Lion
Roar
is a Chinese company that produces a variety of
high quality detail sets for plastic model kits including photo-etched frets, tools, cast metal, turned alloy and
even resin figures. All of these items are produced to a very high level
of detail and accuracy. Great
Wall Hobby is
a line of model kits produced by Lion Roar and they are well known among the
armour modellers and I'm pleased to see them releasing aircraft
kits.
This latest release
from Great
Wall Hobby is a
multi-media plastic model kit that includes photo etch brass detail items and
canopy paint masks.
History
In 1937, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) issued a specification for a short-range, three-seat reconnaissance aircraft with a good all-round view to support the German army in the field, replacing the Henschel Hs 126, which had just entered service. A power of about 850-900 hp (630-670 kW) was specified. The specification was issued to Arado and
Focke-Wulf. Arado's design, the Ar 198, which was initially the preferred option, was a relatively conventional single-engined high wing monoplane with a glazed gondola under the
fuselage. Focke-Wulf's chief designer Kurt Tank design, the Focke-Wulf Fw 189 was a twin-boom design, powered by two Argus As 410 engines rather than the expected single engine and a central crew gondola, while Blohm & Voss proposed as a private venture something even more radical: chief designer Dr. Richard Vogt's unique asymmetric BV 141. Orders were placed for three prototypes each of the Arado and Focke-Wulf designs in April
1937.
Possibly the best reconnaissance aircraft to operate during World War II, the Fw 189 was produced in large numbers, at the Focke-Wulf factory in Bremen, at the Bordeaux-Merignac aircraft factory (now the Dassault Mirage plant) in occupied France, then in the Aero Vodochody aircraft factory in Prague, occupied Czechoslovakia. Total production was 864 aircraft of all
variants.
This kit includes;
-
5 sprues of
grey styrene
-
1 sprue of
plastic styrene
-
1 fret of
photo etch brass
-
canopy
painting masks
-
12 page
instruction booklet
-
2 page
large 4 view colour profiles
-
decal sheet
with markings for 2 different aircraft
-
parts are
all packed in plastic bags....including the clear styrene parts
-
sturdy box
There are some
parts on the sprues that aren't needed to build this variant of the Fw189, so I
can only assume future versions and different painting options of the Fw189 are
planned, which is standard practice for most manufacturers.
Click on
images below to see larger images
At first glance I am quite
impressed with what I see. All panel lines are recessed and very crisply
done. Flying surfaces are pose able, cockpit sidewalls includes ribbing,
engines are included, tires are weighted, pilot figure is included, clear
styrene is very clear and includes actual raised frames just like the real
aircraft. Some of the delicate framework parts have rivets.
The photo etch includes gun
sights, engine wiring or fuel lines, flying surfaces, seat belts and a few other
tiny parts. In the instruction booklet, the photo etch parts are shown in
gold making them very easy to find in the pages of instruction
booklet.
Engine cowls have detail on both
sides making posing them in the open position to show off the lovely engine
detail a very attractive option. The cloth covered control surfaces appear
overly ribbed. The propeller blades are nice and thin.
Some canopy windows are separate
from the main canopies permitting you to pose them in an open position to show
off all that wonderful interior detail.
Other extra features of this kit
include bombs and underwing bomb racks as well as a boarding ladder or raised
work area that could be used for posing a mechanic figure working on an engine
in a diorama setting. The Focke Wulf Fw189A-2 had a crew of three,
pilot and 2 rear gunners, but only one figure is included in the kit, but
considering the cockpit detail, I suspect most modellers will chose not to use
the pilot figure that is included.
Markings
I'm pleased at the 2 choices for
markings, both are from the Russian front and one is in one of my favourite camo
schemes....Russian Front Winter camo.
- Fw 189A-2, (5D+FH)-1(H)/31,
Russia, 1942
- Fw 189A-2, (werk Nr 2317 5D+CK)-2(H)/31,
Russia, 1943, winter camo scheme
I'm pleased to see Swastika's are
included on the decal sheet, but they are broken up to comply with laws in
certain countries.
For paint, the instructions list
the numbers for the new Gunze Creos colours as well as RLM colours, so you can
use pretty well any line of paints that you prefer.
Great
Wall Hobby shows
a high degree of quality in this model kit and I can't wait to see their next
kit.....they are a company well worth watching.......I expect continued high
quality model kits from them. You will not be disappointed with their
Fw-189A-2
You can purchase this and other
fine products directly from Great
Wall Hobby or from the many retailers that carry their products.
Steve
Bamford
I would like to
thank Great
Wall Hobby for
providing me with this review sample.
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