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Another 190 for the collection, and I still haven´t built my Pegasus Hobbies 190A-3 with EagleCals decals. I´m also planning to buy again the Fw 190A-5/U7 Graf Special in 48 from Hasegawa, and build the high altitude U7 version with the resin parts, however, there´re many models I´d like to buy, and so little space on my hand luggage. This aircraft also gave a bit of a fight, because somehow the cowling wouldn´t fit over the engine, it would get stuck half way, so I had to force it into place and then hold it while the glue was drying. I swear each new Fw 190 in 48 I build from Hasegawa gives me new problems.

Focke-Wulf Fw.190A-4 Weekend (84121) 1:48 Eduard Introduced in 1941 to combat the ever-improving Spitfire, the Fw.190 was intended to supplant the Bf.109 if it reached a plateau in development, or run alongside it as a stablemate. Its powerful twin-bank radial engine was installed with a close-fitting cowling and was initially equipped with an oversized, ducted prop-spinner to keep the engine cool, which was discarded early in development in favour of a fan that ran on the prop's drive-shaft to push air through the cylinder heads, which also facilitated oil cooling. It was also given a wide-track landing gear, which reduced the likelihood of a nose-over, a problem afflicting both the 109 and Spitfire, due to their narrow track and poor forward visibility. When it first encountered Spitfires, it gave the Allied pilots a shock, as they were expecting 109s, not these agile little aircraft. It caused an frenzy of development at Supermarine, which was just part of the leapfrog games played on both sides throughout the conflict. The initial A-1 production version was equipped with a BMW 801 engine, and by the time the A-4 was signed off, it had two 7.92mm guns in the cowling, and a pair of 20mm MG151 cannons in the wing root, all of which were synchronised with the prop's motion, in turn mated to a more powerful version of the BMW engine. There were a number of equipment fits used to give the Würger (Shrike) additional weapons and capabilities, including a pressurised cockpit, rocket tubes and reconnaissance cameras. The A-4 also saw limited service as the F-1 in a ground-attack role, and was eventually replaced by the A-5, which moved the centre-of-gravity forward to accommodate the larger load it was capable of carrying. The Kit Since Eduard started reboxing their new kits the A-4 doesn't seem to have been available in a weekend boxing on its own until now. These new kits from Eduard are top notch in all respects. Inside are five grey/blue sprues, one clear, two decal sheets and the instruction/painting guide in glossy colour printing. Due to the pick-n-mix nature of the sprues there will be a fair quantity of spares left after construction, which are marked on the diagrams with a pale blue overprinting. Construction starts in the cockpit. The tub includes the sharply pointed rear deck, to which you add the rear bulkheads, control column, seat, rudder pedals, and sundry other parts in styrene. In order to close up the fuselage the cockpit assembly is inserted along with a bulkhead that closes up the front of the tub, two exhaust inserts in the cowling, and the engine assembly, which is only an approximation of the front row of cylinders, plus the reduction gear, as not much will be seen once the cowling is in place. The lower wings are full width, and have a spar fitted that runs to the ends of the gear bays, with detail on the face visible through the apertures. This is augmented by the wheel trays, various ribs and the cannon barrels that protrude through, with the upper wings added after painting of the bay roof detail that is etched into their underside. The completed wing assembly is then offered up to the fuselage, and the missing sections of the cowling with exhaust stubs, gun barrels and troughs are added to the top and bottom of the nose. The two-piece ring finishes the front cowling, and the flying surfaces are glued into to place, including separate rudder and ailerons, and fixed elevators. Two types of tyres are provided for the main gear, which have separate hubs, and fit onto the peg on the ends of the strut, with separate oleo-scissors and captive bay door parts. The retraction gear is installed on the inner side of the leg, and the centre doors fit to the central bar that splits the bays. The tail wheel slots into the rear, crew step, gun barrels and pitot probes are installed, then the three-bladed paddle prop is completed with spinner and fan behind it, with a peg at the rear fitting into a corresponding hole in the engine front. Different open and closed canopies are provided, and are outfitted with head armour before being added to the airframe along with the windscreen part. If you are rigging the aerial wire to the tail, remember that if you pose the canopy open, the wire can appear relaxed, although many photos also show it taut, so check your references. Markings This weekend edition gives you two decal options, from the box you can build one of the following: Fw 190A-4 1/48 - W. Nr. 5533, flown by Oblt. Wolfgang Leonhardt, CO of 6./JG 1, Woensdrecht, the Netherlands, October 1942 2 / 2 Fw 190A-4 1/48 - W. Nr. 583, flown by Uffz. Karl Knespel, 1./JG 1, Deelen, the Netherlands, April 1943 All the decals are printed in house, have good registration, colour density and sharpness, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the edge of the printing. The stencils are catered for on a separate sheet, with a page of the instructions devoted to their placement, away from the markings options to avoid clutter. As always with Eduard, the Swastikas are provided on one cut-off corner of the sheet, and in two parts on the body of the sheet to comply with local regulations regarding this contentious symbol. Conclusion The surface detail on the kit is excellent, with lines of finely engraved rivets adding to the visual appeal (yes, we know rivets aren't holes, but this technique works for most of us though!). The weekend edition brings this excellent kit out at a good price point. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Fw.190A-8/R2 Upgrades (for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Eduard's newly issued early Fw.190A-8/R2 has been released in different boxings, now Eduard offer some upgrade sets for the kit. As always it's a modular approach, and you can choose what you use, with a guarantee that it'll fit your model just so, as it's by Eduard for Eduard. As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. The larger sets are encased in an oblong box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched wrapped around, providing extra protection. Fw.190A-8/R2 Cockpit (648426) Consisting of resin, PE, decals and a small sheet of clear acetate film, the largest part of which is the cockpit tub with the aft decking and side consoles already moulded in. The separate seat is prepared with its cushion and a set of pre-painted PE seatbelts, and fitted to the tub after the removal of some moulding flash that is indicated in red (already removed in the pics). Resin control column, resin and PE rudder pedals, and the instrument panel are made up next, with the latter having the choice of using the PE panel with pre-printed dials, or a detailed resin part over which you apply a decal of the instruments. Your choice! The panel fits on ledges at the front of the side consoles, and the resin gunsight with PE and acetate parts slides into a groove in the upper panel. The cowling fits over the top, and it too has cut-outs that need clearing of flash beforehand. To fit the new cockpit inside the fuselage a pair of plastic wedges are removed from the inside, to be replaced with a detailed PE and resin trim wheel. The assemblies should then fit neatly within, alongside the kit bulkhead, assuming you aren't taking advantage of any of the other sets I'll be mentioning in this review. The set includes the opening mechanism and the pilot's head armour, which has a warning decal added to it after painting. The interior roll-over frame is resin, and has delicate PE bracing wires linking to the rear, all of which fits inside the canopy after painting. The canopy then installs as normal. Update PE Set (48973) The main thrust of this set is new main landing gear doors, there are also additional parts for the main gear bays, shell chutes in the wings, brake lines for the landing gear legs, external rack braces, some exterior fittings and parts for the canopy Undercarriage Legs BRONZE (648437) There are two cast bronze legs in the box, with two gear bay doors. There are no small centre line doors I have seen in other Fw 190 sets? The casting of the bronze is superlative, and far better than white metal, as well as being much stronger. If you are planning on loading up your model with resin cockpit, engine, gun bay, etc., these may be just the ticket to support all that extra weight. Flaps (48974) As the title suggests this set is for the flaps of the aircraft. Review sample courtesy of

