Fw 190A-8/R2 - 1:72 Eduard Weekend Edition

[Julien]

Fw 190A-8/R2
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
Following on from the Royal, Profipack and standard boxing's; the Weekend Editions are now arriving from Eduard. 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. All together, the impression is of a quality package, at the great weekend price point.

 

 

 

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 small sheet of stencil decals and one for the aircraft markings. As seems to be standard now decal options are provided for two aircraft:

 

 

• Fw 190A-8 of Werner Gerth, II.(Strum)/JG 3 "Udet" July 1944.
• Fw 190A-8 of Paul Lixfeld, 6/JG 300, late 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 Weekend boxing. Highly Recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Roman Schilhart]

Interesting that Eduard overlooked the prominent additional armour plates (to be mounted on the side of the cockpit).

The "blinkers" (armour glass panels) are included, but made out of clear plastic?

I'm not sure this will work properly...

[fewr9fkr9595]

Where did/do you see that Roman?

I have the royal class boxings and the fuselage halves for the R2's do have the armour moulded on. So they have the tooling and i'd be very surprised if they released the r2 boxing with the std fuselages in it?

Edit: A quick check on the eduard site for this kit does show plates on the sides in the sprue shots...

Edited July 3, 2016 by Tony Oliver

[Duncan B]

Interesting that Eduard overlooked the prominent additional armour plates (to be mounted on the side of the cockpit).

The "blinkers" (armour glass panels) are included, but made out of clear plastic?

I'm not sure this will work properly...

Where did/do you see that Roman?

I have the royal class boxings and the fuselage halves for the R2's do have the armour moulded on. So they have the tooling and i'd be very surprised if they released the r2 boxing with the std fuselages in it?

Edit: A quick check on the eduard site for this kit does show plates on the sides in the sprue shots...

I have one here in front of me and I can confirm the Armour plates are moulded onto the fuselage sides.

Duncan B

[Roman Schilhart]

Where did/do you see that Roman?

I have the royal class boxings and the fuselage halves for the R2's do have the armour moulded on. So they have the tooling and i'd be very surprised if they released the r2 boxing with the std fuselages in it?

Edit: A quick check on the eduard site for this kit does show plates on the sides in the sprue shots...

My error then - I was checking the sprue shots for the armour panels but couldn't find them.

Was not aware Eduard chose to mould them directly to the fuselage.

Supposed the fuselage halves are the same as in the standard A-8 kit.

Thanks for correction!