GWH 1/48 Focke-Wulf Fw189 Nachtjäger

[Ads24]

Right, so my incredibly late entry into the Nightfighter SiG. I'm doing the Great Wall Hobby Focke-Wulf Fw189 Nachtjäger, which I actually bought months ago when this SiG was announced, but my phone was being repaired, so no means of taking photos until now, hence the late start. I suppose I could have tried to describe my progress in minute, graphic detail, but then that would be even more boring than this thread may already be!

Anyway, a look outside the box:



And inside:









The engine detail is amazing:



As are the clear parts, which is just as well, because they're a pretty major feature:



There is also some photo-etch, and small decal sheet and some masks. Actually a lot of masks. 77 to be precise. Unfortunately they are not made of the usual masking tape, but seem to be made of stickers, so am a bit worried about bleeding and may invest in an Eduard mask set. Of course if I'm feeling especially masochistic, I could always do it myself!



I've also bought an Eduard zoom set to liven up the cockpit, as it's so visible through all those clear parts. Never used the self-adhesive ones before, so I'll see how that goes:



This kit looks absolutely amazing, incredibly crisp and detailed, although having built their MiG 29 before I didn't expect anything else from Great Wall Hobby. They even include some artwork:



If you want a better look at this kit, although not the Nightfigher version, here's the ISM review:

[youtube]iThoWVcJMsQ[/youtube]

Anyway, can't wait to get started and look forward to keeping you updated.

[patrickroos]

Very nice entry!!!
I have the kit in the Review and the GWH 189 kits are absolut gems, Amazing moulding quality and detail!

Im sure you will love building this kit! (will also get it)

Good luck mate!

[Ads24]

Very nice entry!!!
I have the kit in the Review and the GWH 189 kits are absolut gems, Amazing moulding quality and detail!

Im sure you will love building this kit! (will also get it)

Good luck mate!

Cheers, mate. The camo schemes on your version of the kit look great, especially the Arctic version. There's a guide on how to do winter dioramas in May's Scale Aircraft Modelling magazine using a product called 'Precision Ice and Snow' which looks awesome.

[Ads24]

OK, so I'm making progress with the build and the kit really is as good as it looks - well done Great Wall Hobby (again!)

Before I started I went through the instructions for the kit and Eduard photo-etch and worked out which bits to use where. Tedious, I know, but necessary, especially as the Eduard instructions are terrible and include mislabelled parts for both thr kit and photo-etch. Why this is the case when the instructions for Eduard's own kits are about the best there are I have no idea.



There were a few ejector pin marks to clear up, but were easy to sand out. It may seem like a strange thing to say, but I actually think the plastic on this kit sands better than others. Does that make sense?! I have no idea



The fuselage/cockpit/whatever it's called on this strange looking aircraft went together no problem



I then primed it with AK's grey primer. I find this better than Vallejo's which was endlessly clogging up my airbrush, but I've still had problems getting it to spray as smooth as I'd like. I have found whacking the air pressure up to around 25/26 psi improves things, as does removing the nozzle cap to stop paint accumulation and spitting. I guess this wouldn't be a problem if you had a two pronged pinch clean nozzle, though.



Next I painted it with Tamiya XF-24 Dark Grey. I used to use Tamiya as that was the best I could get at my local model shop, but stopped using it after trying Vallejo Model Air and especially Mr Hobby aqueous. I've recently rediscovered it however, and it goes on better than I remembered. It does look a little different if you put it down next to Mr Hobby, but I think that's because Tamiya is flat while most Mr Hobby is semi-gloss. Either way, a coat of clear evens things up.



I then added the photo-etch and gave it a matt coat, and then a wash using Vallejo's acrylic game colour wash in umber. I've tried doing washes with oils, enamels, watercolours and ground up pastels, but I find for most times when you don't want to use a clay wash, this is best, and because it's acrylic, pretty forgiving. It's pretty thick, so I thin it one third wash to two thirds water with a single drop of Ultimate thinners to help break the surface tension and allow it to flow.



Chipping was added using an artist's silver pencil which is quick and effective and infinitely easier than painting the effect on or using the hairspray chipping method - although these techniques certainly have their place



I'm pretty pleased with the result



Not sure how I'd like to perch on the slab next to the pilot, though. Then again, this guy doesn't look like he minds too much!



I then joined it together. This required some sanding and creative clamping, but this was entirely my fault for not joining the two halves together at the same time to ensure a perfect fit.



