Hasegawa 1/32 Fw190D-9

[JKim]

You can't just casually mention this thread elsewhere and not expect me to track it down

Great work John. I really like the way you are sorting through the aftermarket bits and using just what you like rather than slavishly thinking more is better. I'd love to add a Dora to my collection. Maybe one day.

Thanks for sharing. Lots of little tips to file away for the future.

Dan

Welcome to WW2, Dan! Sorry for making you go looking! I should've posted this build on LSP but in deference to another poster there who recently did Red 1... I dunno... I just felt like it was inappropriate to post my build so soon after his.

Thanks for all of the other comments, guys! I was able to do a little more work on the Dora before this weekend. Although there are aftermarket alternatives to the gun barrels and exhausts, the kit parts can be used effectively with a little work.

The main thing with the gun barrels was to check for roundness of the cross section. If the mold is misaligned, it can be difficult to re-establish uniform roundness but thankfully, the barrels were molded well and looked pretty round after trimming the mold seam.

The ends of the gun barrels were carefully hollowed out using the point of a sharp x-acto blade. Due to the conical flare suppressors on the ends, the x-acto and not a drill bit, is the appropriate tool here.

The newly-holllowed gun barrels are temporarily placed into the gun cowling to check fit/alignment. Everything looks a-ok so the gun barrels are put away in a small baggie for safe-keeping.

The exhausts take a little more work to hollow out. I've done this a few times so I have a workable, albeit tedious, method to do this. The first step is drill a set of three holes into each of the exhaust tips. Again, I do this with a sharp x-acto blade.

The next step is the most time consuming. I use the x-acto to gouge out the opening. The three holes serve as initial excavation and I'll first cut away the two connections to the three holes. These first cuts require a certain amount of force and I recommend using an x-acto blade that is not mint sharp as a sharp tip WILL break. The rest of the work involves carving and scraping the opening larger and larger so the three holes eventually become one big (and hopefully smooth) oval.

Eventually, you'll get a nice set of hollow exhaust pipes without having to spend any extra money. I usually run some Tamiya Extra Thin cement into the openings to remove any small inconsistencies and burrs and to smooth out the insides.

The exhausts are designed to be attached from the outside so I can paint them at my own leisure and not be required to do any complex masking.

The exhausts will be a very prominent feature on the completed model so this extra effort will definitely pay dividends on the finished Dora.

 

[fubar57]

Very nice

 

[Airframes]

Good work John. Done that a few times with exhausts, and now lack finger print on the inside of thumb and forefinger !!

 

[parsifal]

exhausts look terrific.

 

[Luftace43]

Very nice Dora, John! Seeing your exhaust work was like dé ja vu when I was working on my Eduard 1/48 Fw-190D-9 (which is still unfinished). From the number of drilled holes down to the TET, I went about it the exact same way. Maybe it is trivial, but I just find it interesting sometimes to see that someone else arrived at the same conclusion for how best to tackle a particular task. Look forward to seeing more!

Chad

 

[turbo]

Good attention to detail as always John

 

[Gnomey]

Looks great so far John!

 

[JKim]

Thanks for the comments!

The wing cannon will be modified from stock. Mostly because of what I consider to be the inaccurate inclusion of leather boots around the gun mounts in the wheel well. I think the hard metal mounts are more accurate.

The Quickboost 190A gun set includes the correct mounts but the gun barrels themselves are warped.

So the offending barrels are cut off and replaced with sections of brass tubing. I would've probably performed this replacement even if the resin barrels were straight since the brass tubing looks so much better.

The brass barrels will be left unattached until the end of the build, which will ease painting around the wings AND prevent premature breakage.

The Eagle Editions resin tail wheel also benefited from a brass upgrade. I'm using the slide fit properties of the Albion tubing set to get a nice solid connection. I'll also be able to install the tail wheel towards the end of the build with the same benefits as described for the wing gun barrels AND I can turn the tail wheel for a more dynamic pose.

The tail wheel, when installed unmodified into the resin base, sits a bit too far out.

Based on archival photos, the tail wheel is tucked in a little closer.

 

[JKim]

The cockpit is finished but I can't close the fuselage until the engine insert is completed. The Fw 190D-9 differed from the A-series in that it lacked the wall blocking off the rear of the engine from view. Hasegawa supplies a respectable collection of components to represent the rear of the Jumo engine but it needs a little more work to really look the part.

I'll be adding a lot more wiring to represent the complex maze of hoses, tubing and wiring. I'll also replace the solid ammo chutes with scratchbuilt hollow chutes.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Nice detail work John.

 

[Crimea_River]

Agree.

 

[Wayne Little]

Love it...!

 

[turbo]

That engine detail will look good when finished

 

[N4521U]

If I only had the space for 1/32nd builds. They are fun!
Nice work.

 

[Donivanp]

John as always you are a master of the hobby, great look coming along very nicely indeed.

 

[parsifal]

Nice work john

 

[Gnomey]

Great work so far John!

 

[A4K]

Great work John.

 

[KWJ]

John, I just recently discovered your D-9 builds, they are truly great. Following with great enthusiasm!

Kirk