Hasegawa 1/32 Focke Wulf Fw 190A-5/U12 (Trying Some New Things: Part One)

[mywifehatesmodels]

This is the first Fw 190 of two that I will be posting. I sort of built them at the same time, but before the painting stage I decided to focus on this A-5 and use it as a guinea pig, of sorts, for some new paints. I've been using Model Master enamels, almost exclusively, for most of my life. However, there were a few things that have been leading to me wanting to change and that obviously ends with the issue of the company's acquisition by Rustoleum and announcement that these paints would be discontinued. But even before that, I was already having issues with the quality of the paints that didn't seem to be present before and I have also started using more oils in my finishing process, which is certainly easier to do with a good, acrylic based paint. Being that so many of the members here have been showing some amazing work with MRP paints, as well as some others, I knew which direction I wanted to go. I have also had limited experience with Tamiya and Gunze paints in the past, specifically for WW2 Japanese subjects, but knew I would probably want to give those a shot, as well as some of the AK Interactive Real Colors line. 

 

This would also be the last build for me done exclusively the old Paasche H single action airbrush. It's all I've used for nearly 30 years now, but this was another area where I knew I needed a change for the things I wanted to do. That will come in "Part Two", with the other Fw 190 (an A-6). For now, I'll focus on the A-5/U12, in the markings of Eric Hondt of Jg.11. While I've always like the markings of this plane, so many people do it that I was hesitant. But, if you want to build a referenced /U12 variant with the twin 20mm pods, you're pretty limited on options. I had both Jerry Crandall's decals and the resin gun pods, so I figured, "Hey, why not?". I had no real problems with any of the paints used. In fact, they all performed extremely well and I used 91% Isopropyl to thin them (except for the MRP, which you can spray straight out of the bottle). I shot the entire airframe with a rattle can aluminum as a primer. I should also note that I crushed the cowl assembly after primary painting while trying to fit it to the fuselage. The seams, which I had meticulously sanded were cracked through and I had to piece it back together. It's not perfect, but better than I thought it was going to be. This build actually fought me the whole way, for some reason and also reminded me of why I've painted the markings on most of my models for the last several years. I really don't like decals anymore.  So, here's a list of what I did to the kit and the paints I used. 

 

Parts/Mods

 

-Hasegawa 190A-5 kit

-Eagle Cals #83 Fw 190A-5s

-Eagle Editions MG 151/20 Pods

-HGW Seatbelts (but assembled from spares and not exactly perfect or complete)

-RB Model brass MG17 muzzles

-E-Z Line antenna wire with CA glue for insulators

-All 20mm barrels cut from aluminum tubing

-Wire brake lines

-Wire and styrene used to make the landing gear actuator wiring on the scissors and the tailwheel retraction cable was made from wire and the mount for it from styrene and scale nuts/bolts (I forget the brand). Also another new thing for me, as I've never added this to a 190 before. Not bad for my first attempt, but I've refined it a little on the A-6.

-Valve stems added to tires made from stretched sprue

-Gun sight reworked to fit after leather padding on instrument hood filled in with styrene and Milliput

-Rudder light was sanded flat and a small piece of sprue added for a little better representation. Not perfect, but better than the small, split light as provided.

-Landing gear indicators from stretched sprue.

-Aluminum tubing used in the leading edge of the wing for the root mounted 20mms. These serve as a guide and a better foundation in which to glue the barrels. 

-Aluminum tubing also used to depict the gun camera lens bezel. The lens itself is stretched clear sprue, polished and then inserted into the tube and being given a couple drops of Future (or whatever it's called nowadays). 

-Last, but not least, the entire airframe was riveted using the Trumpeter riveting wheel (they're cheap and don't last through more than a few hard riveting jobs, but if you take your time and use a straight edge or tape as a guide, they work just fine). The A-5 was the "practice" run and the A-6 is certainly more refined, as you will see when I get around to photographing it and posting Part Two. 

 

Paints Used (Most are acrylic lacquer, except where noted)

 

Here is where my experimentation with "new" paint started. Unfortunately, I could not get everything I wanted from any one manufacturer at that point in time. However, that was a perfect excuse to use a mix of brands and see how they look and react with each other. Again, I had no real issues and learned a good bit about all of them. The one thing I found to be important is how thin you can put these paints on. They all seem to lend themselves well to building light layers. This is another new direction for me. I've always leaned more towards a post-shading kind of style, but this was a little different. I found my work to be a little heavy handed in spots, but the paints were all pretty forgiving. I was also able to go back and paint over mistakes with relative ease. This did lead to me blotting out a lot of the rivets on the fuselage sides, unfortunately, but you live and you learn, I guess.

