Introduction

Originally designed as a long range airliner, the 4-engined Focke-Wulf 200 was converted to a long range maritime reconnaissance and anti-shipping bomber. With an un-pressured cabin the FW200 could fly to altitudes just below 10,000 and had a range of 3,000 Km(1860 mi.) The fuselage was lengthen and hard points for bombs were added to adapt the aircraft for war. Until mid 1941 the FW200 almost reigned free with great success over the North Atlantic until the addition of CAM ships to convoys carrying Hurricane fighters. Some aircraft were also used for transport in the German army. When production ended in 1944 about 270 aircraft have been built.

A new release from from Roden features the FW200C-6, fitted with the Henshel 293 missiles and is a small but manageable 1/144 scale for this large aircraft.

Contents

6 Plastic Sprues
1 Clear plastic sprue
1 Sheet of Decals
Instruction Booklet

Review

I have always liked the look of the FW200, and the currently available 1/48 scale kit always seemed a little large, but this release from Roden of the FW200C-6 in 1/144 scale looks to be the right fit. The kit is molded in grey plastic, and does look really nice. I found no flash or sink marks that could mar the built. For the small scale the details look decent, but I do find the engraved panel lines may be a little large.

There is no cockpit or other interior details, including just “blank” tubs for the landing gear bays. That said, the landing gear itself is molded in several parts and does look to be very well done, with some very fine parts that care and patience will be needed. Also, the small radial engines look decent for the scale, and should look fine inside of the nacelles.

There are small bombs included and even the little Henschel Hs 293 missiles looks good. The clear parts in my example while mostly good, a couple at one end of the sprue were a little cloudy. Also on one of the long runs for the interior there is a ejector mark right in the window section on the inside. And should be noted that they are installed from the inside prior to putting the fuselage halves together, so you will have to mask those little windows.

Looking at the instructions, the build looks rather straight forward. The kit did contain a small piece of paper with an addendum for Step 5, the assembly of the landing gear. This is a nice touch from Roden, as I have built models from other companies that have had errors in the instructions that were obvious, but no addendum.

The painting and marking sheet is in color and contains scheme for a single aircraft stationed in France in early 1944. The small sheet of decals looks to be well printed, with the Swastikas in two parts, typical for kits out of Europe.

Conclusion

This release of the Focke-Wulf FW200C-6 from Roden does look like a decent kit. In the smaller scale it should be a more manageable build of this unique aircraft. The details look to be well done with the exception that the engraved panel lines are a little large in my opinion. I do like the kit, and it will be put close to the top of my queue for building and I would highly recommend this kit.