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

[Zaggy]

Cheers lads... Being an insomniac has its advantages, in that Ive been able to catch back up to where I was and then move on a bit... The radiator cowling is re-attached, with some modest sized 'skimmings' of Squadron Green over the two flush joins (I can't really say if thats a fault with the kit or not, due to the amount of work that been done on the nose) and some gentle re-shaping of the whole cowling. Engine, mountings, braces, plumbing and wiring is all back in and has been attached a bit stronger this time. And just to make me feel good, the prop (which is passable - I'm trying to resist working on that too! has been built, and like the wings, snapped on in place so I can admire.... Its interesting how that big spinner on the front just 'suddenly' makes everything look right

All that is required in the engine bay now is the MG 131's, the 'new' oil reservoir, cowling formers and a drainage tube; the MG 131's and drainage tubes are all but done, the cowling formers were etched up a week or so ago (and thus just need bending and mounting), so the oil reservoir is all that really left to be made for this area.

Pictures when things are further joined!

Dan

 

[Wayne Little]

 

[Zaggy]

I've had two days of very little progress - just chipped away on the Aileron hinges and fitted one of the venting tubes to the engine. Currently working on the Oil Reservoir Mk2, using a part that is meant to hold the spinner in place and let it rotate - obviously not needed, considering there is a big Jumo 213A-1 in the way now!

In other slightyly unrelated news, I had small epiphany last night... My 'Recce' conversion plans called for another H-1 kit, to convert to H-11 standard; so I went and did a little research just to verify the equipment lists on the E-2/H-11 (the E-2 being redesignated H-10 (based on H-0) or H-11 (based on H-1), and after the H-10 was cancelled (with H-0 production) only the H-11 was built). Paging through the E-1 stuff and remembering it was a SHORT SPAN, JUMO powered Recce aircraft, it dawned on me - the original Trimaster Ta 152C kits had the Ta 152H-1 sprues, plus resin wings and nose that you appended after removing the H-series nose; what if the current issue Dragon Ta 152C-1/R14 'Torpedofluegzeug' kit worked the same, abeit with plastic in place of resin? That way, I dont need to kit-bash in order to make and E-1 (which like the C-1 and H-11 (or E-2 if you prefer) were produced in small numbers but never actually delivered to the Luftwaffe), I just leave the 'Jumo-nasen' attached and ignore the 'Daimler-Benz-nasen'...

And what do you know??? Thats how the current Dragon kit works! To make the C-0, you need to remove the H-1 nose and graft on an alternate nose!

Thus to make the E-1 all I do is build the kit, leaving the Forward Fuselage as-is (using the include H-1 Radiator Cowling, Prop, Supercharger intake), fill the MW-50 tank access panel, rescribe the Side-door, build a small flat panelled window (just behind the MW-50 panel) for the Vertical Camera and add the periscope! All I need to check is that the Wing Camera uses the same sized window too. At least three of these aircraft appear to have been completed by April 1945 (as well as a few H-11), but it appears they never had a chance to complete the acceptance tests and in the case of the E-1's appear to have blown up by the Germans at Erfurt (like the undelivered C-1's at Seibel). The H-11's appear more or less intact.

And again unrelated, Im looking for a picture I have seen SOMEWHERE of the small 'dump' at Erfurt (see page 138, 139 and 192 of EE Ta 152); the dump appears to have three short-span Ta 152E-1's, one long-span Ta 152 (possibly the H-11 seen in other pictures) and what appears to be a BMW engined Fw 190, with a Ta 152 tail (possibly something similiar the Fw 190F-16 Torpedofluegzeug). Now, I am SURE I have seen a better image of this 'BMW big tail' somewhere (possibly on-line? in a forum discussion), so if anyone can point me in the right direction, it would be appreciated

OK, requests made - back to work!


Dan

 

[Crimea_River]

Copied from here at LEMB. Not sure it's what you're looking for.

