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Focke-Wulf Fw 190D - Eduard Review-Build #2

Painting & Decals

I chose to depict Oblt. Hans Dortenmann's aircraft in its final scheme. I used LifeColor acrylics and took a few liberties with the camouflage and markings because there don't seem to be photos of the overall scheme to prove matters one way or another. Dortenmann's aircraft was the first operational Dora, so I painted the undersides in standard RLM 76 and, as it was built by Focke-Wulf and (presumably) left the factory finished according to regulations I misted on RLM 02 on the fuselage sides (photos of the aircraft do show quite dark sides). For a bit of variety I painted the late-style drop tank in Grau-Blau. The aircraft topsides were partly repainted at some stage, but my painters have been lazy (i.e. human!) and just left the tip of the fin in its original finish rather than paint 'round the W.Nummer (a photo of a similar aircraft shows the same thing), and I added a few other touches of the former camouflage showing, and to indicate the bulged canopy was a replacement I painted it in a slightly different green as a sign of fresh paint and/or another batch.

The decals are beautiful quality, with precise registration, but I found a few annoying points. The fuselage cross on my colour scheme is odd, because you need to paint the black centre. I don't know if that's a mix-up on Eduard's part, because it's not indicated on the "Scheme F" painting diagram that I was following (it is shown for Dortenmann's alternative "Scheme B"). It's not the end of the world, but it requires careful masking and I have to admit this fiddly and rather nerve wracking (I was worried the tape would lift the decals) job was the one part of the build I found a real pain - there were so many ways it could have ended in disaster...

More worrying is that the fuselage number seems very large - bigger than in both Eduard's and Jerry Crandall's artwork, and definitely bigger than what's partially visible in the only photo I have that shows it (in its earlier "Black 1 style). The B4 fuel triangle is also too big too for Dortenmann's aircraft.

The spinner spiral decal for Dortenmann's colour scheme defeated me! Although it would go on, the resulting spiral was nowhere near as tight as either Eduard or Jerry Crandall show in their profiles, so I scrapped it. I was ready to paint a spiral when I spotted an old Microscale sheet meant for a Ju 87 in my decals stash and found it fitted just about right. The spiral seems to end "in mid-air" on all the profiles, so I've taken the cut-off point to be the panel line around the spinner.

Conclusion

Eduard's Dora 9 is a very fine kit. There are a few points to watch out for, but average modellers should have few problems. Some of its more vocal critics have made a meal out of the kit's few problem points, but Jean-Luc's model shows just how good it looks built straight out of the box. I felt it was worth doing a bit of work on the propeller, under the nose and changing the drop tank as much for the challenge as for any dramatic visual improvement - and, of course, it's always nice to know your model is a little different from the next guy's..

References

Focke-Wulf 190 Dora, Volume 1 - Eagle Editions, 2007
Focke-Wulf 190D Camouflage & Markings Part1 - JaPo, 2005
Close-Up #10, Fw 190D - Monogram Aviation Publications, 1990
Focke-Wulf 190D & Ta 152 - Model Art #336 - Model Art Co. Ltd., 1989
German Aircraft Cockpits 1911-1970 - Peter W. Cohasz, Schiffer, 2003
German Aircraft Interiors 1935-1945 - Monogram Aviation Publications, 1996