Hasegawa 1/32 Fw 190D-9 Late "Brown 4"

[Rockie Yarwood]

Hi John, perhaps a naive question, but is this the tank?

 

If so there is one on display in Bastogne, and some walk around pics here that may help with plumbing locations (?) : 

 

http://www.maquetland.com/article-phototheque/15174-abwurftank-typ-d-reservoir-largable-bastogne

 

Cheers,  Rockie

[Guest Vincent]

That's the correct tank, minus its end fairing which was made of impregnated canvas, the central hanging hook and the fuel cork

 

Only mistake Thunnus did was to model the outlet and inlet as coming out vertically when they are in fact bend at 90 degrees. All is needed to correct it is basically to move the rubber connection for the compressed air to the horizontal position

 

Here's a complete tank (air inlet is bent out of shape)

 

source :

https://ww2aircraft.net

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by Vincent

[Thunnus]

15 hours ago, adameliclem said:

Great work on the cowl re-sculpting. It looks like you’ve set up an explanation for your theory of the 4, too.

 

Adam

Thank you Adam!  And yes... I was waiting for someone to mention that "4" painted on the fuselage.  Was it curved or straight?  As I mentioned before, Crandall's Dora Volume 2 published this photo and revised its profile to show a curved number "4".

 

 

 

As a casual reader, I thought this was an unusual conclusion since the fuselage cross is also similarly curved. Wouldn't the perspective of that photograph cause the illusion of curvature like the fuselage cross?

 

About a year ago, when I had the Hasegawa Fw 190D-9 Late Model in my possession, I decided to do a little test.  I created a mask based on the "4" marking found on the Eagle Cal decal sheet EC32-126.  But I replaced the curved element with a straight one.  

 

 

This was sprayed onto the starboard side of the Hasegawa 190D-9 fuselage.

 

 

I then photographed the marking at an angle that approximates the archive photo.  It is immediately apparent that curvature of fuselage could very well make the straight "4" look curved.

 

 

For further confirmation, I composited the two images in Photoshop and used transparency to see that two "4" markings are almost exact matches.

 

 

While not 100% conclusive, I think the probability of the "4" being straight is very high.

 

 

[Thunnus]

12 hours ago, Rockie Yarwood said:

Hi John, perhaps a naive question, but is this the tank?

 

If so there is one on display in Bastogne, and some walk around pics here that may help with plumbing locations (?) : 

 

http://www.maquetland.com/article-phototheque/15174-abwurftank-typ-d-reservoir-largable-bastogne

 

Cheers,  Rockie

 

6 hours ago, Vincent said:

That's the correct tank, minus its end fairing which was made of impregnated canvas, the central hanging hook and the fuel cork

 

Only mistake Thunnus did was to model the outlet and inlet as coming out vertically when they are in fact bend at 90 degrees. All is needed to correct it is basically to move the rubber connection for the compressed air to the horizontal position

 

Here's a complete tank (air inlet is bent out of shape)

 

source :

https://ww2aircraft.net

 

 

Thank you Rocky and Vincent!  I guess I was close!  It should be pretty easy to make the necessary adjustments!

[adameliclem]

That’s where I thought you were going with the 4. I think you’re right. Good demo.

 

Cheers,

Adam

[LSP_Kevin]

Excellent use of the scientific method, John! Your conclusions seem solid to me.

 

Kev

[Citadelgrad]

Watching with interest, John, I have this in the stash and many of the aftermarket, shame about the cowling, but thank you for the tutorial on fixing the deficiencies.  Watching with interest.  Rapt, one might say.  

[Scale32]

14 hours ago, Thunnus said:

Thank you Adam!  And yes... I was waiting for someone to mention that "4" painted on the fuselage.  Was it curved or straight?  As I mentioned before, Crandall's Dora Volume 2 published this photo and revised its profile to show a curved number "4".

 

 

 

As a casual reader, I thought this was an unusual conclusion since the fuselage cross is also similarly curved. Wouldn't the perspective of that photograph cause the illusion of curvature like the fuselage cross?

 

About a year ago, when I had the Hasegawa Fw 190D-9 Late Model in my possession, I decided to do a little test.  I created a mask based on the "4" marking found on the Eagle Cal decal sheet EC32-126.  But I replaced the curved element with a straight one.  

 

 

This was sprayed onto the starboard side of the Hasegawa 190D-9 fuselage.

 

 

I then photographed the marking at an angle that approximates the archive photo.  It is immediately apparent that curvature of fuselage could very well make the straight "4" look curved.

 

 

For further confirmation, I composited the two images in Photoshop and used transparency to see that two "4" markings are almost exact matches.

 

 

While not 100% conclusive, I think the probability of the "4" being straight is very high.

 

 

Not that it would be hard to mark out a curve when masking up for paint on the real thing but I can't see why they'd wast the time doing so. Love the little experiment it pretty much proves it was straight! 

 

Cheers Bevan 

[Daywalker]

You mentioned earlier that you were trying to decide how to "retract" the tailwheel a bit to better represent an operational aircraft, here's a link to a build by Chris Wauchop where he describes how he did it.  I followed his advice on one I built years ago and it worked out well.

 

Chris Wauchop FW-190D-9

 

Hope it helps!

[nmayhew]

Wow what an amazingly informative thread so far!

 

thank you @Thunnus as ever for your superbly thought out presentation of both skilled work and also very cool research, and thank you  to the other members who have also chimed in with their knowledge 

 

looking forward to following this one

 

Nick

[Thunnus]

Thanks for the comments people!

