Search the Community

Hi :-) My current project: the lovely Huckebein. Thank you for looking!

Hi, my first build on Britmodeller. The chosen subject is Eduards Fw 190 in 1/48 scale.Not only one but two ! Last Sunday i couldn t choose which, so there will be two of them. On both build every hatch will be closed.Eduard did a lot of effort in open and detailed gun bays, but i feel it disturbes the clean but powerful lines of this type. There are offerings from Hasegawa,Dragon and Tamiya for closed 190s but i like Eduards surfaces and the nicely detailed cockpits and wheel bays, as well the nice decals ...... And they were in my stash ! The build has started with some sub assemblies, the cockpit tubs, the engines(the hardest part with the single exhaust stubs).The underwings with the wing spar and the wheelwells. The upperwings need a cutout to fit the gun hatches for the inner wing guns.To get a better fit the inner parts of the hatches were sanded down. So much for now. Cheers Bernd

In 2014 my Fw 190 "production" is very much underway. Its one of my favorite planes. 2014 was also the start of my own business, that meant my modelling was interrupted, for a longer time. Its always a good idea ( for me) to re start the hobby with something easy. Some new Airfix kits in 1/72 came to rescue! There were also a Spitfire Mk. I/II,a fabric winged Hurricane and a Hawker Typhoon purchased, the 190 was the first. Build out of the box, i added new gun barrels and a pitot from Master and tape for the seat belts. Some parts were too crude in the kit and were chaged from a retired Italeri kit. These parts were the fan behind the prop, the underbelly loop antenna and the ladder. Te instrument panel sits too far forward, i changed this, but in the end nothin but the seat will be visible. Painted with self mixed acrylics. After the dark prime, i noticed the paint won t stick on the plastic. The next Airfix kit will be washed before building. It was great fun, i hope you like it Cheers Bernd

Focke Wulf Ta 152H 1:72 Revell The Ta.152 began life as a variant of the Fw.190 in order to improve the aircraft's high altitude performance. One of the three sub-types was selected for further development, and became the Ta.152. In typical Nazi style however, the RLM requested three types from this initial design. The C variant didn't have the high-altitude extended wing and didn't see service, although several prototypes were made. The H-model was the only variant produced in quantity, and saw service in limited amounts due to there still being plenty of quirks to iron out of the new design. The Ta 152H boasted excellent high altitude performance, using a Jumo 213E engine with a two-stage, three-speed supercharger and the MW 50 methanol-water mixture engine boost system. The aircraft also had a cockpit pressurisation system for the pilot. Armament was one 30mm cannon in the nose and two 20mm cannon in the wings. The Kit This kit appears to be the old FROG tool from 1970 and it does show its age. On opening the box you have 4 small sprues of light grey plastic and and the single part canopy. There is some flash on some parts of the moulding. The detail is typical of the time period with fine raised panel lines and some engraved detail on the wings. There is no real cockpit to speak of, just a badly defined seat for the pilot figure to sit on. There is no detail in the wheel wells or any where else really. The overall shape does not appear to be to bad though the front fuselage seems to be just a tube missing the variances shown on the box art. Construction starts with adding the pilot to his armchair. The propeller is then added to the engine cowling part and the propeller hub is added (there is no hole in this for the cannon to shoot though so the modeller will have to add this. Next the main landing gear is made up. The landing gear legs are moulded into the door so it is just a case of adding the wheels and their end caps. The supercharger intake is then made up. Next the fuselage is closed up after the pilot is added, and then the engine/prop assembly is added to the front. Next the Top wing panels are added to the one part bottom wing. The wing sub assembly is then joined to the fuselage. The Landing gear is than added (can be lowered or raised). The Supercharger intake is added and the canopy placed on. The canopy is fairly thick, but to be honest there is not much to see behind it. Decals There is a nice little decal sheet with this issue of the kit. It states Printed in Italy so we might assume by Cartograf? Markings for only one aircraft are included. Ta 152H-1 W.Nr. 150158 "Green 9" Stab JG301, Germany 1945. As is usual with Revell no Swastika markings are included. Conclusion This kit is really a product of its time, the 1970s and it shows. Maybe instead of issuing the kit with new decals Revell could look at making a new tool of this striking looking fighter? Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