 

[Wayne Little]

Somewhere here on the forum, a while back is a note and image I posted about the Broad tail fitted to the Fw190....just have to remember where?

 

[Crimea_River]

This one Wayne? Source LEMB.

 

[Zaggy]

@Crimea River - cheers! thats awesome - are those the pics that show up in EE Dora vol.1 as well (I'm waiting for a copy of Japo vol.1 to show up before I get both sent to me)? Either way, there is one there I havent seen before and a second picture that is cropped differently I'm trying to work out if the H-11 that was photographed all but complete at Erfurt is the same long span that ends up in this little dump. And on the subject of end-of-war images, I'm VERY interested in ANY pictures of 190-series (particularly D-series) and 152-series a/c at the Fw manufacturing plants - Cottbus, Erfurt, Bremen, etc. There are little treats hidden in those snaps everywhere! I think I am becoming a little obsessed with the E-series too (which includes H-11) ...

As for the above 'White 47' (an interesting tactical designation in itself!), is that a LATE A-8 or A-9?? I seem to see a Radial BMW, Blown Canopy, MW-50, etc, but cant make out if it has the broad-tail; I've since read that a bunch of the late A-9/F-9's had the 8.152.320 as well... A more common thing than the D-9 with 8.152.320 tail...

Now as for the Project D-9, progress is frustratingly slow... I noticed last night that the accessories on TOP of the engine are more visible than I expected and that from certain angles, you could see the 0.4mm white plastic card extension in side the nose. So out came a small paint-brush and some bits from the spares box to build the shapes and cover the white - thus, top of the engine is now good and the oil reservoir is done, barring one small pipe. the depressing part is, all the time I spent getting the firewall looking nice, building the ammo boxes and etching the central braces for them, has come to naught as you really cant see any of it, now that all the plumbing has been added! The ejector chutes out the bottom with further restrict what you see! Aw well Aileron hinges are done and the slightly damaged aileron (that I filed away too much of the inner edge on) has been packed with plastic-card and is all but done...

As I've mention prior, all this work with 0.15mm, 0.3mm and 0.5mm (which includes paint) wire and 0.25mm and 0.5mm plastic-card (for the hinges and etc) is sending me cross-eyed and crazy... Not to mention our good old 5 thou etchings! Still, tonights goal is to wrap things up to the point of the wings going on - so I need ejector chutes and re-model the ejector ports which I cut out weeks back, inline with the panel-lines on the kit - the kit makes them way too big and too far fwd... there is a lesson there! Add one more little accessory to the engine as well as some solder for the fresh-air intake that runs through the engine bay and then get the seams and control surfaces tidied up for paint. I've decided there is no way to avoid coming back to the engine after bay to finishing things off, so MG 131's, cowling guides and etc, will be attached later on...

Addendum - Ejector Chutes and Ports are aligned, done and painted, so I think I am now DONE with the Engine Bay and Wheel Wells until the paint goes on... The Aileron I screwed up is almost fixed - will take some last photo's tomorrow of all the extra guff in behind the engine before the wings go on; obviously you'll still see it thru the wheel well, but not it all its glory But its 5:30am here - not the time for photography...


D

 

[Zaggy]

Yeah... Insomnia... Woohoo!!!

Nothing is joined yet; just snapped together so I can admire things - ejector ports need 'sharpening' and other photo's show a little bit of Squadron Green on the RH exhaust stack that needs seeing to... Otheriwse, for ppl's viewing pleasure...

Flap innards, aileron hinges, ejectors, engine, plumbing, etc... Things need gluing now, finish-sanding and paint... then I can tidying up some chips on the metal facia's of mounting arms and add the bits of engine bay still in a small box here...

Dan

 

[A4K]

Great recovery Dan!

Are you displaying her as she was in the photos on my thread? If so, you'll need to reposition the port rear exhausts.
The personnel tried to destroy her before they retreated, but she was only partially damaged. The port exhausts were bent downwards at the rear either by someone belting them with a hammer or such, or from one of the blasts.
There's also a strange 'hole' in her port fueslage extension which seems almost too regular in form for random damage, but located where there were no panels fitted. I'm guessing this is *probably* blast damage which happened to sheer the metal in a fairly straight line, but not 100% sure.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Nicely done!

