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HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype.- COMPLETED.

Posted By: Ajay

HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype.- COMPLETED. - 07/23/19 11:12 AM

I had this one on my shop wish list for a few months now and while browsing BNA Models i saw they had one, and only one! pop up in stock. I had to grab it! I'll do this one in between breaking items on my Warspite.

So, interesting plane. Big four bladed prop, the belly slung scoop for the turbo intake and cooler, the longer nose and larger tail and of course the massive exhaust pipes that run down the fuselage to the belly scoop. I've always liked the 190 series and this one with it's Mad Max addons just looks cool, like a mutant Mustang. Some words on the plane..

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The Fw-190 had an Achilles heel: lack of high altitude performance.

The first attempt to deal with this problem was introduced in late 1942, when the Fw-190 V13, a modification of the 29th Fw-190A-0 airframe was flown with nitrous oxide, known as GM1. This was disappointing, insomuch as it only raised the effective combat altitude to 26,000 feet, and only for the brief period that the GM-1 could be injected; additionally, the weight of the GM-1 system, with compressed air cylinders and heavy pressurized tank, was nearly as much as the total armament of the fighter.

Kurt Tank was convinced that the problem could never be solved with the BMW 801 radial engine. Tank favored the Daimler-Benz DB 603, which was looked on with disfavor by the Reichluftfartsministerium (RLM), who informed Tank he should use either the BMW 801 or the Jumo 213, which had just entered series production. This would be a fight that Tank would carry on for the rest of the development of the Fw-190 series.Tank proposed the Fw-190B, which would use the BMW 801; the Fw-190C, using the DB 603; and the Fw-190D, powered by the Jumo 213 engine. While the Fw-190D elicited the most promising response from the RLM, it was agreed that Tank could construct a series of prototypes of the DB 603-powered Fw-190C.

The GM-1 test vehicle, the V13, and a second pre-prototype, the V15, were flown in April 1942. Built from a Fw-190A series airframes, the fuselage was lengthened 2 feet, 2.5 inches, to accommodate the DB 603 engine, which was some 300 lbs. lighter than the BMW 801. The first genuine built-from-the-ground-up prototype of the C series was the Fw-190C-0 V18. Initially, all three lacked both a pressurized cabin and turbosupercharger, but these were added during the summer of 1942. Using MW 50 and GM 1 experimental systems, the V16 achieved 450 m.p.h. at 22,500 feet, and a climb rate of 4,330 ft/min utilizing MW 50 injection. In October 1942 the airplane was being regularly flown at 39,000 feet.

The Technisches Amt required an operational altitude of 40,000 feet. In November 1942, the V18 was fitted with the DVL TK-11 turbocompressor, resulting in a change in designation to Fw-190C-0 V18/U1. The TK-11 was mounted ventrally - which was what led to the unofficial nickname of "Kangaruh" (Kangaroo) - with the hot exhaust gases being led back over the wing in external pipes. The DB 603 was rated at 1,900 h.p. for takeoff and 1,560 h.p. at 24,000 feet; with the TK-11, 1,600 h.p. was available at 35,000 feet. A 4-blade wooden paddle prop was adopted to improve high altitude acceleration. In May 1943, a broad-chord fin and pressure cabin were added. By this time five further airframes had been built as C-series prototypes.

Pressure cabin trials were delayed constantly by failures of cockpit panels and valves, along with the need to continually replace the rubber packing pieces sealing the canopy. Throughout 1943, teething troubles plagued the turbocompressor system in all the Fw-190C prototypes, with the most constant failure being the inability of the pipes carrying the exhaust gases to withstand the high temperatures generated. By the autumn of 1943, it was tacitly accepted by both the RLM and Focke-Wulf that the turbocompressors required more time-consuming development before they would attain sufficient reliability to allow operational use. The Fw-190C series was then deleted from further development, though the five surviving prototypes were used for continued turbocompressor development.



Here's the box art and paint sheet, i haven't done a HobbyBoss yet but on a first look at the sprues, she looks really nice. I'll post some sprues once i actually get cracking on it.


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I also grabbed some Vallejo aluminium and i'll give the Humbrol masking fluid a shot on this canopy.

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The real deal

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Should be an interesting build and sit nicely alongside my 190A8.




Posted By: Nixer

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 07/25/19 04:40 PM

Wow.

A really unique subject for a model Ajay.

