I am trying to work this kit out, it looks brilliant on the sprues and the instructions look great.
I have found a couple of errors though and would like to seek your advice.
The Instructions tell you to how to stack up the engine on page 8 and there is even a template (I2) part to help you allign the exhaust pipes to the cylinders of the engine properly.
But the rotary fuel inlet connections (part J38 & J29) never connect to the inlet ports of the cylinders.
There is just a piece of pipe missing for every cylinder.
How did you guys solv the problem, aftermarket or stretched sprue?
That kit is a beast! I remember when i did the A-8 there were “revisions” to the instructions on Eduard’s site. I downloaded and printed THOSE instructions to use instead of the ones that came with the kit.
There may be a similar issue here… here is a PDF from Eduard for that kit:
Hey Johan, I am in the middle of building that exact kit and trust me when I tell you the engine is the easiest part of the kit. I did nothing with the pipes as its way to small an area to mess with. I am going to open the cowl to display the engine and Im happy as it is. Heres a pic of mine.
I will not get into all the issues here but go to the Reich Dfenders GB and on pages 19, 20, 21 are the detailes of the problems. Good luck
It’s just the alternate, humorous version of my name from William Macy’s character in “Fargo”. Danish grandfather who migrated to California.
Anyway… i have to be honest with you… i shelved this kit several times out of sheer frustration. I love Eduard kits and built the BF 110 (another beast), the BF 108 and the F6F-3. All three were great fun and a good challenge.
But the FW 190… some people swear by this kit but i found it to be NOT FUN after a while. The fit of things was just so… i don’t want to whine so let’s just say i ran into a lot of stumbling blocks and finally gave up and bought a Tamiya FW 190! Totally different experience. That being said, if i was going for open engine and gun cowls, etc., then the Eduard is the only game in town. But for me when i got to mounting that engine… it just went from one headache to another and i wasn’t happy with my results.
Maybe someday i’ll tackle it again. I don’t know. Would have to start over i’m sure with a new kit. I can tell you that i had problems with the engine, the mounting of it, fitting it in the front cowling and difficulties with the assembly of the front cowling. It just got so fiddly and the instructions were not super clear… these two things together are pretty disastrous for someone of my skill level. I think better instructions and a jig to assemble the front cowl would GREATLY help this kit. That being said, the cockpit is great and the fit of the fuselage and wings is quite good. I didn’t have trouble with the gear bay which i guess is a common complaint on this kit.
I used Herman Kopper’s excellent build as guidance and inspiration:
I will give you a VERY valuable tip with the engine before you assemble it:
Be sure to leave LITTLE to no glue build up when assembling the engine. I painted the engine and dry fitted it and it looked great…until I put the cowl on and realized the cooling fan protruded ever so annoyingly slightly outside the cowl opening. If you will notice by reference photos, it is actually slightly inside the cowl opening.
If and when I build this kit again I will definately sand inside those openings where the engine sections go together. The kit has such close tolerances that care has to be taken several steps ahead.
As for the fuel inlet connections…I noticed that too. I am displaying the engine with an open cowl door but decided it wasnt worth the frustration to melt sprue and connect the ports to make it right…which is exactly what I would have done. It just seemed odd to me that they SHOW it connected in the instructions without parts or instruction.
Well…at least they show what it should look like. I’m surprised they didnt just go all the way detail wise with the engine. I have a love/hate affair with this kit. I am building another just to see how many things I could do to make it better.
Thank you very much for the pictures Andy.
Looking great, I am curioues about the wing to fuselage joint which is not at all that pronounced in the the Eduard kit, really glad you came back
the wing to fuse joint might look more pronounced because i masked it to paint the wing so there is quite a difference in paint color. is that your question? in retrospect i should have done that freehand with a softer demarcation like i did the rest of the plane. i tried to soften up the edge a bit toggling between the RLM 76 and 74 or 75. Didn’t look quite as natural i’m afraid but i’m ok with it.
the fit… Tamiya quality i have to say. it just went together really easily.
