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Slovakian Focke-Wulf Fw 189A-1


JamesHatch

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Slovakian Focke-Wulf Fw 189A-1

 

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It's been a while.

 

I've had a serious run of bad luck with forum builds in the last couple of years, with the ones that I try to feature being more prone to screwing up, such as the awful P-39 Airacobra kit from Kittyhawk. My bin can certainly overfloweth. In an effort to buck the trend, I thought I'd build perhaps my most ambitious project yet....the HpH Fw 189A-1 resin kit. What could possibly go wrong!

 

If you want to take look at the review I wrote for this, check HERE

 

This is a very new project for me, and I'll post a few photos in the next days. Work so far consists of cleaning up the main components, such as the boom halves, stabiliser, wing, wing centre section, engine cowls etc. I have also glued the steel reinforced spar to the centre section and the outboard wing spares. For this, I'm using HpH's own epoxy glue with a 24hrs waiting time. CA will be used for everything else.

 

This kit is supplied with an amazing set of 'Wet Transfer' decals which contain no carrier film. All that is left on the model after application, is the ink. All I will use here though are the stencils, as this model will be finished in a scheme over than what is supplied. For this build, I will depict a Slovakian machine. I've always had a hankering for a Slovakian scheme ever since seeing it supplied with the old Matchbox 1/32 Bf 109E-3 kit. Markings on this will be airbrushed, with masks courtesy of Miracle Masks. The Slovaks operated the A-1, as well as the A-2 versions. This is what I aim to achieve.

 

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This one is progressing nicely, and if you take your time in measuring, measuring again, and measuring once more, and then even checking your last measurement, then you should have no problem. Casting block removal takes a few evenings, but it's not too bad a chore.

 

There is so much geometry in this model that you need to ensure that a good number of parts align under test fit before committing to any glue. For example, you need to ensure that you make sure the nacelle sides align with the front of the lower centre section. You also much make sure that the leading edges align and that the rear trailing edges of the wing are in line. On top of that, the lower nacelle fuse section must dry fit properly and the recesses for the centre section landing flaps must the same width along the length of it. If you fail, the PE parts won't fit. Test-fitting the upper nacelle deck must also show the width is correct there.

 

Lastly, mocking up the tail booms and stabiliser should prove a perfect fit to the assembled wing, with the stabiliser being horizontal and the wing tips angled equally on each side. It sounds a nightmare, but a few evenings of preparation and care will pay off.

 

Oh, I also get kit No.003!! So this is either production kit #3, or the third to have popped from moulds, including the tests. Either way, this is pretty cool. 

 

HpH epoxy is also excellent and can be mixed in minute quantities. You can also manipulate several hours later, allowing for last minute tweaks. 

 

So far.....so good.

 

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Edited by LSP_Typhoonattack
Bad-mouthing a manufacturer
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Cool project James, If it's as good as there Ta-154 which I recently built you will have a great time putting this one together, Have to say I really don't like those "Wet Transfer's" though, I only used the stencils as I used custom masks for the insignia so I could back date the kit to a prototype, I applied them to a semi gloss finish and they stick like s"£$ to a blanket so be careful with positioning, also I had register issue's with print register which you can only see when applied and film removed.....Grrrrr.

 

Regards. Andy

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Cool project, Jim. My review sample was #58. If only I had time to build it.

 

Kev

Ha beat you, I have #52!!

I have been waiting for someone to blaze the trail online with this kit so I can avoid the pitfalls, will be following for sure!!

 

Cheers

 

Brent

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Not much I can update at the moment as I'm waiting for a replacement port-side boom from HpH.

 

The wing is nigh on complete now, except for a little epoxy putty that needs to be shaped under the wing root cannon fairings. Any lost detail from sanding is now complete, such as rivet and panel line detail. 

 

Engine cowls are opened up to accommodate the brash bushes for the prop shafts. Those are now epoxied in place.

 

Starboard boom is complete, except for the later PE details and rudder. Panel line and rivet detail is also replaced here. The boom was glued over 2 x 24hrs sessions using the slow cure HpH stuff. Sanding is amazingly easy. 

 

A small wooden spacer pushes out the top of the boom joint so that it spans the gap in the wing and leaves no gaps.

 

I couldn't resist a test fit of the boom and front canopy. Really getting a feeling for the size of this thing now!

 

So far, so good...

 

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Guest Peterpools

Jim

terrific project and don't worry, we all have our run of bad luck kits - just comes with the hobby I guess. May I as , what was the problem with the port side boom? She sure is one large large model.

Keep 'em coming

Peter

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  • 2 weeks later...

There's not been much to update here because I've been waiting for the replacement boom parts, so in the meantime, I've completed the boom I have and built the camera unit.

 

All gluing is with slow cure epoxy, and when cured, I needed to scribe right down the upper and lower boom joints. This is to insert a full length strip that represents the rivet joint of the real thing. It's also quite a neat way of hiding a joint.....without actually hiding a joint! For scribing, I used the Mr Paint tool, run along Dymo tape.

 

For the camera unit, all connections were drilled out and then connected with plastic rod. The result is nice and sturdy.

 

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The battle continues, and believe me, this has been a battle in places. 

 

My replacement boom arrived from HpH and allowed me to continue this bird. Again, the booms seams were sanded flat. A couple of spots where the resin dipped in a little required filling. As this would later be scribed along the joint, I opted to do this with epoxy glue instead of putty, as this would be more stable and less likely to break away under the scriber. Undercarriage bulkheads are now installed within the booms, ready for paint. 

 

There is a problem with the curvature of the wing panels and that that is cast onto the boom wing root fairings. On the outboard side, the wing root simply sits a little high and the joint needs sanding down to match the wing panels. However, on the inboard fairing, the wing profile of the inboard panel is almost FLAT!! As the fairing is curved and site far higher than the wing, this had to be significantly reduced to match the wing along the joint. Sounds bad, but only took about 30 mins to fix, prior to re-scribing lost details. 

 

This is where I am at the moment. As you can see, she's finally coming together. The upper fuse section is only temporarily sat in position here, and the model is only held together with tape, prior to the gear bays being painted. 

 

I'm not going to say the hard work is done, as the canopies need to be fitted, but I do feel like I'm getting somewhere now.

 

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