Hi all,

The Butcherbird campaign is over, so I decided to start a separate blog to present the model I'm working on. It's Legato's 1:48 scale Fw 190 V1 in resin. A review can be found here. I was a little be too much optimistic while rating the kit (85%)...

On the first picture you will notice that I've eliminated some parts of the model (on the left). The wings because they are not symetrical. Especially the underwing and the landing gear openings are pretty bad. I've decided to make new wings, including the internal structure, out of the parts of a Fujimi Fw 190 A6/9 kit and plasticard. I won't use the tailwheel neither because it is way too big for the prototype aircraft. Here as well I will use the part from the Fujimi kit which is undersized for a production aircraft. The propeller blades will be replaced too because there are some nasty bubbles at their tips... fortunately, the rest of the kit is usable!



The cockpit is very nice indeed with detailled resin parts and some PE seatbelts. If the cockpit layout is appropriate for the V1 is open to debate though...



I had to engrave the kit anew. To do this I filled the original panel lines of the Fujimi kit and draw some lines with color felts: green = panel lines, grange = rivet lines. I've used the model's wings as template...



Below is a photo showing the amount of plasticard and filler needed to obtain a better fit between the forward fuselage and the round engine cowling. Note also the work needed to adjust the opening of the cockpit...



To do the exhaust stacks on the side of the fuselage, I used small electrical components which I've crushed a little bit to make them oval. This stuff is available in various sizes, costs almost nothing and is easy to use...



All the best,

Jean-Luc

Hi Jean-Luc
Been wondering where you had gotten to,Hadn't seen anything of you for a while.
An interesting build can't wait to see more.

Cheers

Chris

Hurray- Jen Luc's back in action! Nice trick with the exhausts- they look great. Many thanks for this- and cheers!

chuk

Hi all!

Wow, I didn't knew I was missed! Thanks for your kind words guys...

I made some progress today. The resin engine has been installed inside the cowling. Not much will be seen of it in the end so I didn't spent too much time on the painting. The rear of the engine will be visible through the landing gear openings...



I have also decided to do a new canopy because the part of the kit looks a bit suspect to me shapewise. To do so I have enveloped a piece of polystyrene with Tamiya Epoxy Putty. Once hardened, it was then sanded to shape. I still have to add the canopy frames...





The cockpit has been glued inside the fuselage and the wings have been added. Note on the last pictures that I've added the four vents that are located just in front of the windscreen. These have been forgotten by Legato.

That's all for today...

Jean-Luc

Jean-Luc- an excellent start! Making the new canopy is something I've never seen done before, so it will be interesting to see how you proceed.

I'll be watching all your progress!

Looks very nice and like an extremely demanding project

I am almost happy that I did not get that kit! Keep posting the progress!!

all the best

Steffen

I'm confident this'll look great when you are done. I'm sorta envious - I've wanted to do a V1 for like 20 years.

Hi all,

Thanks for your kind words guys. Every support is welcome for this build...




Steffen, believe me, you can take away the "almost" from the sentence above!

This evening I was near to trash this project. When I glued the horizontale stabilizers, I noticed that the verticale tailplane was offset! Uuuhhh! To correct the problem I used the same technique I used for my Fonderie Miniature Hs 126 (not a good reference!): I cut into one side and added some plasticard to get the tailplane right. I still have to sand the area smooth...



I made some progress nevertheless. I've glued the cowling to the airframe (note the exhausts... not too bad isn't it... ), worked one some smaller pieces (controle surfaces, inner spinner, outer spinner etc...), scratchbuilt new landing gears (the one in the kit are copies from a Tamiya kit and are not suitable for the prototype) and added the PE flaps...



Below is the current status of the model...



Tomorrow I will try to get it ready for painting.

Jean-Luc

Hi Jean

An excellent job you are making with the model.

I was looking for this kit with no luck.

Looking very nice! Good to see your work again.
So that's the Fujimi wing you used? Looks like it was a pretty good fit, at least it doesn't appear to have required massive amounts of puttying to blend it in.

