Unusual Suspect
Tamiya 1/48 FW-190F-8
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On a personal level
Quiet little town of Kovin lies some forty-five kilometers from Belgrade,
in northern Serbian region called Banat. The region had tumultuous history
and a mix of Slavic, Hungarian and Germanic heritage. My mother was borne
there in January 1945. My grandparents still lived in Kovin as I was a
small boy, so many of my childhood memories stem from this place: gravel
yards with children chasing ducks and geese, folk on bicycles coming from
the fresh-market with grocery bags hanging from handgrips and sound of
doves in the morning…
But, before your patience falters, and the sense of creeping boredom
sways you into looking for something more interesting to read, let me
point out that there is also an old airport in the town of Kovin. During
the German occupation from 1941-44 this airport was put to good use under
the “new management”, supporting the war effort to the east.
By the time my mother was born, the Germans were however gone. At the
end of 1944 Yugoslav partisans, who were to form the army of the soon
to be socialist republic, took over the town, claimed the airbase and
everything in it. The spoils consisted of several late type Bf.109s and
one FW-190F-8. So, we finally come to the focus of this article: the sole
Focke-Wulf that flew in the fledgling air force of the “second”
Yugoslavia.
Some turbulence is expected
 Most
sources agree that this aircraft, with factory number 930838, was originally
marked as black “43”, belonging to “SG 2”. It
was left in Kovin during the unit’s retreat from the eastern front.
I say MOST sources, as there is “certain uncertainty” even
at this basic level.
After capture the FW-190 was transported to Zemun airbase near Belgrade.
The German insignia was painted over, and new YAF (Yugoslav Air Force)
markings were put on. The worn-out German camouflage was reportedly left
as is, and the aircraft was thusly put into service. German “butcher-bird”
found itself in an unlikely company of Spitfires, Thunderbolts, Yaks,
Sturmoviks and anything else that could clear the ground. The active career
of the FW-190 in the eclectic YAF lasted through 1946, when the aircraft
was finally grounded due to lack of spare parts. Its adventure however
continued, as it was left to the elements in the open exhibition of the
War Museum at Kalemegdan (medieval walls of Belgrade). German crosses
were once more crudely painted over the existing Yugoslav roundels for
this purpose. After considerable time, the beaten-up airframe finally
found its way to the vaults of the Aviation Museum in Surcin where it
rests to this day, disassembled and stripped of all paint.
Photo-robot
 Such
a subject, with its turbulent and obscured history, is bound to offer
an interesting modeling subject and warrant certain amount of artistic
license for interpreting its appearance in any particular point in time.
There are several theories about original camouflage of this aircraft,
with the most plausible options being the LRM 70/75/76, or the 74/75/76
sequence of colors. “Lift Here!” decal company had this aircraft
in their 1/72 range of decals for some time now, and very recently released
it in 1/48 scale as well. In the instructions the common FW camouflage
of RLM 74/75/76 is quoted for it, and I tend to agree with this choice.
The aircraft was supposed to have black spinner with the ubiquitous white
spiral, diagonal black flanks behind the side exhaust ports trimmed in
white, and heavy mottling with the upper camouflage colors on fuselage
sides. Big yellow “V” was painted across the upper and lover
port wing outer section. Further, there are claims that the ETC-50 racks
under the wing were removed and the paint in this area repaired with RLM
02, probably while still in German hands.
Describe it in plastic
 So,
with the hardest job done - defining exactly how this model is going to
appear - I was looking forward for the easy-ridin’ through the Tamiya-land.
I already had in my stash an old box with the Fw-190F-8 in it; you know
the one with the tropical, mottled bird on the box top. Someone please
remind me why exactly was it necessary to create three new generations
of FW kits after this one and the Trimaster/Dragon family?
 I
won’t bore you much with the build, as it was predictable and uneventful.
I did do some detailing in the cockpit; scratch building, or adding P/E
pieces to my taste. The head armor and details of the sliding canopy structure
were reworked completely. Revi 16 gun-sight was also built from scratch
from pieces of acetate foil, small transparent lens and rectangular bit
of plastic.
 Engine
was detailed with some wiring, which in retrospect was probably not necessary,
as one can see little behind the cooling fan even at the closest inspection.