Reichsverteidigung Fw 190A-8/R2 & Bf 109G-6/14 1:48 Eduard Limited Edition This Limited Edition kit focuses on German heavy fighter aircraft Fw 190A-8/R2, and fighter aircraft Bf 109G-6/14 flown by Defence of the Reich fighter units. The Kits We have previously reviewed the profipack boxing of the Bf 109G-14 here, so will point you to that review if you want to see whats in the box. This duel boxing contains one of each kit with the masks and photoetch you find in the profipack kits. However it would seem at some point the Eduard have re-tooled the sprues for the Fw 190A-/R2 so we will show those below. Construction of the Fw 190 starts in the cockpit, which is augmented with pre-painted PE side consoles and instrument panels, but also retained are the decals that can be applied to flat panels, as well as the engraved panels for those that prefer to paint their details manually. The tub includes the sharply pointed rear deck, to which you add the rear bulkheads, control column, seat, plastic or PE rudder pedals, pre-painted seatbelts and sundry other parts in styrene and PE. In order to close up the fuselage the cockpit assembly is inserted along with a bulkhead that closes up the front of the tub, two exhaust inserts in the cowling, and the engine assembly, which is only an approximation of the front row of cylinders, plus the reduction gear, as not much will be seen once the cowling is in place. The lower wings are full width, and have a spar fitted that runs to the ends of the gear bays, with detail on the face visible through the apertures. This is augmented by the wheel trays, various ribs and the cannon barrels that protrude through, with the upper wings added after painting of the bay roof detail that is etched into their underside. There are different wings in this boxing depending on the decal options so the modeller will need to chose the right one. The completed wing assembly is then offered up to the fuselage, and the missing sections of the cowling with exhaust stubs, gun barrels and troughs are added to the top and bottom of the nose. The two-piece ring finishes the front cowling, and the flying surfaces are glued into to place, including separate rudder and ailerons, and fixed elevators. Two types of tyres are provided for the main gear, which have separate hubs, and fit onto the peg on the ends of the strut, with separate oleo-scissors and captive bay door parts. The retraction gear is installed on the inner side of the leg, and the centre doors fit to the central bar that splits the bays. The tail wheel slots into the rear, crew step, gun barrels and pitot probes are installed, then the three-bladed paddle prop is completed with spinner and fan behind it, with a peg at the rear fitting into a corresponding hole in the engine front. Different open and closed canopies are provided, and are outfitted with head armour before being added to the airframe along with the windscreen part. The last touch is to add the gear-down indicator pegs to the tops of the wings, which are made from tiny PE parts. If you are rigging the aerial wire to the tail, remember that if you pose the canopy open, the wire can appear relaxed, although many photos also show it taut, so check your references. Decals This really is the main reason to get this boxing, with 12 decal options. There are 7 for the 109 and 5 for the 190. The decal sheet is by Cartograf so quality is a given.There are also a sheet of stencils for each aircraft Bf 109G-14, 13./ JG 53, Bad Wörishofen, Germany, 1945 Bf 109G-14/U4, W. Nr. 512429, I./ JG 77, Euskirchen, Germany, 1945 Bf 109G-6, flown by Uffz. Klaus Lambio, 9./ JG 300, Jüterbog – Waldlager, Germany, June 1944 Bf 109G-6/R6, 9./ JG 54, Ludwigslust, Germany, January/ February 1944 Bf 109G-6/R6, 2./ JG 27, Trenčín, Slovak Republic, early 1944 Bf 109G-6/R6, flown by Hptm. Anton Hackl, CO of III./ JG 11, Oldenburg, Germany, January 1944 Bf 109G-6/R6, W. Nr. 20272, flown by Oblt. Heinrich Klöpper, CO of 7./ JG 1, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, November 1943 Fw 190A-8/R2, W. Nr. 682181, flown by Fw. Hubert Engst, Löbnitz, 6.(Sturm)/ JG 300, Löbnitz, Germany, early 1945 Fw 190A-8/R2, W. Nr. 682204, flown by Oblt. Klaus Bretschneider, 5. (Sturm)/ JG 300, Löbnitz, Germany, December 1944. Fw 190A-8/R2, flown by Uffz. Erich Keller, 5.(Sturm)/ JG 4, Babenhausen, Germany, December 1944 Fw 190A-8/R2, W. Nr. 682958, flown by Uffz. Paul Lixfeld, 6.(Sturm)/ JG 300, Löbnitz, Germany, December 1944 Fw 190A-8/R2, W. Nr. 681420, flown by Lt. Alfred Lausch, 8.(Sturm)/ JG 4, Welzow, Germany, September 1944 Poster There is also an A3 Picture of Fw 190A-8/R2, W. Nr. 681420, flown by Lt. Alfred Lausch, 8.(Sturm)/ JG 4, in flight/ Conclusion This is a welcome release from Eduard for those who like the aircraft which flew in the defence of Germany. Available at all good model shops Review sample courtesy of

