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

Started by Louis Gardner · 161 · 6 years ago · 1/48, FW-190, Kasserine Pass, Tamiya
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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    I've been thinking about this one for a long while... and I've been itching to build a few Wurgers... so here we go !

    This is the plane I'll be starting with.


    the parts inside the box...

    It all started when I pulled a few Focke Wulfs down from the stash.


    From what I can tell from online research is I will have to add a fin mounted antennae mount just as I did on my recent Hasegawa F6F that I'm working on over in the "Year of the Cat" GB here on Imodeler.

    Now I just hope these JG 2 Butcher Birds didn't have some sort of Tropicalized air filter... Judging from photos so far, it looks like I may be in the clear with that part. Some had the tropical filter while others did not.

    So David, you can underline the FW-190 on your inventory list. However if anyone else wanted to build one of these along with me, please go ahead and join in on the fun.

    The more Wurgers, the better.

    Yes Ferry, the Stuka is still very tempting to me...

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    Pedro L. Rocha said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    Stash? Goddamm, that looks like a hobby store shelf to me 😉 good luck revising the fin

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    David A. Thomas said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    As I've noted Pedro, my stash is a shopping bag; Louis' is a hobby store. He's at over 600...

    Lou, you and Tom as just killing this BG for us all, and I am so grateful. I wanted an FW 190 so badly. There are some planes that would be nice (like the Ju 52), but a 109 and and a 190 are non-negotiable. I really appreciate it and know you'll a great job!

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    Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    Louis, the latest Eduard FW-190A-4 profipak has one scheme that would fit in, here. An aces mount, Oblt. Rudorffer, then CO of 6/JG 2. December 1942, Sidi Ahmed, Tunisia. The unit left for France on March 22, 1943. No sand filters. The only 1/48 FW-190 kit I've ever seen with those as an option is the venerable Monogram multiple version whatever it is. You are right abut the antenna mast on the vertical stab. The -3 has a rounded leading edge at the top, without a mast. There is one in the Hasegawa boxing of the Dragon/DML A-4, I recall.

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    Paul Nash said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    Hi Louis - I love the Butcher Birds. Only made one myself which was the Tamiya A-3 version 'cos that was the model I needed for my particulat project. The fin antenna fitting was just as shown in the Tamiya A-3 kit and, like with all these things, it just depends which variant you're building. Most of the A-2/A-3s had the stubby fitting like with the Tamiya A-3 kit, but it was only the later A-4/A-5 variants that they changed to the "post" fitment I think you're talking about. If I remember rightly, the A-5 and higher variants also had a longer nose section and different radio access panels which would make the Tamiya A-3 kit more difficult than it needs to be. For a true A-2/A-3, the stubby ones the way to go. Depends if you have a specific a/c in mind and I knowyou check your references. The tropical filters like the Bf 109 Trops and similar seem to have had no parallel with the Fw 190, although there must have been something internally perhaps to minimise the effect of sand and dust.

    Paul

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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    Hello everyone ! Thanks for the warm welcome with this one...

    Pedro it's the result of a lifetime of collecting kits... and not building as much as I wanted to before I retired. Now that I no longer have a regular job, it has allowed me to devote more time to the hobby. I guess now I'm trying to make up for lost time when I couldn't build kits due to a very busy work schedule.

    Yes David a Ju-52 would be a good one for the GB... I just happen to know a guy...with a few 1/48 Tante Ju kits in the stash... but right now I hear he's busy with a boat load of other kits going on at the moment. But we still have a long ways to go before the deadline, so you just never know 😉

    Yes Bernard, you correctly guessed the Butcher Bird that I'm planning on building. I coincidentally saw a review of the Eduard A4 kit on another website earlier today, and it got me thinking... here's the markings I'll try to replicate. This picture is part of the Eduard kit markings.

    This Focke Wulf was supposedly originally delivered in RLM 74/75/76. Once in Tunisia it received a coat of RLM 79 Sand Gelb over the upper surfaces. From what I have read so far, the original RLM 76 was left as is.

    Hello Paul. This will be my first A3 variant from Tamiya. I've built several of the later Dora Nines, and a few of the F-8's, all being Tamiya kits. You're correct about the antennae mast fitting as a small addition to the fin. Here's a picture of what we are talking about:


    It is supposed to be the only visible difference between the A3 and the A4. The other changes were all internal so I'm hoping it's going to be an easy conversion. Here's a picture of the A3 fuselage plastic sitting directly over the A8 plastic. You can see the differences between the two.

    If I was going to build a later A5/A7 series plane, I would probably go with the Hasegawa edition or use a Tamiya F-8 (or A-8) and back date it. I just looked at the plastic sprues on the Tamiya kits I just mentioned and compared the fuselage plastic to the earlier A3 kit. Tamiya did add some length to the nose to replicate the additional length of the A-5 and later Wurgers.
    These two photos shows the additional length added to the nose: Here again, the early A3 plastic is lined up directly over the top of the later A8 fuselage plastic parts. It makes the differences easy to see.


