Torsten,
I most certainly do. I look forward to each of your museum finished quality builds.
Joel

Hi Torsten,
it is always nice to another of your builds and gather some more i
information.
Have fun ,Phil

Thanks for you nice words, Phil!
Glad to know, you like looking at my model kits. I'm already working on new sins ....

Torsten

Hello and happy new year everybody!
After spending the days around New Years Eve in Latvias wonderful and icy capital Riga I'm back home now to show you my final build in 2015. It's the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8 from Tamiya in 1/48, finished just shortly before christmas ....


.... the F-8 was the fighter bomber version of the A-8. After 1942 a replacement for the aged Junkers Ju 87 in the air-to-ground attack role was required and the Fw 190 was found to be adaptable for this role due to its rugged construction and versatility. The first Fw 190 F went into service in 1943. Compared to the A version, the F had it's outer wing MG 151/20 (20 mm) removed and got a stronger landing gear, which made the aircraft capable to carry bombs. The F-8 came into service in early 1944 and was the most produced of all F versions. The F-8 flew right until the end of the war, in the final weeks it was also sometimes used in the fighter role, which caused heavy losses under the pilots because they didn't know how to fly like a fighter pilot ....


.... I have build the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8 "Black 10" from SG 4 (SG = Schlachtgeschwader = fighter bomber wing), based in Piacenza/Italy in summer 1944 ....


.... this kit is of typical Tamiya quality. Easy assembly compared with very good fitting. The only negative point I have to add is the pitot tube, which is moulded to the right upper wing half. Which means it will break during assembly (yes it will!). So that's why I cut it off at the beginning and glued in on again when the build was finished. The sitting of the main landing gear is also not perfect, but that is probably more my mistake than the one of the manufacturer ....


.... if you look at the camouflage of this aircraft, you might find it a bit strange for the time of mid 1944 because it looks very much like from the North African Campaign. Indeed, SG 4 had Fw 190 in this colours, also my references (Osprey) show that. After a long thinking I decided to take RLM 79 Sand Brown and RLM 78 Sky Blue from Agama. The mottling was made with highly thinned RLM 71 Dark Green from Gunze - and very low pressure on the compressor. Note that the upper half of the white fuselage band is roughly overpaninted with the fuselage camouflage. This was made because of the enormous allied air superiority. Also the black swastika was painted brown, on some aircrafts it was overpainted at all. But I'm not sure if that really helped .... As usual the kit is build oob and not weathered. The decals are also from the kit ....

.... so finally I say again "Vielen Dank" for walking around my new Butcher Bird. Hope you've enjoyed it. I have another Fw 190 lying on my work bench, but that will still need some time as there is a lot of masking to do. And on the other hand I've started my build for the Leopard Campaign on Amorama.
I know, some of you are also interested in tank steel, so you might like also have a look on my latest military vehicle, the tank destroyer Jaguar, which I've posted in December.

Happy modelling!
Torsten

Very nice and clean Focke Wulf, Torsten! Your builds always look likeably pristine. Is the propeller spinner a decal, or painted?

Gary

Another lovely build to add to the stable Torsten, the camo "blotches" have remarkably consistent margins which can be very difficult to achieve. You have done it really well.

I won't mention the weathering though 😬

Cheers, D

Torsten,
You certainly finished up the year in fine style. Another quality museum aircraft for your ever growing collection.

As usual, I really appreciate you taking the time for a brief explanation of real aircraft's history.

The build, paint, and decaling as usual is up to your high standards. Thanks for explaining why the fuselage white band is over painted on the top half, and why the Swastika was painted Brown, although it looks more gray to me. And yes, the camo paint scheme at 1st had me thinking Africa. Just goes to show you how little I know about German WW11 aircraft.

Joel

Thanks for all your kind comments, guys!

Gray, you got me! I totally forgot to mention, that I used Eduard's spinner spiral masks for the first time on this project. As I wrote somewhere earlier in this thread, these decals are never my friend. So I bought the masks and although the result is not perfect, it is better than before.

Damian, thanks for your nice compliment but there is no secret behind the blotches. As I said, I highly thin the paint, push down the pressure of the compressor to the limit and make test spraying on a white piece of paper. After I'm satisfied with the result, the air gun goes on the model. That's all. And don't worry, I haven't heard you mentioned the weathering ....

Joel, explaining how a model was build, especially the difficulties and mishaps (if any) and a brief history of the real bird makes a presentation enjoyable to read and follow in my opinion. The swastika is definitely in brown, it looks a little greyish only in the photos. Blame it on the winter sun (winter? what winter?) If you come to our expo in June you will notice it ....

Torsten

Finally Willi gets his "Sturmbock"! This bird gave me quite a masking job but now I call it done. Finished earlier this month, today I can show you my new Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8/R-2 from Tamiya in 1/48 ....



