Focke-Wulf Fw 189 A-1
with ‘Sonderaktion Schneekufen’

G.W.H., 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

G.W.H's 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 189 A-1 with ‘Sonderaktion Schneekufen’
will be available online from Squadron.com

As one of the Luftwaffe’s most effective and widely produced reconnaissance aircraft, the Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu served with German forces on every front in World War Two.  In the East, particularly, the Fw 189’s reliability in primitive field conditions made it an essential reconnaissance tool.  So did its manoeuvrability and capacity to absorb damage, which allowed Fw 189s to operate with at least some success even after the Luftwaffe had lost control of the air.
 
However, the harsh Russian winter imposed limitations on even the toughest aircraft.  Anticipating this, in August 1941 Focke-Wulf began examining if Fw 189s could be fitted with skis instead of conventional undercarriage to improve their versatility in snowy conditions; by April 1942 at least one, and possibly more, ski-equipped Uhus were being tested for viability. 
 
Information on this program is hard to come by:  despite an extensive search of both books and Internet, I’ve been unable to find a single photograph of a ski-equipped Fw 189.  However, a request for information by Brett on the Hyperscale forums drew a very helpful response which pointed out that Midland Publishing’s "German Secret Flight Test Centres to 1945" (Heinrich Beauvais et al, 2002) contains a photo of just such an Uhu (thanks Bill!).  This aircraft, an Fw 189 A coded KD+RO and most likely finished in standard RLM 70 Black Green/RLM 71 Dark Green splinter over RLM 65 Light Blue, had come to grief during trials at Rechlin, where it was photographed with a collapsed starboard undercarriage.
 
While Focke-Wulf records suggest that these ski-fitted Fw 189s had potential, the concept appears not to have been taken far beyond the trials stage, at best.  Information on the reasons for the program’s cancellation is again very hard to find.  However, the number of photographs I have found of standard Fw 189s operating successfully in winter makes me think that skis perhaps offered little benefit over standard undercarriage in these conditions.
First Look
 
The type’s limited use notwithstanding, Great Wall Hobby has released a ski-equipped Uhu as the latest boxing of its highly successful 1/48 Fw 189 series.  This was launched in 2010 with a ‘standard’ Fw 189 A-2, and followed in 2011 with an A-1 night fighter (see the Hyperscale reviews for these kits here http://www.hyperscale.com/2010/reviews/kits/greatwalll4803reviewlp_1.htm and
here http://www.hyperscale.com/2011/reviews/kits/greatwalll4801reviewlp_1.htm). 

Now Great Wall Hobby (or G.W.H according to its new logo) has followed these up with one of the most interesting Uhus of all, with the skis adding further character to an already ungainly looking aircraft. 

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Not surprisingly, this release has much in common with G.W.H’s previous Uhu kits.  The plastic sprues are identical, with two exceptions.  The first is that all parts of the conventional Fw 189 undercarriage have been removed from the two ‘D’ sprues – no spares here if you fancy doing a wheeled aircraft rather than the kit subject (although aftermarket gear legs and wheels are available if you want them).  The second is the addition of two ‘F’ sprues, which contain the parts for the skis and their associated struts and fairings.  
 
Because I haven’t seen the photo of the crashed KD+RO, I can’t comment on the accuracy of these parts compared to the real skis.  However, given the high quality of the rest of the kit, I suspect that G.W.H has probably done its homework here.  The new parts certainly look good:  they are crisply moulded and fit together nicely. 

The fairings also sit well on the bottom of the fuselage booms, and with careful alignment should require no more than a little Mr Surfacer or equivalent for a perfect fit. 

And because the fairings completely cover the wheel wells, you don’t have to worry about hiding the ejector pin marks that are present inside the wells.

 
The rest of the kit plastic is as described in the earlier reviews – very cleanly moulded with no flash and good detail.  These are enhanced by a modest etched fret, containing some additional parts for the cockpit, flaps and engines.  If you really want to go to town on detailing, there are now a large number of aftermarket sets available for these kits, with Eduard and North Star being particularly prolific.

 
Special mention must be made of the clear parts, which are of exceptionally high quality.  Unfortunately the same can’t be said of the die-cut canopy masks – as with those from earlier G.W.H Uhu kits, the masks don’t fit, or lift at the corners after they have been fitted, or leave a nasty reside when they’ve been removed (and sometimes all three).  This is disappointing, because G.W.H made an effort to address some of the problems in its P-61 kit before the second boxing was released, and I thought they might have tried to do the same with these masks, given the latter’s well-known shortcomings.  In these circumstances, I would suggest ignoring the kit-supplied masks in favour of Eduard masks, which will almost certainly fit much better (as well as being easier than cutting strips of tape yourself, which would likely be an exercise in frustration).

 
Only one decal option is provided, for an Fw 189 A-1 that somewhat unsurprisingly – given the lack of information on the type – is KD+RO.  What is surprising, however, is that no camouflage or marking guide is supplied to assist with painting and decal placement, apart from the box art and two small colour profiles on the side of the box.  This isn’t a huge problem, because there are plenty of photos available of wheeled Fw 189s finished in RLM 70/71/65 that can be used instead, but it is annoying.  Hopefully this problem is limited to review samples, and has been corrected in production kits.

 
The decals themselves, which appear to a G.W.H in-house production, are well printed with no obvious production flaws.  The Hakenkruez decals are split, and as a non-German speaker, I can’t comment on the accuracy or otherwise of the wording on the stencils.
 
Rounding off the contents of the kit is a frameable print of the box art, protected in a plastic sleeve – a nice touch from G.W.H.

This is another welcome addition to G.W.H’s family of Fw 189 kits.  While the absence of a marking guide and the poor quality of the canopy masks is frustrating, the excellence of the base kit cannot be questioned.  The new parts that have been produced for this boxing look good, and fit well to both themselves and the parent kit.  There is no doubt that the completed model will look very striking.  And given the huge number of aftermarket products that are now available for G.W.H Uhus, there is no reason why this kit can’t be turned into a show-stopper.
 
I’m not sure where G.W.H will take their Fw 189 series from here.  The B-series trainers or C-series ground attack prototypes would be very interesting, but would require some significant new parts for the different crew nacelles sported by these versions.  More likely are further boxings of the A-series kit, perhaps focusing on aircraft modified for the tropics or ground attack.  In any case, I am sure we have not seen the last of this very good kit from G.W.H.
 
Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Great Wall Hobby for the sample

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2012 by Brad Fallen
Page Created 13 August, 2012
Last updated 13 August, 2012

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