Zoukei-Mura Focke Wulf Fw.190A-4 (Superwings Series #22) 1:32

[Mike]

Focke Wulf Fw.190A-4 (Superwings Series #22)

1:32 Zoukei-Mura

 

 

Introduced in 1941 to combat the ever-improving Spitfire, the Fw.190 was intended to supplant the Bf.109 if it reached a plateau in development, or run alongside it as a stablemate if not.  Its powerful twin-bank radial engine was installed with a close-fitting cowling and was initially equipped with an oversized, ducted prop-spinner to keep the engine cool, which was discarded early in development in favour of a fan that ran on the prop's drive-shaft to push air through over and between the cylinder heads, which also facilitated oil cooling.  It was also given a wide-track landing gear that reduced the likelihood of a nose-over, a problem afflicting both the Bf.109 and Spitfire, due to their narrow track and poor forward visibility.

 

When it first encountered Spitfires, it gave the RAF pilots a shock, as they were expecting 109s, not these agile new aircraft.  It caused a frenzy of development at Supermarine, which was just part of the leapfrog game played by both sides throughout the conflict.  The initial A-1 production version was equipped with a BMW 801 engine, and by the time the A-4 was signed off, it had two 7.92mm guns in the cowling, and a pair of 20mm MG151 cannons in the wing root, all of which were synchronised with the prop's motion, in turn mated to a more powerful version of the BMW engine.  There were several equipment fits used in the many versions that gave the Würger (Shrike) additional weapons and capabilities, including a pressurised cockpit, rocket tubes and reconnaissance cameras.

 

The A-4 was a natural progression of development that started reaching service in mid-1942, with a specification broadly similar to the A-3 that came before it, with similar mission-specific sub-variants and field modification packs available to it.  Armament was extended by another pair of 20 mm MG FF/Ms just outboard of the landing gear bays, with barrels projecting from the leading-edges of the wings, and access for loading and maintenance from beneath.  The A-4 was later replaced by the A-5 that had an extended nose that moved the centre of gravity forward to permit it to carry more munitions, followed in due course by the 6, 7 and A-8, which became the definitive variant of the A series.

 

 

The Kit

This is a new boxing of a 2023 tooling from Zoukei-Mura of this small-but-deadly WWII fighter, bringing their own inimitable style and level of detail to the subject in a stylish presentation.  The kit arrives in a sturdy top-opening box with a painting of a winter camouflaged aircraft flying over broken cloud, shortly after ruining the day of a Sturmovik pilot that is wearing a confusingly similar camouflage scheme.  There is very little room for air inside the box, as there are eleven sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, a sheet of pre-cut masking material for the canopy, a large sheet of decals, a thick instruction booklet that extends to seventy-six pages including the covers, which is printed in colour in a manner reminiscent to a maintenance manual of the era, with the headline text in German, accompanied by English and Japanese translations, while the instruction steps are in Japanese and English to cater for as much of the market as possible.  Three additional sheets of folded A3 are printed on both sides on glossy paper, two of which cover the painting and decaling profiles, the other devoted to a catalogue of their other available kits for 2024.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Detail is excellent, which is a foregone conclusion with Zoukei-Mura kits, offering more of a plastic-engineering experience than most other manufacturers, including much of the interior of the aircraft, from the engine compartment, weapons and landing gear bays, and interior of the wings that should result in a structurally strong model once completed, with the option of leaving some of the panels or parts off to portray the interior.  The instruction booklet is also vastly different from the majority, as it includes pictures of the actual model parts after building and painting to assist with your travails and reduce the chances of a mistake by the modeller.  It’s also nice to see the finished assemblies, as painted by a talented modeller, which may provide some extra information, as well as being an opportunity to point out detail-painting instructions with arrows leading to numbered paint bottles that cross-refer with a chart that gives Vallejo and Mr Color codes, as well as RLM codes where appropriate, and swatches of colour with generic names next to them for extra clarity.  The instruction steps are more verbose than many too, offering bilingual tips and assistance, and pointing out the small overflow sprue gate elements that prevent short-shot parts, but will need removing during the build, marked in orange along with any sprue sections that are interior to the parts, such as the ribs and spars in the wings.  Areas that require special attention and are important to the build are marked in orange with a box around them, or with a triple set of diverging lines (akin to a stylised explosion) that is commonly found on Gundam kit instructions, and is good to see on an aircraft model.  All these extra hints and tips are in pursuit of the laudable goal of reducing the likelihood of mistakes, and should be taken into account whilst building your model.  Staring at the page as a whole can on the face of it appear overwhelming, but when you focus on an instruction step in isolation, everything becomes clear and easily understood.

