Zaggs Fw 190D-9 211164 - Black <4 and his continuing scratchbuilding adventures...

Keep going Dan. Love your subject matter and what you're doing with it. I have a 2 D-9's (one early, one late with Ta tail), a Ta152C-0 and an H-1 yelling at me from my stash.

Good stuff so far Dan.

What an interesting start to this thread, great stuff Dan.

@Vic - not a problem; I hope you give it a go, its strangely fun When I get some time I'm going to cast some bits and pieces too, so I'll write that up as well - its not the best time of year to go and delve too deeply in various mould-making mediums and techniques (spin-casting vs vacuum casting, etc - on that subject, I prefer the vacuums casting techniques for the reason that they are less likely to damage/crush the prototype; but thats another subject).

@Crimea - its hard to resist a Long-Nosed Focke-Wulf; they just 'look right'. I assume the Ta 152C-0 is the new HobbyBoss kit? I have one in the Mail since a few weeks before Christmas and as such, am quite keen to have a good look. I bought the C-1 boxing, only to find out later that i) there are only decals for the prototype a/c (unlike the C-0, which has Prototype speculative JG 301 markings) and ii) the C-0 includes all the C-1 parts anyway. As I want to build one of the two C-1/R-31's reportedly on strength with Stab./JG 301, the C-0 kit would have been a better buy in hindsight - but I'll wait for the C-1 kit to show up before indulging in aftermarket decals... But then again, I could always 'make' those too; Im thinking Green 5 or 11 or one of the numbers that weren't flown on the H-0 or H-1's.

@Airframes - cheers


Todays' progress includes modifying the exhaust stacks to look like those on the D-9, the Left Mounting Arm Brace (the one that runs THROUGH the coolant tank, with the coolant tank and various appendages too), some more mocking up of the mounting arms, radiator flap control ring, etc... I also managed to work out the differences between the engine accessories as moulded on the AiRes kit and how things worked on the A-1 fitted to the D-9; this simply required the shortening of a 'large pipe' at the base of the engine, on the centreline. The D-9 appears to have this 'pipe' capped, with some manner of additional piping running out of the right side of this component, visible from the RH Wheel Well.

The real challenge now becomes tieing the Engine Mounts, Mounting Arms, Mounting Brace Arms, Radiator Dump Ring, Engine and Radiator Cowling all together. Key to it all is the Mounting Arms and Braces... And masking tape to hold it together for mock up. I will admit to being a little worried in that I am not 100% sure how to go about piecing things together in an order that will work... I think the MG 131 hardware will have to come first and thus some more PE.


Dan

Looking good.

I agree

Dan, my C-0 is the old Dragon kit, not the HobbyBoss

Man oh man, you are WAY ahead of me in skill!!! Fantastic work!!!

Had an idea of my own for the bearers, but yours is much more effective! Good on ya!

(Btw, never made PCBs myself, but solder them daily! )

Looking forward to more progress here...

Evan

pretty good work there Dan, Me...I've got 190D's and Ta's in volume need to get stuck into some more.....

@Wayne - doesn't surprise me considering our previous conversations. I must say tho, I am SHOCKED by the state of the last Dragon D-9 that I bought; while I hadnt seen one for almost 12 years (I think since the DML releases) the state of the moulds is very dissappointing. The fuselage is covered in surface imperfections, obvious repairs, half the panel lines are gone and there is this weird 'step' in the middle of the rear fuselage extension - Im hoping the D-12 doesnt suffer the same issues, but for Au $16 (including postage) its at least worth a look. So the two Dragon D-9's I have here will likely be used for conversions or detailing projects (ie, AML D-9 tail, so I can avoid the horrible 'extension step' and the Verlinden D-9 Engine Detail Set). Add to this the 'fit issues' of the Dragon's, I think I'll be building a few of the Eduard D-series kits instead (the 'Weekend Editions' can be had for reasonable prices).

The DML Ta 152H's are a much nicer kit and I am looking forward to seeing the HobbyBoss C-1/C-0. If HobbyBoss go the extra mile and do a H-0/H-1, I can see myself 'stretching' my long nose project to include an undelivered pre-production E-0... I'd like to get some more H's tho...

