Eduard’s now familiar ProfiPak
series was the late version of
the Fw190A-4. This sub-type,
for which I have been unable to
find an official designation and
which appeared at the very end
of the A-4 production run, was
produced in limited numbers.
The airframes were fitted with
newly designed adjustable cooling
louvres located behind the engine
on either side of the cowling,
replacing the simple cut-out
slots of all previous versions,
including the standard A-4.
These changes were made in an
effort to resolve the overheating
problems that had plagued all the
earlier variants, and shortly after
production of this new sub-type
began, production shifted to the
new-standard A-5. This differed
significantly in appearance from
the A-4, being slightly longer and
having the radio compartment
moved rearward to counterbalance
the forward fuselage extension.
If the initial choice of variant by
Eduard was unexpected, the qualityof the parts to be found within
the ProfiPak box was not, for the
plastic displays the usual feast of
lavish detail routinely served up by
the Czech manufacturer, in such
abundance as to delight the palette
of any Focke-Wulf connoisseur.A FULL PLATE
One of the joys of receiving a
new release from Eduard, other
than getting one’s hands on the
most accurately detailed and
proportioned plastic available of the
subject in question, is the prospect
of also receiving a box full of extras.
Such was the case this time around,
for the package I received through
the post from the editor was stuffed
to overflowing with Eduard/Brassin
blister packs and little black boxes
full of resin accessories. Anyone
having yet to experience the Czech
manufacturers’ resin and brass
accessories are missing a treat.
With the airframe build
temporarily on hold whilst I carried
out my usual research into thecolour schemes provided in the
ProfiPak, I began construction
on the resin engine. Set 648352
contains a multi-part engine
block, a nose ring that houses the
annular radiator, and a full set
of cowling covers. Cast in a pale
grey resin, the surface detail on
the twenty-two individual parts
is phenomenal. Construction is
covered by a six-page instruction
leaflet that clearly illustrates the
sixteen assembly stages required.
Probably the most tiresome
stage during the construction of
any resin kit is the separation of
parts from their moulding blocks
and the removal of the inevitable
flash. This can be particularly
time consuming when the parts
are delicate (as in this case), so if
breaks are to be avoided, great care
must be taken when cleaning up
the needle-thin engine mounting
frames, pipes, and exhausts.With the parts washed so as to
remove any greasy residue left over
from the casting process, assembly
is pretty straight forward, with the
exception of the spider’s web of
tiny etched-metal ignition wires,
each of which needs to be bent to
shape and glued to the multitude
of tiny plug heads protruding from
the fourteen cylinder heads.
The engine was fully assembled
before painting, and the initial job
was to airbrush a coat of Alclad
Grey Primer overall, followed by
a generous coat of Alclad Polished
Aluminium. I similarly painted
the inner surfaces of the separate
resin cowling covers whilst I was
about it, as well as the propeller
and cooling fan from the ProfiPak.
The engine next received an
overall coat of black enamel. Before
it had dried thoroughly, the enamel
was removed from the cylinder
heads and various other small“THIS NEW-TOOL FW190A-4 IS
UNDOUBTEDLY THE BEST MODEL
OF THE TYPE EVER PRODUCED
IN QUARTER SCALE”
WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • MAY 2018 • 15
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