Which focke fw190?

[Sunny]

I have just got back into modelling and would like to build a focke fw190 in as much detail as possible.  I would like to purchase one of the eduard bigsin kits but does anyone have any recommendations on which of the fockes to get?   The options are The A4, A5, A8 or A8R2.

 

 

is one of the kits a “better” version to go for?

 

[Troy Smith]

22 minutes ago, Sunny said:

is one of the kits a “better” version to go for?

AFAIK, no.  They are the same 'kit' , the differences are in the main airframe parts details for the specific variant, but with a common sprue of general parts. 

22 minutes ago, Sunny said:

The options are The A4, A5, A8 or A8R2

 

EDIT I am assuming you meant using the Eduard kit in 1/48th?  (which seemed to be what you are asking)

 

The do A-2 through to A-8, (or will do an A-9) in the new tool kit.  Some boxing can be built as other versions depending on what's enclosed.

 

Which one you go for will depend on what markings you like.   Note there is a new tool Eduard Fw190 and and old tool Fw190, which was noted for being difficult to build closed up,  but didn't have the full detail when opened up.   

 

 

22 minutes ago, Sunny said:

I have just got back into modelling and would like to build a focke fw190 in as much detail as possible.  I would like to purchase one of the eduard bigsin kits

 

A question, if you are getting back into modelling, have you used the sort of multi media a bigsin kit uses?    I only say this as it can be a steep learning curve.  

 

For maximum detail, you might want to go to 32nd,  as the added size make for a ease of work and wow factor, and there are AM parts for this.

For 1/32nd I beleive the Hasegawa kit is a good starting point.

Hvae a look at Large Scale Planes site, there are most likely builds on there.

[73north]

I recommend you go for the new tool Eduard Fw190 1/48- a lot easier to build closed up , the old tool was designed to show everything off , which if you don't want , is hard to do

 

- This was my old tool Focke-Wulf 1/48 Model displayed at aircraft resource - website  - it goes into detail , what are the potential pitfalls

https://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal12/11101-11200/gal11111-Fw-190-Walker/00.shtm

 

to quote -

However with my model , I wanted to keep the panels closed.

It was not too problematic; I just needed to sand the interior detail off the wing root gun panels or the panels won‘t close properly otherwise ( test fit it yourself to see what I mean ).

But the fuselage gun cowling was different; The gun tray and bulkhead needed to be eliminated.

The over-wide fuselage then needed to be braced around the gun cover and carefully super glued into place.

Finally, the instrument bezel had to be secured to something as the gun bulkhead was gone.

 

Finally I highly recommend the excellent Air Master 1/48 brass barrels by the Polish company Master Model ( order ref AM-48-019 ).

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by 73north

[Retired Bob]

13 minutes ago, Sunny said:

is one of the kits a “better” version to go for?

Hi Sunny,  welcome to Britmodeller, as Troy mentioned, all the FW 190s that you have listed have a common airframe, if you buy a 1/48 kit, make sure it is the new one, they  go together really well, as opposed to the older ones.  The choice of different versions is down to colour schemes, weapons etc.  The profi pack kits have all that you need, coloured etch, canopy masks and 5 decal options.  Cheaper are the weekend kits, no etch or masks and usually only 1 or 2 decal options.  Personally I would get a Profi kit and build that and see how it goes before going full out and getting the Big Sin pack and perhaps getting bogged down with too much to do and giving up.  Eduard Focke Wulfs are like chocolate biscuits, you cannot stop at one.

[One 48]

Interesting stuff, lending my ear to this thread too.

So, for a short nose FW 190 (I'm no expert) a new issue Eduard kit is way to go? I'll keep my eyes open for one ... any variant is fine for me ... i guess the old Tamiya kits dont cut it any more?

Please excuse me OP for chiming in too, but been out of the modelling loop too, ... so for a Long nose D FW190 in 1/48, what would be the best option there for ease of build/accuracy please?

[John Hassall]

10 hours ago, Sunny said:

  The options are The A4, A5, A8 or A8R2.

 

 

is one of the kits a “better” version to go for?

 

Note the fuselage length changed in the A5 series onwards with a lengthened nose (6" approx) for the bigger engine. I dont know how Eduard arranged this unless they moulded new fuselage halves or inserts/nose? AFAIK they never did an A4 and earlier in 1/48. Only Hasegawa did that mark, one using Dragon sprues and one later all their own these were all 1/48. Dragon did a nice if fiddly A series A5 - A8 series 190 also. Tamiya has 2 varieties of A8/F8 and a "banana bendy" 190 D9 with huge "Sabrinas" over the nose guns. IIRC all the Tamiya kits suffer from too small main wheels and some other minor issues...they build easily that said they turn out a nice kit for little effort.

Its been a while since I sold off my 1/48 kits.

As to Fw190D9 there is the Eduard kit including various D11. to D15's. Then there is HobbyBoss and the old Dragon/DML D9 moulds in various boxings (ex Trimaster). Then there is the Dragon Ta 152 also by another asian company that has a very large parts count I'm told.

