Verlinden | 1/24 Fw 190 D-9 Improvements # 2205 for Trumpeter 190D-9
Reviewed by Matt Gannon
Here is the Verlinden resin detail set for the Trumpeter Fw 190D-9. Lots of goodies are included to spruce up your large scale Dora but it's really quite a simple kit. To date I haven't been able to find any reviews of this set or macro shots to assist with any purchase decision making processes. I hope this helps.
The Verlinden set comes with lovely clear instructions, a large PE fret, a strip of lead for seat belts and perfectly cast resin components. The details in the kit focus on enhancing the cockpit, fuselage components and the gun deck.
The level of detail in the parts themselves might best be described as fair. Many of the parts are also very large and solid. To illustrate the level of detail note both the bulkhead behind the pilot seat and the radio itself. They are simple in detail by comparison to offerings in 1/32 scale from MDC and Eagle Editions. Then again, is there any point and is that a bad thing? The huge resin MW50 tank that will sit in the fuselage obstructs any clear view of this soft detail from any external view. So it's not criticism per sae, more observation and comparison.
Whilst the detail behind the pilot's seat can be justified, the lack of definition in the rendering of the FuG16 radio is somewhat disappointing. It has no where near the wonderful detail of an Aries 1/32 resin example, yet the radio is a feature of the Verlinden kit. The Verlinden radio comes with its own access panel framework PE and can be posed in the open position to display the internals of your Dora. Even though the lack of detail is a disappointing it doesn't mean you can't add details to the resin radio to enhance its appearance. I think there are also a couple of other components that should have been included in this kit as they are major fuselage components. They are the master-compass, batteries and IFF equipment.
The resin Machine Guns supplied in the kit are cast perfectly and when painted and dry brushed will be a great feature of the gun deck. The tailwheel access door and interior details also creates another lovely area of interest and challenge for the largescale Dora builder. Overall I'm pretty happy with the kit though I'm expecting lots of dry fitting and adaption of both kit and resin before I secure anything permanently.
I obtained my kit from Sprue Brothers who were about the most reasonably priced of those that stocked this kit and but offer customer service that you kinda wish many others could emulate. I'm glad they sponsor LSP and well worth a browse as their aircraft bargain bin can often yield a couple of nuggets.
Enjoy the photos and don't hesitate to get a set to add life to your 1/24 190D-9 or rob some of the parts for a 1/24 Bf 109 ;-)
Oh, another aspect of buying resin aftermarket goodies is that they can assist your research if you are scratch-building similar components in other kits. It's clear that some aftermarket resin companies have resin products with a lot of research manifested in their products. Sure, one can try by looking at a multitude of reference books but that is dependant on affordability, availability and the quality of the information contained in them. So whilst buying aftermarket resin is a fairly lateral approach to solving the information vacuum, if you're inclined to want to try scratch-building, there is nothing like having a version of what you want correct for size and shape on the bench in front of you.
© Matt Gannon
This review was published on Saturday, July 02 2011; Last modified on Wednesday, May 18 2016