@Evan - I wouldnt go that far. This is the first kit (with the exception of a 'Macross YF-19' kit) that I have done in 15 years or something; skills are returning, but slowly. As for etching, honestly if you can solder, you'll be able to etch; and you'll likely be familiar with where to go to buy supplies and find extra advice.

@Crimea - That would be the 'new' Dragon C-0/C-1 series kit then (based upon the Trimaster C-series, with resin wings) - how do they look? As above, I was surprised by the current Dragon '1:48 Master Series' Fw 190D-9 'Langnasen Dora' kits - the moulds have had hard lives!


Other progress: well tonight I am working on the next PE fret. I figure, why scratch it from plastic when I can 'draw it' and etch it? I've done a 'Wing Spar Facia', 3x Fuel Fillers and Covers, rear wall of the fuselage guns and am onto the Port Side rear door. To go still is the Rudder Door, MG 151 access doors (when I can find images of the internals) and some looms for the MG 131 wiring. This will be the first attempt at 'wiring' with etching, so again its a learning experience.

I carved the main MG 131 mounts last night, by filing a 20.0.. x 7.0mm strip of 2.0mm plastic into the correct cross-section, then 'slicing' off 1.4mm sections - I did it this way so I could easily make multiple mounts with the same 'side on' shape. I had spent an hour previous trying to cut two visually identical profiles from 1.0mm card, but when you're part is basically a 5-sided part, which has NO right-angles, nor parallel edges and who's largest dimentions are 6.5mm and 1.8mm, it gets a bit hard! Still, I've a few more parts for the mounts I want to 'PE up' as well as working out how to do the feed and ejection chutes (no idea how to do these yet!.

Also, does anyone have any good images of the MG 131 set up on the D-9? I've only got one or two 'clear' pictures of the set up from above and am looking for more detail on i) what is between the guns/mounts and ii) what is attached to the rear wall...


Dan

Wow! I'll say it again: WoW! I don't use PE - really haven't learned how to use it - but this thread is great and interesting. And the painting of the engine - to me at least - looks spot on! Even the imperfections you mention actually make it look more like iron than just painting. I think it works!! Exellent stuff Dan!! You have me interested!

The next Fret - I may as well make the parts this way as its no more difficult than plastic and I can add surface detail easily; plus I can experiment a bit more. To that end, I decided to try a simple Fw 190D-9 panel amongst the more useful stuff...



I haven't printed or etched it yet...

On a slightly unrelated note, my HobbyBoss Ta 152C-1 showed up in the mail too - compared to Dragon and Eduard kits, the box is really small, but everything fits in nicely! The plastic looks nice to; decent cockpit, wheel wells, guns, etc - as feared, only one set of markings for 110006 VH+EY, the C-1 production standard prototype... I guess I will see what I have left over from other Ta 152's or get a hold of the Eaglecals Ta 152C set; in the grand scheme of things, $23 for the kit does leave a degree of scope for aftermarket stuff.


Dan

Just fantastic mate... I will have a look into trying this myself sometime, looks much more effective than my scratchbuilding!

@Evan - about to go prep and etch this second fret now. If you'd like copies of the Masks for your own project, just let me know

Addendum 1 (4-Jan) : As unfortunate as this maybe, I seem to have ruined this fret in a number of ways. Firstly, the alignment system I was trying didnt really work, so front and back show a misalignemnt of 0.4mm - which in this scale is just too much; Secondly, I lost one of the parts into the etchant due to a combination of the misalignment and not enough metal to hold it to the fret; Third, I lost another piece during flushing - frustration at the first two errors drove me to rush this a bit and just hold things under running water, which is a bad idea.

Not sure what is salvagable yet, but its all part of the learning experience!