.... one of the most important variants of the Fw 190 was the A-8. Brought into service in early 1944, the A-8 was armed with four 20 mm MG 151/20 in the wings and two 13 mm MG 131 in the fuselage. It featured a firing alignment device, a Morane antenna and methanol-water injector and tank for extra power when needed. One sub-variant of the A-8 was the A-8/R-2, which was the most heavily armed and armoured bomber interceptor produced in Germany during WW 2. It had its outer wing mounted MG 151/20 replaced with the more powerful 30 mm MK 108 cannon. Furthermore extra armour platings on the fuselage cockpit sides and extra 30 mm armoured canopy glass on both sides. These fighters were known as "Sturmbock". To compensate the higher weight a bit due to the heavier MK 108 and the additional armour, the fuselage MG 131 were removed. A common tactic of these heavy fighters was a "head on" attack on bomber formations or from the rear with a slight elevation, firing their guns at a very close range - usually less then 100 meters. This tactic left the "Sturmböcke" often vulnerable to allied fighters and so special high flying groups of Bf 109 were escorting the Fw 190 when they attacked the bombers. The Fw 190 was powered by the famous BMW 801 D engine with 1700 hp, which gave the aircraft a speed of over 650 km/h at 6700 meters. The service ceiling was 11400 meters ....




.... I have built "Black 8" from IV. (Sturm)/JG 3, during its Normandie days in June 1944, flown by Unteroffizier (Corporal, later Sergeant) Willi Maximowitz. He was born in Wuppertal in 1920 and volunteered when personal was needed to build up the Sturmstaffel 1. His first success came on the 30. January 1944 when he shot down a B-24 Liberator. While attacking another bomber formation on the 23. March 1944 he was shot down and wounded but still could bail out. After recovery he returned to his unit which was integrated in the IV. Group of the Jagdgeschwader 3 as its 11. Squadron. After D-Day Maximowitz also flew several fighter bomber missions to support the ground troops. He was promoted to Sergeant in Juli 1944 and flew also several missions as wing man ("Katschmarek") of the CO of the IV./JG 3, Hauptmann Wilhelm Moritz. In February 1945 the unit was tranferred to the Eastern Front. On the 20. April 1945 Maximowitz started to a mission in the Frankfurt/Oder region, of which he didn't return. Today it is believed that he was shot down and killed by VVS fighters, though neither the machine nor his body was ever found. Officially he is still listed as missed in action. Maximowitz scored 27 aerial victories during the war, of which 12 were against the Soviet Air Force. All other 15 victories he claimed in the west against four-engined american bombers. At least one he brought down by ramming. In January 1945 he was awarded the German Cross in Gold. I found this nice photo of him in a peaceful moment in Osprey's "Aces of JG 3" ....



.... this kit is of the same quality as the F-8, which you can see in the posting above. No major problems with the fitting. But masking the bird was really some kind of challenge. Though the sheet has the .... hm, well, let's call them red outlined black lightnings for the fuselage sides as decals, they look a lot better when painted. And masking them was what took this build over 2 months. Okay, including my 3 weeks holiday break around christmas and New Years Eve. Also the inner part of the Balkenkreuze on the fuselage was not black but painted in RLM 74 Dark Grey. The decals show only the white parts of the crosses. The main paints for this kit are RLM 74 and 75 from Gunze (H68 and H69) and RLM 76 from Agama (N3). Black 08 and White 301 come from Revell Aqua. Cockpit interior was painted with Revell No. 69, which comes close to RLM 66. The mask for the canopy is provided in the kit. And Gary, before you ask, yes, the spinner spiral is again mask with Eduard. As usual there is no weathering on this model ....




.... finally the obligatory family photo .... Yes, I've got all 8 of them in one photo. Not easy but it worked. In the back row you can see the A-4 (Hasegawa), D-9, 2 x F-8 and A-3 (all Tamiya). In the front row I have placed 3 x A-8 (all Tamiya), of which 2 are "Sturmböcke". So, again I say "Vielen Dank" for stepping by and walking around my latest model and hope you've enjoyed it. As usual any comments are welcome.

Happy modelling!
Torsten

Yet another beautiful clean build Torsten, and really neat work with the masking and paintwork. Great "family snap" as well, a nice looking collection. Do you have further variants to be added?

Did they leave the two openings in the cowl where the MG 131's were removed? I would think that this would cause a fair bit of buffeting and pressurisation in the rear of the engine bay.

Looking forward as always to the next chapter with its interesting history lesson.

Cheers, D

Very nice, Torsten! I like your build, and appreciate the pilot's story.

Gary

You really have your own Luftwaffe there Torsten! Beautiful builds all of them!



Magnus

Thanks for your comments, guys!

