Hi Chris,

Great job! I never built this model but always wanted to. I'll be following your work.

Mal, I'm both happy for you and envious.

Looking great Chris, can't wait to see the topside colour thrown at it now !

Cheers, D

Hi Frederick thanks for the vote of confidence.

Hi D wont have to wait long top colours going onto tonight along with a little filling and painting of the tail wheel fork so I can get that assembled as well. Then it'll be onto the Masks from Mal for the national insignia and markings! First time I've ever used anything like this to paint the markings should prove a fun learning curve. And if I can do it ..... anyone can!

As per promise here are some shots of the upper camouflage and mottle effect on the sides of the Fw190. I've got a set of dry transfer Fw190 stencils winging their way to me as we speak. I'll do the Mal's Masks first and then the stencils will go on later. I've heard some great things about these dry transfers, they go on and look like they're painted on they are that thin!

I'm not happy with my attempt at mottling it doesn't look right, so I'll redo it later today and post more pics soon.

Okay I've re-done the mottle and it looks better (Too me at least!) I'll re-do the RLM74 as well and possibly a light retouch of the RLM78. (yes I know it should be RLM76 but I had to use what was available to me)

I've also added the guns and the underside covers over the breeches for the outboard canons. Just the inboard canon covers to go on but I'll paint them before I do. Then it's to work on the undercarriage doors. I've seen pictures of how they were attached now I'll see if I can replicate it.

I've also started remedial work on my broken front windscreen I've cut out the front of the windscreen and I'll cut a piece of CD jewel case to fit and glue it into place and show you the results. this is the first time I've done this so it's going to be a steep learning curve.

I've worked on the front windscreen and I've finished it, I just need to spray it after a very light sanding. It went easer than I thought the plastic from the jewel CD case was quite soft and the Tamiya extra thin cement did a wonderful job of gluing it in.

The hardest part was removing the damaged section and cleaning it up so I could glue in the replacement. I first packed out the front windscreen with Blue tack (a medium for sticking picture to walls etc.) to make the part a little more rigid and able to take the stress of the cutting out. Once I had it cut out I measured up the cut out piece and cut a piece of Tamiya masking tape that was slightly bigger than I needed and placed it on the jewel CD case. Then I filed the front windscreen down. The upper frame broke when I was cutting out the damaged piece but because of the blue tack it stayed put so I could glue it back once I had the replacement windscreen filed to shape. I then removed the blue tack, it was at this point that the windscreen re-broke along the original break line. I wasn't to phased by it as I had already anticipated it might happen.

I glued the replacement back in and rebuilt the frame around it. Because the jewel case is thicker then the original part I thought it'd be a good idea to cut a new frame for it to provide some extra strengthening and to redefine the frame that was now effectively missing. So I got out my trusty dividers and plasticard and created a new piece. I marked out the frame and cut it from the plasticard, cutting away the opening first and then the outer edge of the frame to remove it from the plasticard sheet. I left the masking tape in place to provide some extra protection for the new part. I now need to mask off the both the inside and outside of the windscreen and paint it before I finally glue it into place.

I thought I'd put up a couple of Pictures to show the repaired windscreen in place. Enjoy!

Great work on the repair Chris, looks spot on. The mottling came up very nicely as well. I just showed Josh your progress, and now the daily nagging will begin, "Dad, can we get started ? Dad, when can we get started ? Dad, I wanna get started ! DAD !!! "

Yeah, thanks a lot mate

Cheers, D

Hey D you're more than welcome! Neither of my girls has the bug so I had to infect SOMEBODY! And be honest I'm sure you're looking forward to doing this with Josh as much as he's looking forward to building it! I know I would be tickled pink if either of my two wanted to build something with dad. However their more likely to go throw a pot or paint a picture with their mum!

LOL one guy in a house full of women ..... shakes head .... I could do with the shot of testosterone!