Addendum 2 (5-Jan) : Salvagable was the rear wall of the gun bay and some smaller bits - the knowledge gained was worth it however.

i) It seems Ammonium Persulphate really likes to 'undercut' and thus certain types of corners are being rounded slightly - have been told that one of the Ferric-based etchants (the traditional opaque PCB etchant that I used in High School) etches diferently, with a lot less undercut; I dont understand how that works, but I may have to experiment with it.
ii) Have also learnt that I CANT use the same manner of clean-up techniques that I'd use for a PCB (ie: cold running water).
iii) I am beginning to suspect that the way the etchant is agitated impacts directly on the speed and 'direction' of the etching - I am going to experiment with only stirring the etchant one direction and NOT rotating the fret when its in the etch-bath.
iv) While my Brass was both abraded and checmically cleaned before I applied the masks, contaminants found their way into the back of the press-n-peel in the form of dust/lint. I am thining alcohol wipes JUST before applying the masks might help - admittedly this last fret had minimal contamination tho... I cleaned the Brass with 800grit sand paper, then chemical degreaser, then alcohol and things adhered VERY nicely.

So tonights' mission is a SINGLE SIDED fret, on both a piece of 0.005" Brass and 0.020" Copper; the heavier copper plate (the stuff used for roofing) is more so just for shits and giggles, but could prove interesting in the future, if one wants to etch large surfaces - for example an a/c carrier deck (be it WW2 style timber or modern steel), or steel matting, or even the walls to structures. If you really wanted to take things to the extreme, it's a really cheap source for making things like steel trusses and beams for Bridges or Sheds; 0.020"/0.55mm scales to 16"/40cm in 1/72 or 10.5"/26cm in 1/48, and one sided etching should work well for that (I bought two 300x300mm pieces for about $20 the other week).

The primary goal is to etch feeder and extraction chutes and parts for the MG 131's, centre brace for the 13mm ammo boxes for the MG 131's, fuel filler panels, MG 151 access doors, ladder, etc. Pictures to come, if they etch nicely

Addendum 3 (8-Jan) : Well, my batteries died in Camera; but the single sided etching worked! Takes a LOT longer to etch (about 3 times longer) and the 'exposed' face does end up a little jagged, but I ended up with the feeders and extractor, small doors, etc. For the last few I've been chipping away at the MG 131's, mounts, mags, etc - which is surprisingly difficult, because there are so many small parts; parts that small enough to be a pain in the ar$e to make, but big enough to be necessary. The positive is that the Resin MG 131's (which need work to look like the ones fitted to the Fw 190D) are fretted in a pair that positions them the correct distance a part for the Fw 190D - so, I'm building the mounting plates, ammo box connectors, feeders, extractors and etc, off the guns, while they're still attached to the resin frets. The plan is to glue all the pieces together to the ammo boxes (sans the ejection chutes at the bottom of the boxes), including mounts, control boxes, wiring, etc, and just drop the finished piece into the engine bay. My only concern now is feeding the barrels through the top panel and into the troughs...

So once the guns done, its a case of finishing the engine mounts, finishing the fuel cell bays and finally(!!!) putting the major parts together! Then I can do one of my Ta 152's


Dan

Next time I decide to scratchbuild an Fw 190D engine and fuselage bay (and the associated internals), would someone please point out just how small it all really is and how much work is required on the Guns alone! The MG 131's are looking pretty good now, but there are a few more boxes to build and install - its starting to send me cross-eyed however!

Best cure for crossed eyes is to post large pics and look at them along with the rest of us!

Crimea_River said:

Best cure for crossed eyes is to post large pics and look at them along with the rest of us!

Click to expand...

Photo's: will do, when I remember to buy AA batteries - bought a bunch of 9V ones today (for wireless Microphones), but the AA for the camera, totally slipped my mind. I normally take photo's with my SLR, but I've no Macro Lense for it, but the little $80 AA-powered compact I use for close up's does macro work incredibly well (its more than paid for itself over the last 2 years or so )... As for progress, well LOTS has happened - you just dont really see that much difference from the earlier photo's, as a lot of the work is 'off' still (engine, MG 131, etc)...

I've taken my first little bit of artistic licence with this build tonight - I'm working on the engine bay interior and decided that since we know that 211164 appears to have at one stage undergone some manner of depot level repair, I'd add a splash of that Red-Oxide coloured 'timber' primer the Luftwaffe repair and front line units would use on 'repairs' inside the engine bay, before I dirty it up with some black/brown washes and stains... I've also revised my approach to the engine mounting beams; I've now drilled the rear end of them out, drilled matching holes in the firewall and added some copper 'pins' to help attach them. Current plan (after the wings have gone on and the ejection chutes are done) is: i) attach RH mount and plaumbing, ii) attach engine/radiator cowl, iii) attach RH brace (because it goes UNDER the supercharger inlet), iv) add LH engine plumbing from firewall and v) add LH mount and brace...

