1/24 FW190 Airfix

[LSP_Matt]

I got this kit whilst it was on special. I've been to a few web sites searching but not a huge amount of info yet I've read the LSP discussion on engine fit/radiator fan issues but am wondering if anyone has any hints to avoid pitfalls with this kit...or any links to good web sites. TIA ( mucho gracias)

 

At the moment I couldn't resist glueing some stuff ( especially whilst watching the cricket...nice and competitive) but have looked at the wings/fuselage and have been amazed at the number of rivets. Whats the recomendation here? It kinda looks like its got some scary dermatological condition though I suppose rivets always proved more reliable than adhesives( e.g Mosquito).

 

And on that subject of wing rivets

 

I have A Stuka 1/24 kit still in the cooler but noticed it has some issues with wing rivets. On the wing surface it has the leading edge rivets recessed all the way to midwing ( Front to back)...from the midwing back to the trailing edge the wing rivets are raised like little spikes?? Anyone have any suggestions as to a fix??

 

thanks Matt

[Guest steve gallacci]

Hi. Thee kit can be built up well enough, though there are lots of little fit bugs (as many are warpage related, your milage may vary).

One way to avoid the engine fit problem (the stack of parts that make up the whole engine, unless very special care is taken, will be too long to fit in the cowl correctly) is to build only the front section and fan, then rig that into the front cowl to get the fan and prop at the right depth. I use a section of plastic sheeet, rolled into a cylinder, to mate the engine to the front cowl. The rest of the engine isn't visible and the exhaust stacks can be attached directly to the cowl (or replaced entirely).

There would actually be more rivets on the real thing. If you want to de-emphasize the rivets, a couple of coats of thick primer could take care of that.

 

The Ju87's rivet pattern is correct.

[LSP_Matt]

Thanks for the tips on the fit issue and the Ju87 rivets.

 

Cheers Matt

[PietvWdV]

I built this kit and it was a bit of a struggle.

 

I agree with the suggestion of closing the engine compartment. I did not want to have only the bit of engine though for those peeking inside the front. So I mounted the engine's main assembly, minus the back bits which you can never see, on a brass pipe which fit into the firewall. This had the added advantage that I could continually reposition it though the assembly of the cowl untill eventually gluing.

 

Another thing to watch for is that the weight of this kit will neccesitate you using superglue or something to effic the landing legs very very well, otherwise they will strain. But once they are affixed very hard and strengthened by the landing bay covers they will be allright.

 

The rivets do not diminish the impact of this kit when finished, so do not worry too much about them, unless you are a detail accuracy freak, in which case the rivets are the least of your problems with this kit!

 

 

O, and an aftermarket cockpit set wil be well worth it. Plus you can toss the Airfix decals and do yourself a huge favour and get a set of Eagle Strike decals or alternative.

 

 

All the best

Piet

[Brian Perris]

Matt,

Checkout Jerry Rutmans' detail sets for the kit. I have all of his resin for my bird and I think it will really add to the kit.

Brian

[LSP_Matt]

Thanks guys.

 

Piet...Hmmm...I read your stuff on this bird, even before I purchased it. Including the info on your website. Man I almost didn't buy it. But then how do you get a person of Irish descent to do anything...tell them they can't do it. Pathetic I am really but its a challenge I suppose. As for the rivets I guess I was wondering more than detail freaking, especially as I'm nearing completion on my Hasegawa 190 A and its rivet crazy.

 

Great tip with the undercarriage...I'll bear that in mind

 

Aftermarket goodies

Hmmm...not quite there with my skills yet. I find myself leaning towards thinking of scratchbuilding things ( well attempting to anyway) after viewing good reference photos. Brian, I've checked out a review of that stuff over on HS and you're dead right its looks great. I've downloaded a couple photos of a restoration project ( White 1 I think) but haven't found as many detailed cockpit/ engine bay shots/wheel well shots of this plane as one could for a 109 or P38 for instance.

 

thanks guys..I'll keep you posted.