HTH JH

[politicni komisar]

 

They are the best of EDUARD in both scale 1 / 72-48 with top decals and details

 

These are all versions of the Fw-190A in the next few years they are also preparing a D version.

 

P.k

[KITCAT]

1 hour ago, politicni komisar said:

 

They are the best of EDUARD in both scale 1 / 72-48 with top decals and details

 

These are all versions of the Fw-190A in the next few years they are also preparing a D version.

 

P.k

In 1/72, OH please!

[Troy Smith]

7 hours ago, One 48 said:

so for a Long nose D FW190 in 1/48, what would be the best option there for ease of build/accuracy please?

see here

read some reviews,  or wait for the new tool D series from Eduard.    Since the faults of Trumpeter/Hooby Boss kits are usually widely discussed,  the fact there is not hysteria on their Fw190D  kits would make them a good choice if ease of assembly is a consideration as well as accuracy.

 

7 hours ago, One 48 said:

i guess the old Tamiya kits dont cut it any more?

as stated, they build well, but have some small glitches, NOTE the way eduard do their new Fw190 kits is to have a common sprue for detail parts

 

 

means that you get a lot of useful 'free' aftermarket,  so the too small Tamiya wheels can be sourced above....

 

2 hours ago, John Hassall said:

I dont know how Eduard arranged this unless they moulded new fuselage halves or inserts/nose?

new fuselage parts. and relevant wing sprues.   Also new fuselage parts for the A-5 and A-8,  allowing for the detail variation on the A-6 and A-7,   the Eduard site has part shots and the instruction, so you can see what in each kit.

 

Re the OP @Sunny

I just noticed on the Eduard site that the Bigsin is also for the 1/32nd Revell kit,  which is a recent tool, and is rated as very good IIRC, again,  do some searches.

 

2 hours ago, John Hassall said:

As to Fw190D9 there is the Eduard kit including various D11. to D15's.

Eduard D-9 , D-11,  D-13.    Hooby boss do D9, D-10, D11, D-12, D-13,    (the only version that saw service were the 9, 11 and 13 BTW) 

D-15 is conversion only.

one factor on the D-9 kits is the wheel well, or lack of roof, as this means the back of the engine is seen from below,  IIRC both the Dragon and Tamiya D-9 have a well roof.

 

2 hours ago, John Hassall said:

Then there is the Dragon Ta 152 also by another asian company that has a very large parts count I'm told.

The Dragon kit was reboxed by Italeri.   Some have the engine, some don't, of not as it can bee seen from the wheel well.   

The Ta-152 with all the bits is by Zoukei Moura.

 

HTH

 

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

 

10 hours ago, John Hassall said:

I dont know how Eduard arranged this unless they moulded new fuselage halves or inserts/nose? AFAIK they never did an A4 and earlier in 1/48.

I beg to differ that they dont produce them in 1/48th ? 

http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/edu82146.htm

 

http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/edu82144.htm

 

http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/edu84121.htm

 

Here is an excellent build of the A4 kit. 
https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235061623-weekend-fw-190-a-4-crisscross-camouflage-completed/

 

 

Dennis

[Troy Smith]

8 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

I beg to differ that they dont produce them in 1/48th

Seems some minor confusion. as

10 hours ago, John Hassall said:

Its been a while since I sold off my 1/48 kits.

The old tool Eduard Fw190 family did not have the earlier short fuselage option, and did A-5 - A-8 versions, so if you are not up on the current 1/48th,  then you may be unaware that the new tool Eduard has the short fuselage versions as well ,  and so has A-2/3/4  versions.  

When Eduard did their Postman offer last year, (free shipping) I spent some time looking through the various overtrees boxing to go with the Royal  Class early version boxing I got when on offer, trying to work what set of wings in what boxing was a good option..... it gave me a headache...because...

 

Fw 190A-2 w/2 gun wings  1/48

Fw 190A-2 w/4 gun wings  1/48

Fw 190A-3 w/ 2 guns wings 1/48

Fw 190A-3 w/ 4 guns wings 1/48

Fw 190A-4 slats & 2 guns wings  1/48

Fw 190A-4 flaps & 2 guns wings 1/48

Fw 190A-4 slats & 4 guns wings  1/48

Fw 190A-4 flaps & 4 guns wings 1/48

 

I must look up the slats vs flaps option, as I'm not sure of that difference....  each boxing does have different trees as well..... 

[Retired Bob]

46 minutes ago, Troy Smith said:

When Eduard did their Postman offer last year, (free shipping) I spent some time looking through the various overtrees boxing to go with the Royal  Class early version boxing.

