Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6

Eduard, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Eduard's 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 will be available online from Squadron.com
 

Back in October 2006, Eduard released the best Würger model in any scale with their 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8. Since then they have added the Fw 190 A-5 and A-8/R2 to their range.

The latest Eduard Würger is the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6.

The A-6 differed from the A-5 mainly in the outboard wing armament, being upgraded to the MG 151 20mm cannon. Eduard has supplied two all-new lower wings for this release, ensuring an accurate Fw 190 A-6 without the aggravation and extra work of filling and sanding redundant panel lines or ill-fitting access hatch inserts. Both wings feature the outboard MG 151s, with one wing adding shell ejector chutes for the cowl guns.

Eduard's new 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 comprises 163 parts in olive coloured plastic; 8 parts in clear; a colour photo-etched fret; masking sheet; and a colourful decal sheet with markings for four aircraft..

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

The kit is state of the art in terms of quality of injection moulded parts, detail and markings.

Eduard's packaging is very modeller-friendly. Sprues are packed, singly or in pairs, in resealable bags with each pair of sprues interlocked to prevent scuffing.

The styrene parts are attached to their sprues via fine connectors. Moulding quality is superb. I could not find a single sink mark or ejector pin anywhere that will be visible on the finished model, even in problematic areas such as the inside of cowlings, undercarriage covers and the gear bay. Small locating pins are moulded to parts as required.

Surface detail is excellent. Panel lines are consistent and finely engraved. Very subtle lines of rivets are also present in logical locations (on the cowl, along panel line etc). Rivets are a matter of personal taste, but the finely rendered detail looks terrific to my eye. Please note that, for the close-up photographs on this page, I have turned the parts to reflect the light and highlight the rivets. When viewed under normal light they are very restrained.

Attention to detail is equally impressive. For example, in every Focke-Wulf Fw 190 kit produced to date, the access hatch for the inboard wing cannon has a big seam line running in line with the wing root. This is usually tricky to eliminate. Eduard's kit addresses this challenge with separate hatches. Not only does this avoid the seam line, but Eduard also provides gun bay interior detail to permit the hatch to be posed open. The cowl gun bay is comprehensively detailed too.

Eduard also supplies a well-detailed BMW 801 engine including mounts and firewall detail. A plastic template is supplied to ensure correct alignment of the snaking exhaust pipes.

The main undercarriage offers four wheel choices, with treaded or slick tyres in either the early style (with large lightening holes) or the later plain hub (all unweighted).

Optional tail gear is supplied - either a single piece (wheel and leg moulded together), or a separate wheel and two-piece strut.

The rudder and ailerons are moulded as separate parts, so they may be posed to taste. Elevators are fixed in the neutral position, but it will be an easy matter to cut these off and reposition if desired.

Cowl flaps are moulded shut, but photo-etched parts are supplied if the modeler wishes to pose them open.

Ordnance options include a 300 litre drop tank, a bomb and two W.Gr.21 mortars (rockets).

The kit is necessarily complex due to the high level of detail, but it is pleasing to see that Eduard has chosen not to further complicate construction with plugs and inserts for different versions. For example, the wings are supplied as pure A-6 wings, with bulges and ejector ports moulded in place and without the oval access hatch introduced for the A-8. This will make for a cleaner build with less filler and frustration.

Clear parts emphasize Eduard's innovation. On the real Würger, the canopy was somewhat flexible. This flexibility was further enhanced with a short hinge on the top. This was necessary because the canopy rails tapered inwards back along the fuselage, requiring the front bottom corners of the canopy to pinch inward when opening (ie, the width was narrower when the canopy was open). This attribute has been conveniently ignored by all Fw 190 models to date - an open canopy would simply overhang the sides of the canopy deck. Eduard, however, has supplied a closed (wide) and open (narrow) version for each canopy style. Clever stuff.

A "blown" canopy is supplied too, but it is not used for this version. More goodies for the spares box!

The colour photo-etched fret, as always, adds gorgeous, intricate detail. Far from resting on their laurels however, Eduard seems to have further refined the detail on this fret compared to their earlier releases. This is especially noticeable on the instrument panel and side consoles.

Another nice touch is the inclusion of canopy and wheel masks in Eduard's new, thin flexible yellow masking material.

Instructions are supplied in an A-4 size, stapled colour 16 page booklet, with a detailed history on the front page followed by a parts list and ten pages of construction steps and four pages of full-colour marking guides, each with a four-view illustration.

Markings are provided for four colourful aircraft:

• Georg Schott, 1./JG 1 Netherlands Summer 1943. This aircraft features JG 1's black and white chequered nose.

• Hans Dortenmann, 2./JG 54 in Russia, February 1944. This aircraft features a winter whitewash and a red spinner with a very narrow black spiral.

• Toni Hackl, III/JG 11, Oldenburg Germany, March 1944. This Wurger is finished in similar markings to Hackl's Bf 109 G-5 which he flew during the same period - white fin and rudder, the broad yellow RV band of JG 11 and a personal emblem under both sides of the canopy.

• Josef Priller, JG 26, France 1943. Curiously, although it is mentioned nowhere in the instructions, a fifth scheme is included on the decal sheet for Priller's  Fw 190 A-5, "Black 13".

Decals look to be very thin and of high quality.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Construction Tips from Eduard

As a result of test-building several kits, Eduard has pointed out several areas requiring special attention during assembly. These include the following:

• Check the position of the completed cockpit interior to the fuselage halves. Especially the back (upper) part of the cockpit tub must be aligned exactly with line on the fuselage halves. Also the weapon bay must be carefully positioned.

• Another important point is the wing spar (part I16) installation. In this step (page 5 of the instructions), first glue part K20 into the wing, and then add part I16. This sequence will guarantee that the wing spar will be exactly vertical to the wing bottom. This is crucial for wheel well assembly and the whole wing geometry.

• Another sensitive point is the engine mount installation. In this point, find the exact position of the part K18 on the reverse (inside of the fuselage) side of the part H12 (wheel well). K18 fits exactly to the notch in the H12. If you glue K18 carefully to the given position, the engine block will easily assume the correct position when it is glued to the engine mount.

• The locating holes for the main wheels are quite large. This is because the wheel fits to the axle at an angle. Use the instruction picture (page 10) to determine the exact angle of the wheel to the undercarriage leg.

• While we are talking about the undercarriage, when you will assembly the K7 (u/c leg) to the H1 (u/c cover), the location pins on the leg will give you exact position of the hatch (H1) to the leg. This is similar to the assembly of the u/c to the wing – glue the leg to the fine locating position in the wheel well, and immediately add J30/J37 to the position in the wheel well and on the u/c leg (there is a fine location pin on the leg which fits to the small hole on the end of the tow bar). It will give you exact position of the undercarriage to the wing. This is a different system compared to other manufacturers' kits, but it delivers surprisingly good result.
   

Eduard's Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 is every bit as good as their initial A-5, A-8 and A-8/R2 Würger releases. It is a magnificent kit, spectacularly detailed and beautifully presented. If all of this detail is not enough for you, Eduard has released some additional colour photo-etched detail sets to further enhance the cockpit (with placards) and engine bay.

In the box, Eduard's are best Würgers available in any scale.

If all this is not enough for you, there are already plenty of after-market options to further super-detail areas including the engine bay and cockpit.

Keep in mind, though, that this kit will not fall together by itself, so you will be advised to allocate plenty of time and treat it with the respect that it deserves. If you have already assembled a few kits, however, you should not have any trouble finishing this wonderful Würger.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text Copyright © 2007 by Brett Green
Page Created 19 July, 2007
Last updated 24 December, 2007

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