Eduard FW190A-8 Weekend Edition
By Jacob Russell
The Plane
The Focke-Wulf FW190A-8 was a versatile fighter that saw extensive service with the Luftwaffe during the final battles of World War II. Powered by the BMW 801D-2 radial engine which turned the VDM 9-12176A 3 bladed propeller, the A-8 had armor plates added to the fuselage and canopy for extra protection in the Sturmbock role when attacking Allied bombers and their escort fighters high. It was heavily armed with 2 cowling-mounted MG131 machine guns, and 2 pairs of MG151/20 cannons, one mounted at the wing roots and another pair in the wings mid-span. The A-8 had the MW50 (Methanol Water) injection system, the larger 10.5m wing plus and the FuG 16ZZY radio and the FuG 25 IFF and the Pfeil G VI D/F loop.
The Kit
This is the Weekend Edition of the retooled Focke-Wulf FW190A-8. The A-8 kit is very comprehensive kit, consisting of 193 injection molded parts, both gray and clear, on 5 sprues. The fuselage and the wings have recessed rivets and panel lines and this surface detail is well done. The rivets in particular are spectacular and they will look great under carefully applied paint and thoughtful weathering. The cockpit is a busy, detailed assembly that will look great with an oil wash and some careful detail painting.
The 2 decal sheets (there is a smaller one for air frame stencils) are comprehensive and include 4 different decal options:
"Black Double Chevron", Hptm. Wilhelm Moritz, CO of IV. (Sturm)/JG 3, Memmingen, Germany, July 1944. This colorful A-8 and heavily armored was painted in the mid-War RLM 74/75/76 camouflage with a 74/75 mottle and white fuselage band. The spinner was black with a white spiral, the cowling and wingroots were black and the MG 131 machine guns were deleted. The canopy and windscreen carried armored glass.
"Yellow 2", W.Nr. 682181, Fw. Hubert Engst, 6.(Sturm)/JG 399, Löbnitz, Germany, early 1944. This A-8 was painted RLM 74/75/76 with a dense 74/75 mottle and a blue/white/blue fuselage band. The lower cowl was RLM 04 Yellow, the spinner was black with a white spiral and the MG 131 machine guns were deleted.
"Yellow 1", W. Nr. 681343, Obgefr. Karl Kleeman, 7.(Sturm)/JG 4, Welzow, Germany, September 1944. This A-8 Sturmbock was painted RLM 74/75/76 with a very dense 74/75 mottle and a black/white/black fuselage band. The lower cowl was RLM 04 Yellow, the spinner was black with a white spiral and the MG 131 machine guns were deleted. The canopy also had additional armor plated glass.
"Red 2", W. Nr. 739431, Ltn. Norbert Graziadei, 5.(Sturm)/JG 4, Löbnitz, Germany, October 1944. This A-8 Sturmbock was painted RLM 74/75/76 with a loose dense 74/75 mottle and a red fuselage band. The lower cowl was RLM 04 Yellow, the spinner was black with a white spiral and the MG 131 machine guns were deleted.
Eduard's instructions are well laid out. They include a parts map, a logical, illustrated assembly sequence, 7 color profiles and a stencil application guide. Color callouts are for GSI Creos (Gunze) Acqueos and Mr. Color and Mission Models paints.
Conclusion
Eduard's FW190A-8 is an outstanding kit. It's accurate and well detailed right out of the box and the marking options are all very interesting. The Weekend Edition features 4 color marking options and if you don't like these there are numerous aftermarket FW190A-8 decal sheets available. You can also increase the detail level by choosing from Eduard's many photo-etched and Brassin sets. I recommend this kit and I would like to thank Eduard for providing the review sample.
References
The Focke-Wulf FW190, Radial Engine Versions (including FW190A, B, C, F, G & S) , by Richard A. Franks, Valiant Wings Publishing, 2014