Airfix 1/24 Fw 190D-9 Part 3

By Rodney Williams

Here are six photos showing the resin exhaust stacks which were supplied with the conversion kit by August Hupp. I did not like them, so I hand crafted my own, using copper tubing. I cut some aluminum strips, and wrapped them around the copper, then glued them in place. The last photo in this section shows the exhaust stacks, including the gun barrels "dry fit" inside the front conversion unit. I added some bulk head's, as the vac-u-formed white styrene was somewhat thin!

The right side fuselage air vent was nicely formed. I added a screen, using some very fine wire mesh. This screen looks real big in the photo, but that's due to a extreme close-up. I think the wire screen was .005" diameter or less. The little plate next to the air intake unit fit above the exhaust stacks. I was told that this prevented most of the exhaust fumes from coming into the unit. I do not recall if this vent is for the cockpit, or for the engine. Who care's, it looked good
when it was finished!

These five photos show how I made the oil/water coolers. The cowling was a separate piece, and was A-OK! I don't recall if the radiator section was included in the conversion kit. I made my own, using my professional architectural scribing tool and scribed in the round circles on .016" flat aluminum stock. Inside the cowling ring was the oil cooler (?). I scribed straight lines on the aluminum, then cut each section apart. Each section was curved slightly, and glued to the inside of the cowling ring. Additional items were crafted from styrene! The last shot in this segment shows a front view of "Christl" with the unfinished prop attached.

These five photos show the front conversion section. Styrene was added here and there.

These three photos show some of the additions to the ailerons. The hinges were cut out of flat styrene stock.

The wing tip lights were made from round clear plastic rod, with a small backing plate.

I placed several little parts next to my Minolta 35mm lens cap. The whip antenna, a round "radio" ring made from aluminum tubing. I made the center pylon "half moon" braces from flat stock.

These last set of photos show the cast resin prop and spinner. The prop blades were not the right shape for the "DORA!" Auggie primarily built German aircraft, and I heard he was the "brains" when it came to German aircraft. Something went amok, so it was revision time. The spinner needed to be revised too boot.

My last segment on "Christl", will show a few more items, and the finished model.

This is not "happy modeling", it's time consuming, and it certainly gets to be a drag after spending a couple of thousand hours!

To go to part 4

Airfix 1/24 Fw 190D-9 Part 3

By Rodney Williams

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