I filled the seam on top using Mr Surface 1000. This was the first time I'd used this, and it is brilliant. It dries back a lot, but does so quickly so you can keep adding layers. I used about four, let it dry then sanded it down and am pretty pleased with how it looks. Certainly better on fine seams than using Perfect Plastic putty and getting it absolutely everywhere. But then again, that could just be me! Either way, I'll be investing in the 500 and 1200 grades soon.



Anyway, thanks for checking out my progress. More updates soon

[Pabbi]

good start

[Ads24]

A little history lesson...

[youtube]HxIy8iLshY0[/youtube]

Oh dear - Wikipedia you have failed me, with next to no information on the Fw 189. Fortunately the kit instructions do have a nice write-up, but is quite short, so at least I can't bore you for too long!

The Focke-Wulf Fw 189 was a German twin-engine, 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, actually in quite large numbers with 864 produced, which surprised me as I wasn't at all familiar with it until finding this kit.

The planes were used almost exclusively in the harsh conditions of the Eastern Front, and in the penultimate year of the war, some were fitted with FuG 212 Lichtenstein C-1 airborne interception radar and flame dampers installed on the exhaust to become the night fighter variant.



The radar receiver was installed at the very front of the glazed cockpit, and is nicely modelled on the kit.

Only one Fw 189 remains in existence, V7+1H flown by pilot Lothar Mothers, and has a fascinating story behind it.



In 1943, this plane was shot down by Soviet Hawker Hurricanes whilst on a reconnaissance mission. Mothes put his aircraft into a nose dive to escape but owing to the damage already suffered he could not pull out in time and struck the tree tops. The Fw 189's tail was torn off, and the crew nacelle was left hanging upside down in the tree branches. Mothes avoided serious injury, but one crewman was killed in the crash and the second died from loss of blood as a result of a severed leg.

Incredibly, Mothes survived two weeks in sub-zero temperatures, evading Russian patrols and living off bark and grubs as he walked back to his base. He eventually stumbled back into German lines, severely frost-bitten and malnourished. He spent the next nine months in a hospital before returning to active duty. He flew another 100 missions before the end of the war.

In 1991, the wreckage of V7+1H was found in the Russian forest where it had remained for 48 years.







The wreckage, in amazingly good condition, all things considered, was purchased by the Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Restoration Society in the UK and repaired.





Lothar Mothers was reunited with his restored Fw 189 at the 1996 Biggin Hill airshow.

[Willem]

Brilliant bit of history on this aircraft, it really brings your build to life. Great work on the cockpit.

[Ads24]

Thanks, Willem. It really is an amazing feat of survival. I can't get over how young the pilot looks in the picture as well. Reminded me of the alternative title to Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut which was The Children's Crusade.

[Ads24]

This afternoon I finished assembling the cockpit. The Eduard photo-etch was definitely worth the investment, although find the self adhesive a bit of a nuisance as it's not really strong enough to use it without additional glue, but is just strong enough to stick to your fingers or tweezers just when you're trying to place it!



I'm quite happy it looks fairly realistic.



I glued the clear parts in place using Micro Kristal Klear thinned 1:1 with water. This allows the glue to be painted on where you want it without build up which squirts out the sides when you press the part into place. You can also use it to run around the joins when the part is in position. Because it's thinned, capillary action will draw it into the gap, much like Extra Thin, providing increased adhesion and the ability to act as a filler on small gaps.



It takes a little while to go off, however, unlike the uv glue everyone's talking about! With a little more creative clamping to ensure the large clear parts set in the correct position, I'm reasonably happy with how it turned out.



Only the smallest amount of filler was needed on one side. I used Vallejo plastic putty, just because of ease of application.



I'm not very confident in the masks provided with the kit, so I'm going to wait to until just before painting to put them on. There really is an awful lot of glazing in the cockpit and must have provided amazing visibility, particularly important for its role in reconnaissance.



No wonder it was know as the flying eye!

[T3hGuppy]

The interior looks cracking buddy.

Really is a proper greenhouse canopy.

[Ads24]

Just finished work on the two inverted V12 Argus As 410 engines.





They went together nicely, and look to be a strong point of the kit.



The photo-etch comes with the kit, and adds some good detail.



Ideally I would have painted them using metalliser paints, but I've tried Mr Hobby buffables in the past and found them a bit of a nightmare with them coming off with masking tape, getting residue everywhere and when I try to seal them with a clear coat, whatever I used, it just killed the effect. I really need to invest in some Alclad II, but have been waiting for a natural metal finish plane I'd like to do. Luckily Kitty Hawk have just bought out their F101 Voodoo. I'm a bit of a Kitty Hawk fan, having built their Jaguar, JAS-39 Gripen and MiG 25, so I can't imagine it will be too long until I cave in and buy one!