I did the same,  and now I have more FWs than you can shake a stick at.  From A2, through to A8

As for D9, the Eduard kit is the most accurate, ie no u/c bay roof.  The Tamiya one is not too bad, and is an easy build, here is one I did earlier:

I just added new wheels and a different prop/spinner

[73north]

 

Note - if you shop around on Ebay , you should get a kit quite cheaply of the old tool 2006 edition Eduard FW 190

the old-tool ( produced in 2006 ) was a best-seller by 2009, as the Fw 190 kit is one of Eduard's best-sellers with over 40.000 copies sold in different variants

(A-8, A-5, A-6, F-8, Weekend Edition, Royal Class Box etc...).  Before this Modellers had the choice of the old but accurate Dragon Würger family; a newer (and very nice) Hasegawa Fw 190 A-3/4; and the easy to build but somewhat flawed Tamiya kits.

Then in 2006 - Eduard produced the most detailed Fw 190 kit in 1/48 scale , by a  mile.

For example, in every Focke-Wulf Fw 190 kit produced to date, the access hatch for the inboard wing cannon has a big seam line running in line with the wing root.

This is usually tricky to eliminate. Eduard's kit addresses this challenge with separate hatches. Not only does this avoid the seam line, but Eduard also provides gun bay interior detail to permit the hatch to be posed open.

 

This is not a kit that will fall together by itself, so you will be advised to allocate plenty of time and treat it with the respect that it deserves. If you have already assembled a few kits, however, you should not have any trouble finishing this wonderful FW 190

Edited October 9, 2019 by 73north

[Adam Maas]

On 10/9/2019 at 1:20 PM, Troy Smith said:

I must look up the slats vs flaps option, as I'm not sure of that difference....  each boxing does have different trees as well..... 

Slats vs flaps is the cooling exhaust on the forward fuselage sides aft of the cowl, early Fw190's had slat openings, later ones had flaps, the changeover was mid-production on the A-4 IIRC.

[Fernando]

On 10/9/2019 at 3:37 AM, John Hassall said:

Note the fuselage length changed in the A5 series onwards with a lengthened nose (6" approx) for the bigger engine. I dont know how Eduard arranged this unless they moulded new fuselage halves or inserts/nose? AFAIK they never did an A4 and earlier in 1/48. Only Hasegawa did that mark, one using Dragon sprues and one later all their own these were all 1/48. Dragon did a nice if fiddly A series A5 - A8 series 190 also. Tamiya has 2 varieties of A8/F8 and a "banana bendy" 190 D9 with huge "Sabrinas" over the nose guns. IIRC all the Tamiya kits suffer from too small main wheels and some other minor issues...they build easily that said they turn out a nice kit for little effort.

Its been a while since I sold off my 1/48 kits.

As to Fw190D9 there is the Eduard kit including various D11. to D15's. Then there is HobbyBoss and the old Dragon/DML D9 moulds in various boxings (ex Trimaster). Then there is the Dragon Ta 152 also by another asian company that has a very large parts count I'm told.

HTH JH

Hi, John,

 

Eduard made different complete fuselages for the "short" versions with "tubular" antennae fin attachment (A-2,-3); "spike" attachment (-4) and the "medium" (A-5). That combines with two or four wing guns (which implies outer bulges or lack of) and the slots or flaps vents behind the exhausts (also, complete different fuselages and not inserts) That makes picking the appropriate combo for your wanted extample very tricky. The versions included are usually correct for the parts in a given boxing. Some Profi Pack have two wing sets (bulges/no bulges); and the new Jabo A-5 has dust filters as inserts.

 

Fernando

[Fernando]

On 10/9/2019 at 2:20 PM, Troy Smith said:

I must look up the slats vs flaps option, as I'm not sure of that difference....  each boxing does have different trees as well..... 

Hi, Troy, so long,

 

I think they refer to "slots", not "slats", meaning the shape of the vents behind the exhausts... early examples had "slots" (meaning vertical recesses); later ones "flaps" (meaning a kind of vertical cover)

 

FErnando

[John Hassall]

8 hours ago, Fernando said:

Hi, John,

 

Eduard made different complete fuselages for the "short" versions with "tubular" antennae fin attachment (A-2,-3); "spike" attachment (-4) and the "medium" (A-5). That combines with two or four wing guns (which implies outer bulges or lack of) and the slots or flaps vents behind the exhausts (also, complete different fuselages and not inserts) That makes picking the appropriate combo for your wanted extample very tricky. The versions included are usually correct for the parts in a given boxing. Some Profi Pack have two wing sets (bulges/no bulges); and the new Jabo A-5 has dust filters as inserts.

 

Fernando

Cheers for that. I havent kept up with 1/48 since we downsized in retirement in 2015. I did keep a couple of 1/48 D9's and a part built A8.  However I sort of "replenished" things with a couple of Zvezda A4's in 1/72 and a couple of 'weekend' Eduard A8's, plus a few legacy Hasegawa kits of A & D series. All fit nicely into the much smaller space we have now. Note that when I sold up I did an inventory the 1/48 109's and 190 kits came to roughly 140 of each.