Great Wall Hobby

1/48 Focke-Wulf Fw 189A-1 Nacht Jäger model kit

Product #L4801

Product Article by Steve Bamford on Aug 2 2011

 

Lion Roar is a Chinese company that produces a variety of high quality detail sets for plastic model kits including photo-etched frets, tools, cast metal, turned alloy and even resin figures.  All of these items are produced to a very high level of detail and accuracy.  Great Wall Hobby is a line of model kits produced by Lion Roar and they are well known among the armour modellers and I'm pleased to see them releasing aircraft kits.  

This first aircraft release from Great Wall Hobby is a multi-media plastic model kit that includes photo etch brass detail items and canopy paint masks. 

History
Focke- Wulf Fw 189A-1 was a German twin-engined, twin-boom three-seat tactical reconnaissance and army cooperation aircraft.  It first flew in 1938, entered service in 1940, and was produced until mid-1944.  The Fw 189 was a twin-engined design, made up of a long-spanning wing element and twin booms.  The Fw 189 system was crewed by three crew members (consisting of the pilot and two gunners who also act as observers) positioned in a cockpit sitting high above and between the engine booms featuring a nearly all-glazed greenhouse-type design.  The cockpit with many pieces of massive flat glass and double tail booms provide the best views all around.  One gunner operates a single dorsal machine gun and the other operates a machine gun mounted in the tail cone turret assembly.  Possibly the best reconnaissance aircraft to operate during WW2, the Fw 189 was produced in large number with total production reaching 864 aircraft of all variants.  Fw 189 was one of the most peculiar aircraft designs for the German Luftwaffe in the Second World War and accounted for a successful operational run.  In 1944, some of the Fw-189A-1 were converted to the nightfighter (Nacht Jäger) role.  One of the FuG212C-1 airborne interception radar units was equipped to the nose and flame dampers were installed on the exhausts of the engines.  MG-151/15 or MG151/20 were equipped in the dorsal position.  The Fw 189A-1 night fighters were mainly used on the Eastern Front.

This model kit is for Fw 189A-1 (W7 + CD)-Stab 1/NJG 100, Greifswald, luty in 1945 which is a mottled aircraft with yellow on the underside of the wing tips and yellow bands on the tail booms.

The kit includes;

  • 5 sprues of grey styrene

  • 1 sprue of plastic styrene

  • 1 fret of photo etch brass

  • canopy painting masks

  • 12 page instruction booklet

  • small poster of the box art and the same size as the box

  • 1 page large 4 view colour profile

  • decal sheet with markings for 1 aircraft

  • parts are all packed in plastic bags....including the clear styrene parts

  • sturdy box

There are some parts on the sprues that aren't needed to build this variant of the Fw189, so I can only assume future versions and different painting options of the Fw189 are planned, which is standard practice for most manufacturers. 

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At first glance I am quite impressed with what I see. All panel lines are recessed and very crisply done. Flying surfaces are pose able, cockpit sidewalls includes ribbing, engines are included, tires are weighted, pilot figure is included, clear styrene is very clear and includes actual raised frames just like the real aircraft. Some of the delicate framework parts have rivets. 

The photo etch includes gun sights, engine wiring or fuel lines, flying surfaces, seat belts and a few other tiny parts. In the instruction booklet, the photo etch parts are shown in gold making them very easy to find in the pages of instruction booklet. 

Engine cowls have detail on both sides making posing them in the open position to show off the lovely engine detail a very attractive option. The cloth covered control surfaces appear overly ribbed. The propeller blades are nice and thin. 

Some canopy windows are separate from the main canopies permitting you to pose them in an open position to show off all that wonderful interior detail. 

Other extra features of this kit include bombs and underwing bomb racks as well as a boarding ladder or raised work area that could be used for posing a mechanic figure working on an engine in a diorama setting. The Focke Wulf Fw189A-2 had a crew of three, pilot and 2 rear gunners, but only one figure is included in the kit, but considering the cockpit detail, I suspect most modellers will chose not to use the pilot figure that is included. 

Markings 
I'm pleased at the choice for markings which is an aircraft that operated on the Russian front in 1945.

  • Fw 189A-1 (W7 + CD)-Stab 1/NJG 100, Greifswald, in 1945 which is a mottled aircraft with yellow on the underside of the wing tips and yellow bands on the tail booms.

I'm pleased to see Swastika's are included on the decal sheet, but they are broken up to comply with laws in certain countries. 

For paint, the instructions list the numbers for the new Gunze Creos colours as well as RLM colours, so you can use pretty well any line of paints that you prefer. 

Great Wall Hobby shows a high degree of quality in this model kit and I can't wait to see their next kit.....they are a company well worth watching.......I expect continued high quality model kits from them.  You will not be disappointed with their Fw-189A-2 

You can purchase this and other fine items directly from Great Wall Hobby or from the many retailers that carry their products.  

I would like to thank Great Wall Hobby for providing me with this review sample.

Steve Bamford

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Photos and text © by Steve Bamford