Fw190A
First look at Pacific Coast Models 1/32
Fw190A-1/ 2/ 3, Fw190A-1/ 2/ 3/4, Fw190A-
1/2/ 3/4/4-U8I
can almost hear the groans
at yet another Fw-190,
but this one is a little
bit different because no one
has produced a high-quality
tooling of the early short-nose
models of this outstanding
Luftwaffe fighter in 1/32 scale.
First released in 2010, the Pacific
Coast Fw190A-1/2/3 was going to
be the start of a whole family of
Fw-190s, but unfortunately these
plans did not come to fruition, as
Pacific Coast Models closed and
no further kits were released. In
fact, actually finding one of these
kits became a bit of a treasure hunt
for large-scale Luftwaffe fans.
But now under new ownership
PCM have released the original
boxing, as well as two new versions.PACIFIC COAST MODELS
FW190A-1/2/3
This is the original kit, reissued
with no changes. This means that
you have the same 76 high-quality
grey plastic and five clear parts.
The detail features a nice level of
engraved detail that rivals more
established manufacturers (in
fact, the plastic is supplied by
Czech manufacturer Sword).
It would not surprise me if
another Czech manufacturer had
had a hand in the 24 resin parts that
detail the cockpit and undercarriage
bays, as well as details like the
hollowed-out exhaust pipes. Thisis the type of set
that you would pay
extra for to detail
a Revell or Hasegawa kit.
A small set of Eduard’s
pre-coloured brass supplies
the instrument panel and the
seatbelts, and for a change I
actually quite like the look of the
RLM 66 instrument panel, which
is a more accurate colour than on
other Eduard sets I have seen. The
instruction manual supplies all
you need to know; you will need
to do a few simple updates using
the supplied parts for whichever
version you wish to produce.
The whole package is topped by a
really nice decal sheet, which has a
good selection of markings showing
the range of colour schemes
carried by the early Fw-190.FOCKE-WULF FW 190A- Fw190A-1, W.Nr. 100, Lt. Horst Sternberg,
5./JG 26, Merseele (Germany) Fall 1941. - Fw190A-1, W.Nr. 027, Oblt. Walter
Schneider, 6./JG 26. - Fw190A-2, Nr.20 202, Ofw. Bruno
Hegenauer, wingman to JG 26
Kommodore Major Gerhard Schoepfel. - Fw190A-3, W.Nr. 333, Lt. Jakob Augustin,
7. / JG 2. - Fw90A03, W.Nr. 2187, Lt. Heribert
Hufnagi, 8./JG2, November 1942. - Fw190A-3, W.Nr. 2181, 8./JG 2.
- Fw190A-3, W.Nr. 2261, 2./JG 51.
- Fw190A-3, W.Nr. 437, Ulfz. Johannes
Rathenow, 10./JG 1 Holland 1942.
PACIFIC COAST MODELS
FW190A-1/2/3/4
This boxing contains all the parts
from the previous set, including
decals and colour profiles, plus
a further three resin parts,
reproducing the late louv red cooling
vents (familiar from the later 190A-6
to A-8 versions), as well as a fin tip
which includes the antenna stub.
No instructions for this or the
U-8 version were included in our
samples, so you are on your own
with carrying out the conversions,
but most of it is pretty obvious –
have a look at Eduard’s website
for the instructions for their early
models to give you an idea.
You do have a new full-colour
decaling guide which supplies
marking for five A-4 models: These
include an aircraft operating in a
sand finish over the desert; one in
white operating in mid-winter over
Russia; one that features a mix of
at least five colours used in Russia
during the spring and summer
months; and if that was not enough,
two classic 74/75 grey fighter
schemes, one with the full eagle
marking of JG-2 along the nose
and flanks and a second featuring
JG.1s black and white nosebands.- Fw190A-4 of 11./JG 2, flown by Group
Commander Dickfeld, Tunisia 1943 (W.Nr.
0140750).- FW.190A-4, flown by Ft.Otto Kittel of 2/JG
54, Krasnogvardeysk, February 1943. - Fw190A-4, flown by Ulfz. Karl-Heinz
Cordes of 1./JG 54, Krasnogvardeysk,
early 1943. - Fw.190A-4, Jaboschowarm 1./JG 54
Krasnogvardeysk, spring 1943. - Fw190A-4 9/JG 2, flown by Siegfried
Schnell early 1943, (W.Nr 746). - Focke Wulfe Fw190A-4, Lt. Eberhard
Burath, Gruppenadjutant 1./JG1, Deelen,
April 1943 (W.Nr. 140581).
- FW.190A-4, flown by Ft.Otto Kittel of 2/JG
PACIFIC COAST MODELS
FW190A-1/2/3/4/A-4/U-8
If you read Floyd Werner’s article
on the Fw-190 “Tip and Run” black-
painted Fw-190A-5/U-8, based on
Eduard’s 1/48 scale kit, you will be
pleased to see this 1/32 scale boxing
released at the US Nationals.
This release includes all of the
parts for the kits listed above, plus
the faired VTr-Ju87 faired racks
with their associated drop tanks, as
well as an under-fuselage ETC 501
bomb rack and a beautiful 500 kg
bomb. All of these parts are cast in
resin, although the bomb has etched
brass fins and a cast brass tail ring.
The decal sheet supplies two
markings, both of which have
their original colour schemes
overpainted with various amounts
of black paint. On one example
nearly all markings except the
overwing crosses are totally
obscured. If you do not like decaling
then this is the option for you.- Fw.190A-4/U8 Jabo of 1/SKG 10 Amiens
France July 1942. Hit and run raids over
the UK. - Fw.190A-4/U8 Jabo-Rei of SchG 10,
Amiens France beginning May 1943.
The resin looks a bit grainy in this photo but a coat of primer will soon sort that The three parts that maker the A_1 to A-3 into the A-4The resin parts show detail that only resin can
produceWWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • OCTOBER 2018 • 43
FIRST LOOK!
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