 

Matt

[BlueMax]

Hey Piet,

 

Your information and advice to Matt on the Airfix 190, is VERY HELPFUL, as I too have this same kit waiting in the wings. For myself, I'm primarily still in the "gathering info" stages of the build, since I've not even opened the box as of yet. This significant engine mounting problem (at least in my opinion) is still one, that I've been researching as best I can in the hopes of finding a "useable" solution, to allow for opening the engine bay to show some detail. Your idea of the brass tubing lends istelf to a VERY useable idea. So many thanks, first and formost, for that info!

 

That said, I'm left with just one really nagging question. After seeing your photos in this thread, I realized you used the "checkered" cowling markings on your 190. That said, I'm also planning on using a similar "checkered" markings, but I have not been able to find a set of decals in 1/24 scale, for these specific markings. I was wondering what you did to achive your "checkered" look! Is there any chance, that the Eagle Strike decals you mentioned, have these "checkered" markings in a set of decals? If not, would you mind sharing "how" you achived your results?

 

For the most part (according to your advice) I'm following it... the the letter ... as I've already aquired JR's 190 cockpit set and wheel well set and I am constantly looking for "alternative measures" for the engine mount problem, which has honestly, left me a little "gun-shy" to say the least.

 

Another option for correcting this problem was done by LSP member Kai Reckstadt, who added a 5 mm ring to the cowling-ring, since he didn't want to shorten the engine mounting-parts, because the whole assembly was already installed in the fuselage. His 190 is also quite nice! http://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/K...w190/fw190.html

 

Any advice would be very helpful and appreciated Piet!

 

Thanks,

Dave

[PietvWdV]

Hi Dave

 

Thanx for the kind words. I am sorry if I sounded a little negative about this kit, but it was my first build after a long absence and after the first 6 months I suppose I was a bit traumatized.

 

The Checkered look was achieved with Tamiya masking tape, cutting knife, airbrush and a whole lot of profanity. My advice is :

1) Paint the light colour before the dark colour

2) Do it slowly and right the first time, because fixing it is worse than killing your wife and marrying your mother-in-law

 

I did the base in the light colour, then masked off the dark colour 1 row at a time, allowing it to dry before moving on. This is of course the revised history as written by the victor. The truth was ... sadder.

 

The rest of the decals are a mix of eagle strike,decals from other kits and black magic masks.

 

All the best

Piet

[LSP_Matt]

cheers guys,

 

Discussion like this is making this build much more enoyable for me. Its nice to know what you might be up against.

 

Nah Piet...not too negative. I think I just empathised with your experience. I'd decided to get back into modelling after a long break and took on the Hasegawa 190A old tool. I'm trying to be really honest with myself and decide if my criticism of the kit was a result of being a newbie or I was unlucky to get a bad one. Not sure. What I did experience was cylinder heads in the engine bay which just don't go close to fitting. Three heads would line up and the others would be up to 2mm out...thats a lot of overlap to me when aligning it then becomes a section all the heads and glue individually task. I guess I was tempted by the 1/24 kit but didn't want to replicate that experience.

 

Partial engine fit solution?

For an engine fit solution I've been dryfitting the front half of the engine. It looks as though the flat body part of the fan (which the fan blades are flush with) sits against the front part of the engine. If the eventual problem assuming no modification is the fan sitting beyond the cowl...then what do you guys think about reducing the fans 'length' (along axis front of engine to prop). It seems that at least 3mm or maybe 4mm might be possible. The prop blades and their carrier then comes closer to the fan blades but given they are rotated in pitch they seem to clear any interference.

 

Any other ideas or comments about this one

 

Cheers Matt

[BlueMax]

Partial engine fit solution?

For an engine fit solution I've been dryfitting the front half of the engine.  It looks as though the flat body part of the fan (which the fan blades are flush with) sits against the front part of the engine.  If the eventual problem assuming no modification is the fan sitting beyond the cowl...then what do you guys think about reducing the fans 'length' (along axis front of engine to prop).  It seems that at least 3mm or maybe 4mm might be possible.  The prop blades and their carrier then comes closer to the fan blades but given they are rotated in pitch they seem to clear any interference.

