The Airfix kit
We have already reviewed the recently released Airfix Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-8 and you can see that here – this kit is essentially the same but of course now includes the ETC bomb racks and bombs appropriate to the F-8 Fighter-Bomber variant. For your ease I will include my review of the Fw190A-8 kit below, modified to cover the differences between the two offerings.
First impressions are good as this kit is an all-new tool and that is good news at any time. The basic shape looks pretty accurate for an Fw A-8/F-8 and some observations have already been made above – all positive so far.
Quality
The sprues are full of well detailed, often very delicate parts that look very impressive. The panel line detail is quite fine, maybe slightly heavy for the scale but very presentable and sharp and bearing in mind the type has little in the way of panels is fine. There is some flash visible but this should be able to be removed easily enough.
The tyres in this kit come with the option for a slightly weighted appearance and tyre tread pattern looks decent too. The undercarriage units are delicate and well moulded; at first glance I thought that the oleo scissor links were moulded in the ‘in-flight’ uncompressed mode but not so, looking at several photographs of Fw 190s parked on the ground. You can remove the lower portions of the main gear doors if you wish to simulate how some Fw 190s looked when operating on the Eastern Front and muddier airstrips.
Detail moulding like the placement of the cowl hinges is correct for an A-8 as well as a fin tip-mounted pointed aerial mast.
Cockpit
The cockpit tub has decals for the main instruments and this is ideal in this scale, with a seat that’s simple and will be enhanced by the addition of a scratched or etched seat harness. Some detail is moulded into the fuselage side and, again, this is fine for the scale; a nice touch is the raised detail on the side consoles. The Fw 190 cockpit is pretty simple in layout and in this scale will look fine with a little care in painting and finishing.
Other details
The pair of upper cowl mounted MG 17s are nicely moulded and although attached to the upper cowl will look fine when painted if they haven’t been broken off! The ETC501 centreline rack is well detailed and you can choose whether or not to attach the 300 Litre fuel tank supplied – also nicely tooled.
The all-metal variable-pitch 9-12176A propeller looks good in shape and just needs to have the excess mould seam removed and the fan blade unit in front of the BMW801D-2 engine will look fine when painted up and sensibly just the front faces of the cylinders are visible if you look hard.
Clear parts
Usefully the finely tooled front windscreen is moulded separately to the rear portion that can easily be displayed open – nice touch in this scale and this will allow you to add additional detail. Two separate canopies are included as already mentioned.
Instructions
These follow the usual exploded stage diagrams and are clear and straightforward. Humbrol paint references are given on the all-colour painting guide at the back of the instruction sheet. Colour names are also given allowing you to match your RLM colours from whatever source you prefer.
Decals
Two schemes are offered – the quality looks very good and a very nice feature is full stencil data markings – excellent.
Scheme A – Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8, I/Schlachtgeschwader 2 Immelmann, Hungary, 1945
Scheme B – Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8, 2/Jagdgeschwader 11, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Hesse, Germany, 1945
To sum up
This is certainly a very welcome addition to the ever-growing range of new-tool kits from Airfix that replace (usually) much older models that need to be withdrawn. The kit is exactly like we have more recently become used to from this manufacturer – great low price with a good quality model inside that is suitable for all modellers.
SMN Quick summary Star rating out of 5
| FEATURE | STAR RATING (out of five) |
|---|---|
| Quality of moulding | *** |
| Accuracy | *** |
| Instructions | **** |
| Decals | *** |
| Subject choice | ***** |
| Overall | **** |