**** DONE: 1/32 Fw 190D-9 - Allied Advance and Defense of the Reich WWII.

[JKim]

Sorry to leave you guys hanging like that! But before I get into the cockpit, I'll wrap up the riveting work and some other small details. After the work on the bottom wing, the fuselage riveting went quickly.

While I had all of the major components sitting around, I thought I'd do a dry fit... it looks really tight and I don't expect any issues.

The wing cannon was decent but could easily be improved with some brass tubing. I didn't have tubing big enough for a full replacement but only the thinner diameter will be showing anyway.

Ok... back to the cockpit. The MDC resin cockpit was finished long ago. From a detail perspective, it's superbly casted and I really liked the decal-onto-the smooth-instrument-faces approach to the instrument panel. The seat harnesses cut from foil turned out really well too. But, like many other resin sets that I have tried, the fit into the kit fuselage left a lot to be desired. To make things even worse, this resin set seems to have experienced the dreaded "shrinkage" that seems to inflict alot of these sets and that combined with the arbitrary fit (no locating tabs or pines whatsoever) and the problem with the rear decking being warped and then cracking, left me very hesitant on using these resin components. All the while, I kept inserting the kit cockpit tub (molded integrally with the rear decking) and noticing how well it fit.

So I made the decision to salvage what I could from the MDC cockpit and transfer it over to the OEM cockpit tub. Most important were the seat and the instrument panel. Luckily these were drop-in exchanges and requiring minimal adjustments. I thought about cutting the side consoles from the MDC tub and grafting them onto the kit tub but the kit pieces were quite detailed in their own right.

I used the kit side consoles and grafted a few of the surface details from the MDC kit. I used some spare decals to populate the few instrument faces on the side consoles. There isn't much difference in the level of detail.

The instrument panel was a perfect fit.

A quick check of the IP fit into the fuselage... looks A-OK.

The seat fit into place without any adjustments except trimming off of the rear attachment points.

I feel much better about proceeding now that the cockpit fit has been resolved. And I don't think I lost much in terms of detail. I really need to heed what my eyes and brain keep telling me about these resin upgrades... "they are not worth it, they are not worth it, they are not worth it." When will I learn?

 

[Crimea_River]

Looks good either way John.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Wayne Little]

 

[Gnomey]

Great work so far John!

 

[JKim]

Following Steph's build of his 1/48 Dora, I noticed a picture of White 11 from behind showing the interior of the flaps.

Based on this picture, I thought I could spice up the flaps by painting the flaps in RLM02 and the raised portions in natural metal as it "appeared" in the picture. There was some detailed discussion in Steph's build about the likelihood of RLM02/NMF on the interior of the flaps but my impression of the photo was cause enough to try something different. I had to contemplate how to do this without lots of intricate masking and I settled on using the hairspray method. I put a coat of hairspray over the flaps after they had been painted in Alclad White Aluminum. Over the hairspray, I sprayed the RLM02. Instead of letting the paint cure, I immediately started brushing the RLM02 away from the raised portions. It was easier than masking with only a few minor touch-ups required.

The one major assembly that I need to complete before I can get the fuselage together is the rear of the engine. The Jumo engine took up so much room that the wheel wells were left partially uncovered, leaving a few into the rear of the engine compartment. Hasegawa provides a multi-part assembly, which is commendably busy for the limited amount of parts dedicated to making this area up. I did a dry-fit to see what it would look like once installed.

I think it looks sufficiently busy so I'm not going to do any significant additions. A couple of bare spots that I noticed (the very top of the engine plug and the starboard side of the opening) will be dressed up a little.

Here is a view of the engine parts. I've added some stuff to that top surface of the engine plug with spare box bits and some wiring. I've yet to figure out what I'm going to do on that starboard side. The plan is to paint the individual parts separately and carefully and hopefully that will prove realistic enough for any peeks up this Dora's dress.

 

[Crimea_River]

The flaps look nice but, as I said in Steph's thread, I find it highly unlikely that, in the heat of late war production, the factory would have bothered to paint the back of a bare sheet of aluminum before riveting it to a a couple of pieces of stamped UN-painted parts.

 

[Wurger]

 

[JKim]

The flaps look nice but, as I said in Steph's thread, I find it highly unlikely that, in the heat of late war production, the factory would have bothered to paint the back of a bare sheet of aluminum before riveting it to a a couple of pieces of stamped UN-painted parts.

Unlikely... perhaps. Would the late war situation rule out an illogical combination of painted parts onto unpainted parts? I don't think so. It may not make sense but my interpretation of the photograph tells me that it happened. As a modeler, I think it adds a little interest to the flap interior and is supported by an archive photo of a late war Dora... that's the way I'm looking at it. And I totally understand and respect that others don't interpret the photograph in the same way.

 

[Airframes]

Good stuff John.
I tend to agree with Andy regarding the flaps, but it is also possible that the panels came, painted, from one source, and the frames, un-painted, came from another source. Either way, it looks convincing, and very acceptable, and in the end, unless a genuine colour photo should crop up, no one can say for sure what the combination was !

 

[Crimea_River]

Well said guys. As I always conclude in such situations, no-one can prove you wrong!

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

Very nice.

 

[le_steph40]

excellent John

 

[T Bolt]

Any way, I really like the way the flaps look John, it does add interest

 

[Gnomey]

Looks great so far John!

 

[JKim]

Thanks for checking in! The engine parts were painted and weathered separately prior to assembly. I also gathered some extra tubing to add to the starboard side of the engine. Holes have been pre-drilled in the ammo chute bulkhead.

The engine was put together in three sub-assemblies so that I could figure out where to route the added tubing.

Three assemblies were consolidated into two.

The ammo bulkhead was added last.

Now that the engine assembly is complete, along with the cockpit, I can start looking at attaching the fuselage sides together. I have to look at the hood above the instrument panel. I think the opening in the hood, which houses the gunsight, is inaccurate on the Hasegawa kit. I assume that the MDC hood is accurate but it suffers from severe shrinkage and I can't use it.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Wayne Little]

Fine work man....

 

[Airframes]

I agree, very nicely done. Reminds me of what my garage floor used to look like in my rallying days !!

 

[le_steph40]

I agree, very nicely done.

I second that John !!!