 

Gunze Sangyo: RLM 74 and RLM 76. I also used their flat white to lighten these base colors for a faded effect in spots. Great, all around. I also used Gunze RLM 02 and 04 where required (mostly gear/bay for 02 and cowl underside for the 04).

 

AK Interactive Real Colors WW2: RLM 76 (version 2). This is the lightest/brightest of AK's 76 paints (they have three variants in this line and I have them all). It was used as a mottled effect on the underside of the aircraft where the base 76 coat was the Gunze, as well as becoming the predominant color on the fuselage sides. The AK paint seems to like a lot of thinner. Sprays great and was really durable for me. I had done some tests on an old 190A-8 fuselage where I used AK's RLM 76 versions 1 and 2, for comparison, along with some of the others I've mentioned and some old Model Master enamel. I abused them with oils, Testors flat lacquer and plenty of rubbing and it stood up to pretty much everything. I know AK's Luftwaffe colors have raised some eyebrows for being a little strange, but the first two RLM 76 variants are quite useful, I think. The third, late war version, I haven't tested yet. I'm thinking of doing a Dora next, so maybe.....

 

MRP Mr. Paint: RLM 75 and I have their White, as well. It didn't take me long to figure out why people really like MRP paint. This was what I started with as a test and it lead to me ordering several more colors, which were used to do most of the A-6 build. In the case of their RLM 75, it can be laid on in a more opaque layer that appears fairly dark from certain angles and at distance, but really starts to pop out and feel brighter, the closer you get to it. You can layer it thinly and it gives a much lighter appearance, especially if you're shooting it over a light/metallic color primer. I did add the white to play with shading a bit, but with the old airbrush, I felt I didn't have the control I would need to really get more from this paint. It really deserves a good airbrush. 

 

Tamiya: "Black Green" (I didn't write down the number, but it's close to RLM70) was used for the prop blades and spinner. However, it should be noted that I had already painted them with a mix of Model Master RLM 70/Flat black, so it's actually a layering of sorts, but the Tamiya Black Green is predominant. 

 

Model Master Enamel: Insignia Red for the stripes on the fuselage. I didn't have any RLM 23 at the time and I like the darker look of the Insignia red in this particular case, anyway. Not saying it's more correct (likely less), but just my personal preference on this model. By the way, masking those stripes was more nerve racking than I expected. 

 

Edit to add: Testors Semi Gloss from a rattle can was used to seal in the oil washes and decals, but I really wanted that sheen on this one. I like the way it turned out.

 

I'm sure I have left a bunch out, but this is already too long. So, here are some pics. 

 

Enjoy!

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2021 by mywifehatesmodels

[Kagemusha]

That's sublime, very much like the photos with the, all too familiar, grey skies.

[dodgem37]

Very nice.  How long ago did you buy those MG 151/20 Pods?

 

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mark

[nmayhew]

i think you nailed the build

 

the overall effect is too clean but that's very much personal taste I guess

 

i think there is a silvering problem with the starboard wing cross - inside the white of the cross looks visibly different to the areas outside it - but you seem to allude to that in your description so apologies if I am rubbing salt into decal wounds

 

thanks for sharing

 

Nick

 

 

[RBrown]

Very impressive! The model really captures the look of the Hondt's Fw 190.

[mywifehatesmodels]

6 hours ago, dodgem37 said:

Very nice.  How long ago did you buy those MG 151/20 Pods?

 

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mark

Thanks to all for the comments!

 

Mark, I've had the pods for quite a few years now. I just recently found them again in my stash. I bet I've had them for 10 years.

1 hour ago, nmayhew said:

i think you nailed the build

 

the overall effect is too clean but that's very much personal taste I guess

 

i think there is a silvering problem with the starboard wing cross - inside the white of the cross looks visibly different to the areas outside it - but you seem to allude to that in your description so apologies if I am rubbing salt into decal wounds

 

thanks for sharing

 

Nick

 

 

Nick,

 

You are spot on and don't worry about the salt. At this point, a little more won't hurt any more than what has already been done. The right wing cross was the worst offender and I could not get it to lay down and I tried every trick in the book. This lead me to ordering some Montex Masks to paint the A-6 with and I'm glad I did. I also purchased some Tamiya Mark Fit Strong. It's clearly superior to Micro-Sol, but even that couldn't get that cross to completely settle down and I think the damage was already done at that point. 

 

When I posted last night, it was late and my brain wasn't fully functioning. I forgot to mention a couple things. First, the cockpits of both aircraft had already been built and painted using a Model Master mix of RLM 66 and Flat Aircraft Interior Black. This was before I ordered some MRP 66 and the headrest assembly is painted with that, then drybrushed a bit to match the cockpit a little closer. I really like the MRP 66. It's much darker than the old MM paint I was using and seems to be much closer to history. 

