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FW 189 A-1 / A-2


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I am about to begin building Italeri's 1:72 FW 189 A-2. I was lucky enough to receive this kit for Christmas, having been keeping an eye on it on several online shops. I love the twin boom, and huge greenhouse effect cockpit of this aircraft, and in its winter distemper colour scheme of 'Heeres-Aufklarungsgruppe 32' it looks like a mean bit of kit. So let's look at what the kit has in store....

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As usual the box art is beautiful, and the instruction booklet is detailed and clear, has the option of 4 colour schemes and decals suit your choice of build.

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There are 3 grey sprues, which appear free from flash, and have a nice amount of detailing, with panel lines that are not too deep.

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Then there are four clear pieces, these are going to take quite a lot of attention and time to mask up properly (but should be worth it in the end).

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This is going to be a straight from the box build, with landing gear down. I have decided to build the scheme of FW 189 A-2, Heeres-Aufklarungsgruppe 32 based in Finland, 1943. This is the aircraft pictured on the box art, and I have chosen that scheme firstly because it looks stunning, and secondly because I want to test my skills airbrushing the winter paintwork. I only hope I can come close to doing it justice.

 

Edited by Shelliecool
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I'm in for that one. Always liked that type and built the Airfix one as a kid. Nice one for its time. I guess the Italeri one is the MPM kit. So short run with no location pins. You have to be careful with the wings/booms joints. The canopy is very clear; so maybe some interior additions? The greenhouse would show it all. For the wintercamo maybe the hairspray method? Keen to see, how this goes together. I have one in my stash and very unsure of doing one again (Only restoring old die casts now due to space limits and some other nostalgic reasons.) Cheers

Edited by bbudde
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Since my first post I have begun work on the FW 189, firstly washing the sprues and giving them a coat of Vallejo primer. I then began work on the cockpit and interior sections of the aircraft, giving the interior of the fuselage, floor plan, seats and instrument panel a coat of RLM 2. Once this had dried I built up the flight deck, and began adding fine details by hand, before applying the decals to the seats and cockpit.

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While this dried I began masking the canopy and glass sections. I had already dipped them in Quickshine, and with a new blade painstakingly masked each little section. I have found some great hairspray technique tutorials on YouTube, and am very keen to use this on the winter distemper paintwork (I will copy a link at the end of this post), so have built up an old spare kit to use for practice. 

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I have to say I'm loving the detail on this kit and so far it's been great to work on. https

 

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Hi Michelle,

a really special plane you have chosen to build. I do not know this kit, but it should put the old Airfix to pasture.

The thing with winter distemper, is that so often it was applied on the plane using a brush, a cloth, even a broom or whatever else was available. Fairly seldom an airbrush!

So I wonder if a flat paint brush would not be more appropriate, rather than an airbrush giving a nice, smooth finish, with or without hairspray.

OK, I am just being a pain. Carry on with the airbrush and the airspray! This is a great occasion to learn a new technique....

 

Have fun!

JR.

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Hi again Michelle,

 

did I see a Yak 38, or did I dream it?

JR

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44 minutes ago, jean said:

Hi again Michelle,

 

did I see a Yak 38, or did I dream it?

JR

You did indeed see a Yak 38.......I'm using it to practice my winter distemper, it's from an old kit I picked up for pennies online. Great idea about brushing on the whitewash, like you say it was often applied hastily and not as smooth as an airbrush.

Thanks,

Michelle.

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Yes I would also recommending a brush and none too carefully.  Also unless you are depicting a freshly whitewashed airframe don’t use white but a very, very pale grey, I find the white to be too stark and clean.

 

AW

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Since my last post I have been concentrating on building the fuselage, firstly securing the clear top section and turret. This fitted well and was painless. I the secured the section over the rear gunner, this didn't fit so well and took some Sanding and pressure to make it fit smoothly.

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I then fitted the rear gunner and finally the (pointy end) rear cone section, and nose of the aircraft. Both went on well and with some filler, the canopy fits perfectly. 

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After a few dry fits I finally glues the tail sections together, and left them to dry.

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I returned to them later and began sanding down the seams, then filling the seam with Mr.Surfacer 1000. This sequence was repeated many times, untill I was happy(ISH).

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While the glue was setting on all these pieces, I began experimenting with the hairspray technique. First off I airbrushed the entire Yak RLM 83 (dark green)

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when this was completely dry I gave it 2 coats of hairspray (I recommend wearing a mask to do this, as it is very strong). Once this was dry I loaded my airbrush with some Vallejo white (I thought I would try using the airbrush first), and roughly sprayed the wings. I then got some warm water, paint brushes, and began brushing away areas of white.

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Low and behold it works! I now think I need to experiment with hand painting the white on to the build, using coarser bristled brushes and generally refining my skill.......that said, it worked! Last job tonight was attaching the wings and tail to the fuselage. This is a great kit, however, I'm none too keen on the way the wings attach to the body of the aircraft. They are now in place, but some filler will definitely be needed.

