Best FW190D in 1/72nd?

[PaulR]

Afternoon all,

I was comtemplating my increasingly ridiculous stash and deciding what to do next. I have an Academy FW190D, which I seem to recall winning IPMS Germany's (or something similar, anyway) prize when it was first brought out. However, how does it compare to other Doras on the market? I am aware of the old Airfix kit, Tamiya and possibly Hasegawa, but there may be others. Anyone know the relative merits of each? I am mainly concerned with an accurate outline, and canopy shape.

Thanks for any guidance!

Paul

[The wooksta V2.0]

Personally, I'd go with the Tamiya one, although for nostalgia I have a soft spot for the Airfix D-9 (first kit I can remember building). The Hasegawa one lacks cockpit detail and the shape of the tailplanes looks suspect to me. Academy has similar faults and very thin wheels but a nice cockpit interior and half the price of Hasegawa.

[Master Zen]

Tamiya. No competition. It is one of my favorite kits to build.

Only obvious gripe would be the gun bulges in front of the cockpit are a bit too pronounced but this actually makes it look more menacing. Certainly a negligible fault I don't mind living with.

[Moofles]

Have to agree with whats already been said, tamiya is a great kit, the airfix one equally is a giggle to build.

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

I've not made the Tamiya kit as yet but the Academy one is good for the price, certainly in terms of a nice easy build.

I've got a Hasegawa D-9 Rudel in my stash somewhere, I've not looked at it in a while but I'm sure it's as good as the Academy kit. I only got this kit for the markings, otherwise I'd have probably bought another Academy kit as they are cheaper. There is Eduard etch for all 3 kits if you feel the cockpit isn't good enough.

I would ask is the Tamiya kit twice as good as the Academy one? If it is I might be tempted by a Tamiya kit myself!.

thanks

Mike

[The wooksta V2.0]

Quick and easy build, little if no need for filler, shape is bang on, well detailed. Pricey but worth it. The only niggle I could find is the ejection chute for the engine mounted cannon is moulded in (Tamiya measured up a preserved one in the US and the wings had been swapped with the preserved D-13 - which did have an engine cannon).

Cracker of a kit and I'd like to do another at some stage. Or finish one of the three that are stalled.

[mike romeo]

What do people think of the 1/72 Hobbyboss kit?

[hgbn]

Or the old Italeri ?? Have a couple of those in my stash?? raised panel lines and low detail. but are the general shape ok?? Details and panel lines can be fixed its a little harder with the general shape

[smackers]

Theres still a cheap (when compared to rrp) Tamiya 190 D-9 on sale at access models - http://www.accessmodels.co.uk/products.asp...b=90&page=2

I've got one in the stash along with a few Airfix ones but alas no Academy version.

Hobby Boss one is recommended too but i don't actually know if it's better than Airfix's one personally but this reviewer thinks so - http://modelingmadness.com/reviews/axis/lu...bakerhb190d.htm

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

Quick and easy build, little if no need for filler, shape is bang on, well detailed. Pricey but worth it. The only niggle I could find is the ejection chute for the engine mounted cannon is moulded in (Tamiya measured up a preserved one in the US and the wings had been swapped with the preserved D-13 - which did have an engine cannon).

Cracker of a kit and I'd like to do another at some stage. Or finish one of the three that are stalled.

Ah but Mr Wooksta - would you say it's twice as good as the already reasonably good Academy one? BTW I've no idea which is the most accurate kit in terms of size, shape, outline etc.

You'll have to let me know how you get on with the Spit PR IV you got from us. I've made the Sword Vc and I thought that was not bad for a short run kit.

thanks

Mike

[Michael louey]

Hi Paul,

This question comes up every now and again. I posted a response to a similar query on the Luftwaffe Experten Message Board (LEMB) at the start of the year:

Here are my opinions:

I've built a number of 1/72 Doras and had a look at the alternative kits a number of times. Your most likely kit choices are:

* Hasegawa. I personally have built this kit a couple of times and I think it captures the lines a bit better than the Tamiya (Personal Choice).

* Academy. Looks like a clone of the Hasegawa but with a more detailed cockpit, also a lot cheaper (half price here in Aust). Down side is the missing trim tabs and fuselage stiffeners and (to me) less subtle flying surfaces.

The pitot tube is on the wrong side, but this is an easy fix. I've heard getting the canopy off is a bit of a pain, but I've never had the kit so can't confirm.

* Tamiya. If it is a copy of their 1/48th kit, the overall undercarriage may sit a bit low (Search Hyperscale site for a reference article on their 1/48th Dora)

Just a few more notes, especially about some of the other kits -

1 - Italeri. I'd forgotten about this kit, however I have built this one in the past too (3 times in fact). In the past I thought this was the best of the then available kits (alternatives being the original tool Hasegawa, an ancient version of the Airfix kit and the caricature Lindberg kit). It does look quite nice, however talking to 1/72 Luftwaffe 'experten' modeller Glen Irvine (google his Fw190D build on Hyperscale), he mentioned its shape is quite 'off'. The main issue is the under wing shape - The real Fw190D has a 'flat' centre section for the wing underside, the Italeri has a curve (i.e. a modest version of the style of a mid wing fighter like the Buffalo). In addition, I don't think the kit has fuselage stiffeners (Something I think is distinctive in Doras) and probably more importantly the wing appears thin in section.

