The Fw190, a popular kit by Eduard

There is no need to present the Fw190 or the Eduard kit anymore. If you want to learn more about the various releases made by Eduard of this emblematic German WWII fighter (one, if not the most popular kit designed by the Czech manufacturer), please refer to the numerous reviews already published on the subject here on Aeroscale:
- Fw 190 A-5
- Fw 190 A-6
- Fw 190 A-8
- Fw 190 A-8 (revised edition)
- Fw 190 A-8/R-2
- Fw 190 F-8
- Fw 190 Nightfighter

Fw 190 Grünherz Dual Combo

This "Grünherz" Dual Combo is the 11th release in the Fw190A family of kits (5 Profipacks, 2 Dual Combos, 3 Week-End Editions and one Royal Class boxing), but the first one to feature the parts to do all the variants altogether: A-5, A-6 and A-8. If you use aftermarket decals it is even possible to do an A-7 or an A-8/R2. For the latter you will have to scratch build the additional cockpit side armor plates though.

Below is a list of what exactly is included in a big "Royal Class" size box:
- 17 sprues of olive green colored injected plastic.
- 2 sprues of transparent plastic.
- 2 photo etched frets of which one is pre-painted.
- 1 sheet of pre-cut masks (for two models).
- 1 instruction booklet.
- 4 decal sheets.
- 1 Grünherz pin.

The total count of plastic parts is over 400! This is because Eduard's Fw190A kit features full engine, armament bays and landing gear details, but also because a lot of parts provided are optional (over 70) or won't be used depending on the choice of markings, the use of photo etched parts or the way one wants to depicts the aircraft (engine and armament access panels open or closed). This means plenty of possibilities and plenty of parts for the spare box. In fact if you have an older Trimaster/Dragon kit of the Würger in your stash, you may well be able to replace half of it's parts with leftovers from this Eduard kit!

Two A-5/6 fuselages and upper wings are provided (a pair of sprue A), as well as one fuselage and upperwings for the A-8 variant (a single sprue C). No less than 4 underwing parts are provided: one for the A-5 (sprue D), one for the A-8 (sprue E) and two for the A-6 (sprue F with late style landing gear bay opening and sprue G with early style landing gear bay openings). This means that one can only build the following combinations from the parts of this boxing:
- An A-5 and an A-6
- An A-5 and an A-8
- An A-6 and an A-8

If you want to do two aircraft of the same type, you will need to modify the kits part's in various ways or add/remove some panel lines or access hatches.

The kit comprises two photo etched frets for additional details. Some of the metal parts are pre-painted (seat belts, instrument panels and side consoles, etc...). I found it odd that two pairs of side consoles for the A-8 variant are present since one can only do one aircraft of such type. But I guess more is better than less.

Instructions and decals

The instructions are an A4 sized 24 pages booklet of which some pages are printed in color. It comprises a history of the JG54 "Grünherz" (Green Heart) unit in both English and Czech language, a parts layout diagram, a color table (Gunze), a 12 pages instructions guide, a one page mask application guide, 10 pages of color and decal guides (4 view drawings) and one page with a stencil marking placement guide.

Here is the list of the 10 marking options:
A - Fw 190A-5, W.Nr. 01501501, 1./JG 54, Oblt. Walter Nowotny, Krasnogvardeisk Area, Russia, August, 1943
B - Fw 190A-5, Oblt. Max Stotz, 5./JG 54, Russia, Spring, 1943
C - Fw 190A-5, I./JG 54 (Jabo), Soviet Union, Summer, 1943
D - Fw 190A-6 W.Nr. 550885, Lt. Hans Dortenmann, 2./JG 54, Russia, February, 1944
E - Fw 190A-6, 1./JG 54, Russia, Summer, 1943
F - Fw 190A-6, W. Nr. 550889, Uffz. Heribert Koller, 5./JG 54, Immola, Finland, June, 1944
G - Fw 190A-6, W.Nr. 550528, Maj. Erich Rudorffer, CO of II./JG 54, Immola, Finland, Summer, 1944
H - Fw 190A-8, Lt. Hans Dortenmann, 2./JG 54, Villacoublay, France, June, 1944
I - Fw 190A-8, 9./JG 54, Villacoublay, France, Summer, 1944
J - Fw 190A-8, 13./JG 54, Villacoublay, France, 1944-45

I won't comment on the various paintshemes. If you want to learn more about each aircraft, please visit the official Eduard website (direct link below). A detailed explanation for each aircraft is provided there:
- Fw190A Grünherz Dual Combo info page

The 4 decal sheets have been printed by Eduard. The biggest one carries the black crosses, the swastikas, some spinner spirals and some numbers. It is only black & white. The smaller sheet carries the unit markings and individual numbers of the aircraft and has been printed in color. The last two sheets carry the stencil data decals. Everything was well printed and in perfect registration in my sample.

Conclusion

So far, this is the most complete boxing Eduard made of their Fw190 A kit. Covering the A-5, A-6 and A-8 variants, specialists of Kurt Tank's famous fighter will love it, as it provides a good base for almost every late A variant of the Würger, even the A-7 and the A-8/R2 with some minor modifications and aftermarket decals. I can only recommend it to experienced modelers though as the Eduard kit doesn't build itself and requires great care and precision during the assembly.

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