 

 

 

The first few pages of the instructions detail the history of the aircraft, the engine and weaponry, with page numbers showing where each assembly can be found, showing the three decal options, and proffering advice to make your model more accurate.  Construction begins with the engine, starting with a full page of pictures of the completed unit, then building the two banks of pistons from two halves each, noting that there are pistons and con-rods moulded into the interior, which although they won’t be seen once the model is complete, brought a smile to this reviewer’s face, and they will remain visible until the engine assembly is complete.  Separate cylinder heads are fixed to the cylinder banks, fitting push-rods and intake ‘spider’ to the rear bank, both of which are keyed to prevent alignment errors.  A single exhaust is attached to the lower side of the engine, fitting the rest in pairs or multiples around the rest of the lower side of the motor, then fixing the auxiliary package in the rear, followed by more exhausts around the upper half of the engine.  The mounting ring attaches to the back of the assembly, and the instructions use the word “scooch”, which I’m unfamiliar with, unless it means “shuffle up”.  Baffles are fitted between the cylinder heads, followed by the supercharger ducting, formed from two parts, one of which is a support, and performing the same task in mirror-image on the opposite side of the block.  The bell-housing at the front of the engine has a wiring harness fitted around it, and the magneto is linked in above, adding the cooling fan to the front, then threading the prop shaft through the central hole, securing it in place with a cap at the rear without glue, taking care with any glue if you decide to use as a precaution.  The front push-rods are installed first, with the engine in front, again handed to ease fitment.  Returning to the rear, additional ancillary parts are fixed on tabs, their location clarified by scrap diagrams nearby, the same process applying to the next round of parts that include the oil filter, generator, fuel injection system and pump.  The next step shows the engine stand that can be built from sections of the sprue to display the completed motor either temporarily or permanently, with a sprue diagram showing where to find them, and a diagram that illustrates the mounting points on the rear of the engine.  We have marked them with a red tint on the main sprue diagrams for your ease.

 

 

The cockpit is next, and by now the routine of a page of photos of the completed assembly before commencement has been established.  The first step shows the delicate portions of the fuselage sides that should be treated with care, plus a few overflow gates that should be cut away.  The floor is a single part that has vertical supports underneath, with detail on both sides, including the voids where the fuel tanks will be fitted later.  Initially however, several holes are drilled out, using them immediately to install the battery and luggage bag, with the throttle and moulded-in linkage, plus the foot-tray further forward, and two scrap diagrams to the side that confirm locations from above and to the side.  The lower portion of the instrument panel is detailed with levers and T-shaped handles, adding an auxiliary panel below in the centre, accompanied by more location diagrams, plus decaling diagrams for the instruments in that area.  This is fitted into the front of the cockpit along with a pair of side-consoles, which have more decals, as does the rear bulkhead with deck behind it, checking the angle by offering up the fuselage sides as a jig and following the guides that suggest gluing locations.  The pilot’s seat and control column are next, adding a decal to the column for extra detail, then installing the cockpit sill, which is a large tapering U-shaped part with a two-part control wheel on the right arm, sliding it into position from the rear, locating the open ends in cut-outs in the lower panel, taking note of the helpful diagram nearby, as usual.  Another bulkhead is fitted to the rear of the cockpit floor, stabilising the deck and sills, and again there is copious assistance in achieving the best fit, followed by photos of the completed assembly after painting.

 

You have two choices of methods for building for the upper instrument panel, the instructions for while proceed down either half of the page, applying paint and decals, either as two decals, or several after painting the entire clear panel, or by leaving the dial faces unpainted via masking, and applying two decals to the rear of the part so that they are aligned with the clear “holes”, and give a more realistic representation of dials behind glass.  It is installed above the lower panel against the blank upper section, adding the FuG16 radio panel to the bulkhead at the rear of the assembly.  The rudder pedals are attached to their actuators and are glued in place in the foot well after removing overflow gates and painting the assemblies appropriately.  More scrap diagrams assist with both aspects of their completion.  An elevator control linkage is threaded through from the rear, following the three-step instructions down the side of the page, plus the usual scrap diagrams to the other side.  A similar process is carried out to fit the rudder linkages from the front to the rear, attaching one end to the rudder pedals, and routing the other end through a hole in the rear bulkhead, ably assisted by more diagrams.  Beneath the rudder pedals are a pair of ammo boxes for the wing-root mounted MG151s, the single part topped by a feeder chute that heads in both directions, applying a stencil to the outer end of each box.  Another bulkhead is mounted on the front of the floor section, bridging it above with the floor of the nose gun bay, which has a control linkage moulded-in that should be removed for one of the decal options that did not have this rod installed.  You are advised to align these parts careful to avoid gaps or twists that might cause issues later.  Finally, the two large fuel tanks are made from two halves each and installed under the cockpit floor, which must have worried the pilot whenever he thought about it.  The bottom of the page is filled with drawings of the completed cockpit from different views, and across the page is a full sheet devoted to photos of the finished assembly.

