? In addition, what are/were those bumps?

 

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mark

[LSP_Kevin]

Very nice tie-in, Kevin. What happened to those bumps in front of the landing gear openings? In addition, what are/were those bumps?

 

I can't be sure, but I suspect they're Hasegawa's early '70s version of the lower exhaust ports. I decided that, whether I attempt to replicate the proper recessed exhaust pipe opening for these or not, the bumps had to go. As it happens, I've just finished carving such a thing, so I'll post some photos on the morrow. It needs some refinement, and isn't strictly accurate, but at least it's something.

 

Kev

[LSP_Paul]

Nice Job Kev! I suspect that a Mr. Surfacer 1200 coat and some RLM 02 plus washes will finish that area off quite well! Cant wait to see what you come up with for the exaust opening. Keep at it!

 

Paul

[spindrift007]

Just thought I would include a few pictures of a very OLD attempt of a 1/32 FW190S that I built about 10 years ago. No way will it be up to Kevin's standard, But thought it may be of interest. I still have the template that I made for the canopy if anyone wants a scan of it. As you can see I went a little overboard on the exhaust staining. Looks more like a fire! Was 10 years ago,lol.

 

[LSP_Kevin]

Just thought I would include a few pictures of a very OLD attempt of a 1/32 FW190S that I built about 10 years ago.

 

Wow, that's awesome mate! Where did you get the scheme from? Apart from the aircraft number, it's very similar to the one I'm shooting for. Got any more photos?

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

Cant wait to see what you come up with for the exaust opening.

Here you go Paul:

 

 

 

This has been carved out of the bare plastic, so is quite crude unfortunately. The real thing is a neatly pressed recess; mine's a roughly gouged trough. It's also not wide enough, but I dare not do any more work to it, as the roof is now vanishingly thin, and would be damaged simply by waving a file in its general vicinity. In fact you may be able to notice there's already some damage. I'm hoping that by the time it's all painted and weathered, the flaws and roughness will be less obvious, or at least not distractingly so. Anyway, it's too late now!

 

Thoughts and feedback welcome.

 

Kev

[LSP_Paul]

Kev, I think that you have added the detail that was missing! A lot of this fun we have building models is "smoke and mirrors" or, putty and paint and you've hit it right on the money I think your recessed exaust opening conveys the part / area very well.

Good Job sir

Paul

[Christian]

Dear Kev,

 

Nice job on the wheel bay, Mate.

 

Christian

[Tomek]

I just went through the whole thread (took me quite a bit of time )

A very ambitious conversion, Kevin! Very impressive that the setbacks haven't get you distracted from your path. And very impressive modeling too!

[mattlow]

Hi Matt,

 

Thanks for taking a look. Can you elaborate on the engine support strut info? I confess I don't understand what you mean.

 

 

 

 

Kev, sorry for delayed response. You can see the support strut above. It runs from the spar (right) to the engine mounting ring (out of sight to the right). The Hasegawa kit has this as a seperate part. Busies up the area somewhat. Note that the spent round chutes are not in this view.

 

 

Matt

[LSP_Kevin]

You can see the support strut above. It runs from the spar (right) to the engine mounting ring (out of sight to the right).

 

Hey, thanks Matt. I did figure it out in the end, and I've adapted the Hasegawa part to fit the modified gear bays. Once all the hacking at the wings is done, I'll glue it in place.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

Well folks, time for another update. Just coming to the end of a 4-day weekend for me, so I've managed to get a little bit done (but not as much as I'd hoped, as usual). I decided to keep going with the wings while I was on a roll, so I turned my attention to the bulges on the lower wing for the outboard guns. While the 190S was supposed to have been stripped of armaments, the various lumps and bulges to accommodate them were all left in place. The stock representations are hopeless, as can be seen in the following photo:



They're just raised flat panels, and misshapen at that. The problem is that the 190 actually sported a variety of bulges in this area, depending on the specific weapons carried. The new-tool kit uses drop-in panels to solve this, each representing a particular configuration. Wumm sent me his leftover panels, but unfortunately both sets are specific to an A-8 (or in my case, an S-8), and as I'm trying to build an S-5, they weren't going to do. I decided to break out my new-tool A-5 kit, which has the correct panels (so far as I can tell), and make copies of the bulges.

I first read about the following approach in Brian Cauchi's multi-109 build from a few years back. It involves using Milliput to make a mould of a form, and then filling the mould with more Milliput to achieve the copy.

Step 1 - Mix some Milliput and press it over the shape to be formed:



I wiped the plastic parts with cooking spray from the kitchen, and rolled the Milliput in talcum powder, just to make sure I could release the two from each other.

Here's the inside of the Milliput mould after separation:



Not perfect, but not too bad!

Step 2 - Mix some more Milliput and press it into the mould:



I think my Milliput is past its use-by date, as one of my moulds stayed slightly pliable, so I had to be really careful not to distort it while pressing the new stuff into it. Here's the result:



As you can see, a lot more imperfections this time. I think resin, or some other form of solidifying liquid, would have been better suited to this task, but I only have Milliput, and this is a make-do operation! Oh, I used the same homespun release agent technique in this step too.

Step 3 - Cut, sand and apply to model:



I sanded the back down as much as I dare, and then used CA to attach the bulges to the wing. In the photo above they've both been coated with a liberal dose of Mr Surfacer, after which begins the blending-in phase. Ironically I'll probably have to use Milliput. You can see the vast difference in shape and contour of the new bulges as compared to the originals. You'll also notice I've begun the rescribing process on the wing. This was necessary to provide the bulges with their correct access panels (into which they appear to be pressed on the real thing).

OK, that's it for now. I'm hoping to show them fully blended in and looking the biz in the next update.

Thanks for looking!

Kev

[LSP_Paul]

Kev,

Watching you continue your quest for perfection on this 190S has convinced me that I'm not as wacked in the head as I thought I once was ( said with a grin and nod to your talent ) I think they will blend in nicely and certainly vastly improve the detail of the wings lower surface.

Cant wait to see what you come up with next, its fun watching you make head way on this one thats for sure! Keep at it.

All the best,

Paul

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks Paul! Still a long way to go with this wing unfortunately (including fabricating some landing gear attachment points).

 

Kev