1:32 Fw 190D-13 (for Hobby 2000/Hasegawa/Revell kit)

The Dora with the Jumo 213F engine

The Fw 190D-13 is among the rarest versions of the whole family. Unlike the widespread D-9 it received the Jumo 213F engine and a gun led through the hollow propeller shaft, so the barrel of a 20 mm cannon projected from the propeller spinner. Only a handful of examples were completed, and the single surviving machine, known among modelers under the nickname Yellow 10, survived the war and can be seen to this day in a collection in the United States. For a builder that means a real subject not met on every other table at a club exhibition. The other part-built examples disappeared at the close of the war and only a handful of photographs of the day remain.

Three moldings, one set

The name states three possible bases for a build. That one set covers more boxes is no accident: the molds for this Dora are shared between the brands and the dimensions of the cabin therefore agree. A dry test before gluing is in order all the same. The differences between boxes tend to lie in the depth of the recess of the cabin rather than in its plan dimensions.

A German cabin close up

The equipment of Luftwaffe fighters has several elements by which well-done work is recognized: plates with lettering by the individual switches, a circular scale on the left console and light figures on the dark base of the instruments. In 1:32 scale all these things are within reach of the eye, and a hand-painted panel therefore gives itself away at once. Printed panels get round this problem, because the lettering arises directly in the printing. The light figures moreover keep their readability even after the final matting of the whole cabin.