Miguelito's FW-190A3 *** FINISHED ***

[mjatx]

For my next Blitzbau attempt, I'm going to try my hand at this kit from Revell.



The final scheme will be determined by the overall fit and how much fiddling around is required to get this one ready for paint. We'll find out this weekend.

[jssel]

I will be watching this one. In between my Blitz. Don't have the kit but always wanted it.

[Ian]

Being an older Revell 1:144 be prepared for poor fit and lots of gaps!

[mjatx]

We've had a beautiful day today, mid-70s (about 21C) and sunny, so I spent most of the morning spreading 25 bags of mulch in the beds around the house. I kept thinking about this build and I'm really not that excited about it, but I kept thinking about this kit...



...I'm still on the fence about which one I'll do, but I've still got a couple hours to think about it. Of course, this will start and happen during the middle of the night for a lot of you, so you may have to wait until tomorrow morning to find out the result.

[Ian]

Well get off the fence and Blitz them both! And as I am working nights I'll be able to keep you company and cheer you along!

[mjatx]

Well get off the fence and Blitz them both! And as I am working nights I'll be able to keep you company and cheer you along!

Thanks for the suggestion, but I think I'll stick with just one for now.

Here are the two sprue choices. The Su-27


...followed by the FW-190.


I'm going with the Focke Wolf, but I'm planning on doing a camo scheme straight from the factory for a plan flown by Hptm. Friedrich Wilhelm Strakeljahn in Finland.

[Ian]

Good choice.

[mjatx]

Good choice.

It really was the right choice, I haven't even put any pieces together yet, just primer and painting interiors so far, and I'm already enjoying it.

Here's where I started, just before 5pm tonight.


I started cutting everything off the sprues, sanding down the minimal flash, and then priming a few items. The parts have some really nice detail for a "starter" snap kit...not to mention, I picked it up for under $10 (US).




The struts are molded to the gear doors, which makes things a little easier, but the struts look like they aren't bearing any weight. Oh well. The engine is pretty well detailed and should build up nicely, but will be tucked mostly out of sight. The cockpit tub is also pretty well detailed. Overall, a nice kit so far.

Here's where it stood, before dinner (pizza and beer). I was able to spray some RLM66 on interiors and RLM02 on the undercarriage and wings.


Now it's dried enough for some detailing and assembly.

[mjatx]

Well, the cockpit is completed and the fuselage is closed up. Here's a couple shots of the cockpit before it gets tucked away and out of sight in the VERY compact cockpit of the FW-190, never to be seen again.





I had some of the Eduard photo-etch belts for Luftwaffe fighters. These may not be the actual Focke Wulf ones, but they're a close enough match. The fuselage didn't seal all the way together at the front of the plane, so I'm dealing with that distraction now. I probably spent way too much time fiddling with the belts, but what the heck. The kit cockpit didn't have any, and I had some suitable ones available.

[Ian]

Great start! For a snap-kit there's quite a lot of detail there.

[mjatx]

It's called a "snap kit", but almost every part has had to be glued to get a proper fit, and a few of the seams are problematic. Still enjoying this one, though. The wings and fuselage are all buttoned up, just waiting for glue/filler to dry, so I can go clean up the mess. Pictures to follow.

Thanks for hanging in there with me, Ian!

[Ian]

Good news! We like pictures.

[mjatx]

Well, here's where things stood about 6 hours into the Blitz. All the major sub-assemblies are completed and ready for priming and painting.



About 40 minutes later, the landing gear are finished, the insignia yellow is painted on the lower cowling and rudder, and all the parts are primed and ready. I'm going to give everything a little more time to dry, then try to attach wings to fuselage. I was hoping to paint the wings separately, but based on some earlier pieces, I don't want to risk having to tear up a paint job to fix some seams. Still I'm hoping to get get at least one color on the plane tonight before heading off to lala land.

[mjatx]

I got the main assembly completed. The fit was actually fairly decent. A little smoothing here and there, but I managed. I've changed which scheme I'm planning on doing. Now, I going to model one flown by Haupt. Hans "Assi" Han in the Spring of 1942. That means I need to add a white, with black outlines, insignia band on the rear of the fuselage.



Here is where everything is at this point in the build.



The canopy and horizontal stabilizers are in the garage waiting for some paint. Which is where I'm heading right after hitting "submit". I'm planning on adding RLM 74, then heading to bed. I'll see you all bright and early in the afternoon (it'll be morning for me).

[mjatx]

Alright! One more shot before bed. I finished the RLM 74 coat.