1:32 Fw 190A-8

A heavily armored attacker against bomber formations

Some of the A-8s were given additional armor and thicker front glass with the special assault groups. Pilots flew them into tight formations of four-engine bombers at very close range, where resistance to defensive fire counted for more than agility. The machines were heavy and at a disadvantage in a fight with a fighter, which is why lighter Bf 109s escorted them.

Where the saving is greatest

The set pays off most with shapes that repeat on a model. The national insignia are on the upper and lower surface of both wings and on both sides of the fuselage, so that is six positions for the same figure. Cutting six identical stencils from tape by hand is both slow and, for all your care, never quite identical, and asymmetry is immediately visible precisely on insignia.

What to watch out for

Before you lay an insignia mask down, check that the base is perfectly dry and matte. On a glossy finish the paper slides and shifts as it is pressed down, which with symmetrical shapes you notice at once.

Additional areas

The set does not deal with wheels, protrusions and antennas. Use ordinary tape or liquid mask for those.

Symmetry as a measure of quality

A botched insignia is spotted even by someone who knows nothing about models, because the eye compares the left wing with the right at a single glance. Die-cut shapes come from one sheet and the deviation between them is nil. A hand-cut stencil changes slightly with every further use and after six pieces the difference is noticeable.

A test on an offcut

Before you start spraying, try your chosen thinning ratio on a leftover piece of the sheet. Five extra minutes save sanding down a whole area.