Ta.152C-11 1:48 Hobby Boss We reviewed the stable-mate of this kit, the Ta.152C-1 here in June of 2012, and this kit represents a variant that was to be a medium altitude reconnaissance fighter with improved radio gear, and consequentially different doors on the fuselage sides. It is more of a what-if than the C-1, as it is believed that at least a few of them reached squadron service before the end of WWII, whereas this variant was very far from reaching operational status by close of hostilities. The Kit Inside the small top opening box are seven sprues in mid-grey styrene, one of clear parts, a small Photo-Etch (PE) brass fret, two decal sheets, painting guide and instruction manual. The styrene is almost identical to the earlier C-1 with the exception of the fuselage sprue, which has a larger door on the port side aft of the cockpit, some changes to the panel lines in that area, and a different arrangement on the starboard side under the cockpit sill. Everything else is exactly the same, even bearing the same sprue designations and serial codes to the earlier release. I'll not bore you with another blow-by-blow recounting of the build of the aircraft, as you can read that in the C-1 review, but I understand that a camera port is missing from the fuselage, so if you're interested in getting it accurate, you'll need to put one in somewhere sensible. The issue with the engine's annular radiator being depicted as an Fw.190 style unit is also carried through to this issue, so again you'll need to correct this if it concerns you. Those issues aside, the plastic is very nicely detailed, and construction should be fairly easy, as I'm about to find out. The armament of the reconnaissance variants was usually cut down to just two guns in order to save weight, but both the nose mounted MG151s and the wing root mounted MK103s are provided and shown installed on the instructions. Markings One set of markings are included with the kit, using a fictitious Yellow 11 with yellow and red tail bands and a late war RLM82/81 soft demarcation splinter on the wings and upper fuselage, and mottle on the fuselage sides. At that stage of the war it's entirely possible that some of the underside panels would be left as bare metal. Some stencils are included around the airframe, as are a set of swastikas for the tail in halves to circumvent the rules of some territories, and the small additional sheet containing the instrument decals has been re-worked to remove the black background, enabling the modeller to paint and highlight the instrument panel easily before adding the decals. Application of decal solution should assist the decals settling down over the raised detail, resulting in a more realistic looking panel with careful painting. Conclusion Another nice release from Hobby Boss with a what-if edge, but as detailed above, a few aspects of the kit that will need adjusting if you're going to try and maintain a sense of historical accuracy. The Ta.152 was the ultimate descendent of the Fw.190, and as such one of these posed next to the original will show off the differences nicely. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Good afternoon colleagues. everything was built here: http://scalemodels.ru/modules/forum/viewtopic_t_26413.html

After the D-9 (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234930559-148th-focke-wulf-fw190d-9-by-hobbyboss-release-february-2013-sprues-pics/?hl=wulf) next HobbyBoss 1/48th F***-Woulf will be in September 2013 a Fw.190D-10 with catalogue ref. 81717 Source: http://www.hobbyboss.com/index.php?g=home&m=product&a=show&id=201&l=en V.P.

