1:24 Fw 190D-9

Metal where plastic is not enough

The annular radiator in the nose makes a V engine look like a radial at first glance, and it was precisely this illusion on the long-nosed version that confused even Allied pilots. The machines reached the units in the autumn of 1944, first one of the famous fighter wings in the west, and the crews received them with mistrust at first. Only experience showed that in climb and in speed near the ground this was the best form of the whole series. Some of the aircraft had tail surfaces of pressed wood, because metal was in short supply.

The package offers four sets of national insignia, masking sheets for both sides of the glazing and metal barrels.

Replacing the gun muzzles with metal has a practical reason in the large format. Drilling a plastic part so that the opening looks like a real barrel is practically impossible here: the wall left around the hole would be thinner than a tenth of a millimeter and it breaks while being drilled. A machined tube has its bore ready and keeps the thickness of the wall. On small models the problem is not dealt with at all, because the muzzle is only a suggested dimple.

A metal tube has one more advantage that is not often mentioned. It takes being polished to a metallic shine, whereas silver paint on plastic always looks like silver paint. On a large model, where the muzzle of the weapon sits right in the viewer's line of sight, that difference between a material and an imitation of it is clearly noticeable.

• Four sets of insignia for spraying.
• Metal barrels with the bore already made.
• Masking of the glazing in two steps.

Neither a kit nor paints are part of the delivery.