Revell 1/32 Fw 190 F8 (new tool)

[Stokesy44]

Picked up this beauty this time last year after seeing it reviewed in Airfix's monthly magazine.

Its been sitting quietly in my stash since then. Over the last month I've gone a bit barmy on buying 1/32 kits so I thought I had better make a start. First in first out so here we go.

Very nice box art with Revell's current thing of the box opening at the side - a proper PITA but easily remedied, see below:



Treated myself to a little bit of aftermarket. Eduard interior cockpit set and set of PE seat belts. And a set of Montex masks for the canopy and major markings. The markings are the black outline only type so I really fancy using the masks on this baby.



As already mentioned the box opens at the end rather than a lid lifter. PITA solved by transferring all parts to my Tamiya JT box -



There's a lot of plastic and mean A LOT! mostly wrapped in separate bags which is nice






The plastic looks good too. Good detail, matt finish and very little flash. Something cool I've spotted, the guns have hollowed out barrels at the tips, very nice with a little dry brushing but lets not get ahead of ourselves!




And we're off! Started on the PE in the cockpit. Seat backing and rear section done. Looks quite tasty which is a good start. Next up will be more of the PE which needs to be done before painting. IP and side consoles will be done after painting as they are coloured.




Its good to get going again. Lacked a bit of mojo after finishing my JT so its good to back in the saddle

[Vleugelmoer]

Looks like a decent kit from Revell for a change, hope for you that looks don't deceive and it all comes together properly. Look forward to watching it come to completion.

[Stokesy44]

Looks like a decent kit from Revell for a change, hope for you that looks don't deceive and it all comes together properly. Look forward to watching it come to completion.

I know what you mean. Its not a maker I tend to look at but the review was very positive and I've read good things about it on the net. Eduard have chucked a load of aftermarket at it so they must think its a good seller. Their Brassin range - resin engine, machine guns and cockpit - the works. I only bought a few bits of after market for it but could easily spent twice I paid for the kit!

But as you say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I'll see how the build goes. Adding to the potential for slip ups is I have never built a 190 before so it could be a perfect storm! I've built loads of aircraft but the butcher bird has never made it on to the bench before.

[Vleugelmoer]

I have built the rebox of the special hobby P-39 that came out in 2013 and that was a decent enough kit oob. It was lacking the photo etch that was included in the original. So I have that one now on the bench for my long term project of a Pacific P-400 in PNG 1942/3 ish.

what I've seen in the pictures posted so far it is all coming together so far at least. Hope that flow continues

[Stokesy44]

Had a good crack at the cockpit. Worked through most of the PE and got some paint down.

Upper and lower instrument panels done



Cockpit tub and seat painted. I've scratched the paint off where the PE side panels will go. They're self-adhesive so I want a good surface for them to suck down on.



Sidewalls done showing the nice PE inserts for the internal ribbing



Ultimate dark dirt done and wiped. Dirt on the floor in front of the rudder pedals. Dry brushed with dark aluminium. Seat harness done and weathered. Lower IP panel fitted





Its a nice fit against the fuselage although once its all together I don't know how much will be seen. Still, its all in there, regardless.




Progress has been pretty slow but once the upper instrument panel shroud and gunsight is done, that's the cockpit finished. After that its the tail wheel then I can put the fuselage together. Wings and u/c bays after that then its on to that big lump of an engine.

[CharleyGnarlyP290]

Good looking stuff so far.
I have that kit as well. One of two models I have in my "stash." Wait, I have three kits in my stash.
Anyway, I am almost finished with the Bf109 new tool Revell kit, and I can vouch for the quality of their new kits. Things fit like they are supposed to, and very little cleanup to do.
You have inspired me with this one, Stokesy44. I think I may go gung-ho on some after market. I generally do OOB, but have been wanting to do some extra stuff on a build and this stuff looks good.

[Kevthemodeller]

I'm going to watch this build, who knows I may get tempted to build an aircraft

[mick]

good work on the pit

[Stokesy44]

Good looking stuff so far.
I have that kit as well. One of two models I have in my "stash." Wait, I have three kits in my stash.
Anyway, I am almost finished with the Bf109 new tool Revell kit, and I can vouch for the quality of their new kits. Things fit like they are supposed to, and very little cleanup to do.
You have inspired me with this one, Stokesy44. I think I may go gung-ho on some after market. I generally do OOB, but have been wanting to do some extra stuff on a build and this stuff looks good.

Thanks mate.

