1/48 Focke-Wulf Fw-200C-4 'Condor'
Greetings all!
Here's my summer holidays project - the Trumpeter 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw-200C-4 Condor.
I started this kit with the intention of it being some light relief and a relatively quick and simple build as a nice break from the more complex projects I have on the go. Unfortunately that didn't turn out to the case and it was far from straightforward - although it looked gorgeous in the box, I foolishly spent hours building and painting a very complex interior, 99% of which will never be seen again. The real issue was attaching the wings, however, as Trumpeter (in their wisdom) have the lower wing and central fuselage section molded in one, but with absolutely no locating points to ensure this structurally critical part of the model has any strength whatsoever - it's simply butt-joints which would obviously crack under any sort of load. Being the large model that it is, I therefore made an alloy spar and epoxied this in place to give the wings some strength, and then added thick plastic card tabs to the wing root joints as well as the lower fuselage joints. This has given the model much-needed strength - although it still creaks and groans like an old piece of garden furniture when picked up!
Anyway, despite not being the easy shake and bake I hoped it would be, I did enjoy it and it makes for a large and impressive model. I used my usual Xtracolor enamels and finished it off with some heavy exhaust staining as seen in references with Mig pastels.
All the best,
Tom
Excellent Tom (@vacform). I've always liked this aircraft even if the real thing was a sort of mash up of civilian and military requirements. The real aircraft had structural issues with the fuselage, so maybe Trumpeter thought they would throw a curve ball into the model to make the modeler feel more like they were working with the real thing! π
Yea! In Antony Beevor's Stalingrad recounts these breaking apart on takeoff because the load shifted to the rear.
Excellent result on what proved to be a challenge to build, Thomas!
Well done!
Looks fantastic, Tom...I'm sure it's an interesting add to your collection shelf. Nice job!
That is a beautiful build and finish! Congratulations!
You have inspired me to start migrating my kit towards the top of my 'to do' pile. Such an impressive aircraft and build!
Most impressive, Tom @vacform! π€© That's one we don't see every day in any scale, and it looks great in 1/48! π Fine scale modeling, for sure! π
That is gorgeous. Must be quite a beast at 1/48!
Wowzers Thomas (@vacform)!
Very cool Condor, and in 1/48 this must be lots of aircraft to handle.
Sounds like Winston Churchill's βThe Scourge of the Atlantic" was almost your 'scourge of assembly', but you found a sound solution.
You don't have a Structural Degree, do you?
Very nice - I've always like the lines of the Condor. Looks great!
You had a wonderful holiday project, Thomas @vacform
This Condor turned out wonderfully.
Very nice job on what I know personally is a challenging build. You really made it look good. The interior of the kit is really incredible, and your are right even with the door open in the rear you can't see most of it once you close it up. I spent so much time on the interior when I built mine only to have it vanish when I glued the model together. Nice work on making the wing join better, you are right it is weak and poorly designed by Trumpeter.
A work of real beauty!
Having done of of these, "Ah feeel yo' pain!" Excellent result (better than I got for sure).
Very nice