Fw.190A-2 PE Upgrades (for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Eduard's newly issued early Fw.190A-2 has been released in different boxings, now Eduard offer some upgrade sets for the kit. As always it's a modular approach, and you can choose what you use, with a guarantee that it'll fit your model just so, as it's by Eduard for Eduard. Update PE Set (48971) The main thrust of this set is new main landing gear doors, there are also additional parts for the main gear bays, shell chutes in the wings, brake lines for the landing gear legs, external rack braces, some exterior fittings and parts for the canopy Flaps (48972) As the title suggests this set is for the flaps of the aircraft. Review sample courtesy of

Fw 190A-2 fighter (82146) 1:48 Eduard ProfiPACK edition. The Fw 190 came on-stream in 1941 and gave the RAF a shock with its superior performance to the older Bf.109 that it was mistaken for by many a hapless Spitfire pilot. The visionary designer Kurt Tank stripped down the aircraft as much as possible to give it the speed and manoeuvrability advantage the German Luftwaffe needed, which resulted in a small but pugnacious design with a twin-bank radial engine buried in a close-fitting nose cowling that could out-fly a Spitfire Mk.V in most respects below 20,000ft. The initial Fw 190A, they went from A-1 sub-variants, through A-2 with an improved engine and weapons, the A-3 with another power improvement and the ability to mount more external weapons, as the versatility of the airframe was realised. The A-4 was little different, with more armament options that could be fitted in the field, and after that came the A-5 all the way up to the A-10, and in ground attack versions we had the F, with the high altitude variant designed D, with the G replacing some of the later A variants that had either long-range tanks or specialist armaments fitted. The A-5 was developed when it was found the airframe was capable of carrying more weight than it was designed for. The engine was moved forward 6 inches, thus moving the centre of gravity forward allowing more weight to be carried further aft. The Kit The newly tooled early Fw.190A series has added much to Eduard's existing line of Fw 190 variants, and with tooling advancement used to improve the model, it is an excellent choice for anyone wanting a Butcher Bird for their collection. The ProfiPACK boxing includes extras to improve on the already excellent detail, and arrives in the traditional orange-themed box, which is adorned with a painting of the iconic Butcher bird engaged with a Mosquito. Inside are five grey/blue sprues, one clear, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, two resin parts, a small sheet of kabuki tape masking material( not shown), two decal sheets and the instruction/painting guide in glossy colour printing. Due to the pick-n-mix nature of the sprues there will be a fair quantity of spares left after construction, which are marked on the diagrams with a pale blue overprinting. Construction starts in the cockpit, which is augmented with pre-painted PE side consoles and instrument panels, but also retained are the decals that can be applied to flat panels, as well as the engraved panels for those that prefer to paint their details manually. The tub includes the sharply pointed rear deck, to which you add the rear bulkheads, control column, seat, plastic or PE rudder pedals, pre-painted seatbelts and sundry other parts in styrene and PE. In order to close up the fuselage the cockpit assembly is inserted along with a bulkhead that closes up the front of the tub, two exhaust inserts in the cowling, and the engine assembly, which is only an approximation of the front row of cylinders, plus the reduction gear, as not much will be seen once the cowling is in place. The lower wings are full width, and have a spar fitted that runs to the ends of the gear bays, with detail on the face visible through the apertures. This is augmented by the wheel trays, various ribs and the cannon barrels that protrude through, with the upper wings added after painting of the bay roof detail that is etched into their underside. There are different wings in this boxing depending on the decal options so the modeller will need to chose the right one. The completed wing assembly is then offered up to the fuselage, and the missing sections of the cowling with exhaust stubs, gun barrels and troughs are added to the top and bottom of the nose. The two-piece ring finishes the front cowling, and the flying surfaces are glued into to place, including separate rudder and ailerons, and fixed elevators. Two types of tyres are provided for the main gear, which have separate hubs, and fit onto the peg on the ends of the strut, with separate oleo-scissors and captive bay door parts. The retraction gear is installed on the inner side of the leg, and the centre doors fit to the central bar that splits the bays. The tail wheel slots into the rear, crew step, gun barrels and pitot probes are installed, then the three-bladed paddle prop is completed with spinner and fan behind it, with a peg at the rear fitting into a corresponding hole in the engine front. Different open and closed canopies are provided, and are outfitted with head armour before being added to the airframe along with the windscreen part. The last touch is to add the gear-down indicator pegs to the tops of the wings, which are made from tiny PE parts. If you are rigging the aerial wire to the tail, remember that if you pose the canopy open, the wire can appear relaxed, although many photos also show it taut, so check your references. Markings This ProfiPACK edition gives you five decal options, with plenty of variation between them, and don’t forget that you also have masks for the canopy and the wheel hubs to ease your painting job, which is always nice. From the box you can build one of the following: A. W. Nr. 0125310, flown by Hptm. Josef Priller, CO of III./JG 26, Wevelghem, Belgium, June 1942 B. W. Nr. 0125228, flown by Ofw. Erwin Leibold, Stab I./JG 26, St. Omer-Arques, France, July 1942 C. W. Nr. 0125281, flown by Oblt. Siegfried Schnell, CO of 9./JG 2, Théville, France, June 1942 D. W. Nr. 0122125, flown by Oblt. Max Buchholz, CO of 5./JG 1, Katwijk, the Netherlands, Summer 1942 E. flown by Oblt. Egon Mayer, CO of 7./JG 2, Théville, France, Summer 1942 Conclusion With a good selection of decal options, highly detailed plastic and some PE/resin, this is a lovely kit that will give you plenty of modelling fun. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

