Hasegawa 1/32 FW-190A-5

The FW-190 was considered by many German pilots to be the best fighter of the war. It was more maneuverable than most fighters at medium to low altitude, had a respectable armament and its wide track landing gear greatly reduced ground handling accidents.

The type had a bit of a rocky start with issues regarding engine fires until the exhaust was re-routed on the underside, taking care of the overheating issues. The A-5 was developed after it was determined that the Fw 190 could easily carry more ordnance. The D-2 engine was moved forward another 15 cm (6 in) as had been tried out earlier on the service test A-3/U1 aircraft, moving the centre of gravity forward to allow more weight to be carried aft.

For many, the longer nose is the dividing point between the early and later versions of the FW-190A.

Developed in 2004, this kit was part of a program by Hasegawa to model significant WWII fighters in 1/32 scale. Often touted as the best there is in this scale, it shares a number of its parts with the FW-190D kit. This is only one of two FW-190A variants kitted by Hasegawa, the other being the more widely produced FW-190A-8. There are differences between the two variants, the biggest being the upper cowling and the main gear doors. These are taken care of by additional sprues.

As these big kits go, this one is fairly simple, comprising of only 108 parts. The cockpit is fairly well done and Hasegawa does provide a pilot. Those not wanting the crew will want to find an aftermarket seat harness. You have the option of paint or decals for the various instrument panels in the plane. Those who can't handle stock interiors will find lots of help from aftermarket.

The engine cowling is five main pieces into which you install the engine (four pieces), and the exhaust. The prop has separate blades and is keyed for proper alignment. It also has the polycap for installation so it along with the engine fan can be left off until the end. At this time, the interior and tail gear assembly is trapped between the fuselage halves. Note that some modification of the fuselage is needed as it is for the later A-8 version.

When assembling the wings holes need to be opened for the pitot and the step. The main gear well is heavily braced to ensure the proper wing diheadral and you are told to install the lower wing and flaps on the fuselage before attaching the upper wings. Flaps are molded in the lowered position. Next are the cowling pieces and guns.

For the underside you have the main gear with two piece wheels and separate oleo scissors. This version carried inner gear doors, hence the different main gear doors. There are also inserts for the underside of the wing and various antennas. The only canopy provided is the early version as the later one did not happen until 1945 so no A-5 wore this.

There are two markings options provided. Both are in the standard RLM 74/75/76Both of these have yellow rudders and yellow lower cowling sections. One is the tulip nose version on the box art flown by Herman Graf in 1943. You have two options for the rudder markings; one where you paint the rudder. Note that on this plane, the nose markings start after the armored nose ring so you may wish to apply that item after the kit is painted and decaled. The other is Walter Oesau's plane, also from 1943. This aircraft has no fuselage mottling. Decals are nicely printed, but are old school Hasegawa which means off-white whites and the need for hot water. Might want to check for aftermarket.

The nice thing about these Hasegawa 1/32 scale kits is that they are not fiddly as seems to be the norm for kits today. This means a fairly trouble-free build. Only issue might be finding one and when you do it could be pricey.   

August 2020

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