Sorry - no build pics and there wont be.
I set about this build knowing that it would be a very different one to my previous 13.
I accepted the detail would be soft, that the tolerances would leave the fit a bit loose, that the parts would need a lot of clean-up, that the sprue organisation would be chaotic. I can accept all that and I got the model because I heard Revell have upped their game with better fit and engineering and wanted to see it for myself.
The plastic itself was very brittle, you just had to look at it the wrong way to get a breakage as it has no tensile strength at all. I lost count of the number of breakages I had after 9, now I know I am a bit clumsy but in my previous 13 builds I probably averaged about 1 to 2 breakages per kit and these kits had more parts.... OK, its only a case of basic modelling skills needed to repair breakages but the engineering made the problem worse as you had to attach vulnerable parts too early and the tail wheel, both cannons and the stap tip aerial all broke off during the sanding (there was a lot of that and filling), but yes all were repairable but that was not the crunch point.
The engine covers would not fit. To complete the model I would need to carry out major surgery to the engine with knife and sander with an uncertain outcome. Or I would need to leave the engine panels off but in this case I had installed the engine planning to enclose it so I had not filled the huge sink holes, not painted it and it would need a lot of work to make it anything like presentable. This was not a practical option as all that work would have to have been done during construction.
In the end I decided that life is too short to struggle with a cheap kit and decided to bin it.
There are things I like about the kit...
The plastic was very easy to sand (it needed to be...)
The decals are excellent and are better than Tamiya's and way better than Trumpeters.
They have adopted slide mold tech so the cannon barrels are hollowed.
It was cheap of course but you really should spend a fair bit on aftermarket parts for it.
If you have one in the stash my advice is the following:
To get aftermarket brass turned cannon, metal u/c legs and a resin engine plus seatbelts. Plan the build intending to have the engine panels open.
Be very careful with the parts just in front of the 'pit onto which the cannon fit at a later stage. First the vertical part angle is difficult to get right without positive location points, I would ignore the instructions and fit both parts straight into the fuse half and tape the other side into place to get the position right, gluing to one side only at that point. You will need to trim the width of these parts first as I believe they spread the fuse to much and was a cause of the poor panel fit. Only a tiny 'excess spread' at this point that you may not even be aware of has a knock on effect causing issues further forward.
If anyone want a set of Maketar masks for this kit let me know and I can send them to you. They include inside and outside canopy masks as well as masks for the major insignia.
I do not have a 'shelf of doom'. I rarely fail to finish a kit and those real problem kits I remember are few and far between. The Trumpy Avenger that had a missing turret that I could not get replaced (I loved that build and have another in my stash with turret!!!), my only attempt at a tank, the awful AV Club Centurion, the Special Hobby Aircobra where I could not get the front tricicle u.c to come together...... This FW190 earned the same fate as all these and were thrown in the bin....
I am moving on tonight to the Special Hobby Yak 3. These short-run kits have their issues and I have had good and bad experiences with them but this looks like a really good kit... we will see.
I set about this build knowing that it would be a very different one to my previous 13.
I accepted the detail would be soft, that the tolerances would leave the fit a bit loose, that the parts would need a lot of clean-up, that the sprue organisation would be chaotic. I can accept all that and I got the model because I heard Revell have upped their game with better fit and engineering and wanted to see it for myself.
The plastic itself was very brittle, you just had to look at it the wrong way to get a breakage as it has no tensile strength at all. I lost count of the number of breakages I had after 9, now I know I am a bit clumsy but in my previous 13 builds I probably averaged about 1 to 2 breakages per kit and these kits had more parts.... OK, its only a case of basic modelling skills needed to repair breakages but the engineering made the problem worse as you had to attach vulnerable parts too early and the tail wheel, both cannons and the stap tip aerial all broke off during the sanding (there was a lot of that and filling), but yes all were repairable but that was not the crunch point.
The engine covers would not fit. To complete the model I would need to carry out major surgery to the engine with knife and sander with an uncertain outcome. Or I would need to leave the engine panels off but in this case I had installed the engine planning to enclose it so I had not filled the huge sink holes, not painted it and it would need a lot of work to make it anything like presentable. This was not a practical option as all that work would have to have been done during construction.
In the end I decided that life is too short to struggle with a cheap kit and decided to bin it.
There are things I like about the kit...
The plastic was very easy to sand (it needed to be...)
The decals are excellent and are better than Tamiya's and way better than Trumpeters.
They have adopted slide mold tech so the cannon barrels are hollowed.
It was cheap of course but you really should spend a fair bit on aftermarket parts for it.
If you have one in the stash my advice is the following:
To get aftermarket brass turned cannon, metal u/c legs and a resin engine plus seatbelts. Plan the build intending to have the engine panels open.
Be very careful with the parts just in front of the 'pit onto which the cannon fit at a later stage. First the vertical part angle is difficult to get right without positive location points, I would ignore the instructions and fit both parts straight into the fuse half and tape the other side into place to get the position right, gluing to one side only at that point. You will need to trim the width of these parts first as I believe they spread the fuse to much and was a cause of the poor panel fit. Only a tiny 'excess spread' at this point that you may not even be aware of has a knock on effect causing issues further forward.
If anyone want a set of Maketar masks for this kit let me know and I can send them to you. They include inside and outside canopy masks as well as masks for the major insignia.
I do not have a 'shelf of doom'. I rarely fail to finish a kit and those real problem kits I remember are few and far between. The Trumpy Avenger that had a missing turret that I could not get replaced (I loved that build and have another in my stash with turret!!!), my only attempt at a tank, the awful AV Club Centurion, the Special Hobby Aircobra where I could not get the front tricicle u.c to come together...... This FW190 earned the same fate as all these and were thrown in the bin....
I am moving on tonight to the Special Hobby Yak 3. These short-run kits have their issues and I have had good and bad experiences with them but this looks like a really good kit... we will see.