Anyway, in the mean time, I use Games Workshop's Citadel paints, as despite needing careful thinning and coming in pots which are an utter nuisance, they're the best metal effect of any acrylic I've tried.



This was sealed with a satin varnish made by Mig Jimenez's Ammo brand.



I then drybrushed Vallejo Model Air Light Rust on to the exhaust manifold using a flat brush, just to add a bit of definition.



Grease staining was done using an enamel wash from Mig productions. I normally use acrylic washes, but thought I'd give this a try.



And I'm fairly pleased with the results.

[patrickroos]

WOW! Those Engines looks awesome!
very cool, I have just painted the Engine internals on my me 262, was choosing between Leadbelcher and Alclad Jet Exhaust for the exhaust parts.
I used Alclad, but see now that Leadbelcher will also be a great choice, beautiful finish and color.
Cool, in other Words a good acrylig alternative. (=no need for gas mask)

As You have done, it also works great for normal exhaust i see, some rust acrylic, wash or pigments on and it looks fantastic.

Great work mate, looks very good!

BTW, how was the Kitty Hawk Gripen?

[Russ72]

Very nice, Ads. Interior looks great, engines damn fine, and a cool choice of aircraft. Looking forward to the rest of the build.

[Ads24]

Cheers, Russ I'm really looking forward to the rest of this build... right up until I have to do the mottling!

[Ads24]

The build is really starting to come together now, and, most importantly, I'm really enjoying it.

It's a bit strange how it all goes together, but then it is a bit of a strange looking thing!



I wouldn't normally install the landing gear this early in the build, but you need to fit it by sandwiching it between the two fuselage halves for each of the twin booms. The tyres were painted with Tamiya XF-85 rubber black which was unthinned so it goes on grainy giving a dead flat rubber look. The wheels were then sprayed using a circle template to give a perfect circle with a hard edge. I find this easier than hand painting with super thin paints.



The halves where then clamped and glued together.



The fit was pretty good.



And needed just a small amount of Mr Surfacer 1000 to fill some small gaps on then underside.



Because I'm new to Mr Surfacer, I thought I'd try a couple of different techniques when taking it off to see how they compared. The boom on the left has been cleaned up using a cotton bud moistened with cellulose thinners, while the one on the right has been sanded down first with a grey Ultimate sanding sponge and then buffed up. To be honest, I can't really tell the difference, but I guess the true test comes when we get some primer down.



I then assembled the tail. The landing gear is currently movable. I will glue it down later, but thought it might be useful at some point when painting to retract it to get it out the way.



Finally, I put everything together and held it in place with some elastic bands. It will need a bit of filler at the wing roots, but over all the fit is very good. Everything is glued in place and left overnight to go off.

[Pabbi]

looking good

[Ads24]

And it was all going so well...

Almost at the end of the build stage, with just some final bits to complete. First up was drilling out the exhausts. Had to be a bit careful as they are on a bit of an angle, but my new Tamiya pin vice made everything much easier.



Some truly tiny photo-etch parts which came with the kit wee then stuck on.



Not too much needed, but there was a little re-scribing to do. I use Dymo embossing tape as a guide and the Trumpeter scribing tool, which I find works really well. To start with I found the lines a bit shallow, but you can increase their size by increasing the angle at which you hold the tool to the plastic. I tend to start of shallow and then increase the angle of the tool until I get a panel line that matches.



I used white tack to hold the engine covers in place as I think I'm going to have some of them open. In the picture below you can also see where those photo-etch parts went.



Then it was on to the canopy masking. I'd almost been worrying about this as much as the mottling! At the beginning of this build thread, I think I said there were 76 masks. Actually there are more like 90!



The bad news was that the masks that come with the kit are pretty rubbish. They're not cut particularly well, but the biggest problem was that they were just stickers and too heavy and thick to conform to any curved surfaces. I tried to replace the ones that had not stuck down by masking them myself, but because of all the curves and the fact the canopy was already glued on, this proved incredibly hard going.



So I caved and went straight to Hannant's to get an Eduard mask set, which I probably should have done in the first place, but was trying to save the £8.40! It's such an integral part of this model, though, it really is worth it.

There will now be a short intermission until the postman comes...!