2. Airfix - 2nd mould. Glen says the shape is quite good, in fact he cast the rear tail wheel saying it is the best in the market (I think the other kits might be under size). In general the parts are a bit 'thick' and less refined. Also the canopy needs a lot of work to pose 'open' as the rear combing is moulded as part of the fuselage. Their is a comparison build on 'Modelling Madness'.

3. Hasegawa - There were actually 2 moulds. I've built the first a couple of times and looking back, the shape does appear a bit 'off'. I think the tail shape is wrong and the cockpit position is 'off''. The exhausts are also very 'soft'. The 2nd version is a completely new kit. I know about the incorrect wheel covers, however just leaving them off as per the Italeri is only part of the work. An engine/engine plug is also required otherwise you just have an unrealistic void. I actually fitted a Do335 engine in my Dragon Ta152c for this very reason. A lot of work for very little visible result. If another kit had equivalent shape/detail to the Hasegawa/Tamiya and with open wheel wells, I'd be quite happy to use it as a new benchmark. Other than, that I don't see any problem with the Hasegawa wings. They certainly have removed the outboard panel and cannons in the kits I have.

By the way, there are a couple of other kits - I understand the AML kit is a reboxed 1st mould Hasegawa kit.. Planet have some expensive resin kits of exotic variants (e.g. Fw190D-11, D-13) I thnk they may even have a big tailed Fw190D-9. Some made up versions on Hyperscale look quite nice, however I'm not sure the nose captures the 'pugnaciousness' of a Dora. I'd reserve judgement on this though until I saw one in the flesh.

Hope this helps

Michael

Edited August 23, 2011 by Michael louey

[Ed Russell]

Here are my opinions:

Excellent analysis

Academy pretty much OOB Academy and Alps decals - surprisingly good for the price. I felt it was nearly equal to Tamiya kit

Tamiya with AML large tail and AML decals. very nice kit.

[Chuck1945]

If you look at the photos already posted of the Hasegawa and Tamiya Doras, you can see that there is more taper/curvature at the front of the cowl on the Hasegawa (and its Academy clone) kit than on Tamiya. IMO, the Tamiya kit gets higher marks there.

[mike romeo]

FWIW, here's my attempt at a Hobby Boss FW190D-9 to allow a general "compare and contrast". No idea how it sits in the accuracy stakes, but it is a simple and fun build - and quite inexpensive.

regards,

Martin

[The wooksta V2.0]

Yep, I'll second the Hobbyboss kit as a neat, easy build that looks the part.

MikeMX, the PR.IV is a long term stash acqusition but it certainly looks to be a superb kit and having built several of the Sword tooled XIIs, I doubt any fit problems. Also, as the lower engine cowling is separate, I'm sure it could be backdated to one of the earlier PR versions with little difficulty.

[rowmk9]

Here's my two cents! The Academy one does lack a bit of finesse over the Tamiya offering, but still builds into a very nice model. It lacks any detail in the cockpit aft of the seat, like the stowage compartment, but it still looks good I think.

My two Academy efforts:

And the Tamiya Dora below. It does seem to suffer from the short undercarriage legs of the 1/48 kit, but maybe thats just the way I built (broke) it

[Duncan B]

Here's my two cents! The Academy one does lack a bit of finesse over the Tamiya offering, but still builds into a very nice model. It lacks any detail in the cockpit aft of the seat, like the stowage compartment, but it still looks good I think.

My two Academy efforts:

And the Tamiya Dora below. It does seem to suffer from the short undercarriage legs of the 1/48 kit, but maybe thats just the way I built (broke) it

I've commented on these before, still love that Black 8!

[MDriskill]

I feel pretty strongly that the Hasegawa kit is the best overall, shape-wise, while the Tamiya would be the best for an "out of the box" build due to good shape and superior interior detail.

I built several of the Hasegawa kits as part of a 190 collection several years ago. It's really crisply molded, with lines and angles that just feel right to my eye. For a collection it also had the advantage of having the same "hand" as the Hasegawa radial-engined 190's.

The Hobby Boss kit appears to me to be a pretty close copy of Tamiya. I built one recently and was quite happy with it. Of course if you are into interior detail you can forget this one!

I built both the Italeri and Airfix kits back in the day, and agree with the comments already made on those. The faulty Italeri wing shape is very noticeable when seen from the front and pretty much a "deal-breaker" in my opinion. I think the Airfix is quite nice for its time, and the model came out well, but the work it took to refine edges and surface detail would be superfluous with the more modern kits about.

Edited August 25, 2011 by MDriskill

[FalkeEins]

Italeri D-9. I prefer their kit to the HB or Airfix..it has a cockpit & choice of canopies for a start. Its also readily available. The decal sheet cost rather more than the kit..

[Nigel Bunker]

I bought the early Airfix one when I was nine, and I thought it was smashing. So it gets my vote.

However, it's flying characteristics from the bedroom window onto the lawn left something to be desired, as did all the kits.

[Giorgio N]

The Hobby Boss kit appears to me to be a pretty close copy of Tamiya. I built one recently and was quite happy with it. Of course if you are into interior detail you can forget this one!

It's not too hard to add some details to the HB kits: a dremel and an eduard zoom sheet can do wonders. This is my HB 109G-6 with some added details during construction:

Not tamiya quality, but I really had a lot of fun building this.

However with the academy 190D kit costing little more than the HB one, I don't know if I'd go for the latter. Have to say the academy kit looks very nice in the box. Have yet to start it but I'm looking forward to it.