Eduard FW190F-8 Weekend Edition - 1:72 Eduard

[Paul A H]

FW190F-8 Weekend Edition

1:72 Eduard

 

 

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 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 Fw 190 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 Fw 190 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 Fw 190 F8 was a fighter-bomber variant developed from the A8 fighter, but with a revised supercharger for improved low-altitude performance and bomb racks under the wings and fuselage.

 

Eduard have long been capable of churning out excellent kits, but in 2011, with the release of their Hellcat series, that they really set a new standard for plastic kits in the smaller scales. Since then, they have added several superlative kits to their lineup, including the BF110 series, MiG-15 and MiG-15UTI series and their latest release, the Spitfire Mk.IX. They are still adding to their range of Fw 190s though, the newest of which is the F-8. This version of the kit is part of the Weekend range, which means it omits the paint masks, photo etched details and and multiple decal options of the Profipack range in favour of a lower price. The kit itself is made up of over 200 plastic parts spread across of three sprues of blue-grey plastic (although a significant number of these are not used for the F8) and a single clear sprue with the now-familiar circular layout. The instruction book is a glossy, stapled booklet with full-colour painting diagrams.

 

 

 

 

As you would expect from Eduard, the quality of the plastic parts is second to none. The mouldings are clean and crisp and there are no traces of flash or 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 either; sub-assemblies such as the cockpit are right up there with resin items when it comes to the quality and quantity of detail. The cockpit is truly phenomenal for a kit of this size, even without photo etched parts - in fact the only thing I would add would be harnesses for the seat. 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.

 

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 also be added at this point, prior to everything being fixed in place by the addition of the upper wing surfaces. If you wish to use the supplied bomb racks, remember to drill out the appropriate holes at this point. 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 while 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, it’s 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. As this is the F8 version, you get an extra sprue containing a wide choice of ordnance including a drop tank, three different types of bomb and two different types of rockets and launch rails. A number of small parts are 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 different parts for closed and open options. Two propellers are included as well, although only one is needed for the included options.

 

 

Because this is a Weekend edition kit, two schemes are catered for on the decal sheet – 
an FW190F-8 of SG-2, Hungary, Late 1944/early 1945 (as depicted on the box artwork) and an aircraft of Stab III/SG 10, Vysoke Myto, Czechoslovakia, May 1945. This aircraft is finished in an interesting scheme, with an RLM 83 fuselage, RLM 74/75 upper wings, and RLM 76 undersurfaces with a yellow rudder and band around the cowling. Four-view colour profiles are printed in the instructions, while there is a seperate diagram for the stencils. The decals themselves look thin and glossy, so hopefully they will prove easy to apply.

 

Conclusion

 

While we're not exactly short of kits of this type, there's no denying that Eduard have delivered the definitive kit of the Fw190 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. Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of