Eduard 1/48 Focke Wulf FW190A-8 Weekend Edition
By Jacob Russell
The Plane
The last production variant of the Focke-Wulf FW190A-8 was built in greater numbers than any other version with over 1300 produced during 1944. The A-8 used the basic armament of the A-7 (two MG 131s in the fuselage and four MG 151s in the wings), and the BMW 801D-2 radial engine with the MW 50 (Methanol-Water) boost system. With the MW 50 system 1700 h.p. was available at takeoff and 1440 h.p. At 18,700 feet. The GM-1 nitrous oxide injection system was also an option.
The Kit
The kit comes in Eduard's customary stout cardboard box. The kit comprises 157 injection molded parts on 7 sprues and 24 of these go unused. There are 12 clear parts in their own bag. The rest of the parts are molded in Eduard's customary grey (RLM 66?) plastic.
There is fine rivet detail on the wings and fuselage. The cockpit is a detailed, multi-piece assembly that will stand out with careful use of washes and dry brushing. This boxing also includes a set of Eduard's new paper seat belts-a nice touch!
The BMW 801D-12 14 cylinder engine is a complex, 20 piece model in its own right. Despite the engine's wonderful detail most of it will be invisible behind the cooling fan. The intrepid modeler can add an ignition harness and call it a day.
You can build the model with just the forward cowling and oil cooler rings installed, minus the rest of the cowling, to display that wonderful detail. Just be sure you have lots of photographic references at your disposal. You would also need to scratch build the support structure for the oil cooler and forward cowl rings.
The gun bay behind the engine and the wing inner cannon bays can be depicted open or closed. Both of these areas would benefit from added detail (wiring, etc.) if displayed open. Other thoughtful details include 2 sets of wheels (treaded and smooth), single piece or 3-piece tailwheels, and separate ailerons, rudder, and oleo scissors. The wheel wells are also a multi-piece assembly that will benefit from careful detail painting, like the cockpit. There's also a drop tank and rack.
The clear parts include 2 pairs of flat and bulged canopies, 2 gunsights and a pair of armored windscreens. The sprue also includes a pair of armored canopy glass panels and a gun cowling with streamlined covers over the barrel troughs. These parts are intended for the up armored A-8/R2 variant. Some had the cowling guns removed and used this cowling.
This Weekend Edition comes with 2 decal options rather than the usual, single option: "Blue 8", "Erika", IV./JG 5, Herdla, Norway, Spring 1945, and "Yellow 11", Alfred Bindsell, 6./JG 1, Stormede, Germany, Spring 1944.
Both aircraft are painted in the mid War RLM 74/75/76 colors. "Blue 8" has a blue forward cowl ring and white spinner spiral. "Yellow 11" has an RLM 04 Yellow lower cowl, white spinner spiral and RLM 23 Red RVD band.
There is a single set of national insignias on the main decal sheet and a separate sheet of airframe stencils. The decals are well printed, clear and in perfect registration. Color callouts in the logical, easy-to-follow instructions are for Gunze acrylic paints.
Accuracy
I compared the wings and fuselage to the 1/48th scale plans in Kagero's FW 190 Volume III, and the kit parts are almost an exact match to the drawings. Close enough for me!
Conclusion
You will like this kit If you are a fan of late war Luftwaffe aircraft. It is accurate, well detailed, and it's a first class product. I like having more than one decal option; both are colorful and interesting. I also like the inclusion of paper seat belts.
I recommend this kit, but I feel that due to the multi piece engine and wheel wells it is best suited to experienced modelers. I would recommend a set of Mike Grant instrument decals for the blank instrument panel faces. I would like to sincerely thank Eduard for providing the review model.
References
Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No.9, Focke-Wulf FW190 Aces of the Western Front, by John Weal, 1996, Osprey Publishing.
Focke-Wulf FW190 In Action (first edition), Aircraft No. 19, by Jerry L. Campbell, 1975, Squadron/Signal Publications.
Focke-Wulf FW190 A/F Walkaround, Walkaround No. 22, by Malcolm Laing and E. Brown Ryle, 2000, Squadron/Signal Publications.
Focke-Wulf FW190 Volume III, by Krzysztof Janowicz, Kagero Publishing, 2005.