My first attemp to an A-8 Fw 190. I think it came out pretty well. Decals were more brittle than usual, the red bars breaking a bit while I moved them into possition. They were touched up with Revell red 36, which was a surprisingly good match to the decal´s colour. Spinner spiral was hand painted. Markings are for Ernst Schröder´s Fw 190A-8.

Fw 190A-3 (48956) 1:48 Eduard This set contains some small cockpit items, wheel well details, new gear doors, leg brake lines, gun panel details, and cockpit canopy details. Review sample courtesy of

Hi, it´s me again. I bought this decal sheet, and because Eaglecal´s profiles don´t give me much information regarding camouflage mottling, I wanted to know if you guys had photos of: 1) Fw 190A-3 Chevron and Wavy line, attached to I/JG51, painted in the temporary white camouflage scheme (I want to know if the aircraft had the normal Fw 190 camouflage before being painted in white). 2) Fw 190A-3 Yellow 5 and horizontal bar of the same colour, attached to 6/JG1 (I want to know if the aircraft had the outer guns and the bulges under the wings, or if it was a factory release of an aircraft without the outer guns and flat panels under the wings). 3) Josef Priller´s Fw 190A-2, attached to III/JG26. I was able to find a single blurry photo of this aircraft´s left side. I hope you guys can shine some light above these three aircraft. Thanks!

Fw 190A-5 Cockpit, Fuselage Guns, and Engine Sets 1:48 Eduard Brassin The newly improved Fw.190A kits from Eduard have been coming thick and fast, with additional detail added from the box. For those that want more, there are a range of PE and resin update parts from Eduard's own ranges that are pretty much guaranteed a good fit and have been engineered to replace parts that just can't be moulded to scale in injection plastic. These three sets cover the cockpit, fuselage guns, an the engine area, which isn't in the kit, but can either be simulated by adding a complete new engine with all the ancillary equipment that goes with it. Fw.190A-5 Cockpit (648390) As usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, this one arrives in the oblong Brassin box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched wrapped around, providing extra protection. Inside is a complete new cockpit for the A-5. A large complete cockpit casting dominates into which are fitted the seat, instrument panel, rudder pedals, control column, seat belts and a whole host of parts. As well as the resin there are PE parts and decals. Some of the detail here has to be seen to be believed. There is even a large resin part to fit inside the canopy for the pilots head rest and associated structure. Fw.190A-5 Fuselage Guns(648392) As usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, this one arrives in the oblong Brassin box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched wrapped around, providing extra protection. This one contains the complete structure and guns located above the engine in front of the canopy. If not fitting an engine set it also contains the rear of the engine which is seen in this area. Compete resin cowlings are included which can be displayed on or off the model as needed. Fw.190A-5 Engine (648391) As usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, this one arrives in the oblong Brassin box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched wrapped around, providing extra protection. Inside are a raft of engine parts in superb detail. Mike recently built one for the A-4 and reported the fit is astonishingly good. You can build the parts into sub-assemblies for painting, and if you approach it in a modular format the initial hesitancy of all that detail painting soon goes away. There are 22 resin parts, and sheet of Photo-Etch (PE), and only a small amount of trimming of the kit fuselage and lower wing panels is required, all of which is covered in the instructions. Placement of parts is important due to the accuracy of fit, so test-fit carefully and remove any paint from the mating surfaces to obtain the best, strongest join. With sympathetic painting and weathering the final result is unmatched by styrene moulding. Review samples courtesy of

Fw 190 A-5 Upgrade & Flaps sets (for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard These are designed for the new Eduard kit. Upgrade Set (48949) Although not called a landing gear set, this is basically what this set is for. There are new main gear doors and parts for the gear wells, as well as additional parts for the gear legs. There are a few extra fuselage panels and reinforcement strips for the canopy. Flaps (48950) Exactly as it says on the packet this one provides a complete set of landing flaps and the interiors areas on the wing. This will involve some surgery to remove the plastic in the wing. Review samples courtesy of