 

 

 

To begin assembly of the fuselage, you are entreated to test-fit the two fuselage halves to the cockpit before resorting to glue to ensure no issues are encountered when you do.  The starboard half is glued first along with the floor, drilling two holes for antennae if they are appropriate for your chosen decal option.  The rear of the fuselage is then filled with five sets of ribs, one having a small tray containing several air bottles, and another with the rudder’s bell-crank attached, while the master compass is glued to two slots between the stations on a short raised platform.  The fuselage top is prepared with holes drilled if appropriate to your decal option, and one option has a FuG25 IFF box glued to one side at an angle to the vertical before it and the port fuselage side are glued to the rest of the assembly.  The radio access hatch can be fixed closed by removing the top of the hinge, or it can be propped open by adding a short jack to the right-hand edge, and more diagrams assist with placement of parts.  The tail wheel assembly is surprisingly large, extending through much of the tail fin when completed.  Most of the strut is moulded as a single part with overflow gates that need removing, adding a stirrup to the lower end, and fitting the second leg of the yoke to trap the two-part tail-wheel in position.  Two more tapering V-struts are slotted into the main leg at different angles, laying the entire assembly into the starboard tail part, preferably before the glue has fully cured to permit adjustment to the various angles.  The leading edge of the tail fin is separate, and has the horizontal trim motor fitted under it before it is glued in place, to be joined by the port tail surface, attaching it to the back of the fuselage and fixing the two-part rudder to the rear.  To complete the empennage, the elevator fins are each made from two parts and slot into the sides of the tail, fitting the flying surfaces behind them after gluing the two halves together.  The triangular undercarriage access hatch on the port side of the fin is a separate part that can be fitted closed by removing the top of the hinge, or it can be posed open, using the hinge edge to glue it into position.

 

 

 

 

 

It's time to put the wings on the Würger, first preparing the parts by drilling a hole for the pitot probe by temporarily taping the wing together, unless you feel confident to cut the plastic with the parts separated.  The two extensive interior rib parts have several overflow gates and lengths of sprue within their borders, and these must be cut away before proceeding, dealing with the moulding seams if you intend to display any of the interior of the wings, in which case you will also need to paint the interior.  The two interior ribs are mated with a detail spar that will form the rear wall of the gear bay, fitting several short rib sections along its length, and removing a small portion of the central rib if you are using the drop tank.  The front of the main gear bay is formed by adding a large curved part to the front, which includes the dimpled roof sections near the centre, adding linkages to the rear, aided by more diagrams nearby, and plenty of pictures.  The MG151s are installed in the wing root in three sections each, comprising the breech step-down ring and the barrel, setting them either side of the bulkhead in curved cut-outs, building the MG FFs for the outer wing stations with a choice of magazine types that are made from two parts, mounting them in their wing bays along with a compressed air bottle to operate them.  The lower wing surfaces are glued under the ribbing, cutting out sprue sections from the open gun bay hatches, then gluing the upper wing halves into position, remembering to check that you have drilled out the pitot probe hole beforehand.  Each aileron is made from two parts and inserted into their bays at the outer trailing edges of the wings, moving inboard to fit the flaps in retracted or deployed positions by utilising different parts for each option. Scrap diagrams show the correct angle of deployment, although a degree figure isn’t given.  To mate the fuselage to the wings, rear root fairings are inserted into recesses at the rear, joining the two assemblies carefully to avoid damage to the delicate parts.  The underside between the wings first has holes drilled and raised pins removed to fit the fuel tank, or it can be fitted as-is if you don’t intend to use the tank.  More diagrams show the correct orientation and angle of the latest parts.

