Hasegawa 1/32 Fw 190D-9: "Black 3" at Halle *DONE*

[Dpgsbody55]

That engine plug looks very good.  I think it will add a lot to your model. 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Thunnus]

Hey, no worries!  I use other people's builds for reference and inspiration as well!  The engine plug looks great and the additional wiring work fills up that area nicely!

[daHeld]

On 3/26/2021 at 2:15 AM, mywifehatesmodels said:

 

A word about AK Interactive's Real Colors line: They've taken some flak over some of their color choices and reasoning. Maybe rightfully so. For example, their dark BLUE RLM 83 is a no go for me, personally.

 

As it turns out, AK is the only colour company so far that has their colors right. As Mister Michael Ullmann, the leading German expert on RLM colors, found out at Rechlin, the Luftwaffe's main test centre, there's a contemporary document advising the RLM to create a new dark BLUE color designated RLM 83 for use on naval aircraft in the Meditreanean. It should replace RLM 73 on said aircraft. 
Thus we now know that there never was a green RLM 83, and that the different dark green/greenish brown colours are just variations of RLM 81, just like AK depicts them, depending on where these colors were produced. Due to the allied bombings, the German aircraft industry was decentralized in 1944 and resources were getting scarce so different paint manufactureres obviously used different formulas to mix their paints, leading to variations in tone.

There was also more than one variant of RLM 82 around, by the way, the nice sap green one we often see on models, but also quite a bit darker olive tones.

 

The blue RLM 83 in AK's colour is just guesswork, though, since we don't know the exact tone of that color. It's a rather educated guess, but a guess nonetheless.

[mywifehatesmodels]

Resurrecting this thread from the dead, after nearly two years. Life got in the way and a heart attack has forced me to make some life changes, so I'm hoping to be spending more time at the bench. After doing the Shiden for the group build, to get my mojo back, I knew I had to come back to finish this one, ASAP. 

 

Thank you, daHeld, for your color insight. This build has never left my mind and I've had a lot of time to think about it. The conclusion I'm coming to, color-wise, is that this plane was a patchwork of colors (and likely parts, as well) in real life. I'll be approaching this from that point of view and, therefore, will be mixing colors from a few different brands in an attempt to capture that look. Or, at least, the way I visualize it in my mind. 

 

So, in getting back to things, I found that I had started to apply rivets to the bottom of the wings. I just had the belly under the fuselage done, basically. Yesterday, I grabbed the rivet wheel and tape and starting plotting and running my my lines of rivets to finish off the bottom side. I didn't apply an oil wash to the rivets this time (like I did on the Shiden). I'm going to try to run this one even a little bit cleaner, if you know what I mean. You can also see some Mr. Surfacer 1000 has been applied to help blend the seam work on the underwing, outboard gun panels (these guns were omitted on the D-9).  Here are a couple pics.....

 

 

 

In between riveting sessions, I worked on a few other things to give my back and neck a rest from being hunched over the bench with a riveting wheel. I painted the radiator and also assembled and primed the kit wheels, adding valve stems made from stretched sprue.

 

 

I've also been working on the flaps, but forgot to take pictures of them to this point. I've built a Lot of Hasegawa Fw 190s and almost all of them have pretty bad sink marks on the flaps. These had to be puttied in and smoothed out, as well as a few ejector pin marks on the inside of the flaps (you can reach them with sandpaper if you cut and fold it right, but it's a tight fit!). Then a coat of Mr. Surfacer was applied to them. I see one spot that still needs some more filler, but they're almost there. I'll post pics on my next upload. 

 

Speaking of ejector pin marks, that brings me to the kit's landing gear/wheel bay.... Given that the center section of the gear bay, that would be on a radial engine 190, is not present on the inline engine D, the kit part needs more support to eject from the mold, because it's open in the middle and would flex. Therefore, it's covered in small ejector marks that really can't really be accessed. If I hadn't spent so much time and effort detailing the engine plug to show it off (thinking of getting a mirrored base for this build when it's finished, to show off the underside), I would just let them be. But my eyes are instantly drawn to those pin marks!  I'm tying to source an Aires gear bay that won't cost me an organ. 

 

In the meantime, I'll be picking away at the rest of the rivets and other details, trying to get this closer to paint, step by step. I'm really looking forward to getting this one completed and then I'll hopefully be jumping into the "On The Nose (Art)" GB, most likely with the Revell Mustang. But, for now, it's Dora on my mind.

 

Thanks for checking in!

 

John

Edited February 27, 2023 by mywifehatesmodels

[Thunnus]

Good to see you back on the Dora!  I used small punch discs of sandpaper glued onto cocktail sticks to reach those hard to access ejector pin marks...

 

And be wary if you choose to utilize the Aires wheel well set.  My copy was too small and I had to saw it in half in order for it to fit properly...

 

[mywifehatesmodels]

Thanks, John!