Fw 190A-5 Light fighter (82143) 1:48 Eduard ProfiPACK edition. The Fw 190 came on-stream in 1941 and gave the RAF a shock with its superior performance to the older Bf.109 that it was mistaken for by many a hapless Spitfire pilot. The visionary designer Kurt Tank stripped down the aircraft as much as possible to give it the speed and manoeuvrability advantage the German Luftwaffe needed, which resulted in a small but pugnacious design with a twin-bank radial engine buried in a close-fitting nose cowling that could out-fly a Spitfire Mk.V in most respects below 20,000ft. The initial Fw 190A, they went from A-1 sub-variants, through A-2 with an improved engine and weapons, the A-3 with another power improvement and the ability to mount more external weapons, as the versatility of the airframe was realised. The A-4 was little different, with more armament options that could be fitted in the field, and after that came the A-5 all the way up to the A-10, and in ground attack versions we had the F, with the high altitude variant designed D, with the G replacing some of the later A variants that had either long-range tanks or specialist armaments fitted. The A-5 was developed when it was found the airframe was capable of carrying more weight than it was designed for. The engine was moved forward 6 inches, thus moving the centre of gravity forward allowing more weight to be carried further aft. The Kit The newly tooled early Fw.190A series has added much to Eduard's existing line of Fw 190 variants, and with tooling advancement used to improve the model, it is an excellent choice for anyone wanting a Butcher Bird for their collection. The ProfiPACK boxing includes extras to improve on the already excellent detail, and arrives in the traditional orange-themed box, which is adorned with a painting of the iconic Butcher bird engaged with a Spitfire. Inside are five grey/blue sprues, one clear, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a small sheet of kabuki tape masking material, two decal sheets and the instruction/painting guide in glossy colour printing. Due to the pick-n-mix nature of the sprues there will be a fair quantity of spares left after construction, which are marked on the diagrams with a pale blue overprinting. Construction starts in the cockpit, which is augmented with pre-painted PE side consoles and instrument panels, but also retained are the decals that can be applied to flat panels, as well as the engraved panels for those that prefer to paint their details manually. The tub includes the sharply pointed rear deck, to which you add the rear bulkheads, control column, seat, plastic or PE rudder pedals, pre-painted seatbelts and sundry other parts in styrene and PE. In order to close up the fuselage the cockpit assembly is inserted along with a bulkhead that closes up the front of the tub, two exhaust inserts in the cowling, and the engine assembly, which is only an approximation of the front row of cylinders, plus the reduction gear, as not much will be seen once the cowling is in place. The lower wings are full width, and have a spar fitted that runs to the ends of the gear bays, with detail on the face visible through the apertures. This is augmented by the wheel trays, various ribs and the cannon barrels that protrude through, with the upper wings added after painting of the bay roof detail that is etched into their underside. The completed wing assembly is then offered up to the fuselage, and the missing sections of the cowling with exhaust stubs, gun barrels and troughs are added to the top and bottom of the nose. The two-piece ring finishes the front cowling, and the flying surfaces are glued into to place, including separate rudder and ailerons, and fixed elevators. Two types of tyres are provided for the main gear, which have separate hubs, and fit onto the peg on the ends of the strut, with separate oleo-scissors and captive bay door parts. The retraction gear is installed on the inner side of the leg, and the centre doors fit to the central bar that splits the bays. The tail wheel slots into the rear, crew step, gun barrels and pitot probes are installed, then the three-bladed paddle prop is completed with spinner and fan behind it, with a peg at the rear fitting into a corresponding hole in the engine front. Different open and closed canopies are provided, and are outfitted with head armour before being added to the airframe along with the windscreen part. The last touch is to add the gear-down indicator pegs to the tops of the wings, which are made from tiny PE parts. If you are rigging the aerial wire to the tail, remember that if you pose the canopy open, the wire can appear relaxed, although many photos also show it taut, so check your references. Markings This ProfiPACK edition gives you five decal options, with plenty of variation between them, and don’t forget that you also have masks for the canopy and the wheel hubs to ease your painting job, which is always nice. From the box you can build one of the following: Fw 190A-5 light fighter 1/48 - flown by Oblt. Rolf Strohal, Stab I./JG 1, Deelen, the Netherlands, April 1943 Fw 190A-5 light fighter 1/48 - W. Nr. 0152 594, flown by Maj. Hermann Graf, CO of JGr. Ost, Toulouse – Blagnac, France, April 1943 Fw 190A-5 light fighter 1/48 - W. Nr. 0157 298, flown by Maj. Josef Priller, CO of JG 26, Lille - Vendeville, France, May 1943 Fw 190A-5 light fighter 1/48 - W. Nr. 538, 6./Schl.G 1 , Deblin - Irena , Poland , January 1943 Fw 190A-5 light fighter 1/48 - W. Nr. 1501, Oblt. Walter Nowotny, CO of 1./ JG 54, Orel, Soviet Union, Summer 1943 Conclusion With a good selection of decal options, highly detailed plastic and some PE, this is a lovely kit that will give you plenty of modelling fun. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Having built three of them and with two more on the stash, I wanted to know if someone else has had issues fitting the gear doors to the struts because of their length, because when the time comes, I have to trim both doors to get them to fit, am I doing something wrong? Thanks.

These three models were built when I was younger (15-17 I think), then they were thrown into the garbage because a shelf fell above them and broke them, without a repair chance. The Fw 190A-8 was specially fragile because I had swapped, once glued, its early style wheels for the late ones of Hasegawa´s newly tooled Fw 190A-5. Revell´s 1:32 Junkers Ju 88A-1. At this time I wasn´t too sure how to sand the paint ridges, so the aircraft was decaled over them. I used Scale Aircraft Conversion´s metal landing gear for this one. Hasegawa´s old tool 1:32 Focke Wulf Fw 190A. This was the first aircraft I tried to seriously mottle. It was also painted using bluetac as a guide for the camouflage. Academy has the same colour scheme on its 1:72 Fw 190A-8. Hasegawa´s 1:32 Me 163. The photos were uploaded to the "1:32" contest in Modeling Madness, you can find them here: https://modelingmadness.com/contests/1-32/1-32pix.htm I´ll try to find the photos of my old models, they´re scattered throughout many other websites.