A little further along now most of the construction phase is over, just the inboard canon covers to go on. I've fitted the undercarriage doors which gave me a little trouble as the wheel well detail I've added has changed the original dimensions. The edges of the covers where it slides into the wheel well had to be filed to get it to fit. Not by much and it certainly wont be seen. It slotted together nicely with the landing gear and set up at the correct angle it just required being held in place with a spring clip till it had dried.

I'm almost done painting only the inboard canon covers and pitot tube left to do. So here it is the progress so far I'm happy for the most part with it I hope you've had as much fun watching this as I've had getting it to this point.

I've had two more sets of my goodies turn up for my Fw190 a set of Hobby decal dry decals and a set of Eduard 1/24 Luftwaffe seat belts. (Pre painted) Another two firsts as I've used neither sets as yet! I personally haven't had any actual work with dry transfers other than one rather old Supermodel kitset of a MC202.

They worked out rather well even thought they must have been almost as old as I was. (Well nearly) They look really good and I've heard some good things about them. So there should be some tips to share once I've got them on. I'm thinking I'll do them after I've painted on the markings as I'm sure I'll pull them up with the masking tape if I don't.

I just finished my FW190 and encountered all the problems that you have mentioned. The quick fix for pulling the cooling fan into the body is to leave off part 36 which reduces the length of the engine. I wanted to leave my engine complete so I built up the cowling ring by 6mm to compensate. Took alot of work but the plane came out great. Did you notice that the rear tail wheel also sits too far up even in the extended position. I had to lower mine by 5mm to get the plane to sit up right. Never mind a skill level, this plane should have a patience level of 10 warning on the box. Keep up this great thread, it will help others.
Steve

Hi Steve, no I hadn't realised the tail wheel was out to far. I wanted to see just what I could achieve by reducing the overall length and it turned out well. I agree patience is necessary for these kits but you are rewarded for that effort with a BIG kit of a gorgeous bird of prey!

And now the fun starts using photo etch and masks! LOL can't wait! (Yeah right!)

Okay long over due for an update! I've been working with the photo etched pre-painted seat belts by Eduard and I have to admit that once I got over my initial worries about using a medium that I have rarely used that it went very well. The instructions are clear and easy to understand. With the etch being pre-painted you need to exercise a greater level of care so as not to damage the painted surface, but having said that once the belts are together they look just stunning!

I'm a convert! I liked to use decals as they were easy to apply and looked reasonably realistic but these seatbelts are a world away in terms of detail and scale thickness. It is a little harder to represent how the belts drape over the seat but with a little practice that will be an easy thing to overcome. So if you get the chance use these belts! They are easy to use and look fantastic! take a look at the accompanying pics and see for yourself!

yes you need to use superglue to attach the belts and to seal the folds, part of the reason you need to exercise care, but the results are good. Just a word of caution however, I used kicker on the super glue and although it doesn't affect the paint on the belts it does have an effect on the clear styrene used for the canopy! As you can see in the pics it's gone cloudy, it should be relatively easy to polish it out with a cotton bud and some CD resurfacing polish. (Great stuff for putting a shine back on the plastic!)

Hi Guys time for an update! Mal from Mal's miracle masks has finished the masks for me and they're on their way to me as we speak. (For a damn good price I might add! Thanks Mal!) So when they arrive I'll give a first look at them and then take you through the application process. I'm looking forward to using them and seeing the result on the finished model. I'll then be able to use the dry transfers for the stencilling and we should have a factory fresh Anton for the shelf ..... assuming I can find room? LOL anyone got a home for a very LARGE Fw190A-5?

Time for a quick update Mals masks have arrived I'm sure just about everyone would've heard my squeals of joy! (Well not quite .... but almost!) Mal has done an excellent job as usual and I have two of everything! Just as well really as I've not used masks before! Mal has supplied a comprehensive set of instructions with an individual how to for each of the markings to be applied the most challenging is most likely to be the large eagle but I anticipate this will look the best! He has also provided contact information so if I get stuck I can pick his brains, couldn't ask for more than that! Okay here's a first look at the package they came in and what they look like.

