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Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-8/R11 by Greg Wise
Oh no, another Fw 190! But on the other hand, yippee ANOTHER Fw 190! All fun aside I hope that you'll enjoy this offering.
I bought this kit sometime ago from The Great Model Web Store I think I paid around $16.00 + S&H = about $20. I have built all the Dragon Fw190 and, in my opinion, they are some of the most interesting kits on the market.
The main equipment of the German night fighter units were twin-engined aircraft like the Bf 110, Ju 88 and He 219 through the war. In late 1943, a night intercept system by single-engined day fighters controlled by the ground radar, called "Wilde Sau", was introduced. In 1944, radar trials took place using single engined aircraft by the newly organized NJGr10.
The Fw190 night fighters weremounted with the FuG217 Neptune J-2 orFuG218 Neptune J-3 radar, and were modified with a pair of flame damper fins over the exhaust stacks and a landing light in the left wing. A 300 litre fuel tank was needed because of their airborne cat and mouse activites with allied aircraft. The wild boar emblem was applied on the Fw190 night fighters of NJGr10 and NJG11 came from the name of this night-fighting technique - "Wilde Sau".
Construction went pretty smoothly straight from the box. I made only a few additions to the kit including belts and buckles. I must admit that this model was not up to the standard that I have become accustomed to with other Dragon kits, and required an extra amount of dry fitting but very little putty.
The most difficult parts were the infamous Dragon stainless steel photo etch. Why couldn't these things be made out of brass.
I used Testors Model Masters enamels over SNJ Metalizer with my secret mix of flattener over Future and a wash of oils. I used the kit decals. They are a little thick but very nice otherwise and I almost always use Microsol whether they need it or not.
Trimaster is long dead with only a few genuine artifacts still in shrink wrap at outrageous prices which only leaves the hope that someone or something will fill the gap. Dragon has made a very good effort without the other media parts to run up costs. So get 'em while you can.
Click the thumbnail to view the
image full size.
Model, Text and Images Copyright © 2000 by Greg
Wise
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