 

Also, I forgot to mention that I did use Quickboost exhausts, as well. They look good, but be careful of the placement, as they don't seem to lay exactly where you want them and take some test fitting. The bottom exhaust part is also an issue. Being that these are thicker than the kit parts, the bottom pipes don't clear the channel in the forward belly, just between the wheel wells, where the cowl meets. I had to file that channel down a bit on both planes to get them to fit. This is actually what caused the  cowl breakage on the A-5 when I tried to force the cowl into position. 

 

Thanks again, everyone!

 

John

[Thunderbolt]

I’ve been wanting to see this done for a while!! Nice job!!

[Citadelgrad]

Thats a very nice 190, but that Triceratops looks pretty amazing, too.  I am a life long dino lover.  Any chance you can post up some pictures?

[mywifehatesmodels]

11 minutes ago, Citadelgrad said:

Thats a very nice 190, but that Triceratops looks pretty amazing, too.  I am a life long dino lover.  Any chance you can post up some pictures?

Thanks! 

That one was actually my daughter's (with a little help from dad). Here's a link to the original thread in the Non-LSP forum.

 

 

[D.B. Andrus]

That's a very nice build, John. Especially, as Kag mentioned, with those gray skies. Puts you right in the time and place.

 

Cheers,

Damian

[Hartmann52]

14 hours ago, mywifehatesmodels said:

Here is where my experimentation with "new" paint started. Unfortunately, I could not get everything I wanted from any one manufacturer at that point in time. However, that was a perfect excuse to use a mix of brands and see how they look and react with each other. Again, I had no real issues and learned a good bit about all of them. The one thing I found to be important is how thin you can put these paints on. They all seem to lend themselves well to building light layers. This is another new direction for me. I've always leaned more towards a post-shading kind of style, but this was a little different. I found my work to be a little heavy handed in spots, but the paints were all pretty forgiving. I was also able to go back and paint over mistakes with relative ease. This did lead to me blotting out a lot of the rivets on the fuselage sides, unfortunately, but you live and you learn, I guess.

 

Gunze Sangyo: RLM 74 and RLM 76. I also used their flat white to lighten these base colors for a faded effect in spots. Great, all around. I also used Gunze RLM 02 and 04 where required (mostly gear/bay for 02 and cowl underside for the 04).

 

AK Interactive Real Colors WW2: RLM 76 (version 2). This is the lightest/brightest of AK's 76 paints (they have three variants in this line and I have them all). It was used as a mottled effect on the underside of the aircraft where the base 76 coat was the Gunze, as well as becoming the predominant color on the fuselage sides. The AK paint seems to like a lot of thinner. Sprays great and was really durable for me. I had done some tests on an old 190A-8 fuselage where I used AK's RLM 76 versions 1 and 2, for comparison, along with some of the others I've mentioned and some old Model Master enamel. I abused them with oils, Testors flat lacquer and plenty of rubbing and it stood up to pretty much everything. I know AK's Luftwaffe colors have raised some eyebrows for being a little strange, but the first two RLM 76 variants are quite useful, I think. The third, late war version, I haven't tested yet. I'm thinking of doing a Dora next, so maybe.....

 

MRP Mr. Paint: RLM 75 and I have their White, as well. It didn't take me long to figure out why people really like MRP paint. This was what I started with as a test and it lead to me ordering several more colors, which were used to do most of the A-6 build. In the case of their RLM 75, it can be laid on in a more opaque layer that appears fairly dark from certain angles and at distance, but really starts to pop out and feel brighter, the closer you get to it. You can layer it thinly and it gives a much lighter appearance, especially if you're shooting it over a light/metallic color primer. I did add the white to play with shading a bit, but with the old airbrush, I felt I didn't have the control I would need to really get more from this paint. It really deserves a good airbrush. 

 

Tamiya: "Black Green" (I didn't write down the number, but it's close to RLM70) was used for the prop blades and spinner. However, it should be noted that I had already painted them with a mix of Model Master RLM 70/Flat black, so it's actually a layering of sorts, but the Tamiya Black Green is predominant. 

 

Model Master Enamel: Insignia Red for the stripes on the fuselage. I didn't have any RLM 23 at the time and I like the darker look of the Insignia red in this particular case, anyway. Not saying it's more correct (likely less), but just my personal preference on this model. By the way, masking those stripes was more nerve racking than I expected.

Excellent research work!

[Greif8]

Exquisite build John.  And thank for the in depth description of the paints used and the painting process.  I think you will enjoy the A6 kit, I recently built it and had a great time. 

 

Ernest 

[MikeMaben]

Turned out great John  

[Cicciuzzo]

together with the Spitfire the Fw is the most beautiful aircraft of the IIWW. beautiful model and well made

[Gazzas]

Wow!  How did I miss this one?  Beautiful work!