1/48 Eduard FW 190D-13 Dora

Gallery Article by Burt Gustafson on Oct 6 2010

 

For your viewing pleasure, here are some photos of my 1/48 scale Eduard FW 190D-13 Dora.

History

Because the FW 190A was falling short of its adversaries, the 190A underwent some serious design changes. The design development led first to the 190B, followed by the 190C, and finalized with the FW 190D. The 190D was given a powerful new liquid cooled 12 cylinder engine that required the front of the aircraft to be lengthened. To maintain the center of gravity the rear of the aircraft was also lengthened. With all the length modifications, the aircraft gained a new more elegant shape and was dubbed the “Langnasen Dora” (Long Nose Dora).

 

According to some sources, some 1800 FW 190Ds were built. It was a formidable aircraft, but came too late to make much of an impact. The model photos here depict an FW 190D-13 found at Pilsen-Bory airfield, Czechoslovakia in May 1945. The pilot of this aircraft was unknown.

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Construction

This was an out of the box build and went together with not a whole lot of trouble.  The kit comes with lots of PE parts, but Eduard provided plastic alternatives to help us PE challenged modelers.  Wing and engine construction was a little complex because of all the small and oddly shaped parts.  The wing cannons had to be installed as you built up the wing assembly.  This led to the breaking of the guns several times.  Out of frustration I replaced them with sewing needles.  Installing the gun bay and engine covers was difficult because of the poor fit.  I spent a lot of time filling and sanding to eliminate gaps and mismatches.  The rest of the kit went together without further problems.

 

Painting

I airbrushed my FW 190D-13 with Model Master RLM enamel paints followed by a Model Master semi-gloss lacquer finish.  

Decals

The decals for this kit performed very well.  I applied them over two coats of Future and used Micro Sol setting solution to ensure the decals snuggled down to the model surface.  

Comments

Even though German aircraft are not my usual subject, I enjoyed building the kit—despite a few fit problems.  It built up fairly well and has good detail.  I was pleased with the look of the finished model.

Burt Gustafson

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Photos and text © by Burt Gustafson