[patrickroos]

Ah crap, forgot to warn You about the masks...maybe you have read it yourself?
I have looked at a couple of builds on other forums and all said masks are crap, the real let down with this kit.
Not real masking tape, more like paper. Just as well you had problems now since they are said to fall off wet with paint...
I Think your doing the right thing with Eduard!
Also, masking and cutting this baby by hand looks like a nighmare.

Nice progress!

[rodrant]

Nice progress so far , but those masks...

Well done on the option of Eduard , Well worth the money spent sometimes ,

'Blessed Eduard MAsks'

[Ads24]

Cheers, guys. Yeah, Eduard are definitely the way forward.

I was very weary of the kit masks, but I was just being optimistic! I think you are right to that this was a blessing in disguise, and a good thing I ditched them before putting any paint down, especially as I started to take them off I realised they were leaving adhesive residue behind on the clear parts. As it turns out, the adhesive was strong enough to pull one of the clear panels off, but not strong enough to hold the paper masks down on the curves!

[jbellos1]

A fantastic lesson and wonderful pictures and descriptions. Best twenty minutes reading today! Thanks.

Very nice work and progressing at quite a clip too.

[Ads24]

A fantastic lesson and wonderful pictures and descriptions. Best twenty minutes reading today! Thanks.

Very nice work and progressing at quite a clip too.

Wow, that's incredibly kind, thank you, it means a lot to me

[Ads24]

One of the great things about this kit is that it comes with a few extras.



A couple of nice looking maintenance platforms and, erm, something else! I'm guessing it's a kind of chock for the wheels. Ideas anyone?



Because of this, and because I was thinking of having the engines open, I thought I might turn this into a bit of a diorama, so ordered some Luftwaffe ground crew which came today.



The plastic looks really nice, and even comes with a dog! I'm definitely going to have to think of a way to include that!

[Ads24]

Small mystery solved! I found some colour photos of the Fw 189, and those other red things are indeed chocks for the wheels.



There was also this image, which isn't too useful as a reference, but I thought it was quite cool.

[generalgrog]

Really cool build man! I'm really enjoying this..and thanks for the two tips...the silver pencil and the watered down micro crystal clear....gonna have to try both of those.

GG

[Ads24]

Really cool build man! I'm really enjoying this..and thanks for the two tips...the silver pencil and the watered down micro crystal clear....gonna have to try both of those.

GG

Thank you, glad you're enjoying it. The silver pencil does work really well - but it's so easy it almost feels like cheating!

[Ads24]

So while I'm waiting for my replacements masks to come, I got started on the extra bits I'm going to need if I'm to turn this build into a diorama.

The parts for the maintenance platforms and chocks were really fine, so it's important to cut them off the sprue as far away from the actual piece as you can get to avoid stressing the plastic and snapping the delicate part- I learnt this the hard way, and wish I could say I made the mistake only once!



The parts were quite tricky to glue together, but I got there in the end...



They were then painted red and given some chipping and a wash to grime them down. There was also a jerry can included with the ground crew set I bought, so I did that as well.



Next up were the figures for the maintenance crew (and the dog) The parts went together nicely, and the seam lines were easy enough to remove.



The figures were then mounted for painting by drilling a hole into their heel and putting them on a length of straightened out paper clip.



The dog was mounted somewhere a little less ceremonious!



I should probably have done him as a German Shepard...



... but didn't think my skills were quite up to it, so I just did him brown! The uniforms were sprayed dark sea grey.



This was the closest thing I had to the blue/grey of the uniforms, for example seen in this picture of crews working on what I think is an Bf 110.



The figures were then hand painted in Vallejo Model Color where I had the colours, and for everything else, just in whatever I had on the shelf. When you only need small amounts of paint, I use old medicine packets for a palette. Ordinarily when painting figures, I would highlight the raised areas with a thin mix of the lightened base colour and the edge of a small brush to get a controlled line. These figures are so small, though, I decided I wouldn't be able to get this effect to look in scale, so just opted for some drybrushing to pick out the detail.



I found a few pictures of ground crew with the Fw 189 and am happy my figures look more-or-less there.





I hate eyes!



There are lots of hard parts about painting figures, but I find the worst is doing the eyes. I think this is often because I've tried to paint a subtle face and then come in with a big dollop of white and it just looks wrong. For these figures, I used some highly thinned white and added it carefully to the eyes, building it up over several coats. This isn't great for doing amazing detail, but since this is beyond me, I'll settle for something that gives an ok overall effect. I would include a photo, but I take the pictures on my phone and can't get it to focus on the really small details!