Fw 190A-8 Profipack 1:48 Eduard The Fw 190 was a shock to the Allies when it arrived, and was a trigger for evolution of the Spitfire once it became known. It was designed to be small, consisting of little more than a radial engine and space for the pilot, but its diminutive size belied its offensive power that was concentrated around the centreline of the aircraft with guns installed in the engine cowling and wing-root that fired through the propeller. The A-8 was a late war variant, but was still the most produced of the A series aircraft, and had a more powerful engine with emergency boost that increased speed for a short time at the expense of fuel economy, a new wooden wide-bladed prop as well as a bulged canopy to improve the pilot's vision to the side and rear. An additional fuel tank was also housed in the fuselage to improve endurance, which necessitated movement of other items and the access hatches that serviced them. Additional armour was added to the front of the aircraft, with 10mm plate protecting the engine during head-on attacks, and an elongated centre mounted bomb rack could also carry an additional fuel tank if required. The Kit This is one of Eduard's Profipack kits, so is loaded with plenty of goodies that will appeal to those that like extra detail and plenty of choice of markings on their models. The kit arrives in the usual top-opening Eduard box with the orange Profipack branding stripe running across the front of a rather nice painting of a 190 in the midst of an attack on a bomber-stream of B-17s and Mustangs. Anyone that has an Eduard 190 in their stash will know what to expect in the box, and a few of the sprues should be familiar at least. There are six sprues of olive green styrene in the box, bagged in trios using resealable film bags. There are two decal sheets, plus a sheet of pre-cut kabuki tape masks, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) metal, and a clear sprue in a ziplok bag. The instruction booklet is Eduard's usual full colour glossy affair, and there is an additional sheet of lower grade paper that contains stencil placement and mask placement instructions that are common to all decal subjects. Comparing the A-8 to the A-9 boxing, the kits appear to be almost identical in terms of build, so I won't reproduce that in great detail, however it does raise a question in my mind that as the A-9 was supposed to be slightly longer than the A-8 due to a longer annular radiator for the oil cooler, but I'm sure of the difference, so perhaps an "experten" could chime in with a number to see whether it was even worth tooling different cowling parts? To summarise, a well-appointed cockpit can be made with a choice of PE or styrene panels, although decal panels aren't included with this one. A set of PE seatbelts finishes off the detail, and the gun bay is built up in the same vein. Wings are full-length on the underside and have the familiar spar running along the back of the gear bay to give it strength. A couple of holes will need to drilled out here if you're going to use the rockets that the 190 could carry under its wings. The options of open or closed gun bays, offset rudder and ailerons is present, while the elevators will need to be cut free for offsetting. The big radial BMW engine is provided in its entirely, and detail is as good as always, with the same caveats about fitting the engine to the fuselage on those realistically thin, but delicate engine bearers. The cowling is in three parts plus the underside that is moulded to the lower wing, and has the two cowling rings to provide the correct shape and aperture at the front. The gear is long and sturdy, with separate styrene oleo scissor-links, and again a scrap diagram helps you set the correct angle of the wheel to the strut. The weapons load for the A-8 consists of a choice of a centrally mounted bomb or additional fuel tank, and two single rockets mounted to the underside of the wing just outboard of the wheel bays. These Werfer-Granate 21 were used from summer 1943 to disrupt bomber streams and provided more of a psychological effect than a physical one, as they were wildly inaccurate, especially if fired from their 1km maximum range. The correct fitting to the wing shows them pointing upward quite significantly in a scrap diagram, which is confirmed by photos of the time, with a roughly 15o rise to counter the drop of the rocket as it made its way toward the target. The consequent drag and the difficulty in aiming due to their slow speed probably made them an unpopular weapon to be armed with, although they did succeed in breaking up formations quite well. The prop differs from the A-9 by not having the bolted on balance weights at the base of the blades, which are missing from the PE sheet. The narrower prop is the standard for all the markings options too, although the wider one is supplied on the sprues. The earlier canopy with the lesser head armour protection is also present, and is used for three of the supplied marking options, although the later improved version is used on the other two choices. The masks are supplied for the canopy, for the wheels, and for the small section of unpainted (metal coloured) wing that lies under the gun bay door when closed. That's quite a nice touch that shows attention to detail from Eduard's designers. Markings There are five options for this kit, and quite a variation in colours and identification stripes that should please most people. As usual with Profipack editions, the last option is displayed on the front page of the booklet, with the other views usually available online. At this point however, the link doesn't show the other three profiles, which might make that one a difficult choice to do well. From the box one of the following options are possible: Blue 13, Maj. Walter Dahl, Stab/JG300 Jüterborg, Germany Dec 1944 - RLM70/74/75 soft edged splinter over RLM76 with heavy mottle, black/white spiral spinner and red tail band. White 2, Uffz. Julius Händel, IV./JG54, Poland, Aug/Sep 1944 - RLM74/75 soft edged splinter over RLM76 with light mottle, yellow spinner and cowling lower panel. Blue 8, "Erika", IV./JG5, Herdla, Norway Spring 1945 - RLM74/75 soft edged splinter over RLM76 with heavy mottle, black/white/blue spiral spinner and blue cowling ring. White 6, Lt. Gustav Salffner, 7./JG300, Lobnitz, Germany Mar 1945 - RLM75/83 soft edged splinter over RLM76, very heavy mottle fading aft, blue/white/blue fuselage band and black/white spiral spinner. Black 10, W.Nr. 380352, I./JG11, Darmstadt, Germany Spring 1945 - based on limited information available from the instructions, RLM81/83 soft edged splinter over RLM 74, with mid demarcation, yellow fuselage band and tip of tail, and black/white spiral spinner. The decal sheets are both printed locally in the Czech republic, in good register, colour density and clarity. Carrier film is minimal and of glossy texture, but there are a few specks of white on a couple of the darker decals that might need touching in with paint or by overlaying with some spare decal from the other options. The stencils common to all airframes cover the whole of the second sheet, and their placement guide is on the back of the masking instructions. Conclusion Another fine Fw.190 kit for your collection, with much to recommend it over the alternatives. Out of the box you get masks, additional PE detail, plus a choice of five marking options, and some very nicely moulded styrene make a pretty compelling package. If you feel like you wouldn't use all those extras however, there will doubtless be a weekend edition along shortly. Review sample courtesy of