Have fun, and I am sure us armchair drollers will enjoy watching.
Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 07/25/19 11:46 PM

Definitely a cool spin on the 190. I'm looking forward to how the aluminium goes on and finishes off myself, fingers crossed.
Posted By: carrick58

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 07/26/19 12:17 AM

Cool
Posted By: goon

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 07/26/19 08:50 AM

A very interesting type this. Maskol doesn't work for me on canopies, it tends to stretch the paint and lift it a bit, producing a ragged. It might my preferred brands (glossy Xtracolour) though, so give it a whirl on a test piece. (I do use it for very small spots where the mask hasn't quite fitted properly, but big lines tend to not be as sharp as tape.) As ever, your mileage may vary. thumbsup
Posted By: BD-123

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 07/26/19 10:32 AM

Looks like the #%&*$# child of a P51 and FW190 with an SE5 exhaust!
Posted By: KraziKanuK

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 07/26/19 02:06 PM

The V18, WNr 0040, was the prototype for the Fw190C. It then became the V18/U1 with the addition of the Hirth turbocharger and then the V18/U2 as a prototype for the Ta152H-1.

There was also the V29, WNr 0054, similar to the V18/U1 but with a pressurized cockpit. The V30, V31 and V32 were similar to the V29. The V31 crashed and the other 3 were converted to prototype Ta152Hs with the /U1 designation.
Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 07/27/19 02:17 AM

Originally Posted by goon
A very interesting type this. Maskol doesn't work for me on canopies, it tends to stretch the paint and lift it a bit, producing a ragged. It might my preferred brands (glossy Xtracolour) though, so give it a whirl on a test piece. (I do use it for very small spots where the mask hasn't quite fitted properly, but big lines tend to not be as sharp as tape.) As ever, your mileage may vary. thumbsup


I've a left over bubble top type canopy from my last FW build so that's my tester. As usual i see some people swearing by it and others hating on it online so i guess it lies somewhere in the middle lol. Apparently it destroys paint brushes as well smile
Posted By: goon

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 07/27/19 09:38 AM

I think it will depend on the paint you use. It’s hopeless with stuff like Xtracolour enamels, but I had no choice but to use it on the Mazda engine block and it worked very well with Alclad metals. Don’t let it near any good brushes! I haven’t found a solvent for it yet, and I’ve got some VERY nasty ones. For big areas I apply with a cotton bud.
Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 07/27/19 12:44 PM

Cheers for the heads up, i'll use the ex wifes brushes wink


So into it. First steps were to putty up a few bits. The cowl has gun ports that need to be removed and filled, as do the wing gun ports, the lower nose scoop, belly scoop and wing joins. The lower nose section had a small sink section on either side and across the top of the mouth that needed work.

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The cowl ports that will be removed and filled.

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and my splotty work. The Tamiya putty dries in an instant so i have got used to making a bit of a mess with it initially. I also accidentally filled the outer hole on the wing before i realised it needed to be there and dug out the putty smile

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The scoop, very cool.

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Sanded and primed and left to sit overnight. I really want to paint the cowl tomorrow so i can see how the Vallejo aluminium looks.

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Gun ports need another light pass but the wing seams came up sweet.

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Compared to the 190 A8

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And i don't need to make the flap ribs this time around as this kit has the flaps as seperate pieces with at least some detail.

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I'm up in the air atm about making another set of home made seat belts, i might flip a coin. This fairly basic kit with only three sprues feels like it is missing at least another four or five hundred parts after the Warspite. It doesn't have a supplied engine, not that you see them anyway but does come with the turbo and some small detail jammed on a firewall in front of the pilot.



Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 07/29/19 11:22 AM

Made a set of seat belts, the cockpit looked too bare otherwise, what you will see of it. There is sttill one more instrument panel to go in and the pit is done. The instrument decals wouldn't line up with the moulded gauges so i just centred them, next time i will scrape the mould flat.

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The Vallejo aluminium came up neat, sprayed awesome straight out of the bottle which was a nice surprise. This is two coats so far, i need to give the belly scoop another sand and putty at the front and the centreline again and then recoat it. The under cowl scoop moulding issue came up good though.

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Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 07/30/19 12:02 PM

Turbo time!

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You will only a small glimpse of this setup through the wheel wells.


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Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/01/19 12:09 PM

Exhaust pipes. Drilled out the ends of both.

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Mixed up some silver and Dark Iron, unsure if it is dark enough yet. This pic is under a hard white light so it shows more silver. Up against some of the other pieces i have painted pure silver it looks alright though, i need to check it once it all dries tomorrow.

