Part 2: The Build

Wings It is important right now to drill out the appropriate holes in the wing. Since I was going to do an A-7 I did the same things as the A-8, plus opened up the holes for the WGr21 rockets. Eagle Editions is not very specific if the outboard cannons were installed or not. The instructions say one thing and the picture say something different. I decided to use the guns as it would look cooler. Not for any other reason as I can't find photos that say yes or no. So sue me if I'm wrong. Remember I had already sanded down the outboard bulges and rescribed the panel lines. If you had the earlier release of this kit you wouldn't have had to even do that as the earlier release had both sets of wings, with and without the bulges. I elected to have the wing gun covers closed so that required removing some plastic as per the instructions. I had elected to remove the gun barrels and replace them with tubing. There was nothing wrong with the kit guns I just like to have metal barrels. The fit of the wing to the fuselage was not as good as I would have liked. I think this was a combination of kit design and my fault. There was a .040 gap at the rear join (kit design). The front fit just fine. There were some gaps on the wing roots that I had to fill with some superglue and some styrene (my fault). None of it was really bad and everything was easily fixed. One area that I felt was a pain was the wing gun covers. I've always had an issue to get them to fit perfectly. This is a design issue. I opened the area prior to assembling the wing and I was able to get it to fit but the easy fix is to leave them open. I used Apoxy-sculpt to fair them in and was happy enough with the results. I added the drop tank mount to the belly now why I was thinking about it. I left off the front piece as it is fragile and a different color than the rest. I added the horizontal tails and rudder at this time. Engine The engine builds up with no big deal. Because it is literally hidden behind the cowling I elected to just build the engine up and paint it black and dry brushed some silver. When I built the engine I just made sure that every subassembly was tight against the one behind it. This helps ensure that the engine will fit inside the cowling and not protrude too far forward. Mounting the engine to the airframe is simple enough. The key is first to attach part K18 to the slot on the wheel well. Then you can simply add the engine bearers, parts J25, J34, J35. These bearers fit on the corners of the vertical bulkhead. Let this dry thoroughly. If you are going to close up the cowling like I did I reinforced the joints with superglue. Once everything was dried overnight I added the engine to K18. Simple, effective and really strong, as I was soon to find out. I built up an engine cowling for the A-7. Use parts H14, H26, and H10 for an A-7 cowling. If you take your time there is no issue with the fit. The proper method to assemble the cowling is to attach the top piece (H10) to the inner ring (K25). Let it dry thoroughly. Once dry simply add the two side panels (for an A-7 use H14 and H26). These are slotted and easily fit with the top piece with no filler needed anywhere. Add the forward cowl ring and the cowling is ready to add. Now it was simply a matter of adding the cowling. There are three cowl mounts so don't forget them. It was time to drop test the cowling and engine. While manipulating the model to add the final piece of the cowling I managed to drop the model from my model table. The engine did not move, the cowling on the other hand did. This was going to cause an issue. I reattached the cowling but the fit was not as good as before and took some serious filling and sanding. This was totally my fault. I finally got it to where it was acceptable but not as perfect as I would have liked, but good enough. You have to add the upper cowling over the gun. If you want to pose it open no big deal, just add the guns if you haven't and tack it in place. If you want to close the cowling like I did just sand the breech blocks off the guns and the cowling will fit perfectly. Add the tail planes and rudder and it really looks like a 190. I added the top gun cowling and a little bit of sanding of the front and the fit was perfect. Painting I washed the model with Dawn dish detergent; air dried it and then wiped it with Polly- S Plastic-Prep. The Plastic-Prep imparts an anti-static charge to the plastic to repel dust. A coat of Alclad Grey Micro-primer was applied to check for flaws. Inevitably there are always some. Some superglue filler here and there and reprime and it was time to paint. I have been trying a technique taught to me by Rafe Morrissey of post fading. I painted the whole model with Alclad Gloss Black Primer, admittedly I did not completely paint it all black but left it splotchy. This would help with the splotchy effect later. I painted the lower engine cowling an RLM 04. Once dried, I masked it off and proceeded to the camouflage. Model Master Enamel RLM 76 was applied thinly in a squiggly pattern that was definitely not complete coverage. Adding white to the mixture allowed me to add another layer of weathering. It was thinned down significantly and built up in squiggle irregular patterns. I paid particular attention to the ailerons and elevators to lighten them up. A lit more white was added and some more thinner for a final squiggle and the highlights. On the fuselage I went up and down and the wings from front to back. Once I was happy with the results it was time to add some upper camo colors. Model Master Enamel RLM 75 was used on the upper surfaces. The same thinning and squiggle technique was used. When I was happy a special Rafe Morrissey blend of Tamiya RLM 74 was used and again the same technique. I masked off the exhaust area and painted it flat black. I also masked off the trim tabs and painted them Tamiya Flat Red. I painted the spinner Model Master Flat White. After it was dry I punched out a circle of Tamiya tape with my Waldron punch and die set. I placed this over the tip and then used thin strips of Tamiya tape and rolled it around the spinner. A coat of masking fluid between the tape and then painted the spinner flat black. Now it was a matter of removing the mask and the spinner looked perfect. Details I like to attach as much to the model as possible prior to gloss and flat coats. It is just a hold over from armor modelers. I wanted to mount the 21cm rockets as they are unique looking and I wanted to see if they fit. The things I do for you guys. LOL Having drilled the holes in the wings prior to assembly all that was really needed was to clean up the tube halves and the mounting hardware. Do not remove the mounting hardware until you are ready for it. There was some pretty substantial (proportional to the parts size) mold lines that need to be removed. This proved a pain but the results are worth the effort. I painted the tubes inside with Metalizer Dark Anodized Grey and the rockets with Metalizer Magnesium. Once assembled I painted the outside with the RLM 76. I added the mounts with liquid cement and while they were drying and still pliable I used superglue on the tube where they would attach. This allowed me to make each of them to the correct hole. Some accelerator set the mount to the tube. I worked on one side at a time. One thing I noticed that I had never noticed before was the offset of the mounts. It was interesting and something that Eduard picked up on. That is the level of detail they put into this kit. I touched up the paint here and there where I needed to. It was time to add the landing gear. I used 5-minute epoxy to set the angle between the wheels and strut. I stuck the landing gear to the instruction with some ticky-tack and added the epoxy to the wheels. I used a Gunze Mr Surfacer bottle to keep the angle of the wheel straight. Simple yet effective. I added the landing gear doors to the struts with liquid cement. Attaching the landing gear is something a little different than any other manufacturer. Is this a bad thing? Definitely not. The end of the strut has a nub on it. The strut itself has a length of plastic that holds everything in place. The whole set up is real easy to use and creates quite a strong bond. The retraction mechanism also adds strength to the strut. I used liquid cement on the strut and then tacked it in place with some super glue. This allowed me to align them properly. I added the drop tank attachment but left off the drop tank as it wasn't on the real thing.