Anyway, here they are posed with the model. I am going to add some pigments, but I'll do this later when I bring everything together.





Thanks for checking out my progress

[Russ72]

Unlucky with the masks Ads, but on a positive note, now I know go straight for the Eduard masks.

The crew came out good, now its hurry up postman time.

[Ads24]

Absolutely - what would we do without Eduard!

Still no masks, I'm thinking they're probably lost in the post, which happens pretty frequently where I am, sadly. In the mean time, I have had a chance to think about the colour scheme, as the call out that comes with the kit doesn't suggest a colour to lay down before the mottling with RLM 75 Grey Violet.



So, I got put my trusty old Lightening, covered the wings up with (yet another!) coat of primer and sprayed (from left to right) Tamiya XF-20 Medium Grey, XF-19 Sky Grey, Vallejo Model Air 70.050 Light Grey and Mr Hobby Aqueous H335 Barley Grey and did a quick bit of mottling on top to see how they compared.



I had thought that the XF-20 on the left was too dark, with nothing much to choose between the other three. When the RLM 75 went on top, though, it actually blended much better with the XF-20, so I think I'm going to go with this. While it's annoying I'm still waiting on the masks, I'm really glad I did this test, as I think it will improve the finish of the kit in the end.

[patrickroos]

Ladders and figures look very good, plane build also.
Your mottling also looks great.
You on your way to a great build here mate!

[Ads24]

Well, that was a bit of a palaver. Over two weeks and still no masks from Hannants. Their customer service doesn't really stand up to eModels, or especially ModelsRGo.



In the end I caved and got some from eBay.



The instructions were nice and simple...





...or not! Actually they were so well cut they went down no problem.



Before priming I masked up the wheels which because of the design of the kit I'd had to already install. Not too worried about overspray in the wheel wells, though, as that can be easily touched up later.



I sprayed the clear parts with the same colour as I used for the interior so that when you look through the windows you get a consistency of colour. I put this down unthinned so it was dry and less likely to bleed under my hard-procured masks!



I then primed using Mig Jimenez Ammo primer. I usually use AK, but as far as I can tell they are pretty much the same.



I'll let this go off fully over night and then hopefully get back on a roll with this build after my forced break. It's not all bad, though, as it gave me a chance to do the Hobby Boss YF-23 which was a fun little project.

[Rob]

Thank goodness I read this thread (being a bit slow id missed it till now)! Great build and great story. I'm sorry to hear about your experience with Hannants - still, you're back on track now. The figure set is excellent and I am looking forward to seeing how this all turns out.
That jet looks the nuts too!

[Ads24]

Cheers, Rob. Yeah, the YF-23 was something a bit different - it's a very simple kit to go together, but absolutely huge!

[Ads24]

Made some good progress today, despite an inauspicious start when I knocked a pot of small parts like the props, antenna and gear doors straight into a jar of water! The trick I've found is to leave to dry naturally of kitchen roll rather than try and rub the parts dry as this is likely to rub the paint off. Yes, I learnt this from experience!



Anyway, the build... Having let the primer thoroughly dry, I preshaded the underside...



...and topside.



I then painted the wing tips and bands on the twin booms yellow.



Then masked these off using 40mm low-tack frog tape, and also did the air brakes.



Originally I was just going to paint the underside RLM 76 (light blue) and then use an intermediate colour on the top before putting down the RLM 75 (grey violet) for the mottling, but as I started to lay down Vallejo Model Air's version of RLM 76 I found it more subtle than I remembered, so decided it would work over the whole aircraft. Because I've had problems with Model Air clogging in the airbrush before, I experimented with some of Vallejo's retarder medium. This, however, was highly viscous and turned the paint in the colour cup to a horrible mess which I had to throw away. I think this must be designed for hand painting with something like Vallejo's Model Colour range. Oh well, live and learn.



Next up, the mottling I didn't do anything too special, just was gentle on the trigger and took my time using slightly thinned Model Air. One thing I did do first was to strip down and clean my airbrush so I could really trust its action when I pulled the trigger.



I think it came out OK, although it was hard to tell when to stop!



Looking at references, I think my mottling may be a little too subtle.



This is perhaps shown especially clearly in this artificially re-coloured photo of a Fw 189 which the antenna indicates is definitely one of the rarer nightfighter variants.



