Protection with a Red and White belly: Tamiya's 1:48 Fw 190D-9

[Sturmovik]

Picked this Dora 9 in 48th from Hobbies Moròn today, instead of taking with me the Gloster Meteor from the same brand (the owner was not amused by that).

I won't be using the kit decals, because I plan on using a mix of Xtradecals and Sky Models decals to mark this Dora as Red 1 from JV 44, Heinz Sachsenberg's plane.

The seller warned me that the kit didn't come with instructions, but I'm sorted with the PDF file from Scalemates.

 

I also bought a new softener, one that I have never used, Mr. Mark Softer decal softener. I plan on using it on another Tamiya kit with more irregularities in the surface, such as the Mosquito FB VI or the Spitfire Mk.Vb Trop.

 

I won't be making a start soon though, it's exam time at uni, so I'll be sniffing glue and paint as soon as I'm finished.

 

Here are some photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sturmovik]

Finally, after spending last month studying for two exams that were scheduled for this Tuesday and Wednesday, I was able to start working on the Dora.

 

Here's the propeller. Painted in RLM 70 with a yellow tip.

 

I have also made some work on the main parts (didn't photograph them). The cockpit parts were painted RLN 66, wheelwelss and landing gear struts in RLM 02, wheels, instruments with some black and red to pick up detail, etc...

 

 

 

 

 

[mick]

good progress

[Sturmovik]

I detailed the cockpit as much as possible with what came from the box.

IP and side consoles were painted in RLM 66 with black buttons and some red.

 

I glued the cockpit to the fuselage from the bottom of if as told by Tamiya.

I also test fitted the wings, and found out there were huge gaps in the union. Out came a spreader sprue, which helped a bit, but didn't eliminate the gaps on the front of the wings.

 

Here you can see the gaps. Don't know why I ended up with them. Guess Tamiya kits aren't as fool proof as advertised

 

 

 

 

[Sturmovik]

I finished painting the aircraft with Revell Aqua colours. I also followed Eduard's most recent instruction set for their Weekend Dora, which indicated RLM 81/82/76 for the fuselage, RLM 74/75 for the wings, and the red and white ID surfaces on the bottom.

 

I first painted the bottom white, masked, and then applied the red. There was quite a lot of bleedthrough under the tape, so I went over it with white, making sure to give the lines a rough look, as if it had been painted in the field, just like in the real plane.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sturmovik]

With the aircraft decalled and matt coated, it was time to put it on its wheels.

 

Here's the aircraft on its back (again) after a quick repair job I had to do to the right landing gear leg (it didn't harden, it remained soft. So I added some CA).

 

Only remaining thing to add are the clear parts, which have already been painted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sturmovik]

Finished! See you in the RFI.