    These side shots of the fuselage area where the cooling vents are also show a minor difference in the slots.
    This picture shows the newer Squared style as found on the A8 / F8


    These longer more narrow style were found on the early A2 / A3 / A4's

    I did manage to find a photo of a 190 with a tropical filter. This one is a later variant with the fuselage extension. I'd take a guess and say it's an A5 to A8 variant. If you look closely at the area just ahead of the wing, you can see where the additional metal was added. It goes just behind the rear portion of the cowling, and ahead of the wing. I think it was about 8 inches in length on the real plane if memory serves me correctly...


    Looks rather interesting, but probably a complicated contraption to scratch build.

    One of my books has a drawing showing the extension on the nose. It is exactly as Paul stated. I'll try to find the picture and post it on my next update.

    Thanks for the additional information everyone !

    One of the P-40's is getting close to being done, the Sherman and Panzer III are close too, with some OVM tool painting and a literal dusting should wrap them up...

    Please stay tuned for updates. I'm going to get busy on this one right away.

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    David A. Thomas said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    NIiiiice!

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    Paul Barber said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    Louis - an excellent choice - somewhere between the Me262 and the FW190 lies my favourite aircraft of all time! Although I change my mind weekly! Great choice of subject. I don't recall seeing too many photos of those filters - I have a few books on 190s - I'll have a look. You could always 'borrow' a filter from a Tamiya E4/7 - I am guessing they are approximately the same - Italian in origin I think - but don't hold me to it!

    With or without the filter this is going to be great!

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    Paul Nash said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    Louis - Re the sand filters, I also found a couple of pictures which show the sand filters on later versions F-1 and F-8 but I wonder whether these weren't fitted to the earlier A versions for some reason, even for service in N Africa. There's a close up of the left side filter in Nowarra'a Harleyford book on the 190. It may be irrelevant since Rudorffer's A-4 (W Nr 0140 748) doesn't appear to have one. This a/c seems to have come from the European theatre with the RLM 74/75 overpainted with 79 Sandgelb but the undersurface 76 on the fin was not overpainted around the hakenkreuz while the rest of the fin was in 79 with the rudder yellow. Nice looking profile of this a/c in SAM's Combat Colours No 7 on the 190.

    Paul

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    Tom Bebout said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    Nice addition Louis! Like the looks of the 190 in 79 Sandgelb as well. And Louis do you normally buy kits in triplicate? Inquiring minds want to know.

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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    Thanks Paul for the updated information about how the 190 was painted. You confirmed my thoughts on the Eduard illustration picture I posted. I think that the tropical filters were sometimes used on the later versions and not that often ( or perhaps not at all ) on the early A3 / A4 planes.

    Thanks Tom for the compliments. To answer your question about building 3 kits at a time:
    Not really each time. Sometimes I build two kits. However right now I'm working on 4 Hasegawa F6F's in 1/48 scale over in the Year of the Cat GB here on Imodeler. It depends on what decals I have on hand or what paint scheme I want to try.

    It's something that I started doing a while ago when I realized that the stash was going to outlive me ... so I made up my mind and thought this would be the best way to put a dent in the collection of unbuilt kits. On a plus side it is faster and easier with cleaning the air brush.

    Thanks again gents. Hopefully tonight I can get some work done with these. I plan on building up a single FW for the GB. However I think I'm going to build the other two A3's as box stock but in an Eastern Front or English Channel bird.

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    Greg Kittinger said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    Man - how can you have so many projects going at the same time and keep them all sorted out! You must have a far more organized mass of grey cells than I do!

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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    Thanks for the kind words my friend. I simply keep each plane in the corresponding open boxes until almost done. I also make notes for the build of individual differences between the planes. The notes stay in the boxes until they are done.

    There's absolutely no way I could keep them going like this otherwise. Plus the notes allow me to pick up and start where I dropped off construction at the last point.

    I like having several builds going on at the same time because it allows the paint to completely dry. Thanks again buddy.

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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    Tonight was a great night out in the Iron Works garage... I started work on Gelb (Yellow) 1...

    And guess where the construction sequence began ?

    Nope... I started with building the engines. I like to start out by building sub assemblies. If I think I can manage, I will glue the parts together first, then paint them. It makes for a stronger joint if there isn't any paint present during the gluing process.

    But sometimes you have no choice and simply have to scrape away the paint from the joints.

    Next I wanted to build everything that was eventually going to be painted in RLM 66. So I tackled the fuselages. The fit was perfect. I also like how Tamiya attached the plastic parts to the trees. These fuselage halves were connected to the plastic trees in two places. None of the attachment points are in visible areas and will not be seen once the model is completed. It's a very nice touch... and makes great sense. Too bad more manufacturers don't do this...


    I'm building 4 FW-190's, but only one will be for the Kasserine Pass GB. The others will have to wait until I decide which paint scheme I want to do. I'm leaning heavily on a JG 54 Butcher Bird from the Eastern Front as one option...

    Then I built the cockpits, and roll over braces for the sliding portion of the canopies. If you look close, one is a "Galland Hood" type for a later FW variant...

    I also got the rear fuselage cockpit decking and control sticks ready for paint...

    Here's everything ready to spray:

    and the final photo for tonight is after the RLM 66 was sprayed.

    I am very pleased with tonight's outcome... I may have to change the workshops name to "The Wurger Werks"...

    Calling it a day. As usual, comments are encouraged.

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    David A. Thomas said 6 years, 11 months ago:

    Lou, you're a machine. Amazing!