I'm not really too worried about accuracy, though, as long as I'm there or there about. Most important is that it looks good and is fun

I added the exhausts after painting them a rust colour. I only have Vallejo's Light Rust, so to get a darker tone I sprayed them black first and then went over lightly with the rust colour which gave a more realistic non-uniform and darker colour.



These were then glued in place.



The paint work was then protected with a good coat of clear.



This will be left to dry for at least 24 hours before I think about decalling. I find this is really important as otherwise the decal setting solutions can eat into the clear coat and cause whiting, not too different from Matt Prior's England cap!



Sorry about the long post, but thanks for checking my build out

[Willem]

Mottling looks great to me Ads. Looking forward to the reveal.



PS Good work on the cricket reference.

[patrickroos]

Second that, paintjob well done! Mottling looks
And, masking job from hell, well done!
This will be a great build, looking forward to the final steps.

[Russ72]

And again. The mottling looks good from here.

[Ads24]

Thanks for all your comments, guys

Just a quick update today. Got the decals down, they were a little thick which made them really easy to work with and they then worked really well with micro sol and set, so no complaints here.



To add a bit of extra texture to the exhausts, I used a couple of colours from Vallejo's pigment range. No real reason for choosing Vallejo- they're just cheaper! I didn't want to overdo this effect, so I used them quite sparingly. Clear coats that are still to go down over the top will also dull them down a bit as well.



Finally, painted the gear doors with the interior colour and then the outside panels with RLM 76. In the past I've tried masking up or hand painting, but actually just using the airbrush at exactly 90 degree means you get a near enough perfect finish with the paint work and a very sharp demarcation between the colours.



Next up, I'll give it a clay wash, but I'm hoping I might get a delivery from Ultimate tomorrow which includes some of their wash, so I'll wait to use that...

[DBMiller]

This is a kit I was thinking of buying. I'm excited to see how yours is coming along. Nice work.

[Nige201980]

Smashing work mate the mottling looks great.

[Ads24]

Made some progress with the diorama base today. Firstly it was cut out to size from some cheap MDF.



This was then sanded down.



And primed with a rattle can. I started this is grey...



...but then it ran out, so completed it in black. I then gave it a dusting of brown from the airbrush.



I used a dark colour for the grass.



And stuck this down using cheap PVA glue diluted with water.



I applied it in patches just to break up the uniformity, but I thought this looked rubbish against the dark base colour.



So I changed this by spraying over it with Olive Drab.



Really not sure about how this looks, I still might go back and cover the whole thing in grass. Anyway, I'm off to check out other people's far superior efforts for inspiration. Thanks for checking out this update

[Ads24]

Approaching the final stages now. Clay wash went on...



...and came off.



Landing gear doors, mud guards and other extras were added and Tamiya X-19 Smoke used for some exhaust staining. It's the first time I've used this paint and was surprised how thin and subtle it is as it took quite a few passes with the airbrush to build up the effect. In the future I'll defiantly try this for doing post-shading.



The model was then given a matt coat using Tamika XF-86 Flat Clear. This does a good job of knocking everything back to a nice flat finish. It does come a little thick, so I thin it directly in the pot adding about 5ml of thinners to a 10ml pot, then I know it's good to go every time.



Next it was off with the masks (yes it took a while!) and adding the aerial using EZ line from Models R Go.



Guns were installed.



They form another fairly unique feature of this plane.



Really not sure I fancy that tail gunner position!





The props were a simple push-fit.



A distinctive feature of the Argus As 410 engines are the finned spinners on the props. These are driven by the airflow just like a windmill, and used to power the actuator of the variable pitch propellers, which is kind of neat.



Just a simple case now of arranging the diorama and this build will be pretty much done.



I'll be back soon with the conclusion to this build and the final reveal photos.

[Russ72]

Stunning work Ads. Look forward to the final reveal.

[Ads24]

Stunning work Ads. Look forward to the final reveal.

Cheers, Russ

[Ads24]

After a few finishing touches, I'm calling it a day on the Fw189. Thank you for following my build log, I hope it's not been too dull. This is my second SiG, and I've really enjoyed following all your builds and have learnt a great deal, even if I haven't always left a comment - your work is so impressive.

My masks finally came from Hannants today, and not sure I can be bothered with the hassle of returning them, so if you have a GWH Fw189 in your stash, let me know as I'd be happy to sent them to a good home, and I would say they are essential if you're planning on doing this kit!

Anyway, final reveal photos can be found here http://www.intscalemodeller.com/viewtop ... 255&t=7514