Fw 190A-9 Profipack Edition 1:48 Eduard The Focke Wulf 190 was initially designed to complement the Bf.109 in a prescient move to counter future Allied fighters that might outclass the older 109. It was the prime reason for the Mk.V Spitfire, being replaced in the front line by the much improved Mk.IV, which reasserted the Allies air superiority again. It was a small and agile aircraft, much loved by its pilots, and the mount of a number of very successful fighter aces. Designed by Kurt Tank, one of the most famous aircraft designers of WWII, it was powered by a BMW radial engine with a streamlined shape broken only by the intake for the super-charger. The engine was air cooled, with a small inlet around the propeller, which had a special aerofoil section within that increased the speed of the air entering the cowling and allowed the reduction of the opening, giving better aerodynamics. The wide track landing gear also helped to endear it to its pilots, as the 109 was well known for ground handling issues that could easily result in a nose-over accident. The A-9 variant was the last of the A series, and incorporated improvements due to experience in the field. It arrived late in the war, had improved armour for the pilot and engine, as well as a slightly longer cowling due to changes in the oil cooling system. Armament consisted of a pair of MG131 machine guns in the cowling, synchronised with the prop, and two further MG151/20E cannons in the wing root, which gave an excellent concentration of fire for the aircraft. Production of the A-9 continued until orders were given to concentrate on the new Dora and Ta 152, although an A-10 was prototyped but didn’t see production. The Kit Eduard's range of Fw 190 kits has been with us for a while now, and is well regarded with the community. The range is regularly expanded, and this A-9 kit is initially released as the Profipack edition, and has some nice bells and whistles included. The Weekend edition should be along later for those not wishing to deal with Photo-Etch (PE) parts. The box is standard Eduard fair. A colourful painting of a 190 battling a Shturmovik, just in time for the new Tamiya kit, and maybe some unofficial dogfight doubles displays? Inside the box are six sprues of Eduard’s usual olive brown styrene in two resealable bags. A ziplok type bag contains the clear part sprue, the PE fret and self-adhesive masks are also separately bagged, while two long sheets of decals are loose in the bottom of the box. Eduard’s usual colour instruction booklet completes the package nicely. First impressions are good, with crisp detail, restrained panel lines and rivets, plus plenty of detail parts. As would be expected, there are quite a number of parts that won’t be used for this build, as Eduard’s sprues are always designed with multiple uses in mind. Construction of course follows a pretty standard format, and begins with the cockpit, where the pre-painted PE instrument panel and side consoles really help to lift the detail of the kit, but require the modeller to first remove the moulded in detail on the consoles. The instrument panel only requires a small raised part removing, and a two part laminated panel is glued to the front of the kit part. A full set of pre-painted PE belts are supplied for the pilot’s seat and a set of optional PE rudder pedals are also provided. The gun bay with its twin MG131s is next, with ammo boxes, gun supports and the guns themselves all supplied as separate parts. Once this is complete, the fuselage can be closed up, also trapping one of two optional tail wheels between the rear of the two halves. Construction then moves onto the wings, which are supplied as a single piece lower with a long spar running over half the total span, with ancillary ribs placed within the wheel bay area, which then receives a partial cover in the centre, and the two 20mm cannons in the wing root. The upper wing is in two halves, each of which have additional detail moulded in and added before the two parts are glued to the lower. The ailerons are separate and can be posed offset, and the whole assembly is then placed under the fuselage and joined up. The rudder and elevators are separate parts, although the elevators themselves are moulded into the horizontal tail. The engine is supplied as a highly detailed unit that builds up from a large number of parts depicting both banks of cylinders in good detail. The gearbox and reduction gear, plus