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Hello everyone I hope you are having a safe Christmas. My recent build of the Fw190 D9 from my favourite Jagdgeschvader. This is Black 4 Chevron, minus the 4. Scratch built brake lines and anchor points for the drop tank, strangely Eduard do not include these parts in the kit they just show it glued to the ventral gondola. Painted with Mr Hobby Aqueus, I hope you like it, any comments on the build or depiction of the actual aircraft are very welcome. I'm trying to take better photo's too! Thanks for looking.

I know I should just keep my head down and get on with building models the way the instructions tell me to but..... I'm currently at the painting stage of an Eduard 1/48 Fw190D9. I didn't want to do the colour scheme supplied with the Weekender Edition so looked around and found decals and paint masks for Red 18 of either I/Erg.KG(J) or a later incarnation. The particular airframe is Werk No. 211115 which makes it an early mid production Focke Wulf Marienburg built one, so far so good. The problems started when I looked through some of my books to try to identify which type of canopy would have been fitted as the profiles didn't all agree and I ended up still not knowing but with at least 4 different colour profiles including the decal sheet, Montex masks etc. Most are variations on a similar theme of upper surfaces of either RLM 75/83 or 82/83 which were both possible for that production batch. The real problem is with the underside as most of the profiles show that to be what is now referred to as the 'W3' style (RLM 76 ailerons, flaps and leading edge to mid chord) or 'W4' where the leading edge is in RLM 75. These are both later forms of the 'austerity' style colour schemes, the earliest seeing the paint on the leading edge only extending to the first panel, more of this in a moment. All profiles show a B4 style cross under the wing. The only photos of 211115 I have found are the same as supplied with the Eaglecal decals and show it from the rear and have no view of the wings at all, no canopy fitted either which seems to have been very common at the end of the war. However I have found a photo allegedly of 211118 which clearly shows the under surface of the wing and it is all over RLM76 with the type B3 black and white cross (and again no canopy!). At this point I am making the assumption that the photo is correct (it is certainly xxx118 but I don't have access to the original) and that Werk numbers followed in sequence so that this airframe was within spanner throwing distance of Red 18 on the production line? Oddly my references tell me that the RLM76, B3 combination was only used on the early production FW Sorau built 210xxx series so has this picture (Page 908, Focke Wulf Fw190 Vol 3 by Smith and Creek) been wrongly identified regarding the Werk no.? No matter as I have also seen a photo of 2111x2, possibly 3, (also in the same book, page 724) which appears to show one of the earlier styes of the 'austerity' paint style. commonly referred to as W2a which only had the very front of the wing, the wing tip, ailerons, undercarriage doors and flaps painted and luckily it also has it's early style canopy fitted so at least that was my original problem sorted. Sorry for the long winded ramblings however I am inclined to say that unless there are other photos of 211115 showing the underwing area clearly I will paint mine up with the earlier W2a style demarcation so is it possible that all the profiles are actually making an incorrect assumption (tempting fire and brimstone upon me from the Experten). Is it likely that the factory would paint an earlier airframe with a later style then revert to an earlier style further down the production run? It turns out there are other photos that clearly show the underside with paint to mid chord (What is possible is that it had been repainted or had the paint extended in the field of course.) Edited if anyone does know of other photos of 211115 then please point me in the right direction (preferably before I go painting the underside). Yes, Jerry Crandall's book has more pictures. Edited Now for the topside colours....... Duncan B