With the canopy in place I could start doing preshade lines after adding a little RLM66 on top of the frame.
I noticed that I missed a few spots, but got that sorted when I touched up the black on the Mirage cockpit.
Fw190F-8 painting started.
Fw190F-8 – Wing gaps sorted.
I filled and sanded down the shims and putty in the gaps, and now it looks pretty decent.
I also added a bit of plastic rod in the wheel wells to act like a part of the gun barrels.
Just need some gun metal on them to look the part.
Still need to do some touching up on the seams on the underside and perhaps on the wing joints too. A lot of detail gone though, but not sure how to get it back or if I just should leave it be.
Fw190F-8 wings assembled.
The fit of the wings against the fuselage/wing root isn’t good as can be seen on this test fit.
Quite a gap on both sides. The underside is a bit better.
I glued the wings on the underside first and let that dry for a while. Then I tried to glue one side while pushing wing and body together. Closed the gap alright, but tilted the body and did the other side worse.
I cut some plastic sheet as shims to put into the gap on each side, and that way lessen the gap and make it easier to push the wings to the body. I decided to give it a try.
Still a gap, but not so wide. Maybe I can put in a bit more plastic, and then cut and sand to shape. The rest I will cover with putty later.
Fw190F-8 – Engine mounted.
Other builds like the Stuka has taken attention away from this kit. I finally got the engine assembled and then mounted in the fuselage.
I then just placed the canopy in place and glued the guns.
My plan is to have the covers removable. Still not sure if I’ll cut away the lids and glue the top part in place, having the lids open.
I have also started planning how to do with the wings. The instructions tells you to glue the bottom wing part first, insert the gears, and then glue the upper wing halves.
I’ve checked an it seems possible to insert the gears afterwards and that way avoid having them in the way. Also I think of glueing the upper wing halves with the lower part before glueing it to the body. I just hope it turns out well and that I can make the wings fit as they should.
Fw190F-8 – engine test fit.
Getting everything in place was a bit fiddly. Here’s a pic of the engine and behind it the guns.
It looks like the exhaust pipes will fit as well. Just need to set the other pipes correctly against the cylinder heads.
Then I’ll touch up the paint before mounting the engine into the fuselage.
Fw190F-8 – more engine detailing and painting.
After some plastic rod was cut and glued between the cylinders, I considered the engine ready for paint.
I first painted the engine parts in a mix of steel and black according to the instructions. I wasn’t happy with how it turned out, and put a black wash on the lower part of the cylinder and engine housing. I did some detail painting too.
Here you can see how light the colour was compared with the black washed one.
I decided to repaint some of the parts with a much darker mix.
The guns also got some paint.
Not sure if parts of the mount should be metal or RLM02. Have to check that.
Now I can start assembling the engine and give it all a thin wash where needed.
Fw190F-8 – Engine detailing and painting RLM02
I decided to try and add some detail to the engine. Not much, but enough to catch some interest. I started drilling holes in the cylinders, and then I cut copper wire and glued with CA.
On the front part I’ll fold and glue the other ends to the ring. The rear ones have to wait until after the two engine halves are painted and glued.
I also assembled some bombs and pylons.
The engine room, flaps, wheel bays and gears got some RLM02.
I need to touch up a few spots and then the gear struts needs some plumbing.
I need to get more lead wire though as I can’t find the little I had.
Fw190F-8 – prepping parts for paint and assembly.
It kinda started with the engine parts, that are next more or less. Quite a lot of flash in some places like between the cylinders.
One strange thing is that the instructions tells you to cut away a bit of sprue between each cylinder. But after looking at pics there is actually something between each cylinder, so I might just have left it as it was.
For some reason I continued cleaning up more parts like bombs and flaps. I’ve also glued the bombs and the drop tank.
Next I’ll start to paint the engine parts in different metal colours, and then all parts that need it in RLM02.
Fw190F-8 – cockpit done and fuselage glued.
I painted all the dials and some details black, then I tried to pick out details with a fine brush, but ended up dry brushing first with grey and finally with white on the dials. Finally I added a drop of Pledge on each dial.
I also did a bit of wear with gun metal.
Then the fuselage was glued together. Pretty easy except for the front bit which I had to hold a while to make it set.
According to the instructions the cockpit could be inserted after the body halves was glued. Well, it wasn’t an easy task, but after some fiddling it came into place, at least I hope it sits where it should.
Of course the front seam opened up during the operation. Have to glue that later.
Next I’ll sand and eventually fill the seams and make them smooth and nice.
The only problem is the rivet detail. The raised rivet will disappear. Unsure if I should just let it be like that or remove all rivets and remake them with a riveteer. Quite a task, that I’m not sure I want to do.
Fw190F-8 – Revell 1/32 old kit.
For the groupbuild on LSP, I choosed this kit for the eastern front. The kit is pretty old, but I think some parts are newer. I’ve bought the kit 2nd hand and have no box other than the one it was sent in.
I haven’t decided yet if I’ll do SG 4 or SG 10. It depends a bit if I feel confident enough to try paint the mottle pattern with airbrush.
Anyway, I’ve started slightly by cleaning up and assembling the cockpit parts and the fuselage halves, as they’re needed as soon as I get the cockpit done.
As usual in these old kits the pilot and cockpit isn’t the very best and I haven’t decided if I’ll use the pilot or not, yet. Maybe I’ll do to cover the lack of detail in the cockpit.
As the plane will be sitting on the ground, the rear wheel will be down, and after testing I figured it could be inserted afterwards.
Next I’ll start painting the cockpit and the pilot, and other areas that needs paint before assembly.
I’ve also started to clean up the engine parts, but no pics yet as there was quite a bit of flash.