I haven't seen any reviews of these kits on line yet - has anyone made of these yet? I'm looking at the FW190 A4 in particular.

thanks
Mike

I meant the 190F2 not 190A4

thanks
Mike

Don't waste your time for these models...

Are they that bad then? Are they some kinda rehash of old kits or just new kits but done real bad?

thanks
Mike

Hi Michael,
I have bought a DIRTY CHEAP Fw 190-A8 Rammjäger. If you want to buy them directly from Poland (MUCH cheaper) try these e-shops ( there are a lot more selling them; simply google "sklep modelarski")
- http://www.model-making.eu/ (Full sprue photos in catalog)
- http://www.jadarhobby.pl/

ABOUT THE KIT: I´ve only dry-fitted it; looks like a mixed bag.

CONS:
- The spinner looks a bit small to me. (Haven´t measured)
- Cowl ring fits poorly, and has two very noticeable sinkmarks to be filled.
- Canopies (regular & blown) are not really convincing, neither in shape, forward fitting nor framing definition.
- Interior detail is a joke (not much to be seen at this scale, though).
- Droptank looks incorrectly shaped. (Symmetric, and thick as a brick)
- Cowl guns cover could fit better.
- Wings leading edge (rare, uh?) looks too thick.
- To my eye, there´s a slight lack of dihedral.
- Tail wheel should be cut and repositioned a bit forward. (quite easy)

PROS:
- Good molding, little flash if any.
- Plastic looks easy to work with.
- Pretty decent exterior detailing; recessed panelling. (I don´t mind about panel accuracy, haven´t checked it, just looks convincing.)
- Sharp trailing edges.
- Very sharp tailplanes and gear doors.
- Wheel wells have, at least, a caricature of the real detail. (even if too swallow).
- Each wheel is a one-piece affair, and they show a pattern on the tires that is maybe exaggerated, but it looks the part)
- Decal sheet looks very well printed. (it´s quite matte, though) .
- Very, very, VERY low price.

MY PERSONAL CONCLUSION:
Someone who doesn´t mind spending 15-20$ in a single-engined WW2 1:72 fighter will prefer a Tamigaward kit. Me too. But I am concerned about price, so I prefer looking at the positive side of life - - this kit is MUCH better than my old Matchbox and Revell Fw-190´s, and pretty good value-for-the-money. If you´re on a budget, or don´t demand absolute perfection, or prefer buying yourself or your kids/nephews a whole jagdstaffeln instead of a single bird, then go get it. I see Mastercraft as the european Hobby Boss, and wish they became known by the average model freak.

Thanks for that but I have a few revell 1/72 FW190A8's and F8's and they look almost like Hasegawa clones to me, they certainly fill my needs quite nicely! So much so i wouldn't bother getting any other A8's and F8's (unless I got Hasegawa ones dirt cheap!) .
Also I have a Hobby Boss A6 in my stash and that looks nice except for a lack of cockpit details.
Looks like Mastercraft do a few different variants that some other company's don't - i'm still tempted! Also by some of their 109's too!

thanks
Mike

I forgot to ask - was either of them two website's shipping costs reasonable?

thanks
Mike

I´d say yes, they don´t rip you off.
(Of course, not as much as Hannants or... have you ever bought directly from Eduard? THAT´S ripping.)

Fake checkouts as you add items to the cart so you can check shipping charges.

Cheers

I've taken a chance on their A5. Do you by any chance know if any of their 109G's come with werfengranate?

thanks
Mike

They don't - I forgot one of them websites had sprue shots!

thanks
Mike

- - - - And I completely forgot about Revell´s Fw-190 and its low price... Maybe not as low as Mastercraft, but better value-cost ratio. Having it in mind, and remembering also the suspicious propeller blades in Mastercraft kit... stick to Revell, man!

Anyway, I´ll give Mastercraft´s P-11c a try - looks much better than the ancient Revell one, and it´s not plenty of 1/72 PZL´s out there.

Cheers,
David

Speaking of which, I've just been doing some finishing touches to a revell FW190 F8/U14. Only needs a coat of matt varnish and exhaust stains done. I just love it that a relatively small single seat fighter was adopted to carry a torpedo!

thanks
Mike

My FW190A5 has just turned up and I have to say its no where near as good as the Revell FW190 or even the Hobby Boss FW190. That said Revell and Hobby Boss don't do the A5.
I think this is more on a par with the old Airfix FW190 but with recessed panel lines. On the sprues the drop tank , wheels and prop just look wrong. The cowl guns are poorly done, the ETH501 rack is pathetic, wheel wells far to shallow. I don't even have plans for an FW190 but the Tamiya, Hasegawa, Revell and Hobby Boss kits are all superior.
On the plus side there isn't loads of flash to remove, the decals look good (loads of choice in markings too) and include all the stencil details and the instructions are good (look like Hasegawa instructions) even if they tell you the wrong interior colour! Also as stated - its cheap!
Conclusion - would take lots of work and aftermarket bits to make a serious model out of it but it should make an easy practice build oob.

thanks
Mike

I just took a look at some of the sprue shots online. Some of these moulds date back to the 1980s at least, the PZL 37 Los for instance is easily recognisable as the old ZTS mould. That one always looked good on the sprues, but the fit was evil!

Cheers,
Bill.

I will see what happens when I build it! I'm hoping someone else will bring out a decent A5, so I can adorn it with the lovely markings in the Mastercraft kit!
I bet them kits you mention aren't done by anyone else now.

thanks
Mike