the cooling fan is provided at the front of the engine, and the exhaust manifolds and pipes to the rear. A clever little template is provided here, which is slotted onto the rear of the engine, and ensures that the exhaust pipes are correctly positioned. Once the glue is dry on these parts, the template can be removed and discarded, being replaced by a detail part for the rear of the engine. It affixes to the fuselage via a realistic engine mount that has an octagonal ring at the front and three triangular braces that mount on the front of the gun bay. Care will be needed here to ensure that everything lines up properly. The outer cowling is made up from three separate parts, and if you plan on closing up the engine, it would be wise to place them in situ while the glue dries, to ensure they match up well. The cowling ring is made up from two cylindrical parts and glues to the front of the cowling, with some delicate hosing reaching back into the engine bay, consisting of three separate parts. A scrap diagram shows their location in the rear of the engine bay, but care is the order of the day again to ensure correct placement and alignment. The wide-tracked landing gear consists of one long leg and an angled retraction jack that are both well detailed. A separate oleo scissor link is supplied, and a scrap diagram shows the correct angle of 8o of the wheel to the strut, a small but important detail for the right look. The gear bay doors attach to the back of the struts and the whole assembly fits into a number of holes in the bay interior for added strength. The canopy gives you a choice of parts for open or closed, with detail parts for the headrest, roll-bar and head-armour, and masks are provided for both options, and as usual you will need to fill the centres of the larger highly curved parts with either tape or masking fluid to complete the job. There is also a choice of props for the different markings, with a standard spinner that slips over the single piece blades, and three sets of cuff detail parts finish off the job. The rest of the outer panels cover the gun bays, and these can be posed open or closed, with small masking parts or PE hinge lines depending on which you choose. One of five aircraft can be built using the decals included with the kit, as follows: W.Nr. 206000 III./KG(J) 27 Wels am Wagram, Austria, May 1945 W.Nr. 490044 II./JG 301, Bad Langensalza, Germany May 1945 W.Nr. 205998 Stab III./SG 10, Salsburg, Austria, May 1945 W.Nr. 750114 13./JG 54, Germany Late 1944/early 1945 W.Nr. 206147 II./JG 301, Germany, May 1945 You can see all of the schemes at the back of the online instruction booklet that you can see here, which also shows the additional views missing from the last option due to a lack of space. The decals are printed in-house, and are up to Eduard's usual high quality. Colour density is good, as is register and crispness. Serials and stencils are all legible (although unintelligible, as I don't speak German). Conclusion The release of these excellent kits has made building a well detailed Fw.190 a simple thing, although as with all kits, test fitting of parts will ensure you don't make any rods for your back later in the build. The inclusion of plenty of decal choices, masks and a sheet of PE parts gives the kit a further edge over the competition, and makes a well rounded package. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

MG131 Machine Guns for Fw.190 1:48 Eduard Brassin (648065) These are straightforward drop-in replacements for the kit parts found in the upper nose of the 190, and simply require a little removal of the casting blocks before fitting. A very fine web of material is removed from the rear and underside of the breech, and a small cylindrical block must be cut from the muzzle with a sharp knife before drilling a small hole to represent the hollow barrel. When compared to the kit parts, detail is much improved, and will benefit from some careful painting to bring that detail out. Of course, the set is of real benefit if you intend to hinge back the gun cover, as only the barrels will be seen on a closed-up 190. Conclusion A good set to improve the detail in the nose gun bays with a level of detail almost requires magnification to be appreciated. The finesse of the barrels and perforations in the cooling jacket are matchless, and couldn't be matched by the efforts of us mere mortals. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of