1:72 Focke-Wulf Fw 190F-8

The Fw 190F-8 in Hungarian colors

The F version was the ground-attack form of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It came out of the A series airframe, was given strengthened armor around the cockpit and the underside of the fuselage, simplified gun armament and racks for bombs. An air-cooled radial stood a hit after which a liquid-cooled engine would have seized at once, and that made the aircraft a favorite machine with pilots working low over the front.

A ground-attack regiment in the last winter of the war

All five subject machines belong to the Royal Hungarian Air Force, specifically to the 102nd Regiment and its two ground-attack squadrons. Four are captured in the winter between 1944 and 1945, the fifth still in 1944 in the Transdanubian region. The fuselage numbers are white or yellow and are completed by the Hungarian cross. For a modeler who is tired of building a fifth Luftwaffe machine in a row, it is an unobtrusive but very rewarding detour. The Hungarian crosses also differ from the German ones in shape and in the proportion of the arms, so even a fleeting glance at a display case will pick the difference up.

Winter finish and the order of work

In the last months of the war the machines often received a hastily sprayed white layer, which flaked off quickly. If you want to imitate it, lay the markings on the finished weathered white area, not under it. In many cases the number on the fuselage was painted on only after the winter finish, so precisely this order matches reality. Then wipe the remains of adhesive off the finished work with a damp cloth, otherwise a matte outline will stay behind once dry.