1:32 Fw – 190 A 8

The Würger as flying armor

The A-8 version became the platform for the heavily armed units meant to break up American bomber formations. Machines designated Sturmbock received additional armor plates along the sides of the cockpit and a thicker windscreen, because the pilot closed in on the formation and had to take fire from the defensive guns. It is precisely this modification that changes the shape of the glazing enough for a mask to be cut for it separately.

What the masking covers

The box holds two parts for the canopy, one for the surface and the other for the inner face, and two stencils for the insignia. Splitting the work into outside and inside follows from the fact that a thick clear molding in this scale shows the framing from both viewpoints, and paint applied to one side only looks flat.

How the sheet works

The backing is pliable, so it follows the curve of the canopy without folding and without the need to nick the edges. The tack is chosen to hold under the pressure of an airbrush yet not to tear off a layer of paint on removal. The edges are pressed down with a wooden toothpick before spraying, otherwise the coat creeps underneath.

The view to the rear

Heavily armed machines were given a steel plate behind the pilot's head that covered part of the rear glazing. Anyone building that particular form has to reckon with the frame being hidden under the plate, while the surrounding areas stay clear. The mask helps to divide the work there: the inner part goes only onto the areas that will remain exposed, and the rest is handled with an insert of photo-etched metal or plastic.

Classification

This is an aid for painting large-scale aircraft models, not a model in its own right.