Damian, good objection. The holes for the removed cowling guns were often covered but not on this aircraft. There are existing at least 2 good photos of Maximowitz' "Black 8" and one gives a good view at the cowling where one of the holes is visible. So Tamiya's instruction is correct here. If you have "Luftwaffe Sturmgruppen" from Osprey's Aviation Elite Units series (No. 20), have a look at the photo on page 49. Unfortunatly this photo has no sound. Would be awesome ....
And yes, there are some more Fw 190 hiding in my stash. At least a A-5 and a A-6 from Eduard. Probably some more - I think a D-11 also - as the 190 is my favourite german aircraft of WW 2.

Gary, I would like to give all my models "a face". When I get the pilot's name sometimes I do more research for him than for the model. Sometimes I am successful, but often also not. So especially informations about japanese pilots are not easy to find. And the story of Maximowitz (like so many others on both sides) has no happy end ....

Magnus, thanks for your comment. I'm glad you like my models. Compared to yours mine are big birds. I silently follow your quattro Avia build and I'm really impressed how you can work with such small parts. Compared to that I have gross motor skills ....

Torsten

Torsten,
Another outstanding addition to your miniature aviation museum. That's some collection of FW 190s, as each is equally an exquisite miniature in it's own right.

As for your 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8/R-2 Sturmböcke, it's one very impressive build with a truly outstanding paint scheme.

I always enjoy your history lesson on the modeled aircraft, and in this instance the additional background on Unteroffizier Willi Maximowitz.

Well done my friend, very well done.

Joel

Thanks for the feedback Torsten. Every little bit of information adds to the library, and these more unusual subjects just add to the level of curiosity. It is like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Cheers, D

Beautiful collection of very well built "Butcher Birds" Torsten. A real feast for the eyes.

Thanks again for your feedback, guys!

Joel, as I wrote before, I try to find out something about the pilot if I have his name. Sometimes I get a lot of information, sometimes only little or none. Here it was a bit more than usual. I'm glad, you enjoy my little history lessons. I'll try to keep up this standard.

Ernest, thanks for stepping in and your comment.

Damian, this is the photo of "Black 8" which I mean. Have a look. You can see one of the "holes" where the MG 131 was. Maybe they closed it from the inside, but that is not visible. What is visible is that deadly 30 mm MK 108 cannon on the outer wing. And I'm really sorry, but this photo has no sound ....
Source: Osprey Publishing, Aviation Elite Units No. 20 "Luftwaffe Strumgruppen"




Torsten

Great images Torsten, thanks. I can just imagine that cowl trying to lift off at speed with the airflow.

Cheers, D

After Photobucket let me down far too often in the past I've changed the picture host now and will give Imgur a try. Hope they are more reliable.

We all remember Edgar Brooks, do we? His death last November left a big gap to all of us. It was a wish of many of us Aeroscalers to start a Memorial Campaign for him and I didn't think twice to join in. Finished earlier this month today I can show you the result of my efforts - the Spitfire Mk. IX from Eduard in 1/48 ....


.... the Spitfire is one of the icons of WW 2, so I don't need to write much about the development or history of it. Edgar could have done it far better than me. The Mk. IX was first used in July 1942 by No. 64 Sqn. The first 100 machines were converted Mk. V with the stronger Merlin 61 engine with 1560 hp and a 4 bladed propeller. It gave the aircraft a speed of about 650 km/h at 7600 meters. The usual armament was 2 x 20 mm cannons and 4 x 7,7 mm (0,303 inch) MG in the wings. A total of 5665 Mk. IX were produced. The US Army Air Force was one of the operators in the MTO ....



.... I have build a Spitfire Mk. IX from the 52th FG, 4th FS, based at La Sebala Airfield, Tunesia, June 1943. The aircraft was flown by 1Lt. Leonard V. Helton. Sorry, but I have no informations about this guy yet ....



.... this kit is the weekend edition of the highly praised Eduard Spitfire, so it comes without PE parts and masks. Building this beautiful aircraft is very pleasant and gives no troubles at all. Everything fits perfectly together. The only mishap occured right at the end of the building, when the clear part of the landing light decided not to take part in the build but to jump away instead and was immediatly eaten by the big evil carpet monster. It didn't even wave bye-bye. So, that's the only part which is missing ....


.... for painting I used again a variety of brands. The main painting was done with Gunze H 71 Middle Stone and H 72 Dark Earth on the upperside and Vallejo 71108 Azure Blue on the underside. As you can see the British markings were overpainted with a darker brown paint. I made that with a brush and used Revell 46 Olive Drab for that. I think that comes close. The decals are taken from the kit and are very thin. So I had to be very careful not to ruin them. Especially that "Doris June II" decal was fiddly. But they lay perfectly into the panel lines with only a little bit of softener. Surprisingly on the underside we see a US insignia and a RAF insignia. Never seen that before. Unfortunatly the weekend edition comes without any stencils. I noticed that with some of Eduard's weekend kits. As usual with all my builds also this one is not weathered ....

