1/48 Tamiya Fw-190 A4 , JG 2 Nord Afrika

Started by Louis Gardner · 161 · 5 years ago · 1/48, FW-190, Kasserine Pass, Tamiya
  • Profile Photo
    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 12 months ago:

    Thanks Bernard ! I appreciate the comments.

    Hello there David.
    I mix the Future with 70 percent rubbing alcohol at a 50 / 50 ratio.

    After spraying it, I clean my air brush by spraying rubbing alcohol through the air brush first. Then I'll spray enamel thinner through it on the second rinse. Finally I wipe the air brush down with paper towels to make sure that it's spotless. I also use Q-tips to clean out the bottom of the paint reservoir after I have removed the needle.

    Once everything is spotless I reassemble the air brush and run a little more paint thinner through it as a last and final cleaning.

    Tonight I applied the decals for Kittel's "Schwartz One"... This was a mixture of using the kit decals and the numbers came from a spare 1/48 scale decal sheet that has nothing on it except Luftwaffe numbers in various colors like black, white, red and yellow.

    Here's how "Black 1" looks at the moment.


    After the decals dried I sprayed on a light coat of Dull Coat from a rattle can.

    Hopefully I'll get it finished up soon.

    As usual comments are encouraged.

  • Profile Photo
    Paul Barber said 5 years, 12 months ago:

    Louis, I'm sure you have had this picture in your head for a while - but I am just beginning to process what the output is going to be. That photo of all four together, with their different schemes, is going to be fantastic - I know one shouldn't look too far ahead but I'm really excited to see it! I'm blown away by seeing two together. Just beautiful. This is a labour of love - and the results are there for all to see - a butcherbird history lesson!

  • Profile Photo
    Pedro L. Rocha said 5 years, 12 months ago:

    Yep, now I can’t tell which is my favourite...black 1 is a wonderful example of the iconic grunherz camo. The result of your wurgerwerks just keeps getting better Louis!

  • Profile Photo
    Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said 5 years, 12 months ago:

    Louis, love that Grunherz! Saw a photo years ago, and I was taken! What a striking scheme!

  • Profile Photo
    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 12 months ago:

    Hello Paul... Yes I have had this idea for a while about building a "Grunherz" plane in these markings. The timing was right so I went for it. I'm anxious to get the remaining Wurger done so I can take the photo of all four planes next to each other.
    Thanks you for the kind words... It was indeed a labor of love. I'm pleased with how they have been turning out so far.

    Pedro, I'm right there with you. It will be hard for me to pick a favorite, but I'm still leaning towards Yellow 1 / Rudorferr's plane... This "Otto Kittel" plane will be a close second however, and things are still subject to change...

    Bernard, I saw this color photo of a Grunherz plane several years ago.


    and I knew I would have to build a Butcher Bird in these markings or very similar. Then once I started reading about Otto Kittel, I knew what I wanted to do...

    Thanks for the compliments gents...

  • Profile Photo
    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 12 months ago:

    I managed to get a little done today on the "Kittel" plane, "Black 1"... "Life" has been getting in the way again and taking a toll on my hobby time...

    Installed the landing gear, underwing antennae and propeller assembly.



    Then I gave it another coat of Flat "Dull Coat" from a rattle can. It's still very wet here in these photos and should look less shiny once dry...

    As usual, comments are encouraged.

  • Profile Photo
    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 11 months ago:

    Here we go !

    Black One is done.



    Three down, One to go ...

    As usual comments are encouraged...

  • Profile Photo
    david leigh-smith said 5 years, 11 months ago:

    The difference the matt coat makes is amazing. Goes straight from 'toy' to 'work of art' instantly. Beauty that she is, Lou (and that 'soft' splinter is lovely) - 'yellow one' is still my favourite.

    I think I'll be picking up some of your finishing tips, these builds are immaculate and really 'pop'. My thoughts are your attention to process is really interesting in that it provides a perfect base to weather and detail. I've felt sometimes in my builds that I can always weather to cover imperfections and blemishes. Mmm.

    Great work, Louis. Inspiring.

  • Profile Photo
    David A. Thomas said 5 years, 11 months ago:

    These things are indeed works of art. Just amazing, Louis. You make it look easy!

  • Profile Photo
    Tom Bebout said 5 years, 11 months ago:

    Very pretty bird Louis.

  • Profile Photo
    Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said 5 years, 11 months ago:

    Came together beautifully, Louis!

  • Profile Photo
    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 11 months ago:

    Thank you David LS for the kind words. I like Yellow 1 in RLM 79 as my favorite too. Earlier today I placed it next to Black 1 from JG 54, and I made my choice. The JG-54 Bird is a very close second place. That's probably in part due to my liking of unusual paint schemes. As far as weathering goes, I haven't done too much on either of these planes. I probably did the most with Yellow 1.
    I like to use a flat or semi flat surface to use as a base for the weathering. The chalks I use adhere to this type of surface better than a glossy one. You have to be careful with weathering on planes. You can go too far with it and spoil the looks. About the only type planes where this really isn't a problem is when you are weathering a plane from the SW Pacific. Those planes were terribly grungy and they actually look better (more realistic) when they are filthy / worn.

    Thanks David T, Tom and Bernard... I sincerely appreciate the compliments my friends... I did some more work on the last Wurger... and the progress posting is next.

  • Profile Photo
    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 11 months ago:

    As mentioned in the reply above, I did some more work on the last FW-190 from the original group of four planes.

    Please follow along with these photos:

    Many years ago, I purchased this set of decals for various 190's.


    The instant I saw the JG 1 plane with the black and white cowling, I knew that someday I would build up a model to replicate this actual plane. The hunt was on for an actual photo of the plane.

    Luckily it was only a matter of minutes before I hit the jackpot. The picture was in my Osprey book on Western Front FW-190 Aces. Here's the photo showing how the actual plane looked...


    So far this is the only picture I found. However I didn't really spend a lot of time searching for another one from a different angle.

    Next up was the air brush painting. I tried to replicate the look shown in the photo above. This plane doesn't appear to have too much mottling on the fuselage sides.


    This shows how the plane looks after spraying on some RLM 74 an 75...

    I also noticed the fuselage insignia was sprayed with a darker color as the back ground. I opted to use RLM 74 for this.

    I'm going to spray on a clear coat and when dry, this one should be ready for some decal work...

    As usual, comments are encouraged.

    Thanks for looking.

  • Profile Photo
    david leigh-smith said 5 years, 11 months ago:

    Great spot to find the Sturmstaffel birds, Louis, they're not only unique but the cowling adds to the menacing overall look of the A4.

    Amazing work here, the disciplined attention to detail is impressive. I think I'd get two of these to a good level and then the 'good enough' factor would kick in. The consistency of standard in this thread is a joy.

  • Profile Photo
    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 11 months ago:

    Thanks David for the compliments. I have been tempted to go that route several times before but I know that in the long run I would end up redoing the painting until I was satisfied.