 

[Zaggy]

@Evan - the plan is for 211164 'Black <4' (not 500647 'Brown 4'), to be displayed in a fashion such as when the Germans would have been abandoning her (ie, more like the early photo's before they blew the canopy, destroyed the flaps, etc) - thus my interpretation of that will be BEFORE the rudder was slashed, but after they removed all ammo, the tanks (and likely sabotaged the engine)... the interesting thing about 211164 is that while the German's seem to have made her unflightworthy (tanks and slashes) and removed all ammo, all guns appear to be still be with the a/c when it was found by the allies. So call it what you will - a dash of 'interpretive licence', assumptive logic, etc - but I'm choosing that point because I just think it'll be the most fun to model; most of the a/c is intact, nothing has been vandalised, etc...

My 1/48 500647 'Brown 4' project will be just the opposite - I'm thinking of going with a clean, flightworthy squadron a/c, minimal wear, before she had the crap kicked out out of her; firstly while in service with JG 26, then by JG 26 as they made her unrecoverably unflightworthy, then by the precession of .30 cal holes that were shot in her when the canadians arrived and finally the 'bonfire night' they had with her...

I am considering opening a 1/48 Ta 152H-1 tho; replace that kit Jumo 213E with an aftermarket one (thankfully the mounting arms and firewall come in the DML/Dragon kit!) and if I get REALLY game, etch some flaps for the long-span wings... But before that I think I'll tackle the Orange 152H and my 152E-1 conversion (of the convieniently moulded Dragon Ta 152C-1/R14 kit! its like that kit was DESIGNED to be made into an E-1!! )


Dan

 

[Vic Balshaw]

That's looking real good Dan.

 

[Wayne Little]

sweet work there Dan!

 

[A4K]

@Evan - the plan is for 211164 'Black <4' (not 500647 'Brown 4')...
Dan

Ah, sorry, got my wires crossed!

Cheers for that extra info and further good luck with the builds! (All good so far!)

 

[Zaggy]

No worries Evan... 500647 'Brown 4' is a far more difficult task than 211164 'Black <4' at the point at which I have chosen to model; plus, it would be a bit 'uncool' to steal your project! Your's requires a LOT more work on the fuselage and wings too (removal of the wing fairings and scratching the structure under it, more engine work, wing guns opened up, battle damage, de-mil'ing damage, canadian .303 damage, control surface damage)...

But just so ppl know what I am doing, this is 211164 'Black <4' at Prague, post war - exact unit is unknown, but my guestimates is that its a JG 300 a/c that was possibly formerly a JG 4 or (look at the painted over tail band); some books suggest it likely was abandoned by JG 2 or JG 6, but JG 300 was also in the area at the end of WW2. This first picture shows the a/c shortly after capture, devoid of tanks and ammo boxes, but otherwise seemingly intact (the rudder is probably slashed and the IFF and etc is probably removed) - it is my intent to show this a/c just as the German's were abandoning it, however I am leaving the rudder skinned...

For me, this is a VERY important shot, which caused me to completely rethink the undersides of the a/c - my take on things is that the wing lower surface is in the Focke-Wulf W3 Scheme (consistent with the Werk Nummer), suggesting RLM 83 front half of the outer 2/3 wing, with the whole inner 1/3 of the wing in the same RLM 83; no one else seems to have picked up on this (even JaPo), which is a minor source of concern, but I cant ignore what I think I can see! The gear doors appear to be in RLM 76, wing MG 151's are in place , fuel tanks are out, etc. Of note is the over sprayed Rumpfband; my interpretation is this was of the THREE band type, oversprayed in a lighter (ie, not toned) RLM 76 or white (as is a small repair on the tail) and then heavily oversprayed with RLM 75 or RLM 83. Note the early canopy still in place and the 'pimples' on the gun cover - i still need to replicate the pimples; somehow!