 

Before mounting the engine, the ammo boxes for the cowling guns must be built, each one made from two parts, which are then glued to the bulkhead on two pins after painting them interior green, fitting the V-shaped cooling flap control rod for two decal options, plus a cockpit heater intake tube for all options.  The engine is fitted with a zig-zag engine-bearer that locates on three points at the back of the engine, and on the bulkhead behind it on four points, creating triangular interstices between the tubular supports, and linking the cooling flap control rods at the bottom if they are fitted.  Another page of pictures of the completed assembly follow, with the optional cooling flap control rods shown installed and absent.  Two styles of exhaust shield panels are provided for the decal options, each having a different panels, with different slot layouts, and the choice of posing the larger slots open or closed by swapping the internal parts accordingly, while the option with smaller slots are fixed open.  The lower cowling has bulged panels that cover the supercharger intake duct, and these are fitted to the cowling and wing root, supporting the circular oil tank at the front.  The upper cowling with gun troughs and separate under-frame fits into a recess in the oil tank at the front, mounting the two MG17s and their ammo feeds on the floor of the bay installed earlier.  The bay door is fixed over the guns, removing two small raised teardrop fairings from the sides for one decal option, which is best done before it is glued in place.  The real aircraft has a hinge at the rear that allows it to prop against the canopy for maintenance of the weapons, but this isn’t offered as an option for this kit, although anyone with some spare glue can pose it open.  The rest of the cowling parts can be posed open or closed, adding frames to the interiors if you are posing them open, with scrap diagrams showing the correct angle for the open option.  The cowling lip is made from two parts, which are keyed to align them correctly, with an oil ring shield fitted for two decal options that has the location confirmed by a comprehensive set of drawings from multiple angles. 

 

 

Each wheel is made from two half tyres, fitting hub halves in the centre on each side, then mating them with the strut, which has a brake hose moulded-in, plus a link hose between it and the hub, and a two-part scissor-link behind.  Several stencil decals are included to add extra realism, which includes an slip-indicator stripe for the tyres and their rim, which is always good to see.  The completed struts are mounted on the front of the gear bay wall, as it is still exposed at this stage, adding a retraction jack and captive bay door to the outer side, repeating the process on the other leg in mirror image.  The holes and corresponding pegs that locate the gear legs in position are keyed, and you are advised to leave the model inverted with supports under the wings to ensure that they legs stay in the correct position.  Once the glue is fully cured the missing leading-edge segments of the wings close in the hinge-points and cover the wing guns, sliding them into position over the barrels, and adding undercarriage indicator pegs that project through the upper wing, which is best done after main painting, adding white stripes to the inner face of the red indicators.  The inner bay doors are fitted on the centreline bulkhead, with actuators leading into the bay roof, and the option of posing them closed, which uses different actuator parts.  The bottom of that page has a full set of diagrams that show the correct location and angle of the gear bays in relation to the thrust-line, which is 13° from the horizontal when the aircraft is on its wheels.

 

The next stage is referred to as “Final Outfitting” in the instructions, starting with the propeller, which is moulded as a single well-detailed part that is sandwiched between the back-plate and spinner cap, with detailed painting instructions clustered around it on the page.  Installation of the canopy begins with the windscreen, using water-based glue or gloss varnish to attach the armoured panel to the inside, first fitting the gunsight then the coaming to the front of the cut-out before gluing the screen in place with a suitable non-fogging glue, my favourite of which is GS-Hypo watch-crystal cement.  The canopy has head armour fixed in two recesses in the frame, and this is supported by a cranked component that fits on the rear, locating in a hole in the top and another recess in the rear of the part, which is best done after painting is complete of the various components.  To depict the canopy open or closed, two different clear parts are included, which caters for the tapering fuselage, and requires a different head armour part because of this.  The real canopy was hinged at the top to achieve this trick, so it’s not just a case of a model company changing things to make their life easier, which is impressive devotion to accuracy.

 

There are more bays to pose open or closed in the following steps, starting with the wing root gun bays, using the same parts for each option, and using a dog-leg support for the open option to obtain the correct angle.  The underwing panels that allow access to the wing guns also use the same parts, allowing gravity to hold the doors at the correct angle for the open option.  A long pitot probe is inserted into the hole drilled earlier in the starboard leading-edge of the wing, adding a pair of clear lights to the wingtips, and another in the rudder, then mounting an aerial under the belly, which hangs vertically from the fuselage, appearing to point slightly forward when on the ground.  The crew step is a long U-shaped part that is either inserted unaltered into the holes under the cockpit, or shortened before insertion to protrude the correct distance for each option, fitting a cover for the drop-tank attachment ring if you are not using it.  To install the fuel tank, the forward section of the pylon is made from four parts that includes anti-sway braces, adding a fairing to the rear as it is mounted under the belly, with another fairing between it, then fixing the two-part tank in position, noting the various stencils that are applied to it and the pylon.

