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..
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.
I also grabbed some Vallejo aluminium and i'll give the Humbrol masking fluid a shot on this canopy.
The real deal
Should be an interesting build and sit nicely alongside my 190A8.
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..
Quote
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.
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.
I also grabbed some Vallejo aluminium and i'll give the Humbrol masking fluid a shot on this canopy.
The real deal
Should be an interesting build and sit nicely alongside my 190A8.