1/72 Academy Fw-190A8

by Jason Liang

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This is my first post on ARC. This kit is actually the one with a 1/72 Kubelwagen (a very cool tiny kit). I built this aircraft straight from the box, including the decals (I only added the fishing line antennas).  This is also my first attempt at airbrush painting.

Building the model was quite simple. The fit of the kit is very nice, and the only problems I had were caused by myself! I misaligned the cockpit tub, so I ended up with nasty misfit of the canopy (as you can see from the second photo). I also accidentally dropped a book on the vertical stablizer, so the antanna post was history. Since I wanted to focus on painting with this model, I didn't bother making a new one.

Click on images below to see larger images

Now for the good part: painting. I had a lot of fun experimenting with my airbrush. I used a Badger 350 powered by a 5-gallon air tank. I had my doubts when it came to doing the mottling on the fuselage sides and tail fin, since I only had the medium tip. But once I got the air pressure right, it turned out better than I expected.

I painted the model in the RLM 74/75/76 scheme, all Polly Scale paints. I then sprayed Future, added the decals, and sealed everything with Gunze Clear Flat. The kit's decals represent the aircraft flown by Heinz Bar in April 1944 (I'm no history expert; this is the description given in the painting guide). I really like the red numbers and band against the grays.

This was a very enjoyable project. I hope you like it.

Jason

Photos and text © by Jason Liang