FW190D-15; IBG 1/72; Maritime strike whiffery.

[Ngantek]

6 hours ago, Stew Dapple said:

Looking seriously good there, I'm glad you're enjoying it Andy, I think I'd be having conniptions by now  

 

Well I don't know about seriously good, with assembly I guess either I get it to fit as it should or it looks... erm.. not good 😄. I think people will know, really, if this is the kit for them. It's been interesting doing it in parallel with Arma's Hurricane, which also requires care and has delicate detail (although not quite on the same level). That one, I'm throwing together as a mule and 'dealing' with problems (most self-created by trying to cut corners) by snipping off, bodging, or applying brute force. As a result, It's not been particularly fun. This one, I've tried to take my time and enjoy the assembly, and consequently, it's been... enjoyable. Who knew?! 😆

 

Quick one for the knowledgeable 190-ficionados. Instructions suggest the whole wheel bay is metallic coloured, with only the cannon barrel in RLM02. The legs and door interiors are a generic 'medium grey' (and distinct from RLM02). The hubs, I can't find any mention of. My 'I've build one mid war gustav and read a few forum posts' level of understanding was that wells and legs are RLM02, hubs usually black, but I have no idea about late war, and frankly it's whiff so it's not at all important to get it 'just right'.

 

The paint callouts for all of these things are common to all 3 schemes, two of which are whiffs and one is the real pre-production aircraft modified from a D-9. 

 

The D-9 'Cottbus' kit, in contrast, calls out the whole bay and firewall as RLM02. 

 

Again, I'll probably just go with the kit callouts unless anyone has a particular suggestion.

Andy

[81-er]

I reckon you're doing a fine job of that so far, Andy. It's a very fiddly kit!

 

As for the colour question, I've seen a few of the build threads here suggesting that paint was largely abandoned for those areas late in the war. Mind you, as you say, this is a whiff, so you can always pretend it's from an alternate timeline where Germany wasn't so stretched for resorces

 

James

[Ngantek]

On 30/01/2023 at 16:53, 81-er said:

I reckon you're doing a fine job of that so far, Andy. It's a very fiddly kit!

 

As for the colour question, I've seen a few of the build threads here suggesting that paint was largely abandoned for those areas late in the war. Mind you, as you say, this is a whiff, so you can always pretend it's from an alternate timeline where Germany wasn't so stretched for resorces

 

James

Thanks James. Makes total sense that some practices started to fall out of use in as the supply situation become more desperate. Given that IBG seem to have done a lot of research (well certainly more than none, which is my knowlege level); and given it differs from their kits of earlier aircraft, the oddly specific mix of colours and parts does suggest that it's not a complete shot in the dark. In any case, as you say, for this whiff it could be anything. I'm tempted to go with their callout if only because I think it will be easier and look better!

 

I've got many other builds with much more time urgency than this but I can't put it down for some reason. It really is an intriguing little kit. Today I had a go at the horrific looking fully- PE wheel wells. The structure is built up with various pieces...

Before the inner surface closes up the bay.

It's a fiddle to get in of course and only after doing so did @Procopius's sage advice on this bit make sense to my geometrically challenged imagination. 

 

The resulting bay looks like this from the other side.

 

 

quick note to future builders

 1. The PE parts for the surfaces are called out the wrong way in my early print of the kit. It's corrected on the website pdf. It should, however, be fairly obvious.

 2. The instructions pretty unambiguously show a single fold in this part to make a triangular forward portion. As you can see from the photos, I think the part is of a length and design to curve instead to follow the wing inner leading edge. The sharp fold indicated is pretty impossible anyway due to the raised etch on the inner surface interfering with the fold.

 

Anyway my etch-foo is decidedly weak, so I was pretty happy with the result.

 

How much engine can been seen after all that? In the case of the DB603:

The cavity between the engine and firewall is pretty barren actually (or at least in contrast to the detail surrounding it), and is crying out for some lead wire and whatnot, but I resolved not to get bogged down on this build. The styrene could do with some thinning around the bays as well.

 

It was getting late but partly in order to stop me from poking a finger through all that hard work, and partly because I was dead keen to see how this new fangled wing join worked out, I pushed on with the uppers. 

 

The port side fell into place pretty comfortably and I could casually run some extra thin around the perimeter with only a little pressure at the start to ensure nothing wandered. 

 

The starboard was a bit fussier and somewhat owing to a little bit of intrusion of the PE wheel wells, required a bit of fettling to make sure everything cleared. A bit more pressure and wheedling and I think the wing roots have turned out remarkably well. I'm not sure they'll be entirely filler-less but pretty good nonetheless.

 

 

 

 

 

Not too shabby, IBG! Those cannon are definitely not going to last another session though, and they've done that horrific thing of moulding the pitot to the wing, which is in my case is already only holding on by a very fatigued waffer theen stub of styrene. 

 

Anyhoo, still having a lovely time with this one, but some care will be needed tidying those seams since the detail runs right up to them.

