Today we feature model kit team member Glen H's superbly done Luftwaffe warbird! Take it away Glen!

Hasegawa have been producing a range of 1/32 scale aircraft kits for well over 40 years giving us a an excellent range of aircraft including Zero's, P-40’s, Me109’s, P-47’s, Ki-44’s and their FW190’s. Hasegawa’s approach to production is simple; Accuracy, minimal parts and affordability. In this case, our focus is their FW190D-9 kit that was released in 2003, which was at the time all new tooling. When I first opened the box I noticed recessed panel lines, fine details, crisp molding and a well engineered part layout and breakdown, pointing to Hasegawa’s usual commitment to produce as many sub-variants as possible.

The FW190 aircraft in general was one of the most feared aircraft of WWII. Known as the “Wurger,” or “Butcher-bird” to many allied pilots, it’s designer Kurt Tank introduced the fighter to the Luftwaffe in 1941 as the “A” variant. When Tank proposed the concept to the Luftwaffe, his design was excepted because it was designed around a radial engine which was less in demand.

The “D” variant, better know as the “Dora,” was introduced in 1944 and was fitted with an in-line engine gaving the fuselage an extra 4 feet. This also made the aircraft more streamlined. It was considered by many of its pilots as the finest aircraft Germany had ever produced. Adolf Galland, General of the Luftwaffe, insisted all single engine fighter aircraft be cancelled in favour of the FW190. In fact, the late General Chuck Yeager who tested the aircraft after WWII claimed “It was the best German piston-engine fighter I ever flew!” With three 20mm MG 151 canons, a liquid cooled V-12 engine, and a top speed of 426 mph at 21,665 ft, the FW190D was a masterpiece of German engineering.

Although there is an abundance of after market accessories for this kit, I decided to only to keep the budge at a minimum and “enhance it” with a few additional accessories. The fit of this kit was excellent with only minimal filler used, mostly along the wing root and wing to fuselage join. I added seatbelts from Eduard’s 1/32 German Seatbelt set (ED32-867) which were pre-coloured, adding only a brown wash to enhance them. Unlike the radial versions, the 190D’s rear engine bay can be clearly seen through the undercarriage. Although detail here is very good, I decided to add additional wiring and piping. Going by my references, I added various electrical and plumbing using various diameters of wire and soldering wire. I also added electrical wiring to the undercarriage bay area. I drilled out all machine gun barrels for realism, sprayed them gloss black, then sprayed them with AK Interactive’s Xtreme metal Gun metal (AK483), followed by steel highlights with an artists pencil.

As usual, Gunze’s range of shades never fail. After spraying Tamiya’s grey fine primer undercoat, I applied a pre-shade on all the panel lines using Gunze dark grey a dark H401. Then I used Gunze H417 RLM 76 light blue for the underbelly surfaces. For the upper camouflage surfaces, I used H69 RLM 75 grey-violet and H423 RLM 83 dark green. The tail was the only area I didn’t use Gunze, and there’s a reason for this. When it comes to “yellow,” I have always preferred warmer tones. Although Gunze’s RLM 04 (H413) is quite accurate, I decided to use Vallejo’s game air shade sun yellow (AV72706) which gave it a “warmer” effect I was looking for. To achieve a “fading” effect on the camouflage, I added 10% flesh to each colour to lighten each tone before spraying light mist coats until the desired effect was achieved.

The kit came with 3 colour schemes including JV.44, famous for it’s underwing red and white stripe patten. However, I decided to use Eagle Cals “Yellow Tailed D-9s of JG 54,26 and 2,” a set I purchased from Aeroworks a year ago. After four cups of coffee, I chose “Red 1” flown by Oblt. Hans Dortemann of JG54. Although the decals were of excellent quality, they were a little on the thick side and took quite a bit of Tamiya strong setting solution to get them to sink into the recesses. I did however use the kits stencil decals which were acceptable.

Finally, I weathered the aircraft using various shades of Abteilung 502 oils by adding small dots of paint followed by “streaking back” with a flat 04 brush dampened with Tamiya enamel thinners. Scratch marks were added with lighter shades of each colour, either using a 5/0 brush or tiny pieces of sponge. The antenna was created using fine EZ Line (EZ 00001). All in all, Hasegawa’s FW190D-9 is an excellent kit with only minimal work to bring it to an impressive kit. Even though 32nd scale aircraft are not my cup of tea, for shear size and detail, they are certainly impressive and certain to catch anyones eye. And if you really want to go to town with this baby, there are plenty of after market accessories to give this beast the “wow” factor! Highly recommended.

If you're keen on building a smaller FW-190 D-9 in 1/48, its available from Tamiya right here > - Editor