Eduard

1/48 Focke-Wulf FW190A-8/R2

Kit Number: 8175

Reviewed by  Dave Morrissette, IPMS# 33653

MSRP: $39.95 Website: www.eduard.cz Eduard continues to set the "detail" bar with the release of the FW 190 A-8/R2. For the cost of the kit, you get an awful lot- seven excellent sprues of Eduard's Grey green color with great engraved panel lines. A parts map shows those that go unused. There are five marking variations and to get the detail right, Eduard includes two different complete fuselages. There is a clear sprue with different style canopies, windscreens, armor plated glass and a gun sight. For the canopy, a complete set of Eduard masks is included. There is a full color set of assembly instructions including parts maps, a history and complete painting and decaling guides. Also included is a full color history called "Bloody Encounter over a Forgotten Mountain" with the history of one of the planes and it adversaries (in this case a specific B-17). There are two decal sheets- one for stencils and one for the five schemes. Last, but certainly not least, there is a fret of colored photoetch for the instrument panel, seat belts and other details. This kit is absolutely complete. The included detail is phenomenal. The first thing you need to do is decide which plane you are going to build - even by the second page of the instructions, things vary by which plane so I chose Yellow 1 from 6/JG300 with a nice red tail band. That decided, the cockpit build is straight forward- there are options for things like PE rudder pedals and instrument panels. I used all the PE available in my build but it is an option as the styrene pieces are also included. Next, the firewall is built and the rear tire assembly. When these are complete, the fuselage is closed. Fit is very good on all the parts. Make sure the firewall is aligned well and slotted right. You'll see why in a minute. Next, the wings are built and the attention to detail is again fantastic. Since the wheel wells were open. There is superb rib detail, gun detail and an excellent main spar. The airlerons are separate and can be posed. You do have a choice here also in that you can build the wing root cannon bays the open position or closed. I decided to open both of them up which required a few extra parts. Once the wing was buttoned up, it was attached to the fuselage. Fit was good but did require a little putty around the leading edges. The engine was tackled next and is made from over 20 parts and is very, very nice. The exhaust stacks are separate. For those that have seen the BMW engine, they are very distinct and each stack has a specific geometry. To get the alignment right, Eduard has a plastic jig that fits the back of the engine and has slots for each of the eight exhaust stacks. It works great. Now for the only really difficult thing on this kit- the engine mounts. To mount the engine into the fuselage, you need to make the bracket out of four pieces and the alignment is tricky. Needless to say I screwed it up and it caused the engine to be misaligned once attached. This wasn't too apparent until I added the two of the three pieces to the cowling. It wouldn't fit. Hindsight, my fault as one of the brackets had slipped off center. I fixed it by forcing the cowling in place (fit is great) and leaving one side open. Came out well! The upper gun bay was built with the gun and supports being added. For some reason, the instructions were vague on this part but the planes appear to have the upper guns so I installed them. The rudder was completed next. I left the horizontal parts off- fit was good enough to add later and it made the scheme much easier to paint. And it was time to paint. Since I was doing Luftwaffe and had received them, I tried the Aerohobby line of acrylic paints. First the red tail band was painted and then was masked; then the yellow nose part; then RLM76 blue for the majority of the airframe. When dry, RLM74 and 75 covered the wings freehand and the upper surfaces. I then thinned the mix considerably and did the spotting. No issues anywhere on this. The entire kit was glossed and then the decals put on. Again, no issues with the red and blue liquids being used! I flatted the kit, sprayed transparent smoke and black for the exhausts. I also highlighted some panel lines with the transparent paints. Another shot of Dullcote and some pastel work and the painting was done. Detail parts were added like the canopy, landing gear, windscreen and the open panels. Another flat coat and the antennae and we're done. This is probably the most detailed "OOB" kit I have ever built. It looks great and the choice of schemes is excellent. Highly recommended to everyone that a few kits built as there are some small parts to be dealt with during construction. My thanks to Jana Sulcova and Eduard for making the kit and giving myself and IPMS/USA the opportunity to review it.

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