 

I'll mess with the kit well a bit and see how it goes. I'll be weighing my options over the next few days. The other thing that is going to need fixing is the cannon mounts/tubes. If I go Aires, it has them. If I go kit, I'll have to fix it myself. I think I have rubber molds I made from some, previously and can possibly cast my own in resin. But, from memory, they weren't the best either and don't look as nice as Aires. Decisions....decisions.

 

Thanks again!

 

John

[LSP_Kevin]

Good to see this one back on the bench, John. I have my own long-stalled Fw 190 build to get back to some day, also (more than one, actually).

 

Kev

[Thunnus]

FYI... the Quickboost Fw190A-7/A-9 armament set can be modified easily to fit the Hasegawa 190D-9 kit.

 

[mywifehatesmodels]

Thanks again, John! I hadn't even thought of that. For now, I'm going to try to run with what I have. Already filled in the ejector marks and we'll see how sanding them goes. I also found some of the 20mm mounts in a box of Rutman resin spares that I have. Found a spinner in there that I may use, also.

 

Still chipping away at the rivets, for now. I will get back to the gear bay issues once that is complete.

 

Thanks for following, 

 

John

Edited March 1, 2023 by mywifehatesmodels

[Rampenfest]

Looking great! I really enjoyed reading through your paint analysis. The cockpit looks great, as does the riveting! I'll be following this thread, as I am about in the same build spot as you on a late version Dora. Cheers!

[mywifehatesmodels]

The last week or so has been kind of crazy for me, but I managed to get a little bit further. I completed the riveting on the tops of the wings. It's not 100% accurate, I'm sure, but I did what I could. 

 

 

 

 

I've also spent some time playing with the Quickboost cowl gun cover. I found that it's too small for a good fit. I'm not sure if it shrunk, or if it's just molded that way, but I know others have had similar issues with them. I ended up gluing strips of styrene at key spots and I'll likely be adding a bit more. The fit is better, but still not quite where I want it. If I can't get it to fit, I may look at modifying the kit part, or possibly even using both parts to make one useable example. However, the biggest problem areas with the aftermarket part are the rear portion of the cowl, which is the portion that I would want to use for any sort of "hybrid" of the two. So, I'm not sure if that would work either. We'll see how it goes, but I'm hoping I can fill out the QB part to fit like I want, even if it isn't quite as tight as the kit part.

 

Kit part on the right, as you're viewing it. Quickboost on the left.

 

 

 

 

I've also done a little more work with the gear bay. Removing the ejector pin marks has been a slow and painful process, but I think it's coming along. However, I was so focused on the ejector marks that I just recently noticed the sink HOLES in the part. They shouldn't be too hard to fill, but I don't think I've seen another Hasegawa gear bay that had sink marks this severe. Both sides have marks, but the ones shown on this side are the worst.

 

 

I also just realized that I accidentally deleted the photos of the riveted fuselage I had taken, but it has been completed, as well. Just the tail section and a few smaller parts left to rivet. Soon I'll be joining the fuselage halves, so I'll be doing the final prep on the cockpit and engine plug, next. I'm getting closer to the main painting phase, so I've been testing some various paints, as well. I also have a few more on order that should be arriving in the next few days. I'll try to post some decent photos showing a comparison of some of these colors from certain manufacturers, so you can see the difference (and it is a huge difference!). 

 

Thanks for following,

 

John

Edited March 10, 2023 by mywifehatesmodels

[mc65]

hi John,

those sink holes are terrible, but maybe not all the bad comes to silver: in reality, the part relating to the mechanical block of the landing gear consisted of two perforated bulkheads (present in the Eduard set) and the block included within.  

 

I'm looking for some image, if I find it... here! you may see the Eduard parts on both sides of the block. I also drilled out all the styrene around the block itself, leaving just it within the bulkheads.

 

here maybe it's more clear: thanks to painting you may discern the block from the bulkheads. also, it's possible to see some electrical cables running through the holes.

 

hope it may help! 

cheers, Paolo

[mywifehatesmodels]

Thank you VERY much, Paolo! Very inspiring work!

 

I was aware of the internal structure, but was going to keep it simple. However, it's not impossible that I may change my mind, too. If I end up ordering more parts, I may put this build aside for a week or so and start a project for the Nose Art Group Build, but we'll see what happens.

 

Thanks again!

John

Edited March 10, 2023 by mywifehatesmodels

[Rampenfest]

Nice work! Great job on the riveting! Have you taken a look at the Eagle Editions gun cowl? I think that one is a perfect fit from what I have read on a few other builds! I am considering it as seeing the kit part next to the quick boost one really shows how different they look, I may try some Milliput to smooth out the curves too. I am excited on seeing some more paint comparisons! Happy building!

[mywifehatesmodels]

Thanks, Rampenfest!

 

I had forgotten about the Eagle Editions part. Haven't seen them around lately, so i would likely have to do some searching. I know the last cockpit set of theirs that I used had some shrinkage issues, also,  but if I can't get this cover to fit, it may be the next step. Also thought about reworking the kit part with Milliput and I've done plenty of stuff like that in the past, but hoping I don't have to resort to that.

 

Thanks again,

 

John