Flaps are still in one piece, sitting slightly opened...

Next, things start getting knocked around:

As with many 190's, it seems a favourite past time of bored allied troops was to 'blow the canopy'; the Fw 190 had an explosive charge which which the canopy could be jettisoned - this appears to have now occured; additionally, the guns seem to have been removed and the a/c possibly moved. Extra access holes have been opened (like the 'see thru' rear fuselage lift point). Control surfaces appear to have been centered and the flaps remain intact and 'drooped' a little. The scheme appears to be the Grey-Green scheme of RLM 75 and RLM 83... Left aileron appears to be a replacement, adding to the suspicion that this a/c had been repaired in the field (mis-matched aileron, RLM 76 gear doors, lack of most stencilling, evidence of tail repairs). It appears that the fuselage gun cover maybe in RLM 82 or a different shade of RLM 83.

The final two pics are probably in 1946 - we can now see confirmation the guns are GONE, the control surfaces are moved again and flaps have been dropped and destroyed. Note the remaining stenciling on the RLM 76 gear covers and just above the elevators on the tail. Rear fuselage shows evidence of the previous Rumpfband more clearly now, with what could be the older black-white-black JG 4 band showing through. OR it could be red-primer/putty used to smooth over a repair Note also the destroyed rudder, evelators and the evidence of field repair on the lower edge of the rudder landing gear access panel and below and fwd of the Balkenkruez. The darker overspray appears LIGHTER than the other camo colour, forcing me to consider a RLM 83 rear spine and RLM 75 overspray, tho in other photos it appears darker???. Im not sure exactly what the diagonal 'edge' is from the base of the Balkenkruez to the leading edge of the elevators; could possibly just be staining from operating from muddy/wet strips...

The tactical markings are well shown in the last image...

Oh and note, NO pylons! A bunch of profiles show this a/c with a yellow band, white band, with center pylon, without the repairs, with full stenciles, etc... I dont feel they;re accurate... For me, JaPo is closest, but for some unknown reason, missed the W3 lower wing pattern....


Dan

 

[Zaggy]

AND slightly unrelated to the thread, as its not needed (but more than likely related to the insomnia - im upto about 48hrs without sleep now!), have just have a BRILLIANT idea for an etching project... Many times we see Fw190's and etc with slashed/damaged/burnt control surfaces, most often leaving use with just the 'metal frame'; I'm thinking it would not be a big job to draw up a 1/32nd set of these 'control surface frames', resize for 1/48 and 1/72 and just put them up online here somewhere so ppl can try their hand at etching something i) not too detailed and difficult (ie, one-sided etches) and ii) incredibly useful for the Fw 190D type modeller...

So I am putting it out there... Does anyone have a REALLY good, detailed set of (ideally technical drawings) of the internal structure of the Fw 190 series control surfaces (ideally starting with the later model stuff) - the better quality the drawings, the better the end product (ie, I wont have to guestimate and use artistic licence)... Could be a really good 'sample project' for the 'etch your own stuff' article I have half knocked up here...


Dan

 

[Zaggy]

Hmmm, 15 years away from things has bluntened some of my seam finishing skills - a light brushing of a primer grey over some of the more heavily worked area's has shown a few flaws.. back to the Squadron Green, Super Glue and Abrasives!

 

[vikingBerserker]

Dan, that's pretty impressive!

 

[Zaggy]

Not with the current wing seams!!! I overdid things slightly with the round file, so both wing roots now have this 'groove' running down them - not the easiest place to fill... Squadron Green goes off too quickly, so am going to try some tamiya white putty... Its not my favourite putty - as I understand it, its not solvent based and does 'bite' the plastic as well - but withe the current degree of work on the area, there is plenty of area the putt can 'key' to...

Addendum - Oh what a horrible putty - one seam has been touched up with it, then I decided to go back to Squadron Green. But am trying the Green in short sections..