Border Models' 1/35 scale
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8

Reviewed by Brett Green

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 entered production in February 1944 powered either by the standard BMW 801 D-2 or the 801Q (also known as 801TU).

The 801Q/TU, with the "T" signifying a Triebwerksanlage unitized powerplant installation, was a standard 801D with improved, thicker armour on the BMW-designed front annular cowling, which still incorporated the BMW-designed oil cooler, upgraded from 6 mm (0.24 in) on earlier models to 10 mm (0.39 in).

Other changes in the Fw 190 A-8 included the C3-injection Erhöhte Notleistung emergency boost system to the fighter variant of the Fw 190 A (a similar system with less power had been fitted to some earlier Jabo variants of the 190 A), raising power to 1,980 PS (1,950 hp; 1,460 kW) for 10 minutes. The 10 minute emergency power may be used up to three times per mission with a 10 minute cooldown in "combat power" between each 10 minute use of emergency power.

The A-8/R2 replaced the outer wing 20 mm cannon with a 30 mm (1.2 in) MK 108 cannon.

The A-8/R8 was similar to the A-8/R2, but fitted with heavy armour including 30 mm (1.2 in) canopy and windscreen armour and 5 mm (0.20 in) cockpit armour.

Adapted from Wikipedia. 

1/35 has long been the default scale for military vehicle kits and figures.

The closest common aircraft scale is 1/32. You'd think that these two scales would be close enough to work together, but the difference really is noticeable.

Border Models closed this gap with two their two initial 1/35 scale aircraft model releases - a Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (2021) and a Junkers Ju 87 G-1/G-2 Stuka (2022). These offer a legitimate crossover between air and ground military subjects, allowing modellers to take advantage of an almost limitless number of vehicle and figure subjects to display with these new 1/35 scale aircraft kits. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.*

Border added a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 the family with a third 1/35 scale aircraft in mid-2023.

Now Border has released a 1:35 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8.

Border Models' 1/35 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 comprises 219 parts in grey injection moulded plastic, seven parts in clear plastic, 30 pieces in brass plated photo-etch and markings for four aircraft.

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The differences between Border Models' previous 1/35 scale Fw 190 A-6 and this new Fw 190 A-8 are as follows:

• Sprue I replaces Sprue J. The new sprue offers the more voluptuous upper gun cowl as well as the upper wing breech covers.

• Revised photo-etched fret. The additions here are the armour plate for the cockpit external armour. Photo-etch might be a bit too rigid for this job so I will probably use the metal parts as templates for thin plastic.

• New decals. These are four options for the Fw 190 A-8.

• Border has also added Step 20 to the instructions, showing assembly and placement of the lowered main undercarriage legs.

Note the gun cowl with the larger bulges.

The added upper wing breech covers.

Two lengths of brass tube are included for cannon barrels.

Surface textures look great, with a combination of recessed panel lines and rivets. This is a massive improvement compared to Border's debut Bf 109 G-6, where the mad riveter had been hard at work.

The cockpit looks good and is also a very noticeable improvement compared to the earlier Border 1/35 releases.

The tub has well-detailed side consoles and I like the plastic instrument panel.

The seat features a separate cushion and harness straps are supplied on the kit's photo-etched fret. The harness is probably the worst aspect of the kit. It is another case of "close but no cigar". All straps, including the shoulder straps, have what I can only imagine are supposed to be anti-chafing pads but they should only be on the lap belts, they are the wrong shape and in the wrong place. The buckles are the wrong shape too, and the straps themselves seem to be threaded the wrong way in the case of the lap belts.

Fortunately, Eduard has already released a set of 1/35 scale harness straps for Border Models' Bf 109 G-6. These will be perfectly acceptable replacements for the slightly weird kit straps.

Decals are supplied to overlay the instrument panel. I'd be inclined to punch the dials out and apply them individually. At the very least I would recommend cutting off the heavy black outlines. I am sure we will see cockpit enhancements including instrument panels from Eduard and others soon.

The Border Models kit offers a well detailed BMW 801 engine that may be displayed by simply leaving the cowls open or off.

