Focke-Wulf Fw 190A
"Sturmbock" Conversion
Preview
 

Eagle Parts, 1/32 scale

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Jerry Crandall has supplied the following information and images as a Preview for their Fw 190A "Sturmbock conversion, available now for USD$30.00 from Eagle Editions website:

Included in this kit: 2 gun trough fairings, left and right underwing 30 mm cannon panels, left and right blinkers, left and right outer wing cannon fairings, 2 fuselage armor panels. Patterns for left and right windscreen quarter panels also included, painting required.

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was chosen to be converted to a Sturmbock special attack heavy fighter, assigned the duty of attacking and downing the four-engine bomber formations. Beginning with the Fw 190 A-6, steel armor plating and bullet-resistant glass panels were installed for the conversion to Sturmbock configuration. To help counter the additional weight, the fuselage-mounted machine guns were removed.

This Sturmbock version was produced by the Fieseler factory and included the following modifications: bolt-on steel Panzerbleche (armor plate) mounted on the side of the fuselage, canopy with 30 mm Scheuklappen (blinkers) and 30 mm armored glass windscreen panels. However, not all Sturmbock aircraft had these armored glass panels installed, check your reference.

Jerry Crandall's Sturmbock Build

Here is the result of Eagle Editions' new Sturmbock conversion kit EP#57-32 added to the Hasegawa 1/32nd Fw 190 A-8 kit.

Overall it was relatively trouble-free.

A couple of points that need to be brought out include the outboard 30 mm cannon fairings are very fragile and require careful removal from the casting block to conform to the leading edge of the wing. Through care and patience they add a realistic fairing which the kit is lacking.

The machine gun trough fairings which were specified in Luftwaffe documents as part of the A-8/R8 package, are a little bit oversized and need the bottom part that fits into the trough to be sanded down in order to fit closer into the gun troughs themselves.

To replicate the outboard 30 mm cannon blast tubes, I used 1/8" plastic tubing and thinned the walls down from the inside considerably. Keep in mind, these blast tube muzzles are not the cannon barrel but simply a thin-walled blast tube with an outside diameter of 2" (1 to 1 scale) that projects from the leading edge of the wing.

The Microscale printed decals performed flawlessly, even the long diagonal white trim for the black panel on the side of the fuselage. The markings chosen for this build were those of Staffelkapitän Lt. Hans Weik of 10.(Sturm)/JG 3. He flew this aircraft "White 7" from 27 June to 18 July 1944 during which he achieved two of this 36 total victories.

To see this sheet, EagleCals #99 click on the name. These decals are available in both 32nd and 48th scale.

Thanks to Eagle Editions for the review sample.

Eagle Parts accessories and conversions, and Eagle Cals decals,
are available direct from Eagle Editions website

Review Copyright © 2007 by Brett Green
This Page Created on 01 February, 2007
Last updated 24 December, 2007

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