Rest in peace, Edgar! I hope you like what you see here.

Again, I say thanks a lot for walking around my new Spit and hope you've enjoyed it. And if you like also to see my latest Leopard 1 tank, then have a look if you like. Just scroll down the page to the bottom.

Happy modelling!
Torsten

Torsten,
Certainly a fitting final tribute to Edgar.

As for your build, it certainly meets your high expectations of a meticulously built, painted, and decaled museum quality display piece.

While I've seen profiles of this aircraft, this is the 1st time that I've actually seen one built up. Those USAAF/British marking on the lower wings are a most unusual sight.

Joel

Another fine addition to your collection, Torsten. Lovely Spitfire and the row of 190 is really impressive. Great modelling

Torsten,
Lovely job on the Spitfire!

Gaz

Thanks for your feedback, guys!

Joel, I searched the web for some informations about the pilot but the only thing I found is, that he had 2 kills to his credit from April and August 1943. Also found a tiny photo of the original aircraft. I think, I came quite close to it with my model, except for the weathering ....

Bernd, glad you like my latest additions to this thread. Your Fw 190 family is also a nice sight for my eyes.

Gary, thanks also for your comment. I also silently follow your B-29 build and can only say "wow!" about your skills.

Torsten

The parts were still warm from the pressing when I got this kit. I started immediatly with it in the Hot Out Of The Mould 2016 Campaign and finished it just in time for my clubs expo in Mannheim last weekend. Today I can show you the Boulton Paul Defiant Mk. I from Airfix in 1/48 ....


.... the Defiant was the only "turret fighter" within the Royal Air Force. In October 1939 the newly formed No. 264 Sqn. was the first unit to operate the Defiant. The first operational sortie came on the 12. May 1940 when they - escorted by Spitfires - shot down a Ju 88. The following day they claimed another four Ju 87 but in turn five of six Defiants were shot down by Bf 109. Defiants of No. 264 Sqn had their best day on the 29. May when they claimed 37 enemy aircraft shot down. Luftwaffe fighter pilots suffered heavy losses in the beginning attacking the Defiants from the rear mistaking them for a Hurricane and being unaware of the Defiants rear firing turret. The Luftwaffe pilots changed their tactics when they noticed that the Defiant had no front firing armament and the turret was not able to shoot in front of the aircraft. Defiants were now attacked "head on" or from below and the losses quickly rose, especially among the gunners who often were not able to leave stricken aircraft. Though the Defiants still enjoyed some success they were withdrawn from front line service as a day fighter in autumn 1940. They were then used as night fighters with considerable success, equipping 13 squadrons. Another major role was as a target tug for air gunnery training. The Defiant Mk. I was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin III piston engine with 1030 hp, giving the aircraft a speed of nearly 500 km/h. The armament was four 0,303 in (7,7 mm) Browing machine guns in a hydraulically powered dorsal turret. 723 Mk. I were build, 1065 of all versions ....



.... this is a kit I waited for a long time. I know only the Special Hobby kit in quarterscale on the market. But I'm no fan of short run kits. Airfix has again done a great job on this kit. Everything fits perfect and there is no need to use filler. If you work well there will be no seam between the fuselage and the wings. Also the turret fits well in the fuselage, though I assembled it right at the end of the build when everything was done already. Which is opposite to the construction plan. Straight from the box you'll get a great kit but the use of some AM parts surely will upgrate the kit to a little gem. The kit contains already parts for the night fighter verion, so I guess it won't be long until we are able to get it at our LHS ....



.... Airfix offers 2 decal versions for this kit and as the camo looks the same on both I decided for an aircraft of No. 2 Sqn, Hatfield Woodhouse, South Yorkshire, September 1940. The decals are very fine and easy to handle. Only a little bit of softener was needed. As usual I used Decal Soft from Revell. The upper camo is airbrushed free hand which makes it not 100 % correct but I can live with it. Mal's Miracle Mask came out a bit too late for me for this build. The paints I used are mainly from Revell Aqua again. Dark Earth 82, Sky 59, Aluminium 99, Interior Green 45 and Black 302. Dark Green is B1 from Agama. Final coating was again made with Flat Varnish from Marabu. As usual this kit is build oob and not weathered. But it is essential to use the Eduard mask EX 490 on this kit or you will get crazy while cutting masks for the turret ....


.... so again I say thanks for walking around my latest build and I hope you've enjoyed it. There are several Defiants flying around the workbenches on Aeroscale at the moment (Steffen, Kent ....) which is no wonder to me. For me the Airfix Defiant is surely the kit of the year in this scale.
Oh, btw, if you have missed my Tunnan recently you might like to have a look here. Just scroll down the page to the bottom.

Happy modelling!
Torsten