Border 1/35 Fw 190A-6 Nowotny Double Chevron

spyrosjzmichos · August 24, 2023

Nice progress John!

The kit's details do look nice straight out of the box!

Thunnus · August 24, 2023

2 hours ago, MDriskill said:

This is a great thread - this old 190 nut is very much looking forward to more! A very interesting kit indeed.

Possibly utterly irrelevant given the stated goals for the build, but FWIW here is Arthur Bentley's classic drawing of the outer gun access panel variations:

+ The kit looks like a perfect A-6 panel

+ The A-5 panel was narrower, slightly longer, and with a pronounced rounded bulge for the MG FF's ammo drum

+ The A-8 panel had one corner slightly extended from the A-6 version (circled), so that two different guns could be fitted

When the A-5's outer gun was omitted, the "flattened" version of the panel still had a minor bulge, as on the A-5 in Seattle (looking at the Nowotny photo, I think I see this). All these panels had minor variations over time and between suppiers...you will notice this photo differs from the drawing in a couple of details.

Thank you for this information! Honestly, I think I would be up for modifying the overall shape of the wing gun panels to get it closer to A-5 spec if it were not for the fact that the panels are slightly raised. For whatever reason, Border has incorporated some raised panels on the exterior surfaces instead keeping everything level and using recessed panel lines throughout. So the complication of getting that raised panel to a lower level without eradicating surrounding detail is making me say NO. I'm going to keep the wing panels as they are and accepting this inaccuracy as part of keeping this build moving forward. But I do appreciate the information and am glad to know more about this subject than I did before you posted. Thank you!

2 hours ago, spyrosjzmichos said:

Nice progress John!

The kit's details do look nice straight out of the box!

Thanks! Yes, the kit has some amazingly molded details. Quite impressed overall with the plastic in this kit.

MDriskill · August 25, 2023

21 hours ago, Thunnus said:

Thank you for this information! Honestly, I think I would be up for modifying the overall shape of the wing gun panels to get it closer to A-5 spec if it were not for the fact that the panels are slightly raised. For whatever reason, Border has incorporated some raised panels on the exterior surfaces instead keeping everything level and using recessed panel lines throughout. So the complication of getting that raised panel to a lower level without eradicating surrounding detail is making me say NO.

Border actually molded this panel correctly - it was larger than the opening in the wing, and the sides overlapped, creating a slightly raised surface.

Here's how the "flat" version of the smaller A-5 panel is rendered on the new-generation Eduard 1/48 kits (complete with the mystery "mini bulge"):

And a shot of a rather raggedy real-life A-8. The front edge is crimped down to a flush-fitting piano hinge, but the other panel edges overlap the opening, and latch into sockets lying outside the gun bay:

Edited August 25, 2023 by MDriskill

zaxos345 · August 25, 2023

Not my "plane" but... John your work is amazing as well as your presentation!!!

John

MDriskill · August 25, 2023

On 8/20/2023 at 8:38 PM, Citadelgrad said:

John, I've said it before but it bears repeating. There are two types of build threads. One reports on milestones and sometimes setbacks but basically sketches out the build.

The other, and yours is the lodestar, is an informative "here's what I am trying to do, here's what worked and what doesn't work and why" so that people following can get into your method, learn techniques and approaches, and take valuable insight and techniques.

I love and follow along and even use (or try to) the specific, well described methods to make me a better modeler.

My T bolt, and hopefully my Corsair, are head and shoulders better than I ever could have done toiling in my garage. The internet is many things, but it has really helped me be a better modeler.

Thanks for your threads. You aren't the only one who does this, but thank you.

Well-said, and very true. The quality of info here really transcends scale, too. I'm mostly a smaller-scale guy but this quality of building, and clarity of presentation, are treasures no matter.

Edited August 25, 2023 by MDriskill

Thunnus · August 25, 2023

Thank you for the comments and great information. It's good to know that Border got the A-6 outer gun panels right.

A little bit more to share on the Border build. The lower instrument panel received paint as well. I highlighted certain instruments with color with tape masks punched with holes.

The smaller range of Airscale instrument decals were small enough to fit so I used them here instead of the kit decals.

Not yet glued, I've placed the upper panel on top of the spacer fitted to the lower panel to show how they look together.

Some of the engine components have been painted but not yet weathered.

Troy Molitor · August 25, 2023

Loving your efforts John. :popcorn:

Thunnus · August 26, 2023

Thank you Troy!

The cylinder banks have been given a dark pastel wash and a flat coat.

Same with the cooling fan and the exhaust waste collectors.

Here are the completed pushrods.

The PE seat harnesses that Border provides are very... funky. Strange pads in strange positions and reversed buckles.

I looked into my spares box and found a set of 1/48 generic Luftwaffe harnesses that looked close enough in size to work. I annealed them with heat and introduced some random bends to simulate fabric... ruler straight PE harnesses don't look right to me. Since rough placement has been worked out, I can paint the seat parts separately.

Thunnus · August 27, 2023

Some more engine components are being painted.

The previously painted pushrods are glued onto the cylinder banks.

The exhaust collectors are glued into the rear cylinder bank first and then the front cylinder bank is glued. Fit is excellent.

During the painting process, I also did some work on the wheels. The tail wheel is trapped between two parts of the tail gear.

I opted to cut off the pins and so some drilling to accommodate a new brass tubing axle.

This allows me to attach the wheel later.

I've added flat spots to both the tail wheel and main wheels to simulate the weighted effected.

scvrobeson · August 27, 2023

Great progress John! Beautiful engine, hope that there's some way to show that work once it's all finished.

Matt

Thunnus · August 27, 2023

Thanks Matt! Spent the day trying to wrap up the engine assembly. The gear reduction housing was glued into place next.

After this, the ignition wiring was installed. The wiring is pre-cut lengths of lead wire that I had pre-painted and set aside. It was quite fiddly work as it was difficult to reach the attachment points on the rear cylinder heads. And CA glue never holds that well when the accepting holes have paint and pastel wash in them.

I had some issues with the exhaust pipes. The longer end connecting to the front cylinders has a bend and with the tight space, I couldn't get the pins to seat correctly in the holes. Ended up scratching the paint off the exhausts and also breaking a couple of the thin connecting pipes at the ends of the pushrods. I resolved this by cutting off the pins on the longer pipes.