I’ve produced my standard bearing system for the propeller rotation:
the syringe tube acts as the shaft where one additional plastic bushing
partially covers the length of the shaft and acts as the thrust bearing.
This is encapsulated in a wider plastic cylinder with plugs on both side
and central hole for the shaft. A drop of machine-oil provides for a very
low friction of the system. With the Focke-Wulf though one has to be careful,
as the cooling fan (which is fixed to the propeller shaft) has tight tolerances
to the inner lip of the cowling, so everything needs to be well aligned
before glue is administered.
 Small
surface details such as exhaust pipes, Pitot-tube, gun muzzles, antennae
and landing gear indicators were all replaced by metal tubing and wire.
Gun camera in the port wing, the wingtip and tail position lights were
made from transparent sprue. Landing gear oleos were cut out and replaced
with metal tubing and brake lines added to the main legs. I replaced all
three wheels with the equivalents from the Dragon’s FW kit (personal
preference) and reworked the tail fork, to be positioned in rotated position.
Elevators were cut from the horizontal tail pieces and repositioned with
upward deflection - with the appropriate pull of the control stick in
the cockpit. Such elevator position at rest is documented on some period
photographs, so they don’t have to be drooping all the time (at
least on FW-190).
Smell of solvents in the evening
 f
there’s any consensus on the appearance of this particular aircraft,
it is on the fact that its condition wasn’t exactly mint when it
was found by the partisans. By winter of 1944 German keenness on procedures
and tidiness was suppressed by more basic survival instincts. Examining
images of late-war FWs one can see a lot of paint chipping in the usually
visited areas, and shabby appearance of the camouflage and markings.
Two things I wanted to achieve in my finish were excessive paint flaking
and an apparent contrast between the original camouflage and newly applied
paint and markings. When considerable amount of bare metal needs to be
showing under the paint, the silver pencil simply won’t do. So the
best way to accomplish this job is the natural way: get a “metal-plate”
surface done, paint it and then chip some of it away…
 After
the usual steps of covering the airframe with Mr. Surfacer 1000, light
buffing and then pre-shading with black, I masked around the desired areas
and sprayed with Alclad “Dark Aluminium”. I added another
thin clear coat of Future on top of that, for the good measure. I had
thusly defined areas where paint chipping will take place. Some may find
this excessive, but it was important for me to have clear borders between
the areas where I knew that the subsequent paint adhesion will be uncompromised,
and those where I needed to be careful due to the metallic surface underneath.
After this the painting process followed the normal path, except that
I used wet salt as the masking medium for those places where big chips
should occur. When the paint cured, the dried-up salt was easily removed,
and some more small scratches added by nicking with the tip of the scalpel.
 Another
clear coat of Future prepared the surfaces for decal application and sealed
the finish for the following wash with artist-oils.
“Lift Here!” decals were in this case printed by “Begemot”
from Russia, and they behaved quite nicely. Small amounts of “Solva
Set” convinced them to yield to all the curves and recesses. After
the final flat coat was applied the decal film practically disappeared
in the surface.
Hollywood ending with prospect for sequels
 was
pushing to finish this model, as the date of one event called the Euro
Scale Modeling, held traditionally near Utrecht, in Holland, was just
around the corner. I don’t like to model on schedule, as this spoils
the fun for me and brings the hobby closer to other, less enjoyable aspects
of our existence. However, on this occasion I am glad I did introduce
some compromise in the project, cut some corners and few of my fingertips
in an ensuing rush. The elusive perfection escaped once  more,
as I am certain it would even if I spent much more time on it. On the
other hand the finished model does look balanced and I managed not to
lose myself in the details, as I sometimes do. I’m also pleased
to report that the Focke Wulf brought home gold for the “1/48 scale
prop” category.
My “YAF” collection is bound to grow, with many more interesting
subjects patiently waiting in their boxes and great selection of “Lift
Here!” decals for this interesting and diverse niche of aviation
history.
References
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Fw 190 A/F/G, Monografie Lotnicze 18, AJ Press
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Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Described, Kookaburra Technical Publications
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Fw 190A, F, and G in action, squadron/signal publications
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FW 190 F, Monogram Close-Up 8
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Focke Wulf Jagdflugzeug, Peter Rodeike
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