Valiant Wings Publishing Airframe & Miniature 3 Fw.190 Early Series (Radial Engined) and 7 Fw.190D & Ta.152

[Mike]

Airframe & Miniature 3 Fw.190 Early Series (Radial Engined) and 7 Fw.190D & Ta.152

Update Editions

A Complete Guide To The Luftwaffe's Famous Fighter

Valiant Wings Publishing

 

 

The Fw.190 was first developed as a replacement for ageing Bf.109 and to counter the British Spitfire, but it ended up serving alongside its Messerschmitt stablemate.  When first encountered by the Spitfires it gave them quite a shock with its different flight characteristics and more nimble flight envelope, spurring on development of the Spitfire in a continual game of leapfrog throughout the war.  Its design was to mate the most powerful engine they had to the lightest possible airframe, which resulted in the diminutive 190 with its blunt nose and wide tracked undercarriage that gave it better ground handling characteristics than its nose-over prone brethren.

 

This is the welcome re-release of a series of two books, the second of which covered the genesis of the 190 through to the end of the war with later redesigns up until the end of production, the first covering the later 190D or Dora with inline engine that gained the nickname of Langnase or long nose due to the changes wrought on the shape by the different engine type.  It also covers the re-designed Ta.152 which was to be the high altitude variant that saw very little service due to the deteriorating state of the war at the time.   They also cover the oddities, which will be of interest to anyone that is interested in the almost or what-if possibilities of this versatile airframe.

 

Both books are perfect bound in a card jacket and printed on glossy paper with spot colour throughout.  The author for each one is the prolific Richard A Franks, with Richard J Caruana providing the colour profiles as usual with this interesting series, plus Jacek Jackiewicz who is responsible for the isometric and the plans.  Attached to the rear of each volume are a set of plans that will be of great use to any modeller that likes to compare and contrast their plastic replicas with profiles and plans.  The plans in #7 are thicker and have additional pictures and diagrams of airframe parts in addition to the 1:48 airframe plans.

 

 

Airframe & Miniature 3, Fw.190D & Ta.152 – ISBN: 9781912932078

 

Consisting of 176 pages, it details the development of the 190D from prototypes, initial production and the introduction to combat with changes made from there.  The major redesign of the Fw,190D that changed name to Ta.152 (designed by Kurt Tank) takes up a good portion of the text and photos, as there were a number of series planned, with more that were on the drawing board at the end of the war.

 

 

 

Airframe Chapters

Evolution – Fw.190D

The Fw.190D series

The Ta.152C series

The Ta.152H series

Projects and drawing board designs

Camouflage & markings

Stencils

Colour Profiles

 

Miniature Chapters

Fw.190D & Ta.152 kits

Building a selection

Building a collection

In detail: The Fw.190 & Ta.152

 

Appendices

Fw.190D & Ta.152 kit list

Fw.190D & Ta.152 accessories list

Fw.190D & Ta.152 decal list

Bibliography

Glossary

 

Fold-Outs

Scale plans – Fw.190D early & late, Fw.190D-9, Ta.152H-0/1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Airframe & Miniature Volume 7 – Fw.190 Radial Engine versions (A, B, C, F, G & S) ISBN: 9781912932085

 

With an expanded page count up to 240 pages, this volume documents the development of the early Fw.190 from initial prototypes to the maturity of the airframe up until the point that the output from the BMW radial engine was holding them back.  The changes involved many dead-ends, including new engines and ancillary positions such as radiators, turbojet powered redesign and just about any kind of aerodynamic of mechanical updates that the engineers thought could give them advantage over the Spitfire and eventually the Mustang, Thunderbolt and many other late war heavy fighters. 

 

 

 

 

The page breakdown is as follows:

 

Airframe Chapters

Evolution – Prototypes and A-Series

Prototypes

A-Series

The F and G-Series

F-Series

Ordnance Test Trials

G-Series

Conversions, Projects & New-Builds

Training Aircraft

Fw.190C Series

Fw.190E Series, Projects

Modified, New-Builds

Miniature Chapters

Fw.190A to G kits

Building a Selection

Building a Collection

In Detail: The Fw.190A to G

Cockpit & Canopy

Fuselage

Engine, Cowling & Propeller

Wings

Tail

Undercarriage & Wheel Wells

Armament, Racks and Drop Tanks

Radio, Electrical and Camera Equipment

Miscellaneous

 

Appendices

Kit List

Accessories and Mask List

Decal List

Bibliography

 

1:48 Scale Plans Fold-Out

Fw.190 V1, A-3, A-6, A-8/R2

Fw.190A-9/R1, S-8

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

As we have come to expect from this series, indeed any of the Valiant Wings publications, the text is interesting, the photos of high quality, and the drawings are crisp with lots of informative captions.  The colour profiles are of high quality, and the isometrics that show the differences between marks are my personal favourites, and there are a lot of those in this pair!  There is plenty to interest the aviation enthusiast as well as the modeller, but the modelling section is great for us plastic lovers, with models of the highest quality being showcased with tips and tricks to obtain similar results (talent willing!), with all major scales represented from many manufacturers.

 

This series has become a great source of knowledge for those of us that don't know everything already, and with them in hand, you are poised to do a better job of your latest 190 project, especially if you're looking at detail.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

Review sample courtesy of