Introduction

The Fw 190 F-8 is the ground-attack version of the A-8. The aircraft was nearly indentical except for the following modifications:
- Outboard cannons removed.
- Upper wings rectangular plates sometimes removed (check your references).
- ETC 501 Fuselage rack as standard.
- "Blown Hood" canopy with pylon monted headrest fitted on late models.

The F-8 was the most produced model of the "F" fighter bomber series. In 1944/45 many of them were being encountered by advancing Allied forces on all fronts.

The Kit

Hasegawa's new Fw 190 F-8 kit comes in their standard top opening cardboard box. The artwork on it is somewhat misleading since it shows an aircraft flying at high altitude, which is something that must not have happened too often to a F-8 at the end of the war! Anyway, the kit is composed of the following items:
- 5 grey plastic sprues protected within two plastic bags.
- 1 transparent plastic sprue protected within it's own bag.
- 1 decal sheet.
- 1 panoramic instruction sheet.
- Poly caps

The content of the kit is well known now. If you want to read more about the new range of Fw 190 kits produced by Hasegawa, then take a look at the following reviews:
- Fw 190 A-3
- Fw 190 A-5 with BMW 327
- Fw 190 A-8/R-8

The quality of the kit is excellent throughout. The plastic parts have been crisply molded with no traces of flash or sink marks. Surface detail is subtle and the level of detail is very good. The kit is also a spare parts provider. The unused parts are highlighted in red on the pictures accompanying the review.

The clear parts are excellent and two types of canopy hoods are provided: flat or blown

Only two marking options are provided which is not much. Eduard for example have 5 and Tamiya 3 in their F-8 kits. Why not more Mister Hasegawa? Also, both decorations are not very original:
1 - Fw 190 F-8 II./SG 4 "E", Eastern front, Summer 1944.
2 - Fw 190 F-8 SG 2 red (black?) 9, Hungary Winter 1944-1945.

The first aircraft wears a RLM 74/75/76 camouflage with yellow tactical markings on the rudder, underside wing tips, fuselage and around the cowling. The second aircraft is well known (Tamiya has chosen the same decoration for one of the options in their Fw 190 F-8/9 kit). It also has a RLM 74/75/76 camouflage but with a white winter wash added and carries a yellow chevron on the underside of the left wing. It is to note that the original aircraft had some parts of the landing gear doors removed. This is indicated in the instructions and Hasegawa ask you to cut some plastic parts to accurately reproduce this.

While we are at it, let's take a look at the construction guide. It is composed of 13 steps printed on a large panoramic sheet of paper. I personnaly don't like this format since it takes away a lot of space on the workbench, but this is a matter of taste. The instructions are easy to follow and will guide you safely through the build. Also present are an history of the plane, a parts layout, a list of the color used (Aqueous Hobby Color and Mr. Color range of paints) as well as a painting and marking guide.

What's new in the kit?

The kit provides two new sprues. One, identified by the letter "K" is labelled "Fw190 F-8" while the second, identified by the letter "B" is labelled "Luftwaffe Set WWII". The first has new underwing access panels and the parts for the four ETC 50 underwing bomb racks - Rüstsatz 1 (R1). The second provides the SC 50 and SC 250 bombs. This sprue is part of the "Luftwaffe Pilot figures & Equipment set WWII".
As I said before, a new "blown hood" is also present, so I would say that if you want to build a Hasegawa Fw 190 A-8 kit, this kit is probably the best option as it provides the parts for both the A-8 and F-8 variants, which is not the case of the A-8 boxing.

Conclusion

Hasegawa's new range of Fw 190 kits is now almost complete. This is good news because they are excellent and easy to build. They don't have the same level of interior detail as the Eduard kits and don't feature separate controle surfaces neither, but if you want to have an "all closed" aircraft model, they are the way to go, along with the Tamiya kits. We should consider ourselves very fortunate to have the choice between so many Fw 190 kits, each having their qualities.

Hasegawa's Fw 190 F-8 was kindly provided for review by HobbyLink Japan. Visit HLJ for Japanese kits at Japanese prices.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.