Hello all, I was applying the decals to my Hasegawa Fw 190A-5 in 1:48 when I found out the yellow band I had painted (not included in the WIP link) was too wide. Having thought about what to do, I decided to wipe the model clean and start again (I´m missing the two upper crosses now to make the second version of the model), which brings me to the question, are the upper crosses on the wings of both the Fw 190A and Bf 109G of the same size? I´m talking about the ones with only the white outline. If they´re of the same size, I´ll be able to buy Academy´s new Bf 109G-2/G-6 and use those decals for my Fw 190A, if not, I´ll have to buy decals or another Fw 190 from abroad (and buying something from abroad is a rather difficult thing here). Thank you very much.

Good night guys, I bought this model on Facebook this Thursday, and went to pick it up today to a reunion of plastic modellers. I plan to build this Fw 190A-5 as Walter Nowotny´s aircraft (the other option is for Egon Meyer) while using Eduard´s painting instructions. Decals are of the old Hasegawa style, with an ivory colour, just like the ones in their Japanese Army boxing of this aircraft. I´ll post the progress of the build as soon as I begin, most likely tomorrow.

I thought I´d share 15 photos I took while visiting IWM Duxford when I was in London some time ago. Why doesn´t this aircraft have more markings apart from the crosses and Swastika? Was it restored?

My second Fw 190, I was able to not break anything this time, and correct a molding error Hasegawa had made on their right hand fuselage (the area designed to take the mounting tab of the right hand wing has too much plastic, and if it´s not corrected will end up with a step in the right fuselage/wing assembly. I removed plastic with a sandpaper and the Xacto until the fuselage sat flush with the wing). The decals were of the old Hasegawa style I´ve read so much, of an ivory colour, but they conformed perfectly to the panel lines and over a mottle with too much paint. Next time I won´t add mottling where the decals go.

Hasegawa´s Fw 190A-5/U7 kit 09976 built as Hermann Graf´s regular A-5 because I didn´t dare to use the resins included. I managed to remove a chunk of the wing early on the build, break the right side´s lightning bolt and part of the white trim on one of the tulips. While building the kit, I thought the only difference between Graf´s regular A-5 and his later U7 was only the cowling, painted entirely in yellow with the high altitude intakes, but it turned out that the A-5 didn´t have the outer cannons, and these were added to the kit. I was so fucused on the paint scheme that I didn´t realise the difference in armament. The model was brush painted with Revell Aqua 15/40/45/49/69/47 (RLM 04/70/02/65/74/75).

Fw 190A-8 universal wings 1:72 Eduard WEEKEND Edition The Focke-Wulf Fw190 was designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. His aim was to create a fighter that was not only fast and agile, but also reliable. It had a wide track undercarriage to improve ground handling and also utilised electric rather than hydraulic controls to reduce the risk of system loss in combat. The Fw190 also marked a departure from aircraft like the Bf109 and Spitfire as it combined a 14 cylinder radial engine with a development of the NACA cowling system. This choice was crucial as it meant that the Fw190 would not create additional demand for DB 601 liquid cooled engines. It also allowed a low drag profile for such a powerful engine. Despite early teething problems, the Fw190 first entered operational service over France in August 1941. It proved to be quite a shock for the RAF whose 1440hp Spitfire Mk.V, the best fighter available at the time, was outclassed in terms of firepower and all round performance, particularly at lower and medium altitudes. The Fw190A-8 was the ultimate evolution of the radial-engined fw190s and entered service in 1944. It featured improvements such as extra fuel, improved armour and nearly 2000hp output with emergency boost. The A-8/R2 replaced the outer 20mm cannon in the wings with Mk.108 30mm cannons. The Kit These new Fw 190 kits from Eduard are setting a new standard in 1.72 for excellence. The kit itself is made up of 92 plastic parts spread across of two sprues of dark blue-grey plastic and a single clear sprue with the now-familiar circular layout. The instruction book is a glossy, stapled booklet with full-colour painting diagrams, and 2 decal options as now seems the norm with the Weekend boxings. The quality of the plastic parts is second to none. The mouldings are clean and crisp and there are no traces of flash and no sink marks. The surface detail on the outside of the airframe comprises recessed panel lines and delicately engraved rivet and fastener detail. It looks absolutely superb. The cockpit is made up. Once assembled, the whole thing can be sandwiched inside the fuselage halves along with the firewall and the basic-but-good-enough-in-this-scale engine face. Setting the semi-completed fuselage to one side for a moment, construction turns to the wing. The lower wing is moulded as a single span, to which the main spar (which also forms the rear wall of the main landing gear bays) must be added. The other parts which form the structures and details of the landing gear bays must be added at this point, prior to everything being fixed in place by the addition of the upper wing surfaces. The ailerons are moulded separately to the rest of the wing, which opens up some possibilities for the diorama builder, as well as enhancing the level of realism. Turning back to the fuselage, the rudder is also moulded as a separate part, although the tail planes are solid lumps. In common with other kits of the type, the upper fuselage forward of the cockpit is moulded separately (in this case as two parts with a third for the cannon barrels). Once the basic airframe is together, its time to fit the undercarriage and other finishing details. Each of the main gear legs is made up of two parts, the wheels themselves are made up of nicely moulded tyres and separate hubs. This should make painting them much easier. Ordnance is taken care of with a drop tank and, along with the associated racks and shackles. There are a number of small parts included to cover the final details, including the aileron balance weights and various aerials and antennae. The canopy deserves a special mention as there are four rear sections included; blown and unblown, with different parts for closed and open options. Two propellers are included as well, although only one is needed for the included options. Decals There is one sheet of stencil decals and one for the aircraft markings. Decals are printed in house by Eduard and look to be good, in register and colour dense. 2 options are provided; W. Nr. 73372?, II./JG 300, Bayreuth-Bindlach, Germany, Spring 1945 W. Nr. 170393, flown by Fw. A. Bindseil, 6./JG 1, Störmede, Germany, Spring 1944 Each option is illustrated with a four-view profile a. Conclusion This is a great kit from Eduard and it is good to see it released in a Weekend boxing. Highly Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Wk. Nr. 584219, a Fw 190 F-8/U1 converted into a two seat unit as a VIP transport for Jagdfliegerschule 103. Captured by the RAF in Norway and later flown for testing purposes. Currently located at the RAF Museum in Hendon, England. It is the only known two seat Fw 190 in existence. Pics thanks to Mark Mills.

