Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9
Weekend Edition

Eduard, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

If the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A was a bit of an ugly duckling, then the Fw 190D was more like a swan. A totally redesigned nose combined with an extended rear fuselage transformed the stocky Butcher Bird into the sleek embodiment of an airborne hunter.

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190D was not built in huge quantities nor did it affect the outcome of the war, but it was a highly competent fighter that was more than a match for its Allied contemporaries in the hands of an experienced pilot. Even though the Dora was in service for less than eight months, its good looks and wide range of colour schemes makes it a perennially popular modelling subject.

There are plenty of 1/48 options available for Dora fanciers. These include the Tamiya kit, which is a simple build but suffers some outline problems; the older Trimaster/Dragon/Italeri offerings, which are more accurate but less easy to build, and the fairly recent Hobby Boss kits, which look pretty good.

Eduard released their 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 back in 2010. Unlike their newly tooled 1/48 scale Fw 190 A and F family, this Dora is from the original generation.

That is not a criticism - it is still a nice kit more than a decade later. This Dora is well detailed and less fiddly to build than Eduard's first generation of Fw 190 As. Eduard also released a late version D-9 with a big tail, and also a D-11 and D-13 kit.

Under the gorgeous box artwork we find 136 parts in grey plastic; 11 clear parts; and a decal sheet covering four markings options.

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Thumbnail panels:

Being a Weekend Edition boxing, we don't get photo-etched parts or masks.

Surface texture still stands up quite well with crisply recessed panel lines and selected rivets. The fabric ribs on the control surfaces are also well done.

The cockpit is well detailed with its plastic parts. Decals are supplied for the instrument panels or you can paint the bezels, dials and switches.

The wheel well features the correct see-through effect, with a rear portion of the engine and the supercharger supplied. This will be visible through the open centre section of the wheel well. Two styles of main wheel are provided. Check your references for your selected marking option.

The cowl and wing gun bays are also fitted out, although alternative parts are provided for modellers who would prefer to keep theirs closed. Some minor surgery will be required for the wings in this case.

Four gun cowl configurations are shown in the instructions, and each is linked to its marking options. These configurations are achieved by filling, cutting and/or scribing the single gun cowl supplied in the kit.

Different parts are offered for open or closed cowl flaps.

The exhausts are supplied in one-piece each. The narrow ends are not hollowed out, but we will likely see after-market updates before long.

A three-piece tail wheel assembly with a separate wheel makes an appearance here, but the simpler one-piece assembly is also available on the sprues.

Ailerons and the rudder are separate parts.

The instructions illustrate the spinner cap with the cannon hole in place on page 9, but this should really be the plain cap for the D-9 (correctly called out as part no. Y30).

A drop tank and a bomb are offered as centreline ordnance options. The instructions appear to illustrate the later smooth drop tank, but it is the earlier ribbed version that is actually supplied.

The canopy parts are crystal clear and thin.

Separate parts are supplied to permit the sliding canopy to be displayed open or closed. Parts are provided for the blown and flat hoods.

Markings

Four attractive marking options are included on the large decal sheet:

• Red 1, W.Nr. 600424, JV 44 Airfield Protection Flight with red and white stripes on the lower surfaces.

• Chevron and two vertical bars, Stab I./JG 2, Merzhausen Germany, 1 January 1945

• Chevron , horizontal bar plus horizontal bar; Stab/JG 6, Maj. Gerhard Barkhorn, Welzow Germany, February 1945

• Black 1 plus winkel, 12./JG 26, Oblt. Hans Dortenmann, Germany 1945

All four marking options are variations on the (relatively) chaotic application of late-war Luftwaffe camouflage.

The decals are printed by Eduard. Stencil markings are provided on a separate sheet.

This is a well-detailed Dora. In its Weekend Edition guise it will look great straight from the box, or may also be an inexpensive base for after-market upgrades.

At less than USD$35.00 it represents very good value too.

Amazingly, I have never actually built one of Eduard's 1/48 scale Doras. I'll have to do something about that!

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2024 by Brett Green
Page Created 8 October, 2024
Last updated 8 October, 2024

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