Zoukei Mura FW-190A-4 JG 54

[Uncarina]

I’ve assembled and added the tailplane assembly. The only tricky part was that the tailplane module didn’t fit flush against the fuselage rear due to the upper fuselage piece projected a hair past the rest of the pieces, so a light sanding took care of this. Otherwise the assembly was straightforward with an impressive fit and engineering.

 

 The kit comes with two tailwheels with the same part numbers and no indication which to include. Should I use the smaller one?

 

 

Cheers,  Tom

Edited December 14, 2023 by Uncarina

[MikeMaben]

Don't think so Tom, the earliest 190s, prototype thru early As had smaller tailwheels

The prototype V series had very small tailwheels. It looks like the smaller one will be

for the early A Basic series. ...maybe .  I'd use the bigger one. Weird tho, the

larger one looks kinda too big.

Edited December 15, 2023 by MikeMaben

[Furie]

Hello Tom.

I haven’t read anything about tailwheels on the FW 190.
Instinctively I would rather take the smaller one. 
I looked at my documentation but the only interesting thing is A-4 profiles B&Y that will allow you to compare the size of this tailwheel compared to the rest of the plane.
Tell me if you’re interested.

Edited December 15, 2023 by Furie

[Uncarina]

6 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

Don't think so Tom, the earliest 190s, prototype thru early As had smaller tailwheels

The prototype V series had very small tailwheels. It looks like the smaller one will be

for the early A Basic series. ...maybe .  I'd use the bigger one. Weird tho, the

larger one looks kinda too big.

 

Thanks Mike! I looked in Valiant wings and didn’t see anything to indicate a size change among the versions.

 

4 hours ago, Furie said:

Hello Tom.

I haven’t read anything about tailwheels on the FW 190.
Instinctively I would rather take the smaller one. 
I looked at my documentation but the only interesting thing is A-4 profiles B&Y that will allow you to compare the size of this tailwheel compared to the rest of the plane.
Tell me if you’re interested.

 

Denis, thanks! That would give me a point of reference. And it hadn’t occurred to me, but I will check the Valiant Wings drawings as well.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Furie]

Here’s what I got, Tom.
But I don’t know if that will help you.

 

 

 

 

[D.B. Andrus]

I'd go with the small one, Tom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great work!

 

Damian

[denders]

I can't find anything about differences in tail wheel size changes in the references I have set out for my build in the GB. I found it listed as 350mm x 135mm. I do note that looking at photographs there seems to be differences in the amount of clearance between tire and the landing gear strut. Maybe that helps?

[MDuv]

Hi

In the hasegawa A5 boxing, there are 2 tail wheels as well.
One is located on the original sprues originated from the D9, and is of 11,9mm diameter.
There is another one on the "new" sprues produced for the Anton series and is approx 11.1 diameter.

Hasegawa instructions direct to use the 11.1 for the A series.

Maybe there something similar in ZM boxing.

[Uncarina]

Denis, Damian, Dave, Mathieu,

 

Thank you all very much! I was going to go by the clearance with the strut, but based on your photos Damian and the Hasegawa instructions from Mathieu I feel more confident going with the smaller one. Glad I prepped both!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[monthebiff]

Looking really good and fast progress indeed! Looks like ZM have pretty well gone the same construction route as their Ta-152 but it all fits properly! Practice makes perfect I guess.

 

Regards. Andy 

[Uncarina]

18 minutes ago, monthebiff said:

Looking really good and fast progress indeed! Looks like ZM have pretty well gone the same construction route as their Ta-152 but it all fits properly! Practice makes perfect I guess.

 

Regards. Andy 

Thanks Andy! Yes, so far so good with the fit. I am really looking forward to seeing how the engine module/cowling fits with the fuselage, but I haven't seen any significant challenges so far.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Uncarina]

One of the defining characteristics of ZM kits is shown here:

 

 

 

 

The detail and fit of the internal structure is impressive, and fortunately the upper and lower wing sections have a great fit as well. Note that the wings and tailplanes are just dry-fitted to the fuselage. You have an option of whether or not to omit the outer guns; I included them based on photos, but it looks like JG-54 190’s didn’t always have them. Next we’ll see how well the wings fit to the fuselage.

 

Cheers,  Tom

Edited January 19, 2024 by Uncarina

[MikeMaben]

23 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

Don't think so Tom, the earliest 190s, prototype thru early As had smaller tailwheels

The prototype V series had very small tailwheels. It looks like the smaller one will be

for the early A Basic series. ...maybe .  I'd use the bigger one. Weird tho, the

larger one looks kinda too big.

I couldn't find anything on tailwheel sizes either. (quoting myself) The bigger one does

look too big. Good thing you ignored my ambiguous answer . 

[Uncarina]

7 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

I couldn't find anything on tailwheel sizes either. (quoting myself) The bigger one does

look too big. Good thing you ignored my ambiguous answer . 

No worries Mike, you meant well! 

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Tolga ULGUR]

It looks impressive indeed.