 

4 hours ago, Daywalker said:

You mentioned earlier that you were trying to decide how to "retract" the tailwheel a bit to better represent an operational aircraft, here's a link to a build by Chris Wauchop where he describes how he did it.  I followed his advice on one I built years ago and it worked out well.

 

Chris Wauchop FW-190D-9

 

Hope it helps!

 

Interesting tip!  I've already ordered the Eagle Editions tail wheel but I'll probably give this a go just to test out for future builds.

 

There is another conclusion that I've drawn from the starboard view of Brown 4. 

 

On my D-13 build, Antonio speculated that the small rectangular panel in the middle of the upper wing may be a repair and not a standard feature.  Since I was modeling the D-13 at the time, I didn't take any action.  Now that I'm building the actual aircraft in the photograph and that panel is clearly not present, I've decided to delete it. It has been filled with black CA glue and the interrupted panel line was connected.

 

 

The underwing insert joints have been dealt with using a combination of black CA glue on the non-panel lines and white Milliput on the panel lines.

 

 

The radiator cowling flaps are thick.  I've found that shaving down the trailing edges of the flaps make them look much more presentable.

 

[Judyc]

Did you run the gun cowling under hot wateer? Often this will correct a slight warp. On the other hand, I see you have 'fixed' the Hasegawa part.

Judy

Eagle Editions

[Thunnus]

6 hours ago, Judyc said:

Did you run the gun cowling under hot wateer? Often this will correct a slight warp. On the other hand, I see you have 'fixed' the Hasegawa part.

Judy

Eagle Editions

 Hi Judy!  Did you see my order for the 190D tail wheel? I did run the cowling under hot water years ago to straighten it but seems to have slowly warped again.  But it was also slightly undersized as well, which made using the kit cowling a better proposition for me.  I still use it as model reference when re-shaping the Hasegawa part so it was worth the purchase.

 

I got lots of little milestones to report on the Dora build.  The first step in incorporating the Eagle Editions resin cockpit has been taken.  I've cut the triangular piece of real estate in front of the windscreen using a razor saw.

 

 

A preliminary check to see how the resin part fits into that space on the fuselage between the gun cowling and windscreen.  I'll need to remove the raised detail on the inside of the fuselage sides and do some thinning but I think I will do the riveting first since I don't want to overly stress the thinned portions of the fuselage.

 

 

I just noticed that the cockpit tub, which I thought was molded the best out of all the resin components, has a noticeable warp in it. Yes, hot water made it relatively simple to straighten but annoying nonetheless.

 

 

 

The holes on the face of the radiator cowling were drilled out.  There may be a small chance that they will be visible if my plan to have the spinner cap removable turns out. I would've done the two oval openings too but they are directly opposite of the mounting tabs in the back.

 

 

I wasn't satisfied with the shape of the radiator cowling itself so I gave it another ride on the rotary tool.  I think this perspective shows the modification better.  The revised cowling in front has a more aerodynamic and less boxy profile than the kit cowling in the back.

 

[Thunnus]

Before I continue, I wanted to point out that most of the things I am doing are in no way required.  As a Dora nut and as frequent builder of the Hasegawa 1/32 Fw 190D-9 kits, I've come up with little modifications here and there that I think make the build more authentic.  The following is a good example of the type of little modification that I'm compelled to do.

 

This kit shows the foot ladder in the retracted position.  If you want to show the ladder extended, the instructions tell you to drill two small holes and glue the ladder into place.  And that's probably what most modelers do.

 

 

But that is not what it look would like. There would have to be an opening for the ladder to retract into.  So I'm adding that opening.  Chain-drill a set of holes slightly smaller than the outline of the ladder.

 

 

The x-acto is used to connect the holes and smooth out the opening.

 

 

The end result.  And yes, I added some bolt detail to the end of the ladder.  Is it necessary? No.  Is it even noticeable?  I think so and it is also do-able so I did it.

 

 

Some more minor modifications to the wheel well.

 

 

There is a wiring run that runs to the edge of the opening and disappears.

 

 

To make that wiring run more plausible, I've cut a portion of it away and placed a section of brass tubing.  I can then add the continuation of that wiring run into the engine compartment.

 

 

The wing-mounted MG151 cannons are fairly well represented. They are molded straight and with a fairly uniform round cross-section.  When the ends are hollowed out, they look pretty good.

 

 

My major issue is with the leather boot at the base of the cannon barrel. Hasegawa incorrectly based this on a restoration condition and is not reflective of Fw190's in service. Luckily, Quickboost makes a nice set of resin gun barrel replacements, of which I will only be using the wing-mounted MG151's.  For whatever reason, Quickboost does not list a gun barrel set for the 190D so you'll have to use one marked for the 190A.

 

 

The locating tab on the rear will need to be adjusted to match the Hasegawa part. Don't worry about the portion extending past the base but make sure the tab ends in the middle of the base like the Hasegawa part.

 

 

A quick verification that the guns fit into the wheel well without issue.  Since the gun barrel gets sandwiched between the upper and lower wing parts, you would need to install the guns before that stage.  

 

 

I don't want the barrels in the way when I'm cleaning the leading edge joint and I don't want them to snap off either. So I make one more modification.  The resin barrels are cut off from blast tubes.  Locating posts made from 0.70mm brass tubing are glued into place at the end of the blast tubes.  And new gun barrels are cut from 1.00mm brass tubing.

 

 

Now the barrels can be attached at the end without getting in the way or getting knocked off.

 

 

[LSP_Kevin]

Nice mods, John.

 

Kev