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Had a weird one with an airleron, i had it sitting in place to glue and once the glue ran down into the two tabs they instantly snapped. It had a small amount of pressure on it but no more than the opposite side which was perfectly fine. Anyway, some trimming up and some Zapagap, a small amount of putty and it came good. Just strange.

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Wheels, one dirty one clean. They both need a flat area sanded into them still.

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Filled the seam along the nose, man, i am terrible with that putty, i get it everywhere and create work for myself. I wacked up the piece behind the seat out of card to cover a large hole as the kit does not supply the part. It ain't great, but it'll do.


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Primed. I spent 30 minutes after this fixing that over puttied join on the gun cowl which i really should have done right before priming.

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Posted By: carrick58

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/01/19 09:55 PM

looking good
Posted By: KraziKanuK

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/02/19 10:02 AM

Coming along nicely.

Is that an optical illusion, trailing edge of port aileron near its outboard end?
Posted By: oldgrognard

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/02/19 11:39 AM

I think it is a white mark on the desk below the aileron. So it has the appearance that there is a bump on the actual model.
Posted By: KraziKanuK

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/02/19 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by oldgrognard
I think it is a white mark on the desk below the aileron. So it has the appearance that there is a bump on the actual model.


Looking closer, seems to be the corner of the object holding up the wing.
Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/02/19 11:57 AM

Yes, it's the Tamita Markfit decal solution bottle biggrin
Posted By: KraziKanuK

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/02/19 12:12 PM

Just be more careful with the placement of your support objects from now on. neaner
Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/03/19 12:38 AM

It gets worse, i really need to look at investing in some of stand , you'll see what i mean when i post some wip painting pics.
Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/03/19 11:40 AM

For some reason a bunch of pics i took came out in 800 by 390, like this...

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Maybe my phone doesn't like me anymore, so i miss a few steps here to do with preshading and some layers as i was spraying the main colour.

Mucking around with the wheel covers deciding on whether i wanted a more greenish tinge or not. The later war RLM02 varies widely depending on what you read, who has done the research, retouched photos, age of photos...and then you have what was available with paint at the time, who was mixing it, where it was sprayed etc etc. There are some crazy threads about Luftwaffe colours with some rather angry people in them biggrin I just went with what seems to pass the eye test and then dabbled with single drip of paint either way to see how much of a difference it would make.

First off, absolutely terrible pic but good enough to see the difference a drop makes. The left one, as you look at it, is 5 drops XF22 ( Tamiya labels it as RLM grey) and 4 drops XF49 (Khaki). The right one is 4 and 4. The majority of Tamiya mixes seem to go with 1:1 but i went with a half drop to drop more of the grey depending on how much i mixed. The 1:1 was really khaki, and i just didn't really like it against the silver. Plus one of those RLM nuts may see this one day and blow a fuse wink


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So anyway, all that fun aside, on with it. Nearly ready to peel off the masking. I did a semi clear coat before i pulled the tape off because i wasn't sure if the clear may affect the silver. This is pre clear. Please don't mention the rear gun cowl seam clag, i still have to fix that and it irks me.


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Preshading shows through depending on the light and angle. I'm unsure if i like the effect but i wanted to try it out as my last attempt on the other FW was hidden by me laying on too much paint.


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Touch ups.


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Bit unsightly where i touched up some of the cowl tabs, hopefully i can remedy it tomorrow.


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Prop, spinner and belly scoop. The hub on the prop will be silvered. The green is supposedly RLM70, i just went for a straight XF27 which is Tamiyas black/green.


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As it sits atm with the cowl and scoops as yet unglued. I'm up in the air about doing any post shading type work on the silver as i am too worried i may ruin it, but it is lacking in any depth. I did attempt a thin bead of Tamiya smoke on the silver but it turned out rubbish, it's that janky looking mess at the rear of the lower front cowl scoop where it meets the front of the wheel wells and I'll have to respray that section tomorrow. This pic more than the others shows off the colour nearly spot on.


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Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/05/19 07:31 AM

Exhausts and the last piece of turbo piping.

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Prop

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Wheels needed correcting as the stubs locate them straight and not angled. I've seen a bunch of builds with the wheels left as if and they just look weird. Bit of fiddly chopping and sanding had them corrected.


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The remaining pieces to go on plus painting the canopy and decals.


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edit- Canopy, just knocked off for the night.


Masked and sprayed, couple of small edges that will clean up easy with a toothpick.


