I was thinking of doing something along these lines for the second half of the kit. Have to come up with another weird paint scheme first... (I also get real frustrated with the poor Eduard fits, so I try to ration myself! So many good things about the kits, yet this one real - in my eyes - weakness.)
Do you by chance know where I can find some good info on the DB Doras beyond the Harmann book?
Firstly, the Eduard kit - its a MAGNIFICENTLY Engineered Kit - and in my experience, very few fit issues exist if you take you time and take note that a lot of stuff DOES NOT and IS NOT meant to be at 90deg - If you screw it up tho, it turns into a handful really fast, as so much stuff rely's on previous steps. My best advice, for CRITICAL components (Wing Spar, Engine Firewall/Gun Deck/Instrument Panel Rear/Engine Block), dry fit with Blu-Tack and make sure every thing clears - then when you're happy, tack things lightly with a thicker, slower cureing glue (I use Tamiya Orange), so you can get the parts in, test fit the other parts (like close up the fuselage with rubber-bands, then gently push bits into the right place. The Wing spar can be particularly tricky - my first one, I test fitted, was happy, so I CLAMPED in place and just ran Weldene (my 'thin' glue) down the join. Somewhere between clamping and glue drying, the whole spar slid about 1mm to the right... NIGHTMARE from there - partially because I did realise til well after things were all joined up!!
But the key is (as Wayne L recently told me with regards to the ZM Ta 152H-1 as well) to simply take your time and test fit - to which I will add, not a whole lot on the Eduard Fw 190/Ta 152 is actually set at 90deg - there are a LOT of 89deg and 87deg(?)-ish joins, which look like they SHOULD be at 90deg; but if you do that, you're in trouble... Fuselage won't join properly, Wing Spar will foul things, etc. And this is more prevailent on the D-9, than the D-11 and D-13...
In away its like the DML/Dragon Ta 152H and Fw 190D - ppl always complain about the fit and engineering and warping and etc; but look at Waynes 'Black 10'! Once you know how the kit works and what the KEY/CRITICAL area's are, they're actually quite good, well fitting kits (in the case of the DML/Dragon jobs, the 'banana fuselage sides' tend to create exaggerated wing joint issues if you do not either i) add spacers beneath the cockpit to pust the sides out to meet the wing joins, or ii) glue the wing tops directly to the fuselage sides, then flex them, to fit the win bottom).
For me, the toughest part of the Eduard kits is closing up with the Wing Guns - lots of filing (removing all the interior door detail, opening up with the wing and champfering the edges to assist fit). But honestly, they're beautiful kits and worth the extra little bit of Concentration and Planning.
Secondly, the DB Dora's - including pics of my subject (601286 - in a wrecked state
) can be found in the latter section of the
Japo Focke-Wulf Fw 190D - Camouflage and Markings Part II book. In fact it was our own Mr. Wayne Little who put me onto those too - they're not cheap (I think I paid $109 for Pt2 and $88 for Pt1, via Craig from Aeroworks - and have since bought most of the Luftwaffe over Czech Territory Series, both EE/Crandall Fw 190D volumes (which while I HATE the layout, act as a nice counter-balance to the Japo books), the EE Ta 152 and the EE Grün Herz Dora Neun and etc, via Craig) but honestly, if you have a passion for the Dora and the Tank they're sort of compulsory (except for the Lw over Czech series, which is more Bf 190G-10/U3, Me 262A/B and Ar 234 focused, with some interest dashes of He 219 here and there).
I'd recommend the Japo books first, then the EE/Crandall - probably cost you around $400, but to put that into context, your average Eduard Fw 190D ProfiPACK is in the area of $40-$50 (although bargains can be had), then add your consumables (blades, paper, glues, paints, strip styrene, filler), a little aftermarket like metal gun barrells and youve spent $90-ish bucks. Throw in some Eaglecals and suddenly you're at $100-$110...
So the four books equate to roughtly 4 kits - and 4 kits is no real dent, if you have stashes like ppl like me (who has just bought another two Eduard 190D's, bringing the total to like 30 of them, to add to the 18 Dragon/DML Ta 152's, 12 Hasegawa Bf 109G's and K's... and lets not even get into i) the He 219 stuff, ii) the 1/32 stuff, iii) the other guilty pleasures, being Tomcat's (15) and Super Hornets (6) and CA-27 Sabres (6), iv) the various Nachtjagd stuff, v) Ta 183's, etc) or Wayne - more stuff than I'll probably ever build!
Wayne - you got Craig at Aeroworks details on hand? its something like Craig (at) Aeroworks.com.au and he's in SA. Postage is always very prompt on in-stock items and I've have NEVER had any issue with Packaging (quality there of).
Moral of the Story - Stick with the Eduard Fw 190's, but try changing your approach a little - it may add 15-30mins over all to the build, but so what? Get a hold of
Japo Fw 190D Pt1 and
Pt2 and
EE Dora Vol1 and
Vol2... Then you're sweet! EE Fw Ta 152 is recommended if you want to go that direction, and the EE Grün Herz Dora Neun (Green Hearts - Dora 9) provides some good extra stuff... Avoid the Francks
Fw 190D and Ta 152 title unless you're desperate - full of 'iffy'! And Enjoy Spending the Monies - as soon as I got the books, I was BLOWN AWAY buy how good they were (esp Japo - ie: the Bible!); Wayne here talked them up to me, but even then, what I got surpassed pretty much every realistic expectation I had!
Dan