My connudrum is what to do about the MG 131's - Adding them before paint is probably a mistake, but there is still a fair bit to do around them once they're attached... Reluctant to do much with glues and washes and etc, once the paint and decals are on... We'll see what happens however. Rest assured, as soon as fuselage/wings/cowling is mated, there will be pics!

Addendum - I was also able to hold my 'new project-itis' at bay this week by buying another Ta 152 - a C-0 this time; it effectively stopped me building the C-1 that is stareing at me (as I'll build them both at once). I'm after another Ta 152H-1 however, as I've managed to convince myself that I've enough visual references to build an Ta 152E-1 (later redesignated Ta 152H-11) with the arrival of the Schiffer Ta 152 book (its almost as good as the EE Ta 152 book). Most of the changes are panel lines and ports, but should be noticable enough - there wont be a werk nummer or unit markings, but the pictures I am looking at show completed Camouflage, Hakenkreuz and Balkenkreuz. It almost looks like the a/c werent delievered as they had neither fuel or manpower enough. The Schiffer book also had an interesting picture or two of destroyed production Ta 152C-1's; again tho, werk nummern were either not present or not visible. This forces me to question the 'provisional' werk nummern assigned by the Eagle Editions Ta 152 book, as I can see at least three production C-1's destroyed at the factory and EE has documents suggest two had been received and on strength with JG 301 - not to mention that wouldnt the first production example or two have gone to Rechlin or be retained by the company?? But I'm getting side tracked again...

OK, I relented and took the AA batteries out of my mouse for a short period because I am quite happy with how my 'heavy washing' of the engine bay/cowling has progressed - still some little area's to tidy up, followed by a dry brushing of silver; additional stains and oil streaks will wait til the wings are joined. You'll also see that the exhaust box for the RH bank of cylinders has been affixed to the interior of the cowl, as well a few stiffers that MAY be visible around the engine and mounts...



The engine, once I have the remainder of the 'top' accessories attached, will receive a similiar series of 'heavy washes' - the top will look much like the engine bay, while the further down and to the rear of the engine, the more 'semi-gloss' black I will introduce (to suggest the remains of contaminated oil and servicing fluids). Need to find pictures of some engines that have run, so I can determine if there is a 'typical pattern of staining' though...

Addendum - I should have also taken some close ups of the Radiator Dump Ramp that caused me SOOOOO much pain earlier in the project. In the above picture though, you can make out the 'cone', inside the radiator flaps. That was brutal - the last and implemented iteration however, was SO simple and neat I am amazed I persevered for song long with the earlier attempt. This one is just a 14.5mm round section of 3mm plastic sheet, with the center 11mm drilled out and then sanded into a cone shape. In front of this is a 2.1mm 'long' cylinder of plastic card, in three 'layers' - about 12.5mm with a 11.5mm and 10.5mm section within each other. Thats glued to the inside of the cowl and the cone is glued to that... Presto, all done! And a hell of a lot simpler than building it off the fuselage!!!



And this is what the MG 131's look like... Attached are the mounting frames (under the gun), ammo box mount (center under the mounting), feeder and extractor chutes (left and right sides of the guns, using PE facia's), gun control box (attached to the rear, side of the frame, with white wiring going to the gun... There's also a few other small additions to the AiRes guns, to make them 'Fw 190D compliant' looking. Theye were first painted in a dark gun metal, followed by a thin coat of black - small sections were picked out in heavier blacks - finally dry drushed with silver... They need a final black/brown wash or two, but that will wait til they're on the a/c, so I can use the wash to tie things together.

What can't be seen in these pics is the gun bay rear wall, which came from one of my PE frets and the wing section (which I forgot to take pics of). The wings are now in one piece with all the flap innards in and the rear edge (beyond the flap innards) reshaped and reblended; the bottom section of the engine bay/wheel well cut outs has the small structural members completed, painted and washed (as the main engine bay sections).

There you go... Should tied ppl over until I mate the radiator cowl to fuselage and the wings to fuselage.


Dan