Hello,

Here are a few pix of my just finished Fw 190 A-2.
This is the Tamiya A-3 kit painted and marked as a A-2.
As far as i know no external difference between the 2.
Painting guide and markings came from the Kagero booklet Fw 190s over Europe part 2.
The kit was build out of the box, I just removed the molded on wing guns and pitot tube and replaced them with Master items. The outer wing guns were not carried on this particular plane, so i just drilled the holes.

Sadly to say, still no wire antenna, as i cant seem to get this right.

Anyway, here the pix:






Comment and constructive feedback always welcome

Tony

Tony, Congrats on a extremely well done FW190A-2 straight of the box. Paint and decals look exceptional. Your weathering really adds to the overall effectiveness of the model. It has that "Used but not Abused" look.

Just what issues are you having with the antenna? Are you using stretched sprue? It's really the easiest way to do it.
Joel

Joel,

I indeed tried the strechted sprue, but i have 2 problems with that.
1. i cant seem to attach it, specially on the canopy side.
2. I cant get it straight. It always droops a lot.

Thanks for the comment.

Tony

Superglue works best to attach antennae. On the canopy, make certain that you've coated it with Future/Kleer to prevent fogging. If you're able to, drill a hole to insert the antenna into the fin, attach it with a little drop of superglue and some accelerator to make sure it's firmly fixed in place. Then clip a pair of hemostats to the end, hold the model nose down and apply a small drop of superglue to the antenna mount. Allow the antenna to rest against the superglue with the weight of the hemostats holding it tight. Apply a drop of accelerator to set the glue while the antenna is being held taught. Only then should you trim off the excess.

If, after all this the antenna is still a bit loose, wave a freshly blown-out match close by; this will cause the antenna to tighten up nicely. Be careful not to get it too close or else you'll be trimming off two curled up bits of plastic which used to be your antenna. This step takes practise to get it right

Great looking FW Tony! Thanks for sharing it with us. Really like it. Russell

congrats
nice clean build and just goes to show you can build straight out the box without without all the pricey extras

Jesica,

Thank U for the detailed explenation.
However, i still am looking for future or something similar. Here in Belgium, i cant seem to find anything suitable. Also, i dont understand what U mean with hemostats.

Russel, Stephen,

Thanks for the nice comments.

Stephen,
The reason i build all my models out of the box is that i simply cant work with all the extras. Nor do i care to much for that matter.

Tony

Hemostats are surgical clamps. We use them to hold things which need holding because they can be locked closed.

Jessica,

thanks for the clarification.

Tony

try E-Z line http://www.berkshirejunction.com/ezline.html#price
Very nice way of doing any kind of antennas, etc.
And BTW very nice FW.

Thanks for the tip Tom.
I look in to that.

Tony

E-Z Line was first made for model railroad layouts, so it's most likely to be found in railroad specialty shops

Tony, Jessica gave you some solid advice on attaching stretched sprue. I do it somewhat differently. For attaching the sprue to a painted antenna, I apply some Tamiya Extra thin to the end of the sprue while holding it gently with a pair of fine tipped tweezers, I push the sprue up against the antenna at the correct angle. The glue does its job quite fast. If the other end also is glued to another painted surface, I use the same method. I leave a little slack, but not much.

If I'm attaching the sprue to clear plastic as in your case, the canopy, I would carefully drill a hole. You might also consider using some masking tape around the marked hole just in case you slip with the drill. Do use a needle to create the pilot hole. To attach the sprue to the canopy, a drop of White PVA glue in the hole will hold the sprue securely once dry.

As Jessica said, you need to now shrink the sprue so it's somewhat tight. Any source of a small amount of heat will do. A birthday candle just blown out, a match, or even a cigarette if you smoke. The trick here is to move the heat source parallel to the sprue and be close enough for the heat to shrink it. At 1st you'll be too far away, but as you move closer, all of a sudden the sprue will just "pop", and be tight.

If I can master this technique, anyone can.

Joel

on the future subject see if you can find
pledge multi surface wax
its a improved recipe by the makers of future

Stephen,

The problem is we dont have that brand here in Belgium.

Tony

Hi Tony,

An alternative to stretching sprue is using fishing line. I've used it without too much bother in the past. Do you have Pronto or Sidolux floor polish in Belgium?
Hope it helps

Perhaps the good folks in Kitmaker Benelux might know what name the elixir of the modelling gods is known by in Belgium?

Mike, Jessica,

Thank U both for the tips.
I sse what i can come up with.

Tony