The complex exhausts are well produced and the ends are hollowed out.

Kit breakdown is conventional with fuselage halves and separate engine cowls.

The wings are designed with a full span lower part with separate port and starboard upper wing halves. There is a wing spar supplied that should ensure the correct dihedral.

Control surfaces including landing flaps are separate parts and should be poseable.

Landing gear looks good. There are a number of ejector pin circles on the inside of the main gear doors, amongst other visible places on the kit. These will be quite obvious even when the model is complete, so you will need to attend to these prior to assembly.

The main wheels are all-plastic and feature nice lettering on the sidewalls. The tyres are neither flattened or bulged. A few minutes with a coarse sanding stick will address that.

The dimpled main wheel well looks really good.

Strangely, the instructions only show the main landing gear in the closed position - no directions on how to build the landing gear down. I'm sure you'll be able to work it out though.

There are a couple of optional bits and pieces including a 300 litre centreline drop tank and two Werfer-Granate 21 under-wing rocket launchers.

Clear parts are thin and free from distortion. Armoured glass panels are supplied for anti-bomber Sturmbock variants but they will not apply to the Fw 190 A-6.

The sliding canopy section looks good, but only one part is supplied. On the real Fw 190, the sliding canopy section pinched inward as the canopy slid back. The further the canopy slid back, the narrower the front of the canopy.

Presumably, the kit canopy will be designed to fit in the closed position and if it is posed open, the canopy will overhang the fuselage sides. This is the reason that Eduard supplies different parts for their open and closed 1/48 scale Fw 190 kits.

Even before cutting the first parts from the sprues, I found the instructions a little lacking in clarity and detail, especially with repect to optional positions of parts.

IThe centreline ETC 501 rack seems to be correctly located in the more forward position for the Fw 190 A-8 but check your references carefully.

Markings

Markings are supplied for four aircraft, all correct for the Fw 190 A-8 variant.

Colour callouts are questionable though. The marking guide suggests that the upper surface colours of all four subjects are Light Compass Ghost Grey and Olive Drab. These are probably supposed to represents RLM 75 and RLM 81. I think it is far more likely that all four of this kit's subjects were painted RLM 74 Grey Green and RLM 75 Grey Violet on the upper surfaces.

The colours and registration are good.

The decals themselves are fairly flat in finish, which always makes me a bit nervous. Make sure you have a nice glossy finish on the model before you apply the decals.

And finally, Border has labelled the model as "Messerschmitt Fw 190 A-6" in the marking guide, and refer to kit number XXXX (which is the name of a beer here in Australia...)

In conmon with their 2023-released Fw 190 A-6, there's a lot to like about this 1/35 scale Fw 190 A-8 from Border Models. .

The fine surface textures are particularly well done and quite appropriate.

Cockpit detail is nice and if you like to display your engine, this one will look great with open cowls.

I can't see any obvious shape errors. There are no gimmicks this time around either.

Even with full engine detail, the parts count of 219 doesn't look particularly daunting. It seems to be a good compromise between buildability and detail.

There are some carryover errors from last year's Fw 190 A-6. I will be ditching the slightly weird looking harness straps and will replace them with a set of Eduard 1:35 scale harness straps for the Bf 109 G-6. The straps for the Wurger and the Gustav are essentially the same.

It is a bit dissapointing to see the aircraft labelled Messerschmitt Fw 190 A-8 and the reference to Border Model Ref: XXXX throughout the marking guide too.

But really, these are only nit-picks. This is easily the best of Border Models' 1/35 scale aircraft kits to date.

I paid AUD $99.95 (USD$66.32, GBP£52.12) from local Australian online hobby shop BNA ModelWorld for my kit, which seems like pretty good value.

I'll be curious to see what they choose to release next.

(Border has also recently released a 1/35 scale Spitfire Mk.Vb but from what I have seen of that kit, the less said the better.)

Review kit purchased by the Editor

*Historical text adapted from Wikipedia

Review and Images Copyright © 2024 by Brett Green
Page Created 20 December, 2024
Last updated 23 December, 2024

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