 

Andy

 

 

 

[Stew Dapple]

Nice work Andy, it's coming together very nicely  

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[81-er]

Seconded. That's very nice work indeed

 

James

[franky boy]

Looking very good Andy.

Its a very detailed kit for its scale. Most people would be happy with the level of detail in 1/48 scale. 

 

James  

[Procopius]

17 hours ago, Ngantek said:

It's a fiddle to get in of course and only after doing so did @Procopius's sage advice on this bit make sense to my geometrically challenged imagination. 

 

Was it "brain anyone who looks underneath"? That sounds like something I'd say.

[Ngantek]

In light of @Marklo's recent opening of a can of whupass-ery, I thought I should update this. Got distracted with other things, but several nights recently getting a lot of the fussy work out of the way. Amazing how long it can take to mask canopies and clean up undercarriage gubbins. 

IBG unfortunately have marked the canopies wrong in the instructions (and this time the correction hasn't made it to the online version either), but that's not a great excuse for not noticing that I was masking the fatter one. With four canopies to choose from, I suppose it was inevitable that I'd mess up, but hopefully we're there now. I was originally intending to use the 'closed, early' version to mask the cockpit, but since I'd already masked the wrong 'bubble' canopy, may as well just paint like this and I'll have the option to leave it there in the end. 

 

I know nothing about this torpedo, and can't find anything. Is it entirely whiff, or actually modelled on a real torpedo? In any case IBG want you to fold the vertical stabiliser sideways like this:

Which looks a bit strange to me, whether it's a 'stowed' position or providing further 'lift' when in the water, I don't know, but it looks a bit odd, so I've left it straight for now. 

 

 

 

Bit of attempted canning on the tanks, some filling here and there, and I think we're finally ready for some paint. Probably another 'utility aluminium' layer to cover the cowl and intake, then maybe some sealing varnish, paint and chipping. With this and the SSDGB, lots of deadlines coming up....

Andy

 

[81-er]

I suspect the folded fin on the torpedo is to get around the ground clearance issue. The proposed torpedo versions had extended tailwheels instead. The torpedo they've included looks like the BT-1400 bomb. You can see more in the first post of Marklo's latest thread 

 

 

James

[Marklo]

21 minutes ago, 81-er said:

The torpedo they've included looks like the BT-1400

I was thinking the same. On my drawing it shows the fun straight but the tail wheel is extended to give ground clearance.

[Ngantek]

2 hours ago, 81-er said:

I suspect the folded fin on the torpedo is to get around the ground clearance issue. The proposed torpedo versions had extended tailwheels instead. The torpedo they've included looks like the BT-1400 bomb. You can see more in the first post of Marklo's latest thread 

 

 

James

Ah cool. I'd seen that but totally missed the dotted outline. 

 

Nice spot, seems it's a bomb rather than torp despite the kit name, which is quite an elegant solution to the complexity and relatively low yield of airborne dropped torpedoes actually. As you say, it must be due to clearance (which I sort of discounted thinking the clearance was ample). 

 

2 hours ago, Marklo said:

I was thinking the same. On my drawing it shows the fun straight but the tail wheel is extended to give ground clearance.

Yep. I think on balance I'll go with the IBG solution mostly as it is easier!

 

Thanks very much for the info!

 

Andy

[Graham Boak]

Doesn't BT stand for bomb-torpedo?  It isn't the self-powered type that we normally think of, but it was intended for much the same role of delivering a large amount of explosive to the underwater part of the target.  As is simply (too simply really) expressed, bombs let air in the top and torpedoes let water in the bottom.

[Ngantek]

29 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

Doesn't BT stand for bomb-torpedo?  It isn't the self-powered type that we normally think of, but it was intended for much the same role of delivering a large amount of explosive to the underwater part of the target.  As is simply (too simply really) expressed, bombs let air in the top and torpedoes let water in the bottom.

Yeah it makes for an interesting read. Perhaps I should leave it to more knowledgeable people to debate the semantics of what makes a torpedo a torpedo, but the lack of propulsion clearly allows for a much larger warhead and easier construction. 

 

 

One would've thought the lack of a screw might have tipped me to something being a bit different, but I'm completely gormless!

 

Andy

 

[AliGauld]

This is looking really fiddly but you're making a fine job of it.

I will be keeping an eye on it if that's OK as i have this boxing and will be building it eventually.

Sort of planning a bit more whiffery and doing it as a captured version.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Ngantek]

10 minutes ago, AliGauld said:

This is looking really fiddly but you're making a fine job of it.

I will be keeping an eye on it if that's OK as i have this boxing and will be building it eventually.

Sort of planning a bit more whiffery and doing it as a captured version.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

Thanks Alistair. Fiddly it is, but I've really enjoyed it. It does feel pretty different to any other 1/72 prop fighter kit I've built, everything seems thinner and more delicate. I think if you enjoy the construction side of the hobby and are willing to take a nice gentle pace, it's a real treat to build. A captured one done to your high standards will be something to behold!

 

Andy

 

 

[Marklo]

14 hours ago, Ngantek said:

Fiddly it is, but I've really enjoyed it

Well at least you have the bomb I’m going to have to scratch mine  , time for my little lathe I think….