Wk. Nr. 836017, a Fw 190 D-13 from 1./JG 26 as flown by Major Franz Götz. After capture labelled FE-117 and later donated to the Georgia Tech University, but fell into disrepair. Later restored in Germany by William Flugzeuge and returned to the Champlin Fighter Museum in Mesa, Arizona. It was later donated to the Museum of Flight in Seattle, when the Champlin museum closed. Is now on display in Everett, Washington as a part of Paul Allen's Flying Heritage Collection. The aircraft has been restored close to flyable condition, but it will not be flown because it is the only surviving D-13. As part of the Champlin collection the engine was run on several occasions. Pics thanks to Mark Mills.

A blast from the past, or 2014 to be precise. It took me 11 months to finish and was a journey through pain and joy likewise. Some first-timers for me like pre and post shading, Future for canopy and decals and dealing with aftermarket the big way. The model depicts the Arado built machine of Hauptmann Egon Mayer in the spring of 1943. The rudder shows 62 kills, which he had between February 14 and April 16. He was Commander of III. /JG 2 and a specialist in fighting bombers, shooting down twenty B-17, five B-24 and one B-26 until his death on March 2, 1944. Used aftermarket: Bottom Fuselage Panel / Department of Correction Fw 190A/F/G Tail / Department of Correction Prop & Spinner VDM 9-12067A / Ultracast Spoked Wheels / Ultracast Pilot Seat / Ultracast Photo Etch Set / Eduard Armament Set & Pitot / Master Comments and constructive criticism are as always welcome!

