Fw 190 A-4 Engine and Fuselage Guns

Eduard BRASSIN, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by David Couche

Eduard's 1/48 BRASSIN Spitfire Vb Gun Bays are available online from Squadron.com

The BMW 801 was a powerful German 41.8-litre (2,550 cu in) air-cooled 14-cylinder-radial aircraft engine built by BMW and used in a number of German Luftwaffe aircraft of World War II. Production versions of the twin-row engine generated between 1,560 and 2,000 PS (1,540–1,970 hp, or 1,150–1,470 kW). It was the most produced radial engine of Germany in World War II with more than 61,000 built.

The 801 was originally intended to replace existing radial types in German transport and utility aircraft. At the time, it was widely agreed among European designers that an inline engine was a requirement for high performance designs due to its smaller frontal area and resulting lower drag. Kurt Tank successfully fitted a BMW 801 to a new fighter design he was working on, and as a result the 801 became best known as the power plant for the famous Focke-Wulf Fw 190. The BMW 801 radial also pioneered the use of what would today be designated an engine control unit: its Kommandogerät engine management system took over the operation of several aviation engine management control parameters of the era, allowing proper operation of the engine with just one throttle lever.

The main difference was a BMW 801 D-2 engine adapted to use with a MW 50 system for short period engine power increase by injection of a water-methanol (methyl alcohol CH3OH) mixture in the proportion of 1:1. In this way it was possible to raise engine power to 2100 kW for 10 minutes, after which a high probability of engine failure prevented longer use. Due to delays in MW 50 device production, this system was not mounted on the Fw 190A-4 engines, which had the capability to accept this system. It was not used and only A-8 and later series planes would use the advantages of this invention.

*Text mainly from Wikipedia

The Eduard Brassin Fw 190A-4 Engine and Fuselage Guns set consists of 31 finely detailed resin parts and a photo-etch sheet of some 75 parts. Included is an instruction sheet of 8 pages involving 23 construction stages which certainly indicates that this is no simple build. This is a fairly complex “kit” in its own right and that’s packed into a quite small area. This set also includes the machine guns and mounting block details.

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The casting blocks have excellent demarcation to enable accurate removal. Apart from cleaning the removal points, little or no clean-up will be required on the parts.

The photo-etch is brass plated.

Having built a Brassin engine, Merlin not BMW 801 though, I can truly appreciate the level of detail that Brassin has put into them. I also have come to know the value of taking your time to work carefully when constructing them. Cut carefully, clean up parts thoroughly, although clean-up is truly only for the casting blocks which are normally located where there are flat mating surfaces which really helps us the modellers.

With that out of the way, the next challenge is the intricate painting that will need to be carried out on some sections. Again, take your time to gain a great result. Paint call outs are for Gunze Aqueous and Mr Color paints.

The etch parts provide many of the wiring loom sections as well as fine metal arms etc on the engine and gun mount.

What really impresses me is the engine cowl covers that are so finely cast to be in excellent scale thickness and the wealth of detail on both the interior and exterior surfaces…..but be warned they are ultra-thin and need careful handling in clean-up. Bravo Eduard!

The instructions cover 8 pages and 23 stages of construction. Well illustrated and with careful painting should really look the part. I do apologise for the instruction scans but my instructions were quite damaged when opened and the Eduards PDF version don’t resize well and become blurry to view.

I have several of the original Eduard FW 190 kits with the full engine and gun platform which can be challenging to construct. Comparing this resin set with the injection moulded originals, this set appears to be easier to construct and align as well as having far greater detail cast into it. Time will tell whether it is a worthy investment but it does look very promising for my A-4 build.

This is an amazingly detailed engine set of BMW 801D-2 engine for the Fw 190 A-4. I would highly recommend this set for experienced modellers who really want to take the detail level of the Eduard A-4 kits, new or old to new heights.

Thanks to Eduard for the samples and images.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2020 by David Couche
Blue background photos from Eduard's website
Page Created 29 April, 2019
Last updated 29 April, 2020

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