I'm very selective with after market. Its easy to spend way too much with all the choice out there. I try to think, will it really benefit the kit? Clearly it needed a harness and replacing the side and instrument panels was a luxury. The original IP instruments were way over scale in depth and the kit supplied decal would have been a nightmare. The side panels are the real treat and will be nice and visible when the kit is completed. Eduard do complete replacements for the cockpit, gun deck and engine in their Brasin range but we're talking silly money
I'm sure they're amazing but I'm too tight!

[Stokesy44]

good work on the pit

Thanks mate

I'm going to watch this build, who knows I may get tempted to build an aircraft

You feel the pull to the light side! I used to only build aircraft but I got into armour when I came back to the hobby a year ago. I like the pace of an armour build, you go all in on construction and then bang you've got this magnificent chunk of plastic begging to be painted. Aircraft are more stop start, paint the cockpit, then stop to put the fuselage together, back to painting with the wheel bays, maybe construction of the engine followed by more painting. Its a real ebb and flow deal. Its nice to mix it up and its a great way of maintaining the enthusiasm levels. It can also be fun to have one of each on the go at once. Get stuck into a tank for a day or so while the primer on the aircraft cures. All that good stuff!

[Smiffy]

That's one good looking pit and those side panels really do set it all off nicely too.

[Stokesy44]

Things are moving along now.

Because there's no real front end to the fuselage, the kit basically goes together from the tail forwards. Once the tail wheel strut is on, you are supposed to glue the instrument shroud to one side of the fuselage then put the 2 halves together. The shroud connects to the other side of the fuselage and holds the front together. Once that's done you insert the cockpit tub and start on the wings, forward gun deck and engine mounts. The problem is the instrument shroud is too narrow and doesn't sit down the centre line of the fuselage if you glue it to one side of it.

The solution was to glue the fuselage together at the rear without it then secure the front end by gluing the gun deck and rear gun deck plate on to brace the forward section. That way the fuselage is glued front and rear and the fuselage sides around the cockpit (particularly where the windscreen will sit) are the right distance from each other.

This worked and I then inserted the cockpit tub. The IP shroud I then glued to the rear of the gun deck plate taking care to centre it.




I then went to work on the wings and engine mount. it all sits on a stout panel that forms the rear of the wheel bays with a central piece that holds the ammo containers and the gun mounts. The wheel bays are glued on then its time for the internal frame and engine mount. It looks really flimsy but once the mounting ring is on it locks it and the whole thing is pretty solid.




The fuselage then 'drops' onto the structure and you glue the rear of the structure to the gun deck and the bottom of the fuselage sides to the interior surface of the lower wing. This all sounds fraught with trouble but it does all fit together nicely. The fuselage sides are then glued to the braces on the edges of the engine mount and everything is as it should be.

This is the test fit. Once glued the fuselage sides will be tight to the engine mount.




Painting time. Tamiya cockpit green cut with white 60/40 and varnished with Aqua Gloss prior to washing.





All glued together now



I'll do the detail painting later, washing and drybrushing of the fuselage engine bay and wheel bays.

The wings are a pretty good fit but its here you notice the little imprecisions versus say Tamiya's 1/32 offerings. The plastic fights you a little, not a full on knock down drag out battle like the old days of Revell, more of a petulant shake of the head when you try to line up the seams and get flat to flat joins to sit right. I have no issue with this given the cost of the kit but its important to know what you're working with. Its still a nice fit in the end once you win the little tussle it gives you!




Just a very small amount of filler on both sides and that's purely seam filling. Everything sits right and level - that's the important thing.




Final parts done were the ailerons. And here again, the plastic looks you in the eye a little. Upper and lower pieces need 4 pegs to clamp them together while the glue dries. Those little imprecisions again, the interior surfaces of the 2 pieces are not perfectly flat, hence the need for a little encouragement.

However, once they are together they go into the wings with slide rule precision and they look pucker. Perfect against the wing surfaces both upper and lower.




Ailerons are a bug bear of mine. I'm not into positioning them and I'd much rather they be moulded as part of the wing. But that's just me

Next up, tail stabilisers and elevators. Then its on to that big lump of a radial engine.

[Kevthemodeller]

Coming along nicely mate

[Stokesy44]

Coming along nicely mate

Thanks Kev

I always like the part of the build where the fuselage comes together on a large scale aircraft kit. it feels like the kit has gone from a box of bits to something that looks like an aircraft on a production line.

[Kevthemodeller]

It looks a really nice kit and much improved over the Revel kits I remember.

[mick]

good progress

[Stokesy44]

Thanks Guys

She's certainly coming along now

Finished the tail today. Stabilisers needed a tiny bit of filler at the fuselage joint but they were level without any mucking about. The rudder and elevators went together fine and were as good a fit as the ailerons were




Then it was on to the lump up front. I have built it in 2 parts for painting purposes. The rear section is mostly dark grey, the main engine parts are aluminium and various other metallics. Grew a beard cutting them off the sprue. Because its a radial and most parts are circular, each part had to be cut out of its own sprue ring - YAWN

Very little clean up and it all fits together beautifully - Revell? Seriously?






And it fits into the fuselage really well too. The rear plate on the engine mates to the circular frame in the fuselage and you don't even need glue to keep it there - the fit is that good.




And beyond it being a good fit, the alignment is pretty darn good too.



I'll paint the lump tomorrow. Then all the exhaust piping will go on and it will be ready to be attached permanently. I've got to say I am very impressed with the quality so far. Construction is almost there now and its all sitting together nicely.

[Stokesy44]

Painted the engine over the weekend. Vallejo Metal colours and weathered with oils and chalk pastels.




Its a lovely looking engine and it attaches nicely into the fuselage. Once it was in I put the lower nacelles on as they will be the mounting points for the engine access panels and the ring that sits on the front of the aircraft.




I also weathered the gun deck and rear bulkhead.



The lower nacelles should have gone on before the engine was fitted but hey ho, a little bit of finagling and they went on ok. The ring was a bit of an arse ache bit I got there in the end. I also trimmed down the visible edges on the rear of the ring to a more realistic thickness. It seems only Tamiya have mastered the concept of thin plastic for their engine covers.

Test fitting. The panels will need to be on for the painting. Everything lines up and while its only a loose fit at this stage, they do sit down nicely with a bit of 'encouragement'. I still haven't decided how I'm going to display the engine, most likely the upper side panels will be open but everything else will be closed up.





With luck and a fair wind I might get onto painting tomorrow. A man can dream anyway....

[CharleyGnarlyP290]

That engine looks very, very nice. I was going to model my next plane wheels-up, but after seeing the cockpit and engine on yours, I think I have changed my mind...
This is turning out really good.

[Kevthemodeller]

Love the engine mate really nice

[mick]

great work on the motor

[Stokesy44]

great work on the motor

Love the engine mate really nice

That engine looks very, very nice. I was going to model my next plane wheels-up, but after seeing the cockpit and engine on yours, I think I have changed my mind...
This is turning out really good.

Thanks guys

A quick update. Been working on the engine covers, getting the alignment right and trimming / sanding where necessary. The engine is fractionally too big for the panels to fit snugly so a little fettlin' was needed!

Gun cover and forward upper went on with the help of some CA glue. The ring at the front had to be persuaded (pulled) toward the cockpit where it meets the upper panel. Bit of a PITA but I found once it stuck, the alignment of the whole front end got better.




The lower panel rear ends needed a little trimming and some filler was needed once the panels were on. Nice and snug now.



Washed and dry brushed the wheel bays too



As Inspector Clouseau would say, ere eez ah berme! When I put it together for the life of me I couldn't get the fins to align. Then I realised they are off-set to allow the bomb to spin -



Ready for priming now. I haven't masked the canopy as its not the one I'll be using. Revell supply separate canopies for open or closed, the difference being the open canopy is narrower so it stays in the runners as they taper backwards - weird.



Priming upnext then painting, finally!! Yeah!!

[Willem]

Stunning paint work on that engine. Great stuff.

[demarcation]

Superb work on that engine mate!!

[Stokesy44]

Superb work on that engine mate!!

Stunning paint work on that engine. Great stuff.

Thanks Guys

Finally got into the painting. Primed first.





I'm going for post-shading on this one. I've done the light blue on the underside and fuselage so far and it looks ok. Laid down the main coat then used a slightly darker blue to highlight the panel lines. Then a faint overspray of the base coat to soften it down.




Painted the bits and bobs too. I used the RLM call outs in the instructions but I'm not sure about the bomb and the prop. They look too pale to me.



I'm please with how the tanks came out. They were a proper PITA to work on as the sanding of the joint seams meant all the ribbing detail needed re-scribing. Still, with the post-shading, I think they look OK.




Hopefully get more done today

[Stokesy44]

More painting done now

I did the yellow stripe on the nose first, masked off and sprayed with Vallejo model air yellow from their RLM Luftwaffe set. Once that was done I used white-tac and masking tape for a soft line down the fuselage. Again, Vallejo RLMs. It looked a little dark so I over sprayed with a very thin white, just to lighten it up a fraction. To get the same effect, when I moved on to the wings and tail, I added white on a 5:1 basis to the mixes for both the grey and the green.

I've carried on with the post-shading method and the results are ok, not great but ok. The majority of the lines look good but in a couple of places I showed a lack of restraint. Still, it can be fixed so no problem.





For the wing roots I used white-tac and tape again. The camo lines were freehand.



This was the only casualty with the masking tape, thankfully. Again, easily fixed.



I repainted the bomb and the prop because they were way too light. The new black-green is much better.





So, all in all, she's looking good. Some camo work on the fuselage is next then its time to try the masks for spraying the crosses and unit codes.

[ambientdan]

May I add to the appreciation shown for that engine... Just lovely, lovely work

Camo looks most splendid too. Have the vallejo RLM 1941-45 set, interesting to hear they can be a bit on the dark side. Have yet to use them in anger myself, but forewarned is forearmed etc etc

[demarcation]

Fantastic work so far mate!!

[Stokesy44]

Fantastic work so far mate!!

May I add to the appreciation shown for that engine... Just lovely, lovely work

Camo looks most splendid too. Have the vallejo RLM 1941-45 set, interesting to hear they can be a bit on the dark side. Have yet to use them in anger myself, but forewarned is forearmed etc etc

Thanks Guys - much appreciated.

Got stuck into the Montex Masks today for the national insignia and unit codes. They're fiddly when you lay them down but the results (especially for these types of markings) are really encouraging. I'm about 2/3 through with just the unit insignias left to do. I called it a day because it was just too warm to carry on!

Anyway, here are the update pics.

Made a bit of a dog's breakfast of the fuselage camo over the weekend. Went so far as to spray over everything with light blue and start again on Monday. Ended up with something more acceptable.




And on with the masks
















I might finish off tonight then its on with the aqua gloss and then all the stencil type decals. Starting to look like a proper aircraft now.

[Stokesy44]

A very brief update

Finished off the masks on Friday. The unit codes had white outlines so I laid down the slightly larger masks first and sprayed the white. Once dry I then applied the smaller masks and sprayed the black. I know its not the right way to do it but having not followed the proper process (spraying the white before the camo colour) there was nothing I could do - and I wanted those white outlines.

The result is as good as can be expected and overall I am very happy with my first foray into using the Montex product.

I also tidied up any scratches or lifts to the paintwork. She's ready for glossing now (finally!)

[shortCummins]

nice work with the masks, how easy were they to use?

[Stokesy44]

nice work with the masks, how easy were they to use?

Thanks

The single colour ones were fine. It takes a little while to get the placement right because they are a little floppy and will stick when they come into contact with the kit.

Once they're down they work beautifully. No bleed provided you don't get carried away with the spraying and they peel off nicely when you're finished. I would not like to work with multi-coloured masks because the process looks massively fiddly. RAF fuselage roundels or US stars and bars would be harder work. For Luftwaffe markings they're great.

[Stokesy44]

Today was decal day. With the masks done for the insignias and unit codes it was time to aqua gloss the 190 and work through the stencils.

First thing to say is these Revell decals are SUPERB. Minimal carrier film, beautifully printed, thin without getting silly and superbly easy to handle.

The result is I now have a factory fresh FW190!






The only mucking around I did was with the aileron and elevator tab decals. The original transfers were wrap around jobs. Plain red on the underside and red with the stencil on the upper surface. I thought my chances of putting the decal on the trailing edge and wrapping it round so it stuck to the underside was essentially zero so I cut the decal in half. I'll need to touch up the edge with red paint but it was worth it as the decal went down fine and I moved on.



I'm always wary of no step line decals on wings because I am prone to ballsing them up! These, however, were great to work on. They came off the paper nicely and were easy to move with tweezers. I had to add a second splash of Microset (the blue one) a couple of times when I needed to adjust a line after wrongly positioning it but the decals responded beautifully and did what they were told.



Even the prop twirl went on ok - I was astonished



Glossing to seal is next then its weathering time - yeah!

[Willem]

Looking great mate. I do like the masked markings.

Fab build and giving me the urge to build something from 'zie Chermans'.

[Stokesy44]

Looking great mate. I do like the masked markings.

Fab build and giving me the urge to build something from 'zie Chermans'.

Cheers mate. You've got to hand it to old Harry Hun, they certainly made stuff look nice with their colour schemes and markings.

[Kevthemodeller]

It just keeps getting better mate

[demarcation]

Fantastic work mate!! You just gotta love those RLM paint schemes....

[Stokesy44]

It just keeps getting better mate

Thanks Kev. Cheers

[Stokesy44]

Fantastic work mate!! You just gotta love those RLM paint schemes....

Absolutely. Can't fault them for style. Just look at the RAF. Started the war with green and brown, ended it with green and grey and that's only cos they ran out of brown!

[Stokesy44]

Time for the weathering. First up was the Ultimate dark dirt wash. After throwing it all over the desk I managed to get it onto the aircraft. Then, after cleaning up the desk I wiped it off using some wet kitchen roll.







Did all the bits and bobs too.



Given the exhausts on the 190, the stains on the fuselage are pretty substantial if you are portraying a subject that has been in service for any length of time. I mixed Tamiya semi gloss black with a lot of thinner then, after masking the cowling and above and below the exhausts, I sprayed in fast passes back from the exhausts down the fuselage towards the wing root.



Finished off by spraying a matt varnish with a splash of middlestone light brown to tone down the yellow and white colours. Once that was done I did some paint chips using Vallejo dark aluminium and a white water colour pencil.





I was a bit hesitant to spray the matt varnish because I like the finish you get when you use a clay based was on top of a glossy surface. The wash seems to dial the gloss coat back to a dull sheen which I think looks about right for aircraft. However, I am finding that the aqua gloss retains too much shine after the wash (compared to Klear, which I used to use), hence the need for the matt. I made sure I didn't over do it so have ended up with some nice depth without it all going dull -



The undercarriage is now on, all that's left are various antennas and the canopy. Pics will follow showing the finished article.

[Willem]

Looking very tasty mate. Can't wait to see the finished article.

[NorthernModeller]

Fantastic looking build. think I might have to build one myslef

[Stokesy44]

Looking very tasty mate. Can't wait to see the finished article.

Fantastic looking build. think I might have to build one myslef

Thanks Guys. On the basis of the price alone I would recommend the kit. Yes it lacks the detail and the sheer engineering excellence of Tamiya but for a third of the cost you can have a really pleasant time working on the famous Butcher Bird.

[Stokesy44]

FINISHED!!!!

Sometimes its difficult to get over the finish line with a kit. Armour can be easier, construction is usually done in its entirety before painting. All that's left is to whack the tracks on and then its feet up with a glass of wine time!

With aircraft there's always a faff at the finish with all the stuff that didn't go on before the main painting and weathering. The 190 was no different. After I was done with the artsy fartsy stuff it was time for the undercarriage, the tanks, the bomb and all the antennas that seem to sprout out of the 190's belly. Finally there was the canopy and the radio aerial. But its ALL DONE NOW!!

Underneath



I weathered the bomb using light brown and grey thinned with water and applied with a damp brush. I also put on the sleeve that fits on the rear of the bomb pylon and extends down the belly. I assume it was there for aerodynamic effect. It doesn't help the 190's looks, I can tell you that.




The undercarriage was weathered with dark dirt and the tyres were further weathered with a light brown wash for dirt and dust.



The canopy was masked with the Montex set and chipped with a little dark aluminium. It was then glued to the armoured headrest and glued on to the kit. Once it was on I made the antenna using EZ Line and superglue. Klear was used for the little connectors either side of where the vertical antenna attaches.






So here she is. Painted with Vallejo's Model Air RLM colours. Weathered with Ultimate washes, water pencils and thinned paint washes. Finished off with a light coat of matt varnish mixed with a little light brown.













Thanks for looking in and for all your comments. Next up for me is some armour. I've got a couple of Panzer IV based assault guns in the stash but I've also got the Dragon Whittman Tiger and I can hear it calling to me! Coen says its the best Tiger kit he has ever seen so who am I to argue with the Canadian Master?

Here kitty kitty

[AridTalons]

Well done sir... well done.

[Kevthemodeller]

Awesome build mate

[Willem]

That's a great build mate. Beautiful stuff.
Need more pics!

[Stokesy44]

Well done sir... well done.

Awesome build mate

Thanks Guys

That's a great build mate. Beautiful stuff.
Need more pics!

Thanks Willem. More Pics? I thought I was pushing it posting as many at the end as I did! If I can pull my finger out I'll do some for the gallery.

Got bigger fish to fry though, I still can't make up my mind what to build next. First time in my life that I've ever had a stash and now I can't choose the next project - sod's law

[demarcation]

Fantastic work mate, beautiful finish! Absolutely top notch!!

[Stokesy44]

Fantastic work mate, beautiful finish! Absolutely top notch!!

Thanks mate. Its now perched nicely on the table and I can see it over the top of my laptop screen. Very happy with the final result.