Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9

Eduard, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Eduard's 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 is available online from Squadron.com
 

If the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A was a bit of an ugly duckling, then the Fw 190D was more like a swan. A totally redesigned nose combined with an extended rear fuselage transformed the stocky Butcher Bird into the sleek embodiment of an airborne hunter.

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190D was not built in huge quantities nor did it affect the outcome of the war, but it was a highly competent fighter that was more than a match for its Allied contemporaries in the hands of an experienced pilot. Even though the Dora was in service for less than eight months, its good looks and wide range of colour schemes makes it a perennially popular modelling subject.

A good selection of 1/48 options are already available for Dora fanciers. The top two contenders are the Tamiya kit, which is a simple build but with some outline problems; or the older Trimaster/Dragon/Italeri offerings, which are more accurate but less easy to build.

Eduard has now entered this popular market with their own new offering.

Eduard's 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 comprises 136 olive coloured injection moulded plastic parts; 11 clear parts; 1 x coloured photo etched fret; a masking sheet for the canopy and wheels; and a large decal sheet covering five markings options.

Unlike their Fw 190 A and F series, this model does not include a full engine, making the parts breakdown and construction a much more straightforward proposition.

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Surface texture on Eduard's latest releases has been superb, and this new Fw 190 D-9 is no exception. The airframe is finished in finely recessed panel lines and selected rows of rivets The fabric ribs on the control surfaces are also very convincing.

Details are equally good. The cockpit is supplemented with the usual compliment of colour photo-etched parts including a layered instrument panel, switch panel and harness straps. For those who prefer to paint their cockpit, an alternative (and very nicely detailed) injection moulded instrument panel is also supplied, along with instrument decals.

The wheel well features the correct see-through effect, with a rear portion of the engine and the supercharger supplied. This will be visible through the open centre section of the wheel well. Two styles of main wheels are provided. Check your references for your selected marking option.

The cowl and wing gun bays are also fitted out, although alternative parts are provided for modellers who would prefer to keep theirs closed. Some minor surgery will be required for the wings in this case.

Four gun cowl configurations are shown in the instructions, and each is linked to its marking options. These configurations are achieved by filling, cutting and/or scribing the single gun cowl supplied in the kit.

Different parts are offered for open or closed cowl flaps.

The exhausts are supplied in one-piece each. The narrow ends are not hollowed out, but we will likely see after-market updates before long.

A newly designed three-piece tail wheel assembly with a separate wheel makes an appearance here, but the simpler one-piece assembly is also provided.

Ailerons and the rudder are separate parts.

The instructions illustrate the spinner cap with the cannon hole in place on page 9, but this should really be the plain cap for the D-9 (correctly called out as part no. Y30).

A drop tank and a bomb are offered as centreline ordnance options. The instructions appear to illustrate the later smooth drop tank, but it is the earlier ribbed version that is actually supplied.

The canopy parts are crystal clear and thin. Separate parts are supplied to permit the sliding canopy to be displayed open or closed. Parts are provided for the blown and flat hoods.

Markings

Six attractive and varied marking options are included on the large decal sheet:

• 5./JG 301, Bad Langensalza, Germany, May 1945

• Oblt. Hans Dortenmann, IV./JG 26, 1945

• Stab/JG 4, Frankfurt am Rhein-Main, April 1945

• I./EKG(J) or V./EJG 2, Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, May 1945

• Stab/JG 6, Prag – Rusin, Czechoslovakia, May 1945

• Oblt. Hans Dortenmann, I./JG 26, Spring 1945

All six marking options are variations on the (relatively) chaotic application of late-war Luftwaffe camouflage.

The decals, printed by Cartograf, look absolutely beautiful on the sheet. Eduard's decals have always been trouble free in their application for me too.

As usual, Eduard has supplied self-adhesive die-cut masks for the canopy and wheels.

Eduard's 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 is beautifully detailed, features excellent surface texture and offers plenty of useful options to the modeller.

Eduard has clearly taken note of comments that their Fw 190 A and F kits were too complex, as this release will undoubtedly be easier to build with its full-length fuselage halves and no full engine to install. It appears to be closer in terms of engineering to their Hellcat kits, which are a breeze to build. Despite this, detail is still excellent and attention to detail first-rate, as evidenced by the see-though main wheel well, the alternative gun cowl configurations and its swag of options.

Eduard's 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 appears to be more accurate than Tamiya's kit and better detailed than the Dragon family. With the inclusion of colour photo-etched parts and its big Cartograf decal sheet, Eduard's Dora looks like great value for less than USD$40.00 too.

This is a lovely kit and a worthwhile addition for Luftwaffe fans.

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2010 by Brett Green
Page Created 22 January, 2010
Last updated 27 January, 2010

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