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Fw.190A-8/R2 Profipack 1:48


Mike

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Fw.190A-8/R2 Profipack
1:48 Eduard


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The Focke-Wulf Fw.190 was known as the Würger, which until I looked it up the other day, I didn't know meant "Shrike" in English, which is where the nickname "Butcher Bird" arises, as it is also another name for some of the Shrike family. You learn something new every day!

Their introduction in 1941 gave the Spitfire Mk.V pilots a nasty shock, ending their superiority over the then current generation of Bf.109s. They were the impetus behind the scramble to give the Spit some extra power that resulted in the Mk.IX. The A-8 variant of the 190 sported a more powerful engine than earlier models, as well as upgraded armour, with the R2 designation having 30mm MK108 cannons instead of the 20mm cannons previously carried in the outer wing stations. It gave an already potent armoury even greater punch, which was needed to take down the incoming bombers quickly and with as little exposure to returned fire as possible.

It was superseded by the Dora, or long-nose after sterling service with the Luftwaffe in many theatres of war.


The Kit
Eduard are acknowledged masters of the Fw.190 in 1:48, and this is a re-issue of an earlier kit in their new favourite shade of grey styrene, but with the same Photo-Etch (PE) and decal options. If you missed this on the first serving, you might want to rectify that with what is an extremely nice kit. It also has big cannons, which certainly endear any kit to me. The box is identical to the old one, sporting a rather nice painting of a 190 speeding over a crippled B-17 which has two engines afire. Inside are six large sprues in Panzer grey styrene, a clear styrene sprue, a sheet of pre-painted PE, a set of canopy masks in yellow kabuki tape (not pictured), a decal sheet and of course the instruction booklet in glossy colour.

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If you've built an Eduard Würger before, you'll know what to expect. It isn't a simple kit to build, but if you exercise patience and following the instructions particularly when building the complex engine, you will end up with an impressive model. The cockpit is formed from a basic tub to which you can add either styrene side consoles, or laminated PE panels, a choice that is echoed on the main panel, which is split into two sections, one of which is attached to the cockpit tub, the other to the airframe further down the line. Pre-painted seatbelts are also included to drape over the seat, and a pair of fine PE rudder pedals if you're not satisfied with the styrene set also included in the kit. The cannon bay is build up and attached to the fuselage with the cockpit, and either a one-piece tail-wheel, or a more detailed assembly with a two-part yoke and separate wheel.

The lower wing is full-width, and has a spar inserted that also fills the job of rear walls of the main gear bays, to which a few additional ribs & parts are added along with a separate panel that covers the wheel area, plus the wing root mounted cannons. You can display the cannon bays open and expose their breeches by switching parts, or glue the bay doors shut and keep the lines clean. The upper wings are added, and then mated to the fuselage together with the upper part of the instrument panel and the separate ailerons that you can pose at will.

The engine is a complete radial unit, with both rows of seven cylinders depicted, plus the spaghetti of exhaust manifolds that squirm around to exit the cowling side each side. A template is supplied to fit to the D-shaped lug on the rear of the engine, onto which you rest the exit ends of each tube, which should leave them correctly arranged if you're careful and don't get impatient when waiting for the glue to set up. As long as you've remembered not to glue the template, you then remove it and add the rear "greeblies" to the engine before mounting it on an octagonal frame and three triangular mounts that attach to very specific areas in the front of the fuselage. The cowling is made up next, and here you have a choice of a faired over pair of gun troughs on the nose, which is for the bright red captured 190, and can be found on the clear sprue for no apparent reason other than there was space. The three-part cowling (with or without faired over guns) attaches to the outer cowling ring, and then the inner ring, and it would be a good idea to fit this temporarily to the fuselage while it sets up, to avoid any wobbly shaped cowling issues later. Once dry, add the three hoses, and the cowling can be permanently installed if you aren't leaving some panels off to display your hard work.

The tail has a separate rudder and one-piece elevators, and once the landing gear has been built up from strut, oleo-scissor link, bay door, single part wheels and retraction jacks, it is just a case of adding the drop tank to the centreline pylon, adding the barrels for the 30mm outer cannons (except for the captured option, for which you also need to remove their forward fairings), and then adding the canopy glazing, which is both thin and optically clear. There are alternative canopies for open or closed, plus additional armoured glass panels to be fitted to the sides of the canopy, which is probably best done by carefully flooding the gap between the parts with Klear/Future, being careful not to leave any bubbles compressed between the parts. The three bladed prop, PE exhaust grilles on the side of the fuselage and the remaining panels on the gun bays are the final items to be installed, completing the build.


Markings
There are six options in this Profipack edition, all but one of which have the same upper fuselage and wing soft-edged RLM74/75 splinter camo, overlaid with various forms of mottle on the fuselage and tail sides. Unit markings and theatre identification give plenty of variation, but that last option is in bright red and wearing stars and bars… just that little bit different! From the box you can build one of the following:

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  • Hans-Günther von Kornatzki, Stab/II.(Sturm)/JG4, September 11th, 1944 – green 3, and black/white/black tail band, black/white spiral spinner.
  • Werner Gerth, II.(Sturm)/JG 3 “Udet”, July, 1944 – Black 13, black nose cowling and lightning strike down the fuselage, white tail band, black/white spiral spinner.
  • Karl Spenst, 8./JG 300, December, 1944 – Black 10, blue/white/blue tail band, black/white spiral spinner.
  • Ewald Preiß, 6./JG 300, October, 1944 – Yellow 1, yellow under cowling, orange tail band, black/white spiral spinner.
  • Walter Wagner, 5./JG 4, January 1st, 1945 – White 11, black/white/black tail band, partial black/white spiral spinner.
  • Ex-white 11 of 5/JG4, Leo C.Moon, 404th FG, 9th USAF, February/March, 1945 – All over red with black wing step, spinner and exhaust areas, wearing 00*L on the fuselage.

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All decals are printed in the Czech Republic, and are of good quality, showing good register, sharpness and colour density. The stencils are printed on the smaller sheet, and have a separate page at the back of the instruction booklet detailing their application, which is common amongst all markings. The US stars'n'bars look a little odd, which is possibly due to the white of the stars touching the bars, hiding the very tips of the star. If it bothers you, it's almost certain you'll be able to find some spares in your decal stash, or online. It might even be your excuse to try some masks such as these from Maketar.


Conclusion
A welcome re-release of an excellent kit. Interesting markings that are the same as the earlier edition, but if it's not broken, don't fix it. The red captured example is very enticing, but you have to leave the guns off, which is sad.

Very highly recommended.

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Review sample courtesy of
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Hi Gregor, Eduard has the weekend edtion under the number 8428 out.

The newer weekenders has now two options and often seat belts in the box

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  • 2 weeks later...

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