I have been ghosting your build for some time. I did have said plane in my stash though it became clear that it was too huge for my humble abode. Thus sold it. A wonderful build, I do use Letraset dry transfers for created codes. I transfer them to a clear decal film then onto the plane. I should point out that German pilots sat on their parachutes while British leaned against them. Remembering a test pilot stating that he had to use a pillow to raise himself up obtain the proper attitude. Great work.

Hi Trevor! Thanks for the praise it's much appreciated. I remember reading Keith Mulligan's account of his time in the pacific in it he stated that the american life raft he sat on in his P-40 had the regulator valve in exactly the wrong place! How ever I believe that Fw190 Pilots had their parachutes behind them. They wore a backpack parachute Rückenfallschirm 12B (backpack parachute)and this fitted into the seat. The Me109 pilots sat on theirs as did the Me110 pilots however the rear gunner in an Me110 wore the same type of chute as the Fw190 pilot. It's amazing just how many variations on a theme there were!

Hi Guys it's been a long time and life has been interfering with my modelling! Time to resurrect this build log and finish it off. After spending around SIX months staring at Mals masks it's time we took this "relationship to the next level" and actually used the damned things! So hopefully at the end of this weekend I'll have pics of the start of the painting process. First I need to purchase some more black and white paint and then it's time to gird my loins and finish this big beautiful Fw190! Stayed tuned folks this should prove "fun"!

Okay guys here's the progress so far I've decided that I would do the masking and painting in sections and that I would start with on of the eagles and both wing crosses. The masks went on well and are very forgiving as long as you follow Mal's instructions exactly. my thanks again to Mal of Mals miracle masks for all his hard work to make my big and beautiful butcher bird look great! Once the black has had a chance to dry I'll paint the white and then it's on to the unveiling!

Okay I've got the white on the kit now and the crosses look quite stunning! Just a reminder to read all of Mal's instructions and follow them to the letter as the results you will achieve are quite outstanding!

Also a note of caution about applying masks over complex surfaces, I've noticed that in the burnishing of the edges of the masks I've moved the masks and created variations of width in the white outline. Also I need to change the paint I'm using as it's not keying into the previous paint and I pulled up large amounts of it when I removed the masking medium! Incredibly frustrating as it did look damn stunning till I removed large chunks of black paint.

Painting of the markings continues but the pace is slow. I've tried the dry transfer stencils but they have been less than satisfactory so far. I think the low temperature in the "man cave" (garage) is not helping as it's raining and cold outside, well below the recommended bottom temp of 22 degrees Celsius.

Still the walk way stencils created for me by Mal (Mals miracle masks) have worked a treat!Looking really good after the masking has been removed, see for yourself from the pics below!
After placing and painting of the Swastika's I realised that although I had them placed where the Airfix kit instruction sheet suggest, after unmasking I find that they are actually quite a bit smaller than that actually suggested by the instructions, ergo they are way to low.... too late to move them now! I'll just have to put up with it ... for now. Other than that I got the wings and fuselage band painted and now I can start working on the rest of the markings.

Okay Guys a little more progress! I'm finding aligning the masks a little difficult mainly because that overall mask is obviously bigger than the actual marking. This can lead to a little confusion as to exactly WHERE the right place is. Next time around (and yes there WILL be a next time!) I'll draw pencil lines to aid in exact placement. I'm definitely sold on the idea of masks for the markings as it gives the model a more life like feel to it.

I've also managed to get the stencils for the landing gear on as well and they look FANTASTIC. A little more effort than decals but infinitely better result.

So with out further a do here are some more progress pics.

So here we are just the under wing crosses to paint on and the markings will be done, I must admit I do like the look these masks give very realistic! She's looking more and more ike a bird of prey!

Okay guys and gals here we are at the last mask! I've gotten better at using the masks as I've progressed it's been a steep learning curve but I do love the challenge of this type of learning. I'm a couple of coats away from finishing the markings and moving onto the stencils and another steep learning curve! I plan to give the finished kit just a light weathering as as I've stated before they were kept in fairly pristine condition by the Black men, what the Luftwaffe pilots called their ground crew as they wore black overalls!. Here are some pics to be going on with.