Tamiya 1/48 FW-190 F-8 of I. / SG 2 NASM aircraft
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Holiday and that you were able to spend time with family members and friends. Hopefully by now you are relaxing and enjoying the rest of the day.
Speaking of friends, here is an article about the National Air and Space Museum aircraft as it was displayed several years ago.
I had a good friend who was attending some advanced Fire Officer classes at the National Fire Academy, which is not too far from Washington DC. Before he left to attend the school, I asked him to stop by the National Air and Space Museum for me, and take some photos if the time was available. Luckily for me, he had some extra time while he was waiting on his return flight home.
He took a few photos for me. Two of the first pictures of the actual plane are ones that he took that day and was kind enough to share with me.
I tried to replicate the pose of the "Wurger" with my model with the next photograph following the originals.
That's when something hit me like a TON of bricks... My plane has a drop tank fitted on the ETC center line rack instead of a 250 Kilogram bomb, like the NASM plan has.
(I'm going to say that mine was configured differently that day back in 1944... )
I used the book shown in the last photo as a reference, since believe it or not, back when I built this plane I didn't have access to the internet... (Boy we sure have come a long way since then). Now I constantly research my planes on line in my attempt for accuracy.
The book is wonderful and has some insight into the operational use of Fw-190 in the Ground Attack Units, known as "Schlachtgeschwader", and abbreviated SG. The book also went into details on how the NASM's Butcher bird was painstakingly restored. It detailed the planes rebuild while in service with the Luftwaffe (as they routinely did with damaged airframes), and explained the different unit markings that were found under various layers of original paint.
I highly recommend the book to anyone with an interest in 190's.
My plane is the Tamiya FW-190 F8, built right out of the box. I sprayed it with an Azteck airbrush and used the tan tip. I didn't add an antennae from the canopy to the tip of the fin. I also didn't weather it too much, with only slight exhaust stains.
It is finished using Model Master enamels in RLM 74, 75 and 76 colors.
These FW-190 SG units often replaced the Ju-87 "Stuka" in ground attack roles, while sometimes flying alongside the Ju-87 on missions. They simply flew what they had available to them at the time.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Looks like you nailed it, Louis...nice job.
Thanks buddy ! Happy Thanksgiving.
Excellent work sir.
Thanks Robert.
Must be karma, Louis, I am also building the F8 but in MTO scheme. RLM79/80/76 desert colors. Your subject is quite the story behind it. Again well done on one of my favorite fighters. Thanks for sharing.
Funny you should mention the MTO. Apparently during the restoration of this plane, they found a similar color scheme under the paint on the fuselage of this plane if memory serves me correctly. In the book they go into details about how it was rebuilt after being damaged in service.
Thanks for the compliments Sir ! I'll bet your 190 will look great in those colors. I someday plan on building one in MTO / desert camouflage.
Bravo Louis! I love me some 190s, and you've done a masterful job on this one. How did it build up? Any pitfalls to be aware of? I'd love to have one just like it. 🙂
Thanks Gary. It built up very well if I recall correctly.
I built this one way back in the late 1990's, so I don't remember too much about the particulars.
However, I do remember spoiling one of my 190 canopies during a FW build back then. The pilots head rest armor somehow was touching the inside of the clear plastic. During the application of glue I messed it up. Glue was drawn against the clear portion by capillary action and fogged the glass considerably. (this was before I started using white glue for canopies). I found out later that I had the pilots armor off center, so it was my fault, not the kit.
Luckily I had a spare from another Tamiya kit, since in several versions they offered a blown style along with the regular hood as an option.
I hope this helps with your build.
Nice job, Louis. Really looks the part.
Thank you Rob !
Very nice job
Thank you my friend.
Again a very nice build, did the same version, also with a drop tank under.
Thank you Bernd. I'll bet your plane looks great. I'm tempted to remove the drop tank now and replace it with a 250 KG.
Another nice build Louis!
Thank you Greg.