Btw, what components exactly are those you used to make the exhaust pipes? I could really use some of that kind.

Hi all,

Daniel, if you still want to get that kit, you should also get the Fujimi kit...

Eetu, yes, the wing did fit to the fuselage without too much modifications. Of course it was reduced quite a lot and also heavily thinned down. About the electrical components, I don't know exactly for what they are used for but you can find them in Conrad shops:
- Conrad.fr
- PDF info file



Yesterday I did the vacuform canopy. I use a vacubox made of wood, a vacuum cleaner, a heat gun and transparent sheet of plastic...



I have decided not to add the canopy frames as they were very fine on the prototype. Usually they are not very crisp when done with the vacu method. Below is a picture of the model in it's current status. I have applied some paint to check the surface for flaws. The lighter grey patches are places I had to fill with Tamiya Putty. I will have to sand these areas smooth...



Thanks for watching,

Jean-Luc

Nice build so far - your puttying skills are very impressive indeed The new canopy looks great too

Jean-Luc, would you please list the ferrule sizes you found useful and purchased?

Thanks and great work on the plane. Which putties are you using for such fast and even drying, by the way?

Hi all,




I don't know if this can be called "skill", rather "perseverance"! I mainly use Tamiya Putty on my models. I like how it works and never found something better. It is very hot at the moment here, so the putty dries very quickly.

I have purchased the following ferrules (is that the word for it in english? I've learned something new... ). I'd say that the first three sizes are perfect for 1:48 scale exhausts of inline engines. The bigger ones are more suitable for single exhausts of radial engines. I have purchased 5 sizes but there are many more. On the picture below I have added some exhaust parts from my spare box so you can compare...



I have finished to sand the models smooth. It is not perfect but unless you take a look in macro mode, I think it's ok...



I have painted the underside in RLM 65. Though it is a prototype, I couldn't resist to pre-shade the model...



I have also sprayed the upper colors. I have first painted the red band with white dot on the rudder and then the RLM 70/71 camouflage. Here also I did some pre-shading but I've tried to keep it subtle...



Today I'll apply some Klear (Future) and then the decals...

Jean-Luc

Looks really nice Jean-Luc!

I envy you for building such f****** kit so cleanly in such a short time! Again: Great model!

all the best

Steffen

wow - that went fast!

can't wait to see the finished product.

looks really nice

So ferrule it is. I learned a new word too! And thanks to my sister's friend, I now know the Finnish word for those. Now let's get over to a hardware or electronics store to buy a bunch of those.

That's one great model you're making once again.

Hi all,

Thanks for the kind words guys...

just a short update to show that the decals are on...



The decals were very fragile but worked well on a coat of future. Let's see if I can get the model finished tomorrow. This evening the football (soccer) season starts again in France so I will spent the next hours in front of the TV.

Jean-Luc

Hi all,

The Fw 190 V1 is finished...













What can I say about the Legato Kit. Well, it's not an easy kit and I was over optimistic when I've started this project earlier this year. I lost the motivation several times during the build and the only positive point is that I have a Fw 190 prototype in my collection now...

Jean-Luc

Very Nice Jean-Luc!!

Some nit-picking: the Swastika is off center (to the white circle) at the rhs and the cross arms should be a bit thicker on both sides, the tail wheel fork should lean a bit more backwards. You could have been a bit more brave with exhaust stains .. seems the BMW 139 was pretty dirty .... but all in all outstanding model!!!!!!! Wonder where the antenna wire would go ...

all the best

Steffen

It boggles me that you've done such a great job in such a span of time- cheers! A very intriguing subject- and rather well done at that. Excellent, Jean Luc!

chuk

Turned out really nice. Outstanding work from you. once again!

Hi Jean-Luc,
Thats one sweet 190.
How is it we don't hear from you for ages and then BANG you reappear with a fantastic build.
Looking forward to the next one

Cheers

Chris

Hi Jean-Luc

As ever, stunning work - and I can't believe you did all that while I was away! That break in the South of France must have really got you itching to build!

All the best

Rowan