This is another
wonderfully engineered and beautifully detailed 1/144 kit
from Platz
Hobby. The Dora is my favourite 190, so it was a very happy
moment for me when I saw that Platz Hobby had released an Fw-190 Dora in 1/144th
scale. The fine panel line detail as well as excellent detail in other areas of this
kit is easily as good as 1/72 scale. There are even recessed shell
ejection chutes in the bottom of the wing that will respond well to a wash or
you can cut them open for the full effect. Platz has taken the 1/144 scale kit
to a very delicate looking and well detailed level. All panel lines are
fine and recessed. The canopy and windshield are a one piece affair, so if
you want to pose this model with an open canopy then just cut grind/sand/file away the unwanted parts from the
4 canopies included in this kit. Yes you actually get 2 kits in this one
box......and you get 4 canopies....so having a open canopy is very much an
option. The cockpit consists of a very well done seat and in 1/144 you
won't see much in the cockpit, but the 1/144 super detailers could add seat
belts to bring the cockpit to life.
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There is a centerline pylon with a
drop fuel tank. The engine cowl ring has all the cowl vents and they look
quite good. Plus the prop blades are
thin and look correct. You also get an engine which will come to life
with a bit of paint and dry brushing. The separate tail wheel is very nicely
detailed and of course the multi- part main landing gear look very good as well.
The main landing gear doors have recessed panel lines and even tiny rivets.
The decals include 3 Fw-190 D-9's in
the last few months of the European theatre during WW2 and 2 of the planes are
from the famed JG-26 and all 3 wear the very unique looking mottled camo the
Luftwaffe was famous for during WW2. The decal sheets contain 2 part Swastika's
that have one decal for the centre cross and one decal for the 4 rotating
ends....this looks to be a very simple but effective way of laying out a 2 part
Swastika in 1/144 scale. Platz was careful to
select some very appealing paint schemes.
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Fw-190 D-9 W. Nr. 211934,
2/JG26 May 1945 Germany
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Fw-190 D-9 W. Nr. 210003,
14/JG26 March 1945, Varrelbusch, Germany
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Fw-190 D-9 W. Nr. unknown,
JG4 May 1945, Bayreuth-Bindlach, Germany
The decals are excellent quality and
in register and include stencils for all 3 aircraft. All
parts are packed in separate bags to protect the smaller more delicate
parts.....even the canopies are in their separate plastic bag.
The 4 pages of instructions
are easy to follow line drawings. Colour profiles for the 3 decal
options are contained on the back of the box.
1/144 models are a blast to build
out of the box and the Fw-190 Dora is a very popular aircraft among modellers,
so this should be a very big seller. I guarantee you will enjoy building this tiny
Fw-190 D-9.
Check out http://www.platz-hobby.com/
for this and other fine products. I'd like to thank Platz
Hobby for the review sample......this kit is made in Japan and the high quality
is evident throughout this tiny model kit.
Steve
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