Fw 190A-8/R2 1:72 Eduard profiPACK Edition The Focke-Wulf Fw190 was designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. His aim was to create a fighter that was not only fast and agile, but also reliable. It had a wide track undercarriage to improve ground handling and also utilised electric rather than hydraulic controls to reduce the risk of system loss in combat. The Fw190 also marked a departure from aircraft like the Bf109 and Spitfire as it combined a 14 cylinder radial engine with a development of the NACA cowling system. This choice was crucial as it meant that the Fw190 would not create additional demand for DB 601 liquid cooled engines. It also allowed a low drag profile for such a powerful engine. Despite early teething problems, the Fw190 first entered operational service over France in August 1941. It proved to be quite a shock for the RAF whose 1440hp Spitfire Mk.V, the best fighter available at the time, was outclassed in terms of firepower and all round performance, particularly at lower and medium altitudes. The Fw190A-8 was the ultimate evolution of the radial-engined fw190s and entered service in 1944. It featured improvements such as extra fuel, improved armour and nearly 2000hp output with emergency boost. The A-8/R2 replaced the outer 20mm cannon in the wings with Mk.108 30mm cannons. The Kit These new Fw 190 kits from Eduard are setting a new standard in 1.72 for excellence. The kit itself is made up of 92 plastic parts spread across of two sprues of dark blue-grey plastic and a single clear sprue with the now-familiar circular layout. The instruction book is a glossy, stapled booklet with full-colour painting diagrams. The profipack boxing adds photo-etch, masks (not shown) and 5 decal options. The quality of the plastic parts is second to none. The mouldings are clean and crisp and there are no traces of flash and no sink marks. The surface detail on the outside of the airframe comprises recessed panel lines and delicately engraved rivet and fastener detail. It looks absolutely superb. Eduard haven't skimped on the detail elsewhere, with sub-assemblies such as the cockpit being up there with high end resin items when it comes to the quality and quantity of detail. The cockpit is made up of over thirty parts (including photo etched details), which is a truly phenomenal for a kit of this size. Once assembled, the whole thing can be sandwiched inside the fuselage halves along with the firewall and the basic-but-good-enough-in-this-scale engine face. Setting the semi-completed fuselage to one side for a moment, construction turns to the wing. The lower wing is moulded as a single span, to which the main spar (which also forms the rear wall of the main landing gear bays) must be added. The other parts which form the structures and details of the landing gear bays must be added at this point, prior to everything being fixed in place by the addition of the upper wing surfaces. The ailerons are moulded separately to the rest of the wing, which opens up some possibilities for the diorama builder, as well as enhancing the level of realism. Turning back to the fuselage, the rudder is also moulded as a separate part, although the tail planes are solid lumps. In common with other kits of the type, the upper fuselage forward of the cockpit is moulded separately (in this case as two parts with a third for the cannon barrels). Once the basic airframe is together, its time to fit the undercarriage and other finishing details. Each of the main gear legs is made up of two parts, although you have the option of removing the plastic torque links and replacing them with photo etched versions. The wheels themselves are made up of nicely moulded tyres and separate hubs. This should make painting them much easier. Ordnance is taken care of with a drop tank and a single bomb, along with the associated racks and shackles. There are a number of small parts included to cover the final details, including the aileron balance weights and various aerials and antennae. The canopy deserves a special mention as there are four rear sections included; blown and unblown, with different parts for closed and open options. Two propellers are included as well, although only one is needed for the included options. Decals There is one sheet of stencil decals and one for the aircraft markings. Decals are printed in house by Eduard and look to be good, in register and colour dense. 5 options are provided; Aircraft flown by Hptm W Moritz CO of IV.(Strum)/JG 3, Memmingen, Germany July 1944. W Nr. 682958 flown by Uffz P Lixfeld, 6.(Strum)/JG 300, Lobnitz, Germany Dec 1944. W Nr. 682989, 5./JG 301, Germany May 1945. W Nr. 681424 flown by Obt H G von Kornatzki, CO II./JG 4, Welzow, Germany Sept 1944. W Nr. 682204 Flown By Lt. K Bretschnieder, 5./JG 200, Lobnitz, Germany Dec 1944. Each option is illustrated with a four-view profile as well as detailed illustrations of the propellers or drop tanks where appropriate. Conclusion This is a great kit from Eduard and it is good to see it released in a PROFIpack boxing. Highly Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Fw 190A-5 Light Fighter (7439) 1:72 Eduard Weekend Edition The Focke-Wulf Fw190 was designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. His aim was to create a fighter that was not only fast and agile, but also reliable. It had a wide track undercarriage to improve ground handling and also utilised electric rather than hydraulic controls to reduce the risk of system loss in combat. The Fw190 also marked a departure from aircraft like the Bf109 and Spitfire as it combined a 14 cylinder radial engine with a development of the NACA cowling system. This choice was crucial as it meant that the Fw190 would not create additional demand for DB 601 liquid cooled engines. It also allowed a low drag profile for such a powerful engine. Despite early teething problems, the Fw190 first entered operational service over France in August 1941. It proved to be quite a shock for the RAF whose 1440hp Spitfire Mk.V, the best fighter available at the time, was outclassed in terms of firepower and all round performance, particularly at lower and medium altitudes. The A-5 was developed when it was determined that the Fw 190 design could carry more ordnance. The engine was moved forward 6 inches thus moving the centre of gravity and allowing more weight to be carried aft. The Kit Eduard now seem to be on a mission to produce a long line of Fw 190 kits in 1.72 so the modeller of "The one true scale" does not miss out. The Fw 190A-8 profiPACK was reviewed here, the Royal Class boxing here, and the PROFIPACK boxing here. The kit itself is made up of twosprues of dark blue-grey plastic and a single clear sprue with the now-familiar circular layout. The instruction book is a glossy, stapled booklet with full-colour painting diagrams. Included are a sheet of colour photo etched parts, and a sheet of masks. All together, the impression is of a quality package. The quality of the plastic parts is second to none. The mouldings are clean and crisp and there are no traces of flash and no sink marks. The surface detail on the outside of the airframe comprises recessed panel lines and delicately engraved rivet and fastener detail. It looks absolutely superb. Eduard haven't skimped on the detail elsewhere, with sub-assemblies such as the cockpit being up there with high end resin items when it comes to the quality and quantity of detail. The cockpit is made up of over thirty parts (including photo etched details), which is a truly phenomenal for a kit of this size.. Once assembled, the whole thing can be sandwiched inside the fuselage halves along with the firewall and the basic-but-good-enough-in-this-scale engine face. Setting the semi-completed fuselage to one side for a moment, construction turns to the wing. The lower wing is moulded as a single span, to which the main spar (which also forms the rear wall of the main landing gear bays) must be added. The other parts which form the structures and details of the landing gear bays must be added at this point, prior to everything being fixed in place by the addition of the upper wing surfaces. The ailerons are moulded separately to the rest of the wing, which opens up some possibilities for the diorama builder, as well as enhancing the level of realism. Turning back to the fuselage, the rudder is also moulded as a separate part, although the tail planes are solid lumps. In common with other kits of the type, the upper fuselage forward of the cockpit is moulded separately (in this case as two parts with a third for the cannon barrels). Once the basic airframe is together, its time to fit the undercarriage and other finishing details. Each of the main gear legs is made up of two parts, The wheels themselves are made up of nicely moulded tyres and separate hubs. This should make painting them much easier. Ordnance is taken care of with a drop tank and a single bomb, along with the associated racks and shackles. There are a number of small parts included to cover the final details, including the aileron balance weights and various aerials and antennae. The canopy deserves a special mention as there are four rear sections included; blown and unblown, with different parts for closed and open options. Two propellers are included as well, although only one is needed for the included options. Decal options are provided for two aircraft as seems to be the norm for weekend editions now. Fw 190A-5 Stab JG 54, Soviet Union, Spring 1943. Fw 190A-5 Flown by Oblt. Rolf Strohal, StabI./JG.1, Deelen, Netherlands April 1943. Each option is illustrated with a four-view profile. The decals, which are printed by in house, they look crisp, thin and glossy and the colours used are nice and bold. In addition to the main sheet there is a sheet of Stencils printed. Conclusion Eduard have continued to deliver outstanding kits of the famous fighter, as well as providing a prime example of the kit maker's art. The level of detail they have packed in is as superb as the engineering is excellent, and the kit appears to be accurate in every major way. It is good to see this now in a weekend edition, it can be highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of