Decals I used Alclad Gloss for my gloss coat that I think works better for me than Future. I wanted to use EagleCals decals because I wanted the unique snake emblem. It is cool looking. I did use most of the decals from the Eduard sheet. These are printed by Cartograf and are absolutely beautiful. They are opaque, in register and respond perfectly to setting solution. The EagleCal decals are printed by Microscale and they fit really well. They worked like a champ. I had no issues with either one. I normally add a coat of gloss over the decals but I was trying to get the model ready for a local show so I just over painted it with Dullcoat. No big issues, but there were some decals that had silvered. This is not a real problem. Thanks to Rafe Morrissey who turned me onto this solution. Take a brand new #11 blade and make some very minor cuts on the decals. It doesn't take much to cut a decal film. Then I added more Solvaset to the decals and viola, perfect decals. Weathering Weathering started with a wash of Burnt Umber Artist Oils thinned with Turpenoid along the panel lines and, in this case, rivet lines. Particular attention was given in the area of the lower engine area. I used a small sponge and some Model Master Metalizer Magnesium and a silver and grey pencil to replicate the chipping. I followed up the chipping with a heavily thinned Tamiya Dark Earth and Flat Black mix for the exhaust stains and gun residue. The next phase of weathering was to add some Mig Pigment powders to the wheels and the landing gear struts. This was set up with Mig's thinner. After all was said and done a coat of Dullcoat was sprayed over everything to keep fix it in place. The final bit of weathering was a thinned coat of Tamiya Buff heavily thinned and sprayed from top to bottom on the fuselage and front to back on the wings. This "blends" the airplane with the ground.

Final bits and bobs I added the final things such as tubing for the guns. A Quickboost pitot tube was added to the wing and touched up. This was significantly better than the kit pitot tube and didn't require any clean up. I added the photo etch cooling flaps. I had to add a piece of plastic to mount the one flap to. The canopy masks were removed and they had worked like a champ. The prop and spinner were added along with a EZ Line antenna. Hints and Tips There are a few keys to a successful Eduard FW-190 kit. The first is to ensure that part I4 and H3 are 90 degrees as well as part I21. Glue part K20 into its mount on the wings, ensuring it is vertical and thoroughly dry. When that piece is dry add the wing center spar and ensure that it fits in the cutout and attached to K20. This will keep the spar vertical and ensure that the landing gear and other pieces fit perfectly. Piece J18 will have no problem fitting. Glue part K18 to the indent in the top of the wheel well and then add the support structure, J25, J34, and J35. Glue the gun trough (part H4) to the mid cowl ring (K25) and let it dry thoroughly. Then add the side engine cowl panels. This will ensure the cowling is perfect and require no sanding.

Conclusion This is my third Eduard kit so that ought to tell you something. If that doesn't then how about I put all my other A-8 kits (Dragon, DML, and Italeri) up for sale. I love these kits. Even though this one fought me most of the way I enjoyed the kit. I have another kit in the works so what better endorsement is there? The decals were perfect. The fit of the kit is excellent. Is it over engineered? Maybe but any good modeler should be able to build this kit up into a very nice representation. I've talked to some people that have mentioned that the cooling fan extended out to far. I have not had that problem so I attribute that to not understanding the instructions. I recommend that you read, follow and understand the instructions. Now this A-7 conversion would have been easier with the original kit release as it had both types of wings, however, that in no way diminishes this beautiful kit. The four new markings along with Walter Dahl's aircraft make this boxing a wonderful value. If you have an Eduard FW-190 or are contemplating buying one do it and build it you will enjoy it. I really had a great time with this one. Highly recommended. Thanks to Eduard for the review copy. You can obtain your copy at your local hobby shop or by contacting Eduard directly at www.eduard.cz . Let them know that IPMS/USA sent you.