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This is Hasagawa’s 1/32 FW190. I’m pretty
much a winter modeler and have so far done exclusively 1/32 scale (I drink to
much coffee to consider tackling the likes of 1/72). I manage to get out about
one model per year. This was my 1999-2000 effort.
When looking for schemes for this aircraft I came
across an article about German Ace Heinz Bar and was quite intrigued with this
character. I was able to cobble together markings to represent his mount, an
FW190A-7, as it appeared in April 1944.
The kit itself was the typical Hasagawa standard
for this scale, with raised panels lines and “slightly” exaggerated rivet
patterns, which led to several evenings of sanding and scribing. The fit was
fair to good with the exception of the wing to fuse joint where there was a “considerable”
gap, most notably at the port and starboard joints, but also to a lesser degree
at the forward and aft joints. However I am now convinced that with time,
patience, strip styrene and enough cyanoacrylate, even the Grand Canyon can be
filled.
I used Eduard’s photetched set, which corrects
the kit’s landing gear bay and provides a good representation of the cockpit.
Even some elements of this needed to be corrected though. Specifically, the
Eduard headrest and aft cockpit deck arrangement is not entirely correct,
especially if posing the canopy open. One other inaccuracy of the kit is the
lack of a lower cowl exhaust port. Unfortunately, the use of the Eduard wheel
well is not conducive to opening this up without some major surgery to both
plastic and brass. In the interests of not turning this into a two year project,
I conveniently chose to overlook this short-coming.
I did a little scratch building in the engine
compartment, the inner faces of the engine and gun bay doors, the gun bay
itself, and many other miscellaneous components.
Overall I quite enjoyed this project, admittedly
having been compelled as much by my desire to have a completed 190 on my shelf,
as by my appreciation of the pilot who’s machine I was portraying. Great
thanks must also go to our cat Fred who spent countless hours on my lap, closely
supervising all aspects of this project.
Wayne
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