I started construction on one of my Trimaster Fw 190D-9 kits today. These were later released by DML and Dragon (no white metal, less photoetch), Italeri and RM (no white metal or PE). I built a couple in the DML boxings, so I learned where the bones are buried on these kits.
You can run into trouble if you glue the wing tops to the bottoms. There is a lot of detail at the wingroot of an Fw 190, so it’s better not to have to sand there. Instead, I glue the wing tops to the completed fuselage halves. There are no gaps, and sanding isn’t necessary. The bottom wing fits with equal precision.
There were no gaps along the fuselage seams. All I did was sand and rescribe. You can see the kit’s brass barrels for the cowl-mounted 13mm guns, and the photoetched canopy crank inside the cockpit.
These are most of the cockpit pieces. The seat and stick are dryfitted (good thing, too, as the stick is backwards !). There weren’t many exposed cables in the 190’s pit, but I will be adding some. The kit comes with a seated pilot figure, and surprisingly no PE seat harnesses ! I’m using some from an Eduard Luftwaffe belts set. The instrument panel is a little disappointing. The metal is thick, so drilling them to put a printed scan of an acetate sheet behind it really isn’t an option. IPs are tough to see in a 190 anyway, so paint will probably suffice.
The kit has one major inaccuracy - the wheel wells are molded closed, like a 190A. On the real aircraft, they were open into the engine compartment. I’m going to try and open mine and add some engine and cable details from scratch.
Now I can get out the RLM 66 and start painting the cockpit !
You should change your name to Flugzeugwerke, Pix!
One thing I don’t think I’ve ever asked you is how you handle the steel photo-etch in the Trimaster/Dragon/DML kits. How is it to work with as compared to brass?
Steve-O - the stainless steel is a little more difficult to cut and fold than brass. I remove the pieces from the fret by rolling a # 10 blade over the attachment point. Cleanup is easier than brass, because the steel is less likely to wrinkle. I use a pair of wide, flat tweezers to fold the pieces on glass. The instrument panels are connected by two “arms,” and meant to be folded as one piece. There are locators under the coaming for the top piece, and tabs on the consoles for the lower one. There’s a better chance of aligning them properly when they are two separate pieces. But, they are the pieces that come with the kit, so I just deal with what I have (who said that?).
Look’s like another great start Bill. I came across that kit listed in one of the more recent Squadron flyers but I did not recognize the manufacturer. Now I know.
These are the white metal and photoetched parts, along with brass tubes and wire:
You also get both styles of canopies (flat and blown) and clear navigation lights:
The decals in both kits I got were yellowed and unusable, but there are markings for seven (!) different aircraft, including Barkhorn’s and a JV 44 bird.
In my opinion, it’s the most accurate and detailed 1/48 Fw 190D-9 available. The Tamiya kit has tiny wheels, thin gear legs, a pointed spinner, and thin, pointed prop blades. Side by side, there’s no comparison.
I saw the kit in Squadrons flyer(hefty price)and was wondering how it compared with Tamiya.Sprue looks similar Promodeler/Itileri. Pixilater , thanks for the wing root tip.
I got the RLM 66 on the 'pit today, and some of the detail painting. The rough edges of the details will disappear when I apply the wash. Once the wash and drybrush are done, I can add the cables and finish the detail painting.