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Realising i painted the rear canopy the wrong colour, two drops of silver in the brush and fixed. Didn't bother use the Maskol product i bought either, wasn't needed.


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Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/11/19 08:32 AM

Finito!

As usual, had some issues biggrin Put a big glue mark on the side of the fuselage when i was trying ever so gently to do the exhaust piping, bit of ca on my thumb and insta mess. I managed to sand most of it off with 1500 and then the remainder was nicely hidden under the gloss and then semi gloss when i was doing the decals. Scratched the canopy in a few places but no biggie. Still struggling a bit with the clear coat prior to decals, i need to sort that side of it out as some of them are a bit silvered. The kit does not supply the wing tab decals in red, only in white which i have left off until i get a a spare red set...or decide to put the white ones on.

Went out and purchased an Ikea cabinet (only $99!) to hopefully lighten the dust load on my models and managed to get in and out of the place in under twenty minutes. Got to be a record huh. Have a stack of pics and i could not decide which ones i liked the most, so i'll dump 'em all.


In her new home

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The colour changes so much, no wonder everyone struggles when trying to identify colours from 70 year old pictures.

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I was thinking at one stage to leave the decals off as she looked pretty racy!!

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I'm glad i did the seatbelts.

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Same shot as above but with the reflection uncropped.

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I was going to go darker with the pipes but happy that i didn't, i think the colour turned out well. Reminds me of factory exhaust manifolds on my old V8s.

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With her stablemate.

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And of course, the cabinet. These plus the Warspite is a years worth of modelling, how time flies hey! I think three more of these cabinets along the wall would be neat. Easy enough to bracket them together and make a solid unit, also easy enough to use a metal clip on the bars to add more shelves if need be, i sort of like the big space uncluttered look though. That poor old Sherman is looking a bit surrounded, some Allied air on the horizon soon, well maybe a 109 first wink


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Posted By: goon

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/11/19 10:18 AM

That looks really nice. A very interesting machine, and well displayed with the other FW190 so you can see the modifications to good effect. Your metallic work is very good, the piping looks great.
Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/11/19 11:04 AM

Thanks Goon smile Couple of issues but i am getting better at not being so ham fisted. I'm nearly more excited that i don't have to dust them weekly than finishing the kit lol.
Posted By: RSColonel_131st

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/11/19 05:08 PM

Very nice job, and I agree it grows in presence by being next to the earlier version.
Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/12/19 10:19 AM

Thanks Colonel. I think a D9 and Ta152 would look nice to complete a series of Focke Wulfs.
Posted By: Mad Max

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/12/19 11:30 PM

You sir, are a true craftsman. Those models are museum quality. I speak as an ex-modeller.
Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/13/19 01:29 AM

Thanks Max! I'm getting old enough to be put in a museum soon biggrin
Posted By: Mad Max

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/13/19 01:32 AM

Aren't we all. biggrin
Posted By: carrick58

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/13/19 11:56 PM

WOW. JUST SUPER WORK
Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/14/19 09:55 AM

Thanks Carrick, glad you liked it!
Posted By: oldgrognard

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/14/19 12:02 PM

You do have a talent for model building.
Posted By: Alicatt

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/14/19 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by oldgrognard
You do have a talent for model building.

That he has,

Looks great Ajay, I've seen less well built models in some museums, you have some great skills there.
Posted By: adlabs6

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype. - 08/14/19 11:07 PM

Very nice, clean work.

It is surprising how the colors change with angle and lighting!
Posted By: Ajay

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype.- COMPLETED. - 08/16/19 10:43 AM

Thanks again all, i'm glad you all appreciate my work, really smile

adlabs, that continually blows me away as well. I know i've mentioned it a few times but i do really need to sort out a lightbox setup to get more consistent pictures. I think another issue is the lack of a quality camera, everything is taken on an S8 which is decent but not on near the same level as a decent camera. The camera will have to wait though, probably the best thing i could get atm that would help is one of those phone tripods and do my pictures on a timer to at least get my shots stabilised.
Posted By: KraziKanuK

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype.- COMPLETED. - 08/16/19 04:11 PM

To appreciate Ajay's workmanship even more, the wingspan of his A-8 is 8.6" (218mm), length 7.4" (188mm).
Posted By: Dart

Re: HobbyBoss Fw190 V18. High altitude prototype.- COMPLETED. - 08/19/19 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by Mad Max
You sir, are a true craftsman. Those models are museum quality. I speak as an ex-modeller.


I'm not a modeler, but I concur completely.
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