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It is nice to finally see the aircraft come together and look menacing and ready for business.

 

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Very nice progress looking like a Fw189 now.

Like your effects with the hairspray on your paint mule. Will be watching to see how it all turns out on the model, do keep in mind that at 1/72 scale you would not be able to see paint brush marks in the paint.

 

   Roger 

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Back to the build after a break for half term, yesterday I gave the 'Flying Eye' a coat of Vallejo primer. As I watched the paint settle and start to dry my heart sank. All the sanding that I thought had removed the seam hadn't, so tonight I have given the aircraft another sanding. It is the tail booms that are the problem, and now she's awaiting another coat of primer (which I shall be spraying with my fingers crossed!). 

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These seams are magic. They always reappear at the very last second...

That is one of the reasons I like CA glue a lot as a filler (as long as you do not let it dry too long... otherwise...).

It does indeed look like a 189. Well done so far, and congrats for your patience in masking the green house!

 

JR

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Since my last post I have reprimed the seams (with happier results), added some preshading, and masked up the top side of the aircraft. Then I set to work adding some colour. Using Vallejo Hellblau I carefully airbrushed the underside (a ratio of 6 drops of paint to 1 drop thinner). The build has received 2 light coats, I feel it needs another coat as the preshading is still slightly to visible. I am however really happy with how the paint has dried, going ok I think.

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Once I was happy with the Hellblau underside I sealed it in with some Quick shine gloss. I then masked it up and airbrushed the yellow tips of the wings. This took a lot of coats as the preshading was just too visible, once I was satisfied I sealed it in and began the process of masking the underside. I carefully brushed Quick shine along the edge of the tape, to minimise bleeding and set to work. The best match I can find to the recommended green is Olive green, as very few companies manufacture an equivalent. However, I am very happy with my compromise. The green has sprayed evenly and looks good.

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Another light coat and we will be ready for hairspray 😬.

 

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Yesterday I carefully used the hairspray and gently coated the build. Once this was dry I began airbrushing the white coat of acrylic over the top. This is where my problems began!

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The paint has cracked, in fact it looks like a river bed in a drought! I am guessing I applied too much paint in one go, which made the underlying hairspray very damp. The good thing with this is you can wipe it away.......which I have. This morning I have applied another coat of hairspray, and began with a very light misting of white. This appears to have gone on well, so I will slowly build up the layers and hope for the best.

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With a sigh of relief my problem is rectified! After several light coats, the white acrylic settled nicely.

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I left the build to dry, white I cleaned up my airbrush then began the nail biting task of removing sections of white. Armed with several different sized brushes and some warm water I set to work, using the colour sheet from the instructions and a little artistic licence.

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The hairspray worked a treat and the paint flaked away.

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The lighting doesn't do it justice, as the white is more transparent in places and more green is visible.

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I then removed the masking from the canopy, which has worked better than I had hoped. The build is now drying ready for some quick shine gloss.

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Hi Michelle,

 

having never used hairspray in my life, neither on a model nor on myself, I am impressed with what it allows in term of weathering.

Practice sure does make perfect, but for a first-timer,you did well!

These 189s normally have some yellow identification bands on the twin booms: has yours got them too, as normally they are seldom over-painted with white distemper?

And are you sure the area where the markings go on the booms is without white paint over the whole circumference of the boom?

I have seen several photos where it has been left in green on the outside half of the boom. Silly questions...

Amazing how great the whole model looks with your paint chipping.

 

Super well done

 

JR

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15 minutes ago, jean said:

Hi Michelle,

 

having never used hairspray in my life, neither on a model nor on myself, I am impressed with what it allows in term of weathering.

Practice sure does make perfect, but for a first-timer,you did well!

These 189s normally have some yellow identification bands on the twin booms: has yours got them too, as normally they are seldom over-painted with white distemper?

And are you sure the area where the markings go on the booms is without white paint over the whole circumference of the boom?

I have seen several photos where it has been left in green on the outside half of the boom. Silly questions...

Amazing how great the whole model looks with your paint chipping.

 

Super well done

 

JR

Hi Jean,

I have to confess I was super nervous attempting the hairspray technique on the actual model (especially after botching the first attempt), so thank you for your kind comments. The aircraft does Indeed have yellow identification marks on the booms, I plan to airbrush them next before sealing it all in. Looking at the instructions, the area where the markings go does cover the entire circumference of the booms...... luckily, as I don't fancy putting any more white on the build.

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Thanks again,

Michelle

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With the gloss varnish drying he winter distemper I started work on the decals. Armed with some warm water, micro sol, cocktail stick and cotton buds I began. The decals, as I have found before with Italeri kits were brilliant. Thin enough to be manipulated once off the backing but not too delicate to rip apart. I was dubious as to how they would settle over the distemper paintwork, however I was wrong to worry and they have blended beautifully into the paintwork.

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I am pretty pleased so far, I will seal the decals in and begin some weathering.

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