 

Any other ideas or comments about this one

 

Cheers Matt

Matt,

 

Well, I "tried" (in vain as it were :angry: ) to upload a photo to show the area(s) I seem think you're referring to. But since that didn't work, I'll trying asking this way...

 

Are you referring to the area right behind the cooling fins or right in front of the cooling fins... or Both?! Either way, it certainly sounds like a feasable/doable idea, as it surely wouldn't be all that noticable, I don't think.

[ChrisS]

I can add a few comments having built this kit as well.

 

I had a very hard time with the cowling assembly and the main gear strength. I finally had to create a new engine mount from spare sprue lengths with lots of drilling and engeneering. The main gear was affixed with epoxy and yet has broken a total of 4 times after construction. I would suggest making new gear from brass tube and engeneering some attachment point strengthening solutions....brass rod, epozy, etc.

 

It was a bear to build, and I would not venture into this kit again. While expensive I think a kit bash of the Trumpeter D-9 and the Airfix A-5 would get you further along the road to a decent short nosed Butcher Bird with much less hassle. Again, it would probably be a bit spendy.

[BlueMax]

... the main gear strength. The main gear was affixed with epoxy and yet has broken a total of 4 times after construction. I would suggest making new gear from brass tube and engeneering some attachment point strengthening solutions....brass rod, epozy, etc.

Hey Chris,

 

I hope I've diverted this very problem, with a set of Jerry Rutman's "metal" landing gear for the 190.

 

Thought I'd add that note in for Matt, in the hope he might find it useful on his build. They're only $12.00 plus shipping and it CERTAINLY sounds as though, they're well worth the money!

 

Dave

[DrDave]

2) Do it slowly and right the first time, because fixing it is worse than killing your wife and marrying your mother-in-law

 

 

Hah!

Have you met my mother in law? Thats such a terrific analogy!

[Guest steve gallacci]

The '190's main gear can be strengthened by running a rod of your favorite re-enfocing material through the uppper wing into the gear strut. I've been doing it with mine and they have held up very well.

 

While the Airfix kit does need work simply to get finished, it isn't terribly inaccurate, the one potentially notiable bug in that regard is that the forward cockpit/instrument panel/windshield area is a bit over wide, and some of the other dimensions are a bit off, but not terribly so.

 

The Trumpeter kit is neater and crisper, and the fuselage isn't bad in most aspects (except for everything inside and out forward of the fire wall), but the wings are nasty bad. Badly incorrect in cross-section and bizarrely scribed, it is more work to fix than all the bugs of the Airfix kit. If anything, it would be easier to use the Airix wings on the Trump fuselage.

[LSP_Matt]

Jeez guys...appreciate your time in making such constructive comments. Hopefully the build will become a bit of a good collective reference source for other LSPers who might undertake the 'bear' as well...though I'm not figuring my skills will be all that inspirational.

 

The info you've all been good enough to offer has been the best recon I could have ever got.

 

I posted a piccie of where I was going to try and remove fan width IOT shorten the whole engine-firewall structure. Given the heads up I think I'm likely to rethink seriously certain steps in the build to try and testfit it as much as possible. Landing gear ideas all taken on board...though potentially sacriligious I've taken to building stands both to pose my kits and also to unload the undercarriages. That might solve that little dilema.

 

Thanks Steve for your comments. I've read plenty of your stuff over at 109 lair and it sure sounds like you 'really' know what you're talking about. I enjoy reading the detail guys like yourself can offer and it amazes me that such detailed knowledge exists. With such a good reference source, if rivets and panel lines were completely ficticious I would have found it easier to sand, fill and rescribe prior to assembly.

 

Anyway..FWIW...do you guys think this mod might overcome the identified issues?

 

Cheers Matt