Sheet:

Three Guys Replicas TGR 48-008 for FW-190A

Units: See Review

Price

$9.95

Reviewer:

Scott Van Aken

Possibly due to the paucity of kits devoted to the early 190s, there have not been many sheets devoted to these earlier planes. That is not to say that they don't exist. Indeed, there are a couple of very good kits around in 1/48. However, as of this writing, you have only the Tamiya FW-190A-3 and Dragon FW-190A-4 available, both which are a bit pricier than most 1/48 kits. There is no dedicated A-2 kit around, but modifying the Tamiya kit should not be a real problem for most modelers of average skills. While on the subject, I know of no dedicated A-5 or A-6 kit in 1/48 as most companies have focused on the A-8 version.

This particular sheet has all early 190s. All of them are in RLM 74/75/76, and while no mottling is shown, some were so marked. The sheet also provides several variations on the black area painted behind the exhaust.

First is the FW-190A-2 that I mentioned. This one was from Stab./JG 26 and flown by Hauptmann Hermichen. He used the first letters of his last name in front of the stab markings on the fuselage side. This aircraft has light fuselage mottling. I read an interesting article on the 190 in a recent modeling magazine that misinterpreted the initials in front of the markings as being part of the units normal markings. That is NOT the case as they were always the first letter or letters of the pilot's last name. You can see this in the Tamiya 1/72 FW-190A-3 review I did a while back.

Back at the decal sheet, the next two are 190A-3s. White 8 is from 7./JG 2 and has the similar yellow rudder and under cowl area as the previous plane. Similarly painted is Josef Priller's III./JG 26 plane. It has a nice tally on the rudder.

From 9./JG 2 comes white 4 of Siegried Schnell. His 190A-4 is similarly marked to the ones above. From II./JG 26 is Black 12, an A-3 that has been modified by removing the outer wing guns and replacing the lower bulged breech cover replaced with a flat sheet. In other words, you sand that part smooth.

Finally a Turkish FW-190A-3. Spinner and rudder are red and though four insignia are given, they were only used on the lower wings.

Please note that the sheet may look a bit short as common markings have been edited off.

Review sheet courtesy Three Guys Replicas

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