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1/24 Fw 190 D9 Frankfurt 1945 27th March update

Brokeneagle

Master at Arms
This will be my build of a 1/24 scale Trumpeter FW190 D9 that is being built in 'tandem' with my painting of the same subject found at the Franfurt- Rhein Main airfield in 1945. The unit was JG4 and the plane belonged to Major Biem, Geschwader Staff Flight Officer.
I wish to get the fuselage and gun bay built-up so that I can refer to the detail in perspective for my painting as the photos show basically nothing.
A quick overview of the damage
The photographs below represent a period of time that may very well be 18 Months to 2 years. I am not sure , however I have studied this plane from a number of angles and chased up about 10 photos to make sure I can weather the plane correctly for the time of 1945 and also complete the details on my painting as well.
D9_REFERENCE_SHEET_blogweb.jpg


As you can see the details change across the images so I think quite a period has gome by. On the earliest photo I have (from directly in front), there is very little damage except for some tearing of the rear flap canvas. Both wing MG covers are in place and the cowlings are untouched.
The markings and wing-flap canvas really seem to take a beating, while the souvenir hunters steadily strip back the panels. The rear Swastika seems to remain in very good condition while the fuselage crosses fade to nearly 'see through ' by the last photo. Cowling paint remains in good condition but the fuselage and spine color has faded rapidly, probably due to the contractor delivery system that was in place by the end of the war. A main contractor would have sprayed the cowling cammo and another the rear tail, while sub contractors would have completed the fuselage cammo and markings with a more inferior mix.
Because we know this is a JG4 plane, the spinner would be painted in a black with a white spiral line and the rear tail bands would be black-white-black.

The model

The Trumpeter kit itself is OK but very basic. I picked up some additional details that will be suplimented with some extra scratch work mainly on the gun bay area, cockpit and flap damage. I will also have to add a little extra where the eye can see in the panels I am stripping back.
This kind of takes me back to the last FW190 I had to mod extensively for my Dragon and the Wulfe dio, though it was in 1/32 scale. Nearly 20 years ago now!

20170906_183914web.jpg


First up I had to mark-up the panels that I would have to remove as per the photo.
The plastic is quite thick, so these required a considerable amount of scoring, after which I will need to thin back the leading edges so they are the correct thickness. The surface detail is quite nice with all the rivets and panel detail that can be enhanced at the paint stage.

cut_out_web1.jpg

cut_out_web2.jpg


The engine is very basic but it gives you a good starting point to build on. The joins between parts is quite hideous on the engine but overall the fit and shape are not effected - you just need some putty and plastic card.
Usual trumpeter. I was concerned about Trumpeters habit of smashing out huge ejector pin marks where you least need them but that hasn't been see much on this kit. The sparse detail on the engine is probably due to the fact that Trumpeter have closed up the detail (like they always do) and have supplied a basic engine for the modeler like me who wants to take it a few steps further and packaged the kit for the basic OOTB builder(though I would have thought that the people who approach the 1/24 subjects are looking to go deep due to the size).
engine_web1.jpg
engine_web2.jpg
engine_web3.jpg
engine_web4.jpg


Another project on the bench. See you with the next update and drop by my paint blog to get a look at the D9 progress in 2D.
 
Fw 190 D9 Frankfurt 1945

Oh man I am so full of popcorn. Going to have to get some Beef Nachos to watch this build :D
James
 
Fw 190 D9 Frankfurt 1945

LOL! Were your ears ringing Ian? Poppa Bob was talking about you (in a great way :D ) I always love to see builds of an actual scene. It will be really great to see what and how you do this!

:popcorn
 
Fw 190 D9 Frankfurt 1945

Nice start on a large kit! I remember my Airfix Fw 190... the Trumpeter 1/24th scale kit seems so much better!

Regards,
 
Fw 190 D9 Frankfurt 1945

Thought I heard someone say " STOP THE SHOW ! " , so here I am :popcorn

Takining notes :coolio . I do have a large scale Hasegawa waiting on me .

Cheers ,Christian B)
 
Fw 190 D9 Frankfurt 1945

:) :good:
Thanks everyone for stopping by and checking this one get the 'props started' so to speak. This will be my Xmas holiday project as I have a multi - part article to do for a local magazine here, linking my model and the progress on the painting.
I just need to get moving on the model. At least I won't have to do much research work as it has all been done, especially the paint scheme, as I had to work that out to finish the main D9 for the art work.
I will be back soon but I have to get the art work completed for printing in the next 2 days, then I can concentrate on this.

Thanks again everyone for the encouragement and interest.

Ian. :pilot
 
Fw 190 D9 Frankfurt 1945

Really looking forward to this, Ian. Best wishes! :drinks
 
27 FEB UPDATE - Fw 190 D9 Frankfurt 1945

Hello everyone,
finally back to update my FW build as it has gone to print as part 1 in the latest issue of the Ozzie Model art magazine.
I have begun to remove the sections of plastic that match the photo's (somewhat).
The first photo shows the removed section of engine cowling that I thought was enough to expose detail without wrecking the look of the nose from one side. These cowls take a lot of scoring due to the thickness of the plastic and the curvature of the panel so care is needed in cutting out the panel and then thinning the exposed edges to look in scale for aluminium.

DSC02467.jpg


Then the gun bay front covers on the wings.....
20180117_180346.jpg


I have also marked up the wing flaps, propellers and nose cone ready for the battle damage as well as replacing the plastic gun barrels with the new 2 piece Brass ones from Master.
20180114_120843.jpg


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The engine assembly support arms will need some fill at the back as after a lot of scrutinizing over photos, I noticed that they were not completely solid. I thought at first that the kit was wrong as I had a number of line drawings showing the support as completely solid, but further research has shown that there is variation (maybe due to refinement) where some had the visible circle pattern set into a solid metal base as with this one [on close inspection]. So i will have to fill from the rear and leave the pattern at the front.

engine_support.jpg


I have also started to add some details to the gun bay wall on the cowling which will be made up of various borrowed and scratched items.
20180114_121751_001.jpg


The rear tail wheel assembly has also been improved with some scratch work ....
DSC02450.jpg

DSC02451.jpg

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I'm only improving what can be seen. The large piece of white card is there to cover the mold release punch marks, just in case I want to expose this area a little by having the access door on the tail slightly ajar.
Back very soon with more damage and mayhem!

Ian.
 
27 FEB UPDATE - Fw 190 D9 Frankfurt 1945

Excellent.

Really courious how you handle the torn fabric of the control surfaces. :popcorn
 
1/24 Fw 190 D9 Frankfurt 1945 27 Feb update

Always a well researched and thought out process . (y) (y) (y)

I like it a lot . Cheers, Christian B)
 
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