 

 

Markings

There are three decal options on the sheet, two representing one aircraft in summer and winter camouflage, the third with a chequerboard cowling.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

 

 

Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Masks

A sheet of pale green vinyl that has been pre-cut to match the shape of the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or kabuki tape, masking the interior with tape to prevent overspray. 

 

 

Conclusion

The Würger is a dynamic aircraft, and Zoukei-Mura have captured that essence in 1:32, with massive amounts of detail, which more closely resembles a learning experience than making a model kit.  Writing this review has enlightened me as to the function of some parts of the Fw.190 I had previously wondered about, and the moment where I spotted the cylinders within the engine brought a smile to my face, as already mentioned.  The kit has been engineered with care and attention to detail that is seldom seen in any scale, with three decal options and masks to help you build as best as you can.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[hakkikt]

I build mostly 1/72, but for selected subjects, I make an exception here and there and build a 1/32. You have just given me a very good reason to make another one, thank you!😁

[Alan P]

Recently received this from a pre-order I'd forgotten I made ten months ago 😂

 

It's a really wonderful kit, and presented beautifully. I would echo your enthusiasm for the instruction book Mike, overall I'd say it's a major project work as much as a model build.

[georgeusa]

I have the 2023 boxing and this looks to have essentially the same parts, just different decals.  (Although the website lists 359 parts for the 2023 release and only 314 parts for this release.)  I have more than a few of the Zoukei-Mura kits and this one looks like one of their best kits to date.  I do like your review of the building process as it brought out some things I had not noticed when just reading the instructions and build process.  Tunnel vision, you know.  As always, thanks for the review and the summary of this build process. 

[Watto]

Thank you very much for a very thorough and informative review. 

 

I too, pre-ordered the kit a while back and thanks to your review,I'm really looking forward to getting stick into the build. 

 

Thanks again, Watto 👍🍻

[georgeusa]

Mike, sorry I didn't catch this the first time I read the review.  The term "scooch" is used quite frequently in the southern portion of the United States.  You can scooch on over her (meaning slide over a bench seat next to me); you can scooch between us (meaning just plant yourself in the little space between me and another person; etc.  Usually is used to slide something over or place between something and involves some sort of careful placement around an existing situation, if that makes sense.  Ya know, "Scooch your pretty little self over here next to me and Bubba".
 

[Casey]

That's one of the prettiest manual I ever seen! Also, the color schemes are so cool I want to build one.

[Mike]

On 03/01/2025 at 17:13, georgeusa said:

Mike, sorry I didn't catch this the first time I read the review.  The term "scooch" is used quite frequently in the southern portion of the United States.  You can scooch on over her (meaning slide over a bench seat next to me); you can scooch between us (meaning just plant yourself in the little space between me and another person; etc.  Usually is used to slide something over or place between something and involves some sort of careful placement around an existing situation, if that makes sense.  Ya know, "Scooch your pretty little self over here next to me and Bubba".
 

I had heard it before if I'm honest I can't think where I've heard it, but it's most likely something American on TV.  The English definition (shamelessly C&P from the dictionary is as follows:

 

to move a short distance, especially when you are in a sitting or crouching (= low, with bent knees) position:

Can you scooch over and make room?

She used to scooch up so close to the TV that her parents warned her she'd ruin her eyes.

The street was flooded and I had to scootch over to the passenger's side of the car to get out.

 

If words interest you as they do me, you should look up Mubble-Fubble, a 16th century phrase for the Monday blues.  I told my Boy last night, and he professed to be suffering from them this morning.

[georgeusa]

3 hours ago, Mike said:

If words interest you as they do me, you should look up Mubble-Fubble, a 16th century phrase for the Monday blues.  I told my Boy last night, and he professed to be suffering from them this morning.

Britain and America only separated by the English language.  I do like the above term and have never read it or heard it used before.  It does, however, describe how I feel about today.  Nothing like going out at 4:00 in the morning when it is 19 degrees (F) and breaking ice for the horse and cattle troughs to start your day in a good way.  And, it looks like it will be this way for the next 10 days.  Oh joy.

[Mike]

1 minute ago, georgeusa said:

never read it or heard it used before.

It's long dead, unless you know my son