Fw-190D-9 of the JV44, Red 1, finally finished...

[uproar]

Well, after months I've finally finished it, first model in 27 years--its the Tamiya kit, 1/48 with EagleCal decals, Aires cockpit, Eagle Editions resin prop, gun cover, cowling, wheels, Eduard PE landing flaps, Cutting Edge control surfaces, brass tubing for the wing and fuselage gun barrels, Model Design Construction resin wheelbay/engine set (with solder wire for hoses and plumbing), Moskit exhausts, painted with Color of Eagles RLM acrylic colors, weathered with Tamiya Smoke acrylic, Van Gogh oil paints, and Tamiya weathering powders....antenna wire is fishing line, threaded through tiny .0078" drilled holes and CA glued. I also used brass wire for brake lines, wrapped with thin strips of styrene. The original Red 1 shows some substantial fire damage of the windscreen (essentially blackened), as well as the starboard fuselage, just forward of the cockpit, in all known photographs of this portion of the aircraft--this I have attempted to recreate, as well as the splinter damage to the propeller blade and the overpainted white spiral on black on the propeller hub. Apparently, the fire may have been deliberately set in an attempt to destroy the craft to keep it out of Allied hands. What do you think? Any critique is welcome...Thank you!

[Lobbie]

Excellent replication and I like the smoked out windscreen.

Are the white stripes the kit decal or painted on ?

[Bluecorsair]

Wow!!! nice!!!!
Great weathering!!!!
Lotta detail too.
Congratulations!

[uproar]

I initially painted the underside white, then masked and painted red...but there was so much bleeding under the tape I had to remask off the white stripes and repaint them white....I put alot of work into this bird...not to mention money...yikes!

Thanks so much for your comments...I was wondering about the fire damage--I hadn't seen anyone attempt it before. I really wonder how anyone was able to fly it with an almost totally opaque windscreen.

[Bluecorsair]

Your fire damage really does look realistic, no kidding!!

Bill

[seanrgb]

Looks great
the fire damage look is great

[uproar]

Thanks for the kind comments, everyone...there are alot of things I'd do differently if I did them over--I primed it with RLM02 enamel (a misbegotten attempt at "realism") instead of real primer, and the paint is way too thick--this was really my first attempt to use a double action airbrush. I also couldn't get the panel lines to stand out well...but I guess it isn't too bad for being a first attempt in years...my last build was an old Revell Fw190A in a desert camo pattern, with an airbrush, back in high school, 1978...I think it's at my mother's house. Here are some interesting links about the JV44, with a nice photo of the Red 1 showing the blackened windscreen:

rafiger.de/Homepage/FBMuseum/Info-JV44/Info-JV44.htm

home.att.net/~jv44/jv44wurger.htm


Tomorrow is my birthday--think I'll start on a tank!

[Bluecorsair]

Nice weathering the fire damage looks perfect

[gregers]

great model mate. nice one.

Greg

[wooverstone]

Very interesting build. A Great model indeed!

[uproar]

Thanks, everyone, for the comments and suggestions....

I thought I'd add a few photos of the brake lines on the landing gear--brass wire and thin styrene strips:





I'm also going to replace the Morane antenna on the fuselage with one made of wire and brass tubing, hammered flat.

[tango1]

Absolutely Stunning! The hard work put into this model really shows, one of the best 190's I've seen done in a while, very well executed.

Thanks for the show,

Darren.

[Scott Craig]

That is a truly excellent build, and the time and effort you put into it really shows through. My only critique would be that it appears a little on the glossy side, but that is certainly something I can live with given the quality of the rest of the build.

To get panel lines to stand out you need to use a wash. Here Is A Link to how I do panel line washes, and Here Is Another Link to an article on Swanny's site. He goes in to a lot more detail than I do. Note that you don't have to use acrylics, enamel or oil washes also work quite well. Just make sure to use a color that is a few shades darker than the area you are washing.

[uproar]

scraig said:

My only critique would be that it appears a little on the glossy side, but that is certainly something I can live with given the quality of the rest of the build.

Thank you so much for your suggestions...I thought about using a wash, but was afraid I might overdo the weathering--but I think it might help with the gloss problem--I have all of the Swanny stuff on my Favorites, particularly like the "painting canopies" article--and will review the section on washes and such--

As for the glossy sheen, yup, I know, but I've tried everything...something about Tamiya Smoke just doesn't want to tone down....I've given it several coats of airbrushed Model Master flat lacquer, a few coats of Dullcote, don't know what else to try...okay, so its the "Red 1" in the rain..okay?

Note to self...Tamiya Smoke just does not want to hold onto flat lacquer. Any suggestions?

I have replaced the Morane antenna--the one protruding from the underside of the fuselage--with one fashioned out of brass tubing and wire--it looks a lot better. I'll post photos of how it looks. I think the kit antenna looks, well, like a cheesy overscale plastic antenna. Thanks so much for the critique and comments...I certainly appreciate any help I can get...

[Scott Craig]

Thank you so much for your suggestions...I thought about using a wash, but was afraid I might overdo the weathering

Overdoing things is very easy to do and I'm guilty of it on everything I build. The trick is to stop before you think you've done enough. I wish I could take my own advice.

Any suggestions?

Yep, one of two things. First is PollyScale flat acrylic. It works great and dries dead flat. Second is Tamiya XF-21 Flat Base mixed with Future. This is nice because you can control the amount of "Flatness". About 4 parts Future to 1 part XF-21 is very flat. About 6 parts Future to 1 part XF-21 is semi-gloss or a "Satin" finish. Either one should work fine over Tamiya Smoke. I normally airbrush them but hand brushing seems to work fine as well.

When using DullCoat or other laquers over acrylics you need to be very careful. Laquers can dissolve acrylics or even decals if sprayed too heavy. Spray a very light mist coat and let it cure. Do that a couple of times to get a thin base of laquer down before you spray it very heavily.

Edit ... I forgot to mention a word of caution when using XF-21 and Future. If you get the proportion of XF-21 too high it starts to have a slight white tint to it. Be sure to try it on some scrap before spraying a finished model. Also keep in mind that Tamiya XF-21 is NOT a clear flat, it is a clear BASE and was never meant to be sprayed by itself. It is used to give glossy paints a flat finish.

[uproar]

Here are a few photos of the Morane antenna I just replaced--the kit part looked very cheesy and overscale...I CA cemented thin wire into thin brass tubing, then hammered it flat, and glued it into place--I think it looks so much better: