1/48 Tamiya Fw-190A3

by Alan Lacey

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This is my 1/48 Tamiya Fw190A3.  I used the Eduard PE set and kit decals.  This was my first serious foray into using Photo etch parts outside of adding seatbelts to kits.  The Eduard set comes with a complete replacement cockpit tub rather than providing modifications to the kit parts.  Putting the tub together was fun and it generally looks good, especially the control panel.  Something about the side panels lacking any relief though.  Maybe a combination of kit parts and the PE would have yield better results; Overall though I was pleased.  The canopy receives a lot of detailing in the set as well as the gear struts. The antenna wire is transparent thread painted black.

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I wish I had some great reason for choosing these particular markings, but mostly I thought they looked cool JI painted the aircraft using Model Master Acryl paints, and it bears the standard RLM 74/RLM 75 over RLM 76 paintjob.  All the camouflage was painted freehand with my trusty Thayer & Chandler Omni4000 airbrush, something I’m really enjoying now that I’m becoming more adept.  Keep practicing!!

Weathering was a big goal for me with this project as I had just recently finished watching the Master Class Model Building Video by Floyd Werner Jr.  Though I doubt I’ll build any 1/32 Bf109’s anytime soon, the video was great for those of us that learn by seeing others do, rather than reading how others do, if you get my drift. 

I applied his various weathering methods such as pre-shading (most of which I lost due to heavy handed airbrushing ), making exhaust stains, and also for applying an oil wash of the panel lines of burnt umber over a flat coat which had me a little twitchy, being a “wash-over-gloss” man myself.  The results surprised me!  I may be a convert!

Lastly I glued the PE nameplate and some RR green grass mix to a $.99 wooden display/plaque from Michaels I had painted RLM66 and set the model on top.  The figure is from the Hasegawa 1/48 pilot set…

Overall this was a pleasant building and detailing experience, I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed building the model…now go build something!

Alan

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Photos and text © by Alan Lacey