1/32 Revell Fw 190 F-8 & A-8: Working on the wheel wells!

[MikeMaben]

Likely the result of some aged anodizing.

 

 

[VintageEagle]

I thought that anodizing can only be done with aluminium and not steel, but I am not expert.

 

I continued to paint the fuselage inside. I left the inside bare metal. And I painted one fork in RLM 02 (looks darker in the photo than it actually does; this is for my Fw 190 A-8) and will paint another one in dark brown (this is for my Fw 190 F-8 White 48). Here is a comparison of the new position of the tail wheel assembly with is slightly more up in the fuselage. The difference is not huge, but it corresponds much better with most wartime photos I have seen of Fw 190s. 

 

[MikeMaben]

On 6/26/2019 at 3:27 AM, VintageEagle said:

   I thought that anodizing can only be done with aluminium and not steel

 

It can if it's stainless.

 

 

[VintageEagle]

Finally, I completed the last part before I can close the fuselage and move on: the cover above the instrument panel. When I looked at wartime photos, I noticed that there are six nuts (2x3) visible on the top of the cover near the opening for the Revi 16B gunsight. These are not present on the Eduard cover. Therefore, I added them using Archer rivets. I used them for the first time and I must say they are great and it worked without a problem. I had to repeat the first attempt, but it was my own fault. After I painted the rivets, I applied tape on top of it when masking the leather frame. When I removed the tape, the rivets stuck to it and I had to start over again. But next time, I was more careful and it worked perfectly. I highlighted the nuts with a thin brush and used a dark grey wash.

 

Fw 190 D-11 cockpit where nuts can be seen on both side of the Revi 16B

 

Eduard part with Archer rivets on the left side and Revel part on the right side

 

Completed cover

 

Other side (slightly out of focus, but I am using an iPhone for the photos as I don't have a camera with a macro lens)

 

Next step was to paint the leather (on later versions it was a synthetic material and not leather). I checked many references to decide what color to use. I found brown, black, dark grey, greenish grey, light grey and beige. The Ta 152 H that still exists today for example has a beige material. I found a photo of a Fw 190 A-8 that also had a very lightly colored material.

 

 

The first aircraft I will complete is the Fw 190 A-8. I found a color photo of an aircraft that was only few aircraft apart from the subject that I plan to build and that one had a beige material:

 

 

Therefore, I decided to paint it beige as well. It gives a bit of contrast and looks quite attractive. Finally, I painted the inside of the fuselage around the cockpit (RLM 66), exhaust area (black) and tail wheel (bare metal):

 

 

That's it for now. I have some respect of the next step: joining the fuselage and cockpit. I don't know if it is better to attach cockpit and cover to one side first and then joining the fuselage. Or joining the fuselage first and then adding the cockpit from below. I'll see and then can only hope that I don't do a big mistake that will evaporate all my motivation on this build.

 

 

 

[D.B. Andrus]

Roger

 

This is a Motivation Evaporation Free Zone - No MoEvap Allowed. It's in the rules.*

 

Please proceed with your excellent build. 

 

* - Not sure which rule book, but it still applies. 

 

Cheers,

D.B.

[Antonio Argudo]

great job mate, these pics are  interesting, cheers

 

Edited August 11, 2019 by Antonio Argudo

[Antonio Argudo]

some A8 in color 

[VintageEagle]

13 hours ago, D.B. Andrus said:

Roger

 

This is a Motivation Evaporation Free Zone - No MoEvap Allowed. It's in the rules.*

 

Please proceed with your excellent build. 

 

* - Not sure which rule book, but it still applies. 

 

Cheers,

D.B.

 

D.B.,

 

Thank you  I will try my best not to breach the rules!

 

Cheers, Roger

[VintageEagle]

11 hours ago, Antonio Argudo said:

some A8 in color 

 

Thank you Antonio for these excellent photos. In these photos, the material looks slightly darker than the color I used. I may repaint it, but on the photos I took the color looks more brighter and more yellowish than in reality (probably due to the blue background). The Ta 152 cockpit had a relatively bright color (see below)

 

Cheers, Roger

 

 

I assume that the original color turned darker over time and that it was more of a linen color originally. 

[Guest Vincent]

14 hours ago, Antonio Argudo said:

great job mate, these pics are  interesting, cheers

 

14 hours ago, Antonio Argudo said:

 

That's an interesting picture of one of the french FW190 assembled after the war. Note the french AVIOREX modele 32 harness that was also used on the MS406 and De520 among other french fighters

[VintageEagle]

Finally, the cockpit has been married with the fuselage :-)

 

The cover above the upper instrument panel was a bit tricky as it is not wide enough to fit into the slots on each fuselage side. I first tried to force it into place, but that did not really work and I then found out, the windshield would not have space anyways like that. The best way was to glue the front face to the backside of the gun compartment. It took me some glue and patience, but it did work finally. I'll be faster and more accurate with my 2nd Fw 190 that I am building. 

 

The rear part of the cockpit tub was a bit too short. I had another Eduard cockpit I used for test fitting and that one was a bit longer. I assume it is due to shrinking of the resin parts over time. Anyways, the good thing is that the gap in the rear will be completely covered by the canopy and not visible at all. 

 

I then started experimenting for the next part I am focusing on: the rudder. I was not happy with the way how Revell moulded the rudder and I sanded it to get a smooth surface. To add texture I used my Cricut machine to create masks. I tested it on a spare 190 fuselage. I applied the masks, then a layer of Mr. Surfacer, I then removed the masks and sanded the surface smooth. The original 190 rudder has some textile strips that were glued over the ribs. The surface is also a bit irregular along narrow stripes underneath the fabric covering (maybe glue?). I tested how 1) leaving the surface, 2) adding a decal stripe for some contour and 3) adding first a thin irregular line of putty (first masked the thin line, then added the putty) and on top of it a stripe of decals. I quite like the result and will go for it. The only thing I will do differently is to use a slightly thinner layer of Mr. Surfacer.

 

Below are some photos I took with my smart phone. No fancy background.

 

 

Cheers, Roger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TwoHands]

Looking good! I have used that masking/primer technique to make similar subtle surface details like tapes on control surfaces.

 

[VintageEagle]

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

[Shawn M]

very nice clean work

[Troy Molitor]

I certainly agree.  Nicely done.