[Ngantek]

Bit of a rush to get this one done. It's become a bit of a dog's dinner, but I'm sticking to the plan of enjoying it, not sweating the small (or very large) stuff and at least having a good stab at getting it done for the deadline. Quick catchup summary:

 

A touch up with 'utility aluminum (Tamiya LP38), a protective layer of Alclad aquagloss, some vms chipping soln

 

The fuselage band, wingtips and undercowl I've gone with simple Tamiya XF6 green, out of aesthetics and laziness. 

Masked those off and then paint. I've gone with the sheet colour callouts of Mr Color RLM76 and what turns out to be a rather vivid blue.

 

The the wiggle lines. I had tried to find a paint marker, but having so far failed and with time short, I pressed on with the airbrush. Been having issues lately with 'pulsing' paint supply with low flowrates, and just never got comfortable. The tip was always drying or the mixture settling thicker in the pot, or whatever, just failed for consistency and the wigglework reflects that pretty brutally. The RLM76 has been overshaded a little bit it doesn't show up much.

Left if far too late (and have far too little patience) to redo, but practice it is, so on we go. Some heavy shading. Recent shading experiments have always got completely lost under the oils and top coats so made an effort to go way too far this time to see what resulted at the end:

 

 

Lots more dodgy (and this time very visible) wiggle work:

 

And finally some chipping. Absolutely it is overchipped, but I was having fun and that's the joy of whiff builds.

 

 

The chipping's been sealed with some X22 (though I suspect at this point the decision to use so many layers will really bite when I get to washing the detail), and I'm currently working my way through the decal sheet. There are some mis-sized crosses and incorrect callouts here. Progressing though. The results won't be pretty, but hopefully there's be something to show come the deadline.

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

[81-er]

That's really quite a bright blue! However, I do like it. I think your squiggles are a lot better than you suggest too

 

James

[Marklo]

Looks good to me. That blue is certainly unusual. I reckon that the squiggles will look a lot better when you get the national markings on.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Thats really quite interesting camouflage. I wonder if this is from the RLM-83 is Blue argument ? Supposedly based on a set of photo’s and descriptions of JU-88’s in 1943-44 being transferred to the Mediterranean ? 

[Ngantek]

10 hours ago, 81-er said:

That's really quite a bright blue! However, I do like it. I think your squiggles are a lot better than you suggest too

 

James

Yes I got a surprise when it came out of the airbrush, looks more muted in the pot. This is c328 for reference. A bit of colour amongst the relentless olive drab and grey is a nice change though. 

 

8 hours ago, Marklo said:

Looks good to me. That blue is certainly unusual. I reckon that the squiggles will look a lot better when you get the national markings on.

Thanks, yes my main modelling technique is to pray for the final clear cote to hide all sins. I'll be asking a lot of this one.

3 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Thats really quite interesting camouflage. I wonder if this is from the RLM-83 is Blue argument ? Supposedly based on a set of photo’s and descriptions of JU-88’s in 1943-44 being transferred to the Mediterranean ? 

Yeah it's certainly called out as RLM 83. It was a while ago (or at least longer ago than my goldfish memory can recall) that I last delved down that particular Internet rabbit hole, so I'll leave the discussions to those who know what they're talking about. But blue and blue is a nice change of pace for me. 

 

Decals are on, but of course neglected to take a pic. They're nice and thin, conform pretty well, come off the backing paper almost immediately and I made a right old mess of them. I would say, like a lot of stuff in this kit, the number callouts are often wrong. 

 

Still a ways to go but we're getting there. 

[81-er]

Interesting that it's C328 you've used, I've got the acrylic version (H328) and that dries far darker than this did. Looking forward to seeing the pics with the decals

 

James

[Ngantek]

1 hour ago, 81-er said:

Interesting that it's C328 you've used, I've got the acrylic version (H328) and that dries far darker than this did. Looking forward to seeing the pics with the decals

 

James

To be fair to IBG, they do the callouts as the aqueous versions, I just prefer to use the lacquers if they exist. Possibly I didn't give it a good enough stir. Again I'm rather optimistically hoping the final clear coat will bring the contrast down a little. 

 

Did get a pic of the decals in the end. Kids kicked me out of the bed at 5am so thought I may as well seal them in with a clear cote (GX100 this time around). I was on the fence about washing over the decals without the extra sealing layer (I suspect I've already levelled out too much of the engraved detail already), but the requirement to sand off some decals where I've chipped, swayed me to bed them in with some clear. 

 

 

 

 

[81-er]

I've not used the lacquers, but my only complaint about the acrylics is they do need a very good stir to thoroughly mix the pigments through. The solids seem more prone to settling out of the Mr Hobby paints than the Tamiya acrylics.

 

The decals are looking good  

 

James

[Marklo]

That’s looking nicely weird  I’ve never used lawyers. Acrylics are very prone